Frost should have known it from the start. The reason why they skirted around the reason of bringing Frost along seemed so obvious now. The Blooming Week was a time for mourning and there was only one person in the world who the triplets cared enough to visit.

The Blue Dahlia slept at the base of the twisted oak tree. Pink flowers blossomed on each branch as petals cascaded over the humble, lonely island where only the most honored souls were buried.

Not a single headstone was to be found. Instead, eternally lasting flower wreaths with the nameplate of the individuals name were placed atop their graves. The triplets stood at the one buried directly beneath the tree, where the name ‘Blue Dahlia’ was carved out.

Frost joined the triplets as they paid their respects to their long-passed mother, beginning with Cer who placed the purple lisianthus down beside her flower wreath. Red roses and several bouquets were already present.

“Galia came to you first, huh.” Cer spoke both fondly and awkwardly, as if a stranger to her own mother. “I still don’t get what happened between you. But I’m thankful that you at least had a good friend, even if she’s just a snake in human skin.”

She brushed away the broken thorns of the rose left behind by none other than Raoul with a small, longing smile.

“Thank you for at least… giving birth to me. I don’t believe in an afterlife or any of that crap. But if you’re somehow looking down at us then or through Res, then I hope you’re at least smiling now.”

Cer brushed the petals of the lisianthus before reaching up to grab Frost’s sleeve.

“This is Frost. She’s the reason why we’re doing better now. It took thirty years, but we finally have a place where we can replace our old home. Can you believe it? A troublemaker like me works for the same person that rules over that.” She referenced the Nexus with only her words, tugging lightly on Frost’s sleeve again.

Frost knew exactly what the they wanted, and so, she took a deep breath and solemnly spoke from the bottom of her heart.

“I wish I could have met you. I wish I could have told you how wonderful these three are. I thought how ridiculous they were when we first met. But along the way we shared hardships and struggled despite not seeing eye to eye at first. They eventually became irreplaceable to me.” Frost brought a hand to each of their heads, causing them to mellow as their sadness was replaced with everlasting warmth. “They’re in good hands now. Rest well, Blue Dalhia. Leave these three to me.”

“Guess we’re officially adopted now.” Cer wanted to laugh but she refrained. “We usually just come here to bring flowers. But today is different.”

“Very different.” Ber finally spoke, placing down a bundle of blue dahlias freshly plucked from the neighboring islands. “Because we brought ‘mom’ here too. I can call you that, right Frost? Only sometimes is ok.”

“As long as you don’t overdo it.” Frost smiled as Ber stared down at her mother’s grave, not a single emotion showing on her face.

“… I went through hell because of you.” She began. It was clear that deep down emotions bubbled within the cauldron of her heart. “I Corrupted and found myself as something I wish I never was. You cast me away into the lake like a dog. I still don’t remember a time when you looked at me.”

Her emotions were on the brink of eruption. It all bellowed out through her throat as her fists curled into balls of fury. But she never allowed herself to lash out. Instead, Ber adamantly maintained an unchanging expression as she intrepidly uttered:

“But even so… what matters the most is that I’m here now. What happened then will never leave me. It’ll always be a part of me. But I can confidently say that I’ve grown as a result. I can’t say thank you because you did nothing for me. But like Cer, I still have to thank you for bringing me into this world. I’m sure that if your disease didn’t eat at you then things could have changed. That’s the tragedy of it all. So I will never bring myself to blame you.”

Frost remembered the indifferent Ber from months ago. It felt like it had been years since they first met. Ber at the time never really spoke her mind or claimed a direction. She mostly went along with Cer’s antics and was just there in the background.

But over time Ber grew up to become such an exceptional wolf that knew exactly who and what she was, as well as what she wanted. It brought Frost to tears as she listened to them say their goodbyes.

And finally, it was Res’ turn to offer her bundle of red roses.

She placed them in the center of the flower wreath, and then, she plucked a folded handkerchief from a pocket. Within was a beautiful blue shard – a piece of her Atelier Lenses that held the consciousness of the Blue Dahlia.

It was not an item Frost could analyze either, and it was not known if it was because it was far out of her league or…

… because it wasn’t an item at all.

“I thought you were buried here thirty years ago.” Res softly started with a hushed murmur, her voice slowly picking up as she found the confidence to stand straight. “But this this whole time you were still shielding my eyes. For thirty years you have still been with me.”

She clutched the fragment between tender fingers. It blinked as if acknowledging her voice.

“Thank you. Mom. It’s ok now. I can see the colors of the world. You don’t have to keep on trying so hard anymore. Your overprotectiveness has been painful for me. But now I can stand on my two feet. Finally…”

Res then placed the fragment onto the flower wreath, nestling it within the petals of the red roses.

“… you can rest now. Someone terrible told me that a mother’s love is a wonderful thing. I know you meant the best for me. But looking back now, I think you strangled me with it. I’m not blaming you. I only have myself to blame because I was too young to know myself.”

The light of the shard dimmed as the life of the Blue Dahlia faded away like the petals of the tree. It was though she too was finally letting go of Res.

“But now I can finally look off into the ocean without fear. Know the colors of the flowers. I never knew how wonderful this world was. Slowly and surely, people pulled the petals of my bleak flower open. I guess deep down I knew that it was never as terrible as I believed it to be.”

She paused for a short while. Nothing but the ocean breeze and the breaking waves filled the air as lights began to dot the dark skies beneath the Nexus. Atlas came to life suddenly, with each spire illuminated like a Christmas tree.

Fairies hovered in the skies. In the background, far away at the coasts of Atlas people cast away flaming paper lanterns into the sea. They did not go far and fizzled away, some floating before their embers were taken by the wind. Few were swallowed by the surrounding gravity wells that lurked beneath the ocean depths.

Finally, Res found the courage to continue.

“I want to ramble and talk until my lungs give out. But you’ve seen it all already. Mom. Thank you for loving me. I wished that you could’ve done the same for my sisters. I know that you’re probably full of regret.”

Then, Res smiled. It was a smile her mother had never seen before. She was so full of life that the dimming fragment could not help but to brighten as though the Blue Dahlia’s eyes had opened for the first time.

“But we’re fine now. That’s all that matters, right?”

And before her were the faces of her daughters. Not just Res. But all of them.

Suddenly, an abnormal amount of Nex was generated from the object. Negative Nex? Positive? Frost couldn’t tell what the reaction was. A small swirl of golden particles radiated from the fragment. She only saw it for a split second before she swallowed it.

It was clear that she was the only one who noticed the bizarre phenomenon. The triplets would have said something otherwise.

 

< Frost? >

 

< An unknown reaction has occurred >

 

Is it linked to what I just saw?

 

< I am not sure either. Oddities have been surrounding you as of recently. The first instance was with the Memory Bistro which allowed you to see fragments of the past. Even with Ber you were able to see the world shift before her Corruption. It’s like Jury’s powers, but it only activates in extreme, Nex-rich environments >

 

Nav articulated as clearly as possible as Frost placed a hand on her chest. A residual warmth lingered where the light entered from, like a final thanks from the Blue Dahlia.

 

< That light you have absorbed is indescribable >

 

< It is not a soul thankfully >

 

Thank goodness for that. So what is it? A pure form of Nex or something?

 

< Unknown I’m afraid >

 

< But if I had to venture a guess – then all my calculations point towards an… >

 

Nav paused as if in disbelief.

What Nav? What do you think it means?

 

< … An Awakening? >

 

She was not certain of it herself. But as if to confirm her suspicions –

 

< Magus formally invites you into the Floor of Hope >

 

– Magus finally opened his doors for them.

Frost stared at the Atelier Lens in stupor.

The light had finally faded away. Something had triggered within the mind of the Blue Dahlia in her final moments. And like a fleeting candle, she burned the brightest before her lights were snuffed out.

If she was still alive, then she would have been the first to take a step towards an Awakening – a process that was still difficult to fathom.

But it was neither a process of despair like the Corruption nor something hideous like the attachment of the Impuritas to their Hearts from what she could tell.

If anything, it was hope in its purest form.