Rose Blumen ~ Exogignesthai 1

(Rose)

I had weird feverish dreams all night.

About her... About you...

There's you, the one from the past I feel I knew, though it wasn't really me.

And you, the one from today, similar to me as a copy, similar to the previous one as you resemble her a lot. But still a very different person.

I'm confused.

But my wildest dream has come true...

You are alive again.

Even if we're not quite the same, we're alive now.

And our blue rose lives.

As I wake up, you're still holding my hand in your sleep.

You experienced a lot of fear and a little bit of joy since you came to be...

As did I...

The world... Will it be more fun?

It was already fun before. It doesn't change what the world is. Only me, and you.

I'm sure we'll enjoy it.

We have one set destination already. Blume is waiting for us where I left her.

Licht... She did something I'm unable to judge, to us.

And she won. She became a hero.

The warrior of light...

Die Licht Trägerin, von und gegen Gott...

Bleue opens her eyes. She still looks tired, but she has a slight sigh of relief as she recognises me.

I smile.

R - I've been in this world much longer than you, and I'm the one who planned your return. Yet, I too still am surprised you know. So I can barely imagine how you must feel.

She lets go of my hand to rise.

She's thinking. She scratches her head, her hair in a mess.

She looks by the window. Some first snow is falling outside.

It will be a long winter.

B - I discussed the subject with the second Licht, and I think you're wrong about one thing.

She turns around to look at me as I fix my clothes and hair.

What you said next, it resonated within my head as it echoed something else I heard before.

B - You're thinking that I'm here today because of you, because you made the wish for it to your daiûa... When I was still Blue, when we spent that first night anew at home, when we enjoyed that softest morning and felt as if the world had become wider, empty and silent, just and only for us. That moment of bliss, I remember wishing to my daiûa for it to last forever.

B - I made the wish, a long time ago, that our blue rose could bloom in that beautiful world, so enjoyable, it looked like it had been ours and ours alone... And now as I live again, I discover this world I've dreamt of is real. I discover that magic became real. I discover that every one of dad's tales was real. I discover my wildest dream granted. No more daiûa or society to bind us. No more god, devil or human to shackle us. We're together, entirely free, and the world has turned empty, yet so pretty.

B - This world, this situation, is my wildest dreams turned reality Rose... It became real. Do you understand? Everything happening before... is sadly irrelevant in a way. Everything, everything was part of a plan born from my wish, such a long time ago. So... I'm not here because of you... We are both here, because of me.

She said that heartfully. I think she's trying to convince herself of this destiny I can hardly believe in. Still, I may disagree but I am moved.

R - I... I don't believe such a destiny for the blue rose of your... of Blue's dream, to have been the only reason for our presence today... But I agree that... That time, when we returned home together, probably had a strong meaning for both of us. I agree that it's who we were, or who they were, at that time, that eventually made us as we are now... I believe in the same threads of fate as you, but with less awareness of the future that was to come. In my opinion, it was chance, not destiny.

B - We are what they dreamt for, aren't we?

R - More or less... But we can be.

I love you so much I could die.

R - ... And I thought I would...

B - What did you say?

R - I love you so much, I thought I would die with you gone...

She smirks. I think she tried to smile with her lips trembling. She looks away in embarrassment.

B - If I'm too young to be certain of what I really am in this world, I sure know that I'm weak against this kind of sweet talk coming from you...

That wasn't super sweet talk, but the Rose she knew was a lot less assertive or romantic.

R - I've been through too much for too long to now miss the chance to enjoy that. I love you Blue. I mean... I love you Bleue.

She chuckles, and seem to tremble and shiver, in happiness I guess. I can see her hears have turned a little red.

From what I recall, the teasing was usually coming from her, so the other way around is rather enjoyable.

I join her by the window she's looking through, and put my hands on her shoulders.

I whisper the three words behind her hear. She's melting. I'm chuckling.

B - One way or another... Whether it was Blue, or just you... We won.

R - I haven't told you yet. The other roses didn't either? We already had won in the past.

B - So we're the second advent of this particular blue rose.

R - You could say that.

B - One blue rose forgot a seed, a long, long time ago. And when the time would be right, once upon a distant time, when the world would be right, under different kings and knights; it might blossom and live again. And once upon another time, a new blue rose has grown from its centuries old past.

R - You're still so much better than me for storytelling.

