blueteamnovel 782. Blooming (Cer)(Ber)(Res)
782. Blooming (Cer)(Ber)(Res)
782. Blooming (Cer)(Ber)(Res)
The branches grew larger. The crystals walls seemed impenetrable. Crystal bullets and bolts of lightning struct places multiple times in quick succession, making it risky for Snap, as just earlier the lightning bolts did not strike the same place twice
Snap purred loudly. Polaroids spilled from its mouth. No one could catch them to see who was on it, but Cer knew that it was either her or the face of her mother. Thousands of variations of Cers that were deleted were printed en masse, only for them to be swept away by the storm.
The polaroids were the only proof that they existed.
“Frost! I’m going to lay down as much fire as I can! But I won’t be able to help you with that one!”
A branch larger than anything previous was headed in their direction. Snap tried to change its course, but the branch moved with the sole purpose of striking Cer down.
< [Searching For A (Res)emblance] >
< “From me to you. I pray that it reaches you in time. Fuel are our memories. How far did I go for just a single chance to be with you?” >
< “I should have been cautious when they told me it was the only way. But I knew deep down that I had to protect you.” >
There was only one way to deal with that branch.
“LEAVE IT TO ME! THROW ME AS FAR AHEAD AS YOU CAN!”
The branch was like another tree trunk. It was so large that it consumed everything in their vision. It must’ve been hundreds of meters wide, or kilometers even. Accurately measuring the scale here was impossible, but Frost was confident in her powers to take it on.
“Cer! Remember this – You’re the only one who can reach your mom right now! You’re the missing piece she’s searching for! That makes you the most vulnerable out of all of us!”
Suddenly, something warm touched her.
“Wait! And you’re not!?”
It was Cer’s hand. She clasped at her coat, her nails tearing it slightly.
Long feathers sprung out like knives, and they brushed against Cer’s pale fingers.
“Iscario is just up there! What are you worrying about me for!? I... don’t want to lose another person precious to me again!”
Cer’s words were not meant to stop Frost. She wanted nothing more than for Frost to emerge victorious.
“Tch... Go get them. I’ll figure out my own way to fight. I feel like shit relying on Snap to avoid this... but it’s no so bad when you’re here too.”
There wasn’t much time left to talk. If Frost didn’t break the branch in the next 20 seconds, then they’d be reduced to a red paste. But just before the Hired Arm could begin twirling her around, Cer said one last thing.
“... You still have that thing against Iscario, right?”
Frost wanted to ask what that ‘thing’ was, but figured she’d understand when the time came.
“Before I became a Blessed, I relied heavily on chants to use my magic. But after 30 years I’ve already forgotten about all of it. Even biological processes that should be a breeze won’t come back to me if I suddenly lost my Blessing of the Nexus. You know what I mean, yeah! Oi! Frost!? You get me!?”
Frost kept this nugget of information to heart.
She knew exactly what Cer was talking about. But only time would tell if it would work.
“WE’RE NEARLY THEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE!”
And before she knew it, she was the first to be swallowed by the wall of blue.
Following her was Snap and her entourage.
They disappeared without a trace, swallowed by a veil of light.
* * *
Silence befell the world in an instant. With Cer gone, there was no reason for the Effeuiller La Dahlia to attack.
However, after an unknown amount of time, the storms resumed. The crystals regrew along the trunk. Branches continued to fall.
* * *
A lone, unconscious figure appeared suddenly at the garden far beneath the tree. Their white, buttoned shirt was stained with soot from a brutal battle, and golden strands of fur could be found on their body.
Their wolf-like ears twitched to the sound of scrunching grass. Though there was no one around the figure, they imagined that people were dancing around her. Blue flowers appeared and disappeared in the meadows, revealing memories of a figure that looked just like the one asleep.
“... gh... Where... am I...? I’m... back beneath the tree? Was I... were we rejected?”
It was Cer, and she woke up in a world all alone.
“You...”
No.
She wasn’t alone.
The ragged voice of a man caused her to grasp at the grass with renewed vigor.
Her eyes widened like full moons.
She knew exactly who this voice belonged to.
“Why are you here?”
“I could ask you the same thing...”
She sensed him. Amongst the many aberrations of Cer stood one figure that was not like the others. He stood heads and shoulders above them and was accompanied by a three-headed wolf by his side.
Cer pushed herself onto her feet, her fangs cackling with current as she gazed at the man she called her own brother.
“... Raoul...!”
< “Can we ever find a common ground in this kind of world?” >
< “Running around in circles is our destiny. We could never communicate heart to heart.” >
< “Can my lesson reach you? I hope it’s not too late.” >