Part 1
Five years later.
Lillia's hair still had not grown. At fifteen she'd shot up in height; her gaze had deepened. Her pale skin seemed to glow faintly, and the short curls framing her face set off two large emerald eyes that held both gentleness and a keen edge. The mouth that had once opened in curious wonder was now pressed shut. Laughter and mischief had faded; a warrior-like tension often settled across her features as if she were forever lost in thought.
For five years she had trained every day with Harold in the forest — not the childish swordplay of earlier days, but drills and mock-combat that felt like the real thing. She lived as if always at war.
It had started five years ago, when Harold came to her in a dream.
"Lilli, don't be startled. I can reach you through dreams," he had said.
"I'm not easily startled, Harold," she replied even in that sleep. "And somehow I always knew you would find a way back to me."
"I'm glad I can reach you," he said. "There's something important I need to tell you. Because you're human, when you wake you may forget or recall only faintly. So—meet me tomorrow at sunrise in the forest. The place we always used to meet. Don't forget."
"Alright. I'll be there," Lillia promised.
Before dawn she woke and readied herself. She put on a blouse and long trousers and wrapped a scarf around her short hair. Meeting Harold again after five years sent her heart racing with excitement. Friendship, she thought, might be something like souls connected across time. Though Harold had grown into a man, and though his voice had changed, seeing him now felt natural — he was Harold, the same person. She thought, without hesitation: I would give my life for him.
"Lilli! You came quickly," Harold called.
"I woke from the dream and got ready right away. I couldn't sleep again. I'm so excited to see you again," she answered, trembling with joy.
Harold lowered his voice. "Lilli, I heard something and have been thinking about it. After you vanished in the barrier with Bellatus that day, I quarreled with my mother. She was in a bad mood for days. Then one day, suddenly, she was in a very good mood. She even told me I could see you again — though before she had forbid it angrily. I thought something odd must have happened. It had to be connected to you. So I slipped into her dream and listened. I heard her talking with Bellatus."
Lillia listened, heart pounding, as he told what he had heard.
"Flora and King Serion's love was known even in the realm of the gods," Harold said. "Flora's power was said to be among the greatest of the gods — perhaps even greater than some of them. She fell in love with a human and sealed her power away, living ten years as a mortal. But she was dying. Her father, Silvarion, lord of the forest, could not bear to lose his beloved daughter. He made a promise before the marriage: ten years, no more. At the brink of her fading, he took her away. He sealed all the power she had hidden into a small dark stone. Then he awakened the ancient life-stone called the Heart of the Forest and broke her from the flow of time. Flora fell into unconsciousness and was sealed beneath the forest's waters. The decay was stopped, but she could not wake. Her body sleeps within a colossal flower at the center of the woods. Flora's heart does not beat as before — she is not dead, but she dreams; she exists as a spirit outside of time, the blossom's soul."
"That's what you heard when you entered your mother's dream?" Lillia asked, breathless.
"Only part of it, because I had to leave before I could hear everything," Harold said. "But that was the gist I caught."
Lillia's eyes widened. "The day I disappeared, I slept for three days without true consciousness. But at that time, I was with my mother. She came and found me. I didn't even know my mother's face, but I recognized her. I shouted 'Mother!' and she opened her eyes wide and cried — smiling as she cried. Then she took me somewhere: inside an impossibly large flower. She held me and only said, 'I love you,' over and over. She didn't speak much else. She kept crying as she held me, and then she returned me. Then I woke."
"You can't go charging off to find her on your own, Lilli," Harold urged. "You're only ten. Knowing what the flower looks like isn't the same as knowing where it is. The path is treacherous, and it's the realm of gods — you can't handle it alone."
"My mother is sealed," Lillia insisted. "Her soul and body were separated. She was crying. I have to save her. I can do it."
"I know you can, Lilli," Harold said softly. "But what can you actually do right now?"
Lillia hesitated. "Me? Um…"
"Listen to me," Harold said. "I'll go with you. If you go, I go. But first we must find out where her body and soul are, and we must grow stronger. We need combat skills, strength — the power to face those who sealed her. I've heard Flora is gentle yet among the most powerful of the gods. If such a god was sealed, then whatever did that must be unbelievably strong. We don't know anything yet. So here's my proposal."
"You're no longer the little fawn," Lillia laughed, shaking her head. "You've become so grown-up! But I still think of you as the little deer sometimes."
"We were getting serious," Harold said, cheeks reddening.
"Sorry," Lillia giggled. "It's just strange to hear you so grave. Okay — tell me the plan."
"We're going to practice fighting from now on," Harold said.
"Huh?"
"Imagine an enemy appears trying to kill us. We're just the two of us — we need a plan, right?"
"Harold, an enemy attacking is urgent and chaotic. How can we plan in that kind of situation?"
"That's exactly why we practice it beforehand," he said. "So when it happens, we'll act without thinking. We'll make signals, train our bodies to move as one, learn how to handle blades and avoid blows. We must survive so we can find your mother."
"Alright, Harold. Let's do it. I can do this. But when do we leave? When do we start searching for her?"
"You'll leave when you turn twenty. That's when you'll change."
"What sort of change?"
"You'll awaken, like I did."
"Awaken like you? Harold — I want to grow taller and become a really beautiful woman!"
"I thought you were a boy at first," Harold said, laughing. "When my divinity awakened, I realized you were a girl — it surprised me."
"Really? Is it because I wear short hair and trousers?"
"It's not about your looks — it's your manner and the way you act. You've never been like other girls."
"Me? The only thing different from my sisters is hair length."
Harold smiled at the boyish Lillia. "You're still my Lilli."
From that day they met every morning at dawn. For five years they trained and spoke of war — tactics, combat, drills, and real-scenario practice. Harold even slipped into Eseria's dreams to search her memories, but Eseria noticed and blocked his attempts. Discovering where Flora slept remained difficult.