She smiles. We'll bloom some flowers.

And we'll find the one bad flower we owe it to.

~

Bleue discovers what the world has become by talking with the various roses, as well as Myls and Zeslinry.

The last two humans who survived the apocalypse around seven years ago already.

I keep scratching my chest on the place where Blume should be. I miss her.

It will be much more difficult to reach her without her powers...

But maybe not impossible.

And I know a few tricks about magic on my own.

I discussed it with Myls's rose.

- A few roses are already spending most of their time investigating the Merkabah.

R - Mekabah?

- The corpse of Dragod if you prefer. We may find something useful that survived Licht's judgement. We mostly find corpses of roses though.

R - I see...

- Zeslinry has been preparing for your return though. You should listen to her plan.

My old friend is always genuinely happy to see me, and to share some of her belongings with me like we were family.

Myls laughs before translating to me what Zeslinry said.

M - She said she doesn't ask you to try and bring back what she will give you. She knows it's pointless.

I'm smiling with embarrassment as they tease me. It's true I never managed to return anything.

Zeslinry says the winter will be really cold and we should wait for spring to leave.

We should build up our strength and train for our upcoming journey in the area, with a warm home to return to.

Blue is fine with it. I mean Bleue. I agree then without thinking much about it.

We'll prepare ourselves at peace, and on the first sign of Spring we will go.

They are actually happy for is to stay, for such a long time with them.

Only the second Licht is unhappy. She left a few days later, soon followed by three roses who went to look for her.

Meanwhile, Bleue and I got our lessons of survival in the wild, from Zeslinry and Myls.

I didn't mind reminders, after living for years with the ease of Blume's magic.

Finding water, making fire, building a shelter, finding all sorts of edible things. Walking properly and carefully when the space and physics can be distorted all around.

Things, places and new animals to avoid, be mindful of, or befriend.

And also the basics of hunting, and fighting against monsters, which both involved use of weapons.

My left hand keeps twitching when I'm reminded of fighting monsters. My back, my skull and my left arm still have memory of sharp pain, though it was a long time ago.

I don't really like fire weapons. It hasn't changed. I pick a single edged sword as usual.

Bleue goes for a highly sophisticated bow that looks like a strange clockwork mechanism.

Zeslinry is able to fire with a rifle with unbelievable accuracy. Myls is juggling with her pistol on the side as if it was a show. She can shoot really well too, from either hand.

They try to sell on us on gunpowder, but still Bleue and I stick with our choices.

We're stubborn, which is stupid.

And Bleue never used a bow before, which is painfully obvious when you look at her using it.

I make the pragmatic smart move here, and give in.

While Bleue learns to use her strange bow, I'll learn to better use a rifle and pick up a new one from their arsenal.

I like this light one with a mounted in suppressor, like the one I already took from her and lost before.

But she doesn't have a lot of ammunitions or choice of weapons here. I'll have to go for one of these old military rifles mostly made of plastics.

I learn to shoot for a little while. It hurts the shoulder, but I train seriously.

Bleue hurts her hand, learning to use the bow, though she's improving quite quickly.

Arrows hit the targets from increasing number of steps from the targets.

~

Winter is getting stronger, colder.

We all shelter inside while the snow storm rages outside.

One night, everything turned quiet.

Bleue woke up suddenly and left the bed. I followed her as she oddly went outside.

She walked a few metres in the fresh snow and looked at the clear night sky. The milky way was bright.

She looked at me. I shivered. Was this happening again?

No, she smiled. She was herself, and recognising me. It's not the past. It's the present.

She invited me to reach her and take her hand. Still wrapped in lukewarm air rapidly vanishing, I stepped in the snow and accepted her hand.

She asked me to look at the stars. I did.

She was charmed by the scenery.

She held my hands, saying me to look there or there. So many stars. The clear sky ended up giving me a vertigo.

She smiled back at me, her gaze larger than normal giving me another vertigo.

B - Can you see?

R - Wh... what?

Her eyes were deeply focused into mine. A large childish or fascinated smile on her face. What is it I should see?

B - We won... We won!

At first I wonder what she's talking about.

Then I realise we're both alive again.

We're both feeling the same way as they did, the one I thought I was at first and hers.

We're a second blue rose born from the same old sprout...

And yes... We made it true again, I realise as she hugs me.

We won.

~