Bloom

44: The Rose

The sprout disappeared from Tulip's back. All that remains is a massive glob of sticky sap. Upon the throbbing pain, the weight of the sap holds them down even more. Their body wants to admit defeat. To give up, hand themself over to the goddess with a grin wider than those of ruby rose Mortelline. They know it's not as easy as that. From the laughter vibrating their eardrums, they know Stellalume is having her own thrill.

"Perplexed, aren't you two?" She covers her mouth in a chuckle. "It will all go away if you drop your weapons and surrender!"

"Never!"

Dante's voice echoes in the misty air. He's mad. Angry. His fists are shut tight, so much so that his hand veins show. He raises a hand holding the dagger and points the tip to Stellalume. She watches with a raised eyebrow.

"You're an insecure coward, you know that? Don't act like I didn't hear you mumble to yourself, pacing back and forth, constantly feeling like all the world's eyes are on your back."

The air stills. Both Pepper and Tulip sense the tension.

"You take out that internal battle on others, just as you are now. Believe me, I wouldn't know that any better. To see so many elites such as yourself, find excuses to hide your insecurities-"

Dante is cut short when the chain wraps around his neck. He grabs onto it in an attempt to pry it off, choking and gasping, but to no avail. Pepper tries to help him but gets blocked by it.

Tulip feels it.

The air feels heavy. Heavy with pain. Yet Stellalume's expression remains neutral. She laughs it off.

"We as the higher ranks of deities were given one easy task: to capture all of the anomalies and transfer them to Death. I am simply giving you all a taste of your own medicine, for corrupting and continuing to corrupt this world."

"Do you think that is what we all asked for?!" Pepper shouts.

Stellalume turns her head to them. "Do you think that is what we all asked for, dear? Your duty would eventually have been the same had you not sided with the imperfect."

They clutch their sword tight. Stares at Dante, where the chain has slackened a bit, but still clings onto him. They know that from all of these chances, the goddess could've easily done what was asked. She would have continued to punish Dante, but something holds her back. They know talking to her is useless.

So they continue to avoid the smoke while trying to damage the chain. Look for an opening, a mere hole in the purple cloud. Then they see a seed strayed far from the others, emitting less smoke. With one fell swoop, they slash the seed out of the ground, which causes the smoke to disappear in a specific area.

"Found a weak link, have you?" Stellalume sounds annoyed.

The chain launches itself to Pepper. They jump backwards, then realize it caught the end of their sword.

"Hey!"

It's a game of tug-of-war. Pepper pulls back with all their might, so much so that their feet are digging into the moist dirt.

"Enough! This is a waste of time!" The goddess lifts a hand, which commands the smoke to inch closer to Dante.

"No!" Pepper cries out.

Dante's eyes grow wide. He knows he has barely enough seconds to break free, but he's grown weak. He lets his arms fall to his sides, a gesture that accepts the punishment.

Suddenly, a scream belts out. Everything stops in place. The smoke fades, the chains drop. Pepper blinks, as they cannot believe what they are seeing. Tulip has mustered enough energy to crawl to the goddess and has gnawed down on her leg. The goddess kicks them off, causing them to land on the soft ground. She rubs her leg, which is revealing a red bite mark. She glares down at Tulip.

"Did you just... bite me?!"

Tulip lifts their shaky body. The sap pours onto the ground. They feel something. Something building deep inside. It guides them to stand up slowly. Plant their feet flat on the ground. Stellalume watches, horrified.

"What are you-"

The sprout that was once on their back has grown. Grown tremendously. It's humongous, covering their entire back with leaves that droop over them like green wings. The leaves are toothed and oval shaped.

Dante's stunned.

Pepper gasps. They recognize the shape.

"Rose..." they mutter quietly.

As if that was a command, the rose bud emerges from the sap. The pain that Tulip would feel knowing a tree-sized flower is growing from their back, yet they feel absolutely nothing from it.

Stellalume breaks out of her daze. She shakes her head, retracts the chain to her side. As she's about to release it towards Tulip with the spear side locked on, thorns rise under the leaves and grab both of her arms.

"Ah!"

More thorns slither to the ground, some burying into it. The sight is ghastly, even Pepper is terrified. But they have a feeling they know what Tulip is trying to do, so they stay put, along with Dante.

"How?!" Stellalume says with gritted teeth. "Release me, you anomaly!"

The rose bud turns from green to a magenta, to a crimson, then a wine red. It takes aim at the goddess, then opens up. The bloom is big. It covers the whole area with its petals, like a red forest.

The area fills with Stellalume's screams, followed by a strong rose aroma.