Chapter 5 – The Deadbloom
Ignes turned his gaze toward the dark, heavy sky pressing against the windowpane.
The clouds looked like bruised silk.
"Kurora…" he began, his voice a low vibration in the silence of his mind. "The Deadbloom is not merely a plant. It is a flower of absolute darkness."
The little penguin stayed quiet, sensing the gravity of the words.
"It blooms only when ten thousand powerful souls are gathered in a single place—a place saturated with dark essence. Those souls must be tortured, ground down to their absolute breaking point."
"The collective agony, the negative energy of that place… and the screams of those ten thousand spirits… eventually plant a seed of light."
Ignes paused, his eyes reflecting the distant stars.
"That seed is a paradox. It tries to release holy power to heal the suffering—it is like the last hope of those who wish to save everyone."
A cold smile touched his mental presence.
"But in the end… it fails. The darkness is too vast. The light is choked, twisted, and turned inward."
"The stronger the original holy power was… the darker the rot becomes. That is how a Deadbloom is born."
He added a chilling detail.
"And the flower must not be too strong in the beginning. If the light is too potent, it will succeed in healing the souls and vanish. To create the Deadbloom, the hope must be just weak enough to be corrupted."
Kurora's light flickered violently.
"Does that mean… you are going to be one of those ten thousand souls? Is that what happened?"
Ignes frowned slightly, a ripple of annoyance crossing the mental space.
"No. Why are you jumping to such frantic conclusions?"
"I am explaining how the flower is forged, not why it is currently being used."
Kurora hesitated, his small flippers twitching.
"Then… are you saying this flower has a use? Is it a tool? Isn't its very existence a fate worse than being a low-realm soul?"
Ignes replied with a terrifying calmness.
"Yes. It is a masterpiece of suffering."
"But for a unique soul like mine… the rules change. If my soul were used in that process, it would not become a Deadbloom."
"It would become a Lifebloom. A source of infinite restoration."
He continued, his voice dropping to a whisper that felt like ice on skin.
"A Deadbloom's attack does not just kill. It forces the target to feel everything."
"Every spark of pain. Every shadow of fear. Every hollow beat of dread."
"And it isn't just one soul's agony—you feel the combined emotions of those ten thousand tortured spirits, all at once, in a single heartbeat."
"It breaks the soul slowly, petal by petal. It is a pain that cannot be described in human languages."
"And in the end… the soul is not just killed. It is erased from existence."
Kurora began to tremble, his glow turning a dull, fearful grey.
"That flower… is it truly that terrifying?"
"Your Highness, are you alright? How did you survive an attack designed to erase you?"
"And… how much did that person have to hate you to use such a thing?"
Ignes shook his head, a distant look appearing in his red eyes.
"You're wrong about that, Kurora."
"He didn't hate me."
"In his own twisted way, he just thought it wouldn't work on me."
Kurora blinked, his confusion cutting through the fear. "Why would he think that?"
Ignes replied, "Didn't I say? I am a unique soul."
"A power designed to break souls should have slid right off me. I had already lost my emotions long ago—I was a hollow vessel."
"The feelings trapped inside the Deadbloom should have had nothing to latch onto. They should have had no effect."
He paused, a rare trace of vulnerability entering his voice.
"But… at that time, I had my emotions back. I was no longer hollow."
"And I had already spent the power that made my soul unique. I had made myself vulnerable."
"So for that one, singular moment… the flower worked."
"I think… it was two years ago in this world's time."
"He struck me with it. He meant to test me, but instead, he almost unmade me."
"But at the very last moment… someone intervened. Someone helped me."
"They tore the Deadbloom away before the erasure was complete."
Kurora let out a long, shuddering sigh of relief.
"That's good… thank the heavens someone was there to stop it."
Ignes looked away, his gaze falling on his own pale, thin hands on the bedsheets.
"…I didn't want to be saved by that person."
Kurora tilted his head, his eyes wide. "Why? They saved your existence!"
Ignes reached up, softly and absently patting his own cheek.
"Because…" he whispered, a hint of genuine dread in his voice.
"…He is going to scold me."