“Broaden your horizons!” Frost bellowed.
Twenty Red and Blue Dahlias surrounded the Black Dahlia now, each one gently rubbing its petals against its surface like the touch of a mother.
“That one! This one! Red! Blue!” Stella led the way despite her blindness. Her touch was second to none, and her sense of smell surpassed the Demi-humans present. “Jury! We’re almost done!”
Jury practically had her lips sealed on Stella’s shoulder, keeping her invulnerable as she took the brunt of damage. The flowers had become so powerful that now only Frost was able to defeat them.
Her flames subsided, and her gloves came straight off.
The only thing that could eliminate the Dahlias was none other than her all-devouring maw. She slammed her fists into the flowers that weren’t marked by Stella’s call. Frost was a monster in disguise, and with her maw extended to her hands, nothing was safe. It did not matter if it had a hundred thousand or a million points in its DEF stats.
Her maw was the ultimate equalizer. It pained her to no end that a Trickle Corrupted could evolve to such a frightening degree. And this was all for it to progress the Corruption further.
“See that the world has more to offer than the bleakness you’ve forced yourself to only see!” Frost roared.
Indeed.
Res may have blinded herself from all evil of the world.
But she had also limited herself to it.
Because no good could ever reach her ever again.
“If I was so close minded… If I also couldn’t see things from two sides, then the friends I’ve made, and the Beholders who’ve come to our side – all of them would have been made our enemies! CAN’T YOU SEE RES!?”
< “I wonder if a person like me come to blossom?” >
Twenty-Nine.
“THIS WORLD HAS MUCH BROADER HORIZONS THAN I CAN EVER DREAM TO IMAGINE! This world is filled to the brim with so much color that I feel like I’d go mad just thinking about it!” Frost referred to all the unanswered questions up till now, her anguish made known to Res but even so:
“That’s why I need everyone’s help! That’s why I’m going to save you, Res! Both of us have things we’d rather not want to think about. Things we wish we could just close our eyes to. We have to weather through it. Because what for are we like this if not to protect those that lack what we have!?”
< “But to blossom is to expose myself to the sunlight.” >
Finally, the last Red and Blue Dahlia reached the Weight of Unconfronted Guilt. A powerful, harmonic resonance that sounded like the combined screams of multiple children ruptured the air. The surrounding flowers suddenly rooted themselves in place, their petals broadening.
“DO YOU WANT TO CHANGE, REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!?”
< [To Bloom] >
< “Even so… >
The Blue Dahlias began to unravel the Weight of Unconfronted Guilt. Light sept through, causing the tiny, naked figure within to cover her eyes as she hugged a canvas. Drawn on that canvas were flowers of countless colors. It was Ayle’s mask, and those paintings belonged to the thankful children of the Derma Layer.
The Res within struggled to climb to her feet. The light terrified her. Her form was her childish self from a distant past. The form that forever blamed the current Res. And yet…
… she managed to take a step forward. It looked like she would collapse at any moment.
< “… I want to try…” >
< “But I can’t do it on my own.” >
“I’m here! Res… I’m here!” Frost entered the membrane, reaching towards Res. She caught her just before she could fall, and the light shone on her face uninterrupted this time. Her eyes were dull, devoid of life and meaning.
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And reflected on them were the Red Dahlias behind Frost.
< “The sun… it feels so warm.” >
< “The dahlias…” >
Suddenly, her grip around the painting tightened, her thumb pressing into the red dahlias of the picture. At the same time, she spotted her sisters, both covered in blood. Then, a Stella, also smeared in red.
< “Have always been red.” >
//////// < WARNING > ////////
< ETERNAL NIGHT >
< THE ARBITER’S TRUMPET RESONATES >
Frost’s heart stopped beating. Ber’s tears became a monsoon as Jury’s heart sank into the depths of her chest. Cer could immediately tell what those looks were as a light enveloped Res. A word couldn’t even leave Frost’s lips.
It was as though her whole world fell asunder as she cradled the further Corrupting Res, mournful that she could not save her.
< “Red. I always associated it with blood. I always hated it.” >
< “… But someone told me that red dahlias were a flower of courage.” >
Suddenly, warmth enveloped Frost as Res’ body began to change. She became larger, her tail wrapping them both up into a giant cocoon. Colors splattered across her tail covered their view as they were both trapped inside of an egg, the Res growing until she was about Ber’s size.
< “I think I get it now.” >
< “What seemed to be endless… pointless and colorless… was because I chose to close my eyes.” >
Her ears became fluffier.
< “This hopeless life of mine. I had no friends to be with. I was really jealous of all the colors I used to imagine surrounding you… even though you wore nothing but black.” >
Her hands were now larger and softer. They slithered around Frost, embracing her.
< “Heavy shadows and scary nightfall erased all the lines I drew. But even a broken piece of chalk is enough to connect all of my dots.” >
It wasn’t Frost who was hugging her now. It was Res, and she clung onto Frost as though letting go would mean the end of the world.
< “There must be a meaning right? Because I’m still alive despite everything. That’s what matters, right?” >
“Mm…” Frost reached for the back of Res’ head. Her hair had become so short now.
< “The ugly and the beautiful… it really does make up all of this world. People showered me with happiness. My friendships blossomed. It was a blessing. Your kindness led my way. I was blinded by the unusual colors of mine.” >
Res was overwhelmed with guilt.
But it was not the crushing kind.
It was relinquishing. A catharsis that caused Frost’s shoulders to become damp with Res’ glistening tears. Her tail slowly began to break away, revealing the world beyond. It was bleak, drab, and filled with the same grey smoke.
But slowly, the brambles withered away, a sign of Res’ lifted guilt.
< “To think that I was scared of nothing at all.” >
< “I guess I was too young to know myself.” >
Suddenly, the world was painted over. Beautiful colors were drawn over the canvas that was the world as Res’ tail began flicking away, throwing paint across the skies.
< “Even though I might not be able to erase all my mistakes.” >
< “I can just paint on another page.” >
< “So even if my future lines are all tangled up –!” >
< Realization Criteria Reached >
< Do you wish to grant Hatched Color your Blessing? >
< Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | >
< The choice is obvious. Another friend I can talk to >
“Res. I’m happy. I’m so… so happy that you came back to us. Thank you. Thank you.” Frost choked up, unable to form her words properly. The colors disappeared for her as she accepted Res’ Realization.
“– I can just rewrite them anew! Frost! Frost…” Res held onto Frost’s cheeks, bringing them close to hers as she revealed her beautiful, crimson eyes.
And within was a hint of blue, her irises appearing like the shape of a palette.
< Hatched Color has successfully been Blessed >
“… Frost… Frost. Frost! Frost. Frost? Frost…?” She could only say her name, tears tumbling down her cheeks. They were colored, like that of wet paint. Res, unlike Ber, was an Original now. A Corrupted that had returned from Corruption, meaning that her form was no longer what it once was.
But even so –
“RES!”
“Res…!”
Her sisters couldn’t care less.
Because this was the real Res.
And nothing would ever change that.
The two joined their embrace, and Jury quickly huddled to with Frost squeezed in the middle of her lover and her adopted daughters, crying her heart out in thanks. Res’ further Corruption terrified her. It was the second time she felt irreversible loss, the first being Calfasio. As thankful as she was for it being a red herring, her heart bled for the world to see as she cried the hardest out of them all.
< Canvas Tales >
This was the name of Res’ manifested form. And looking at her tail which now looked like a paintbrush, it couldn’t have been more fitting.