The Flower Is Finished

The morning atmosphere had returned to normal. Even though there was no snowstorm, the cold air still pierced our bones and made our skin feel dry. We decided to continue our journey.

"We're leaving. Take care of yourself!" William said as he approached, but she remained motionless, still wrapped in her blanket in the freezing air.

"Thank you for helping us!" Farel said.

There was no reply from her, only a soft murmur.

After William and Farel said their farewells, I approached her. Although I did not cross the boundary, I spoke to her.

"Be happy without holding onto hatred."

After that, I immediately left the little girl behind. But for the last time, I looked back. She still did not move. However, when I kept looking at her, she slowly pulled down her blanket, and I heard heartbreaking sobs. Yes, Mikaila was crying softly, and all I could do was watch her without being able to stop her tears.

Farel and William were already waiting outside when I came out of the cave.

"What did you say to Mikaila?" Farel asked.

I immediately shook my head.

"Nothing," I answered.

Farel pressed me further.

"You're always so cold."

That made me smile faintly because this time my goal was to find the flower. Finding the flower was not my true purpose, but with that flower, a life could be saved, and an unfulfilled hope could finally come true.

"Let me see that book."

Suddenly, William asked for the book. I raised an eyebrow, but he kept looking at me, so I handed him the book that was hanging at my waist.

I took the book and handed it to William.

The book had a picture on it, and it seemed to be something useful for unlocking a seal.

"Have you ever seen this lock?"

Farel and I immediately came closer and only then realized that there was a lock tightly fastened to it. However, I had never seen a keyhole like that before.

"This is my first time seeing something like this," William said as he examined the lock.

Even though the book was quite thin, its cover seemed very hard, so I had no idea how to open it.

"Wait."

Farel suddenly paused and stared at his hand. Then he looked at my hand before grabbing it.

"Doesn't it look like the shape of a hand? Maybe it matches yours, Xanders."

Without any warning, Farel grabbed my hand and placed it on the lock. A cracking sound came from the book, causing William to drop it. Before it could hit the ground, I caught it.

"W-What happened?"

William was shocked when the book suddenly opened by itself after my hand touched it.

I also felt a vibration coming from the book.

Not long after that, the book began moving on its own. We were astonished by the miracle before us as the pages slowly turned by themselves, revealing writing that I recognized.

"I feel like I've seen those letters before," I murmured softly.

Farel seemed to realize something.

"Those are the same letters you recognized before, aren't they? You can read them, right?"

I fell silent because I really did recognize the writing. What confused me was how those letters could exist here and how they had remained perfectly preserved.

"You can read them?" William asked.

The two of us nodded.

"Actually, he knows them. I... don't," Farel said as he looked at me.

After that, I carefully read the contents of the book.

Just as I was about to turn the page, the book suddenly locked itself. The only thing displayed was a flower, and beneath it was a sentence that left me stunned. I read it carefully while observing what kind of flower it was.

It was written like this:

"This flower truly exists, but we must look carefully to find it. The flower can camouflage itself and become one with nature. If you possess a pure heart, then you will be able to see it clearly. It is the destined Divine Flower. This flower is born alongside the one who is destined."

After I finished reading it aloud, both Farel and William were stunned by what was written in the book. Even so, we were still confused. If it merged with nature, would it be white like the snow, or green like the trees buried beneath the snow?

"You really don't know anything about this flower?"

"Even though I'm an Elder here, I've never seen that flower. But according to several legends, it will never appear unless its destined owner finds it."

We let out heavy sighs because we had no choice but to continue searching for it at the summit.

"Then what's written below this?"

William pointed at the page, and only then did I notice another sentence.

"If, in the end, defeat becomes the collapse of a region, then it will become a boomerang for oneself."

That sentence made me think hard. What did it mean? If defeat became the collapse of a region, then it would become a boomerang for oneself. Did it mean that if a region collapsed, disaster would fall upon itself or upon everyone living there?

"So you mean... if a region loses, it will become a disaster for that region?" Farel asked.

I slowly nodded.

"Why did it say something like that?"

I shook my head because I did not understand the meaning of those words any further. But one thing was certain—I would find that flower.

Just as I was about to turn the page, my hand suddenly felt something vibrating, and my necklace began pulsing.

"Is there a demon approaching us?"

The three of us immediately became alert and looked around. We waited, but found nothing. Even so, the necklace continued pulsing, yet there was still no sign of any demon approaching us.

We stood there for quite a while. Although no demon appeared, my necklace continued to pulse violently, indicating that a demon was hiding somewhere beneath the piles of snow.

"Has your necklace stopped working properly?"

As soon as Farel said that, I immediately smacked him on the head. Honestly, there was no way it would react on its own if there were no demons nearby.

I looked more carefully and noticed there was also a map inside the book. However, the map was unclear, and the markings were not detailed enough, leaving all of us staring at it in confusion.

"I'm not sure about this map," William said as he examined it carefully.

I also stared at it in confusion.

"Have you ever been there?" I asked suspiciously.

He immediately became flustered.

"You've been there before, haven't you?" Farel asked, narrowing his eyes.

William let out a sigh.

"I was one of the people who managed to escape that trap. That's why I don't believe in the legend of that flower."

Hearing his answer, my suspicion immediately disappeared. He definitely knew about the flower. He had simply been hiding it because he had mentioned it from the very beginning.

"So that means you already know how dangerous the terrain is?" Farel asked.

William nodded.

"Yes. Once we reach the summit, there will be many dangers."

Hearing that, Farel and I exchanged glances.

"Then we'd better keep climbing before another snowstorm comes."

After discussing everything, we decided to continue our journey toward the summit.

"We should prepare some useful supplies first."

Just as we were about to leave, William suddenly said that, causing us to follow him with puzzled expressions. We had no choice but to follow his footsteps.

"You want us to prepare useful supplies while we're trapped in the middle of these snowy ruins?"

"I actually prepared everything beforehand. I was sure you would search for that flower."

William immediately walked away from us.

"Come on, let's follow him."

Farel grabbed my hand, and I followed wherever William was going.

I didn't know how long we had been walking. I also noticed that William didn't seem confused at all, as though he already knew this place, whether it belonged to the Vampire Clan or the Werewolf Clan.

"Is this near a village?" Farel asked after noticing several forest plants growing without being covered by snow.

"This is the Forbidden Forest."

His answer immediately surprised me.

"You're not going to kill the two of us, are you?"

Farel grabbed William's hand, causing him to stop walking.

"You're overthinking it. I don't have greater strength than the two of you."

Farel scratched his head.

William looked around, and after making sure no one was nearby, he crouched down and started digging through the snow.

"Help me!"

William called out, and the two of us immediately helped clear away the snow.

It took about ten minutes to completely remove the snow, and I finally saw the ground beneath it.

There was a wooden hatch there, and it seemed to be one of William's secret rooms.