"What is your name?" Emerald asked, her voice calm and soft voice.
"My name is…Iridanelle, but you can call me Iriel."
Iriel lay flat on her back on the grass beneath the willow tree. She held a flower above her face, and plucking its petals one by one in slow, careless rhythm.
"Iri..—danelle?" Emerald repeated after her. "That name doesn't sound like its from here."
Emerald sat cross-legged near Iriel, her dress neatly tucked beneath her legs, her book glued close to her chest.
Iriel shook her head. "I'm not from around here." She stopped plucking the petals and placed the half-bare flower on her chest. "I'm from Rosette. The kingdom next door."
Emerald scratched her cheek. "The Rosette kingdom? But… isn't that far? How did you come here."
"By boat of course."
Emerald hummed softly, thinking.
Iriel continued by plucking the last three petals—until a hand suddenly slipped into view.
"You're hurting the flower." She snatched the flower, her fingers closing gently around it. Iriel lifted her upper body from the ground, her legs still numb. "Hey—that was mine! You can't hurt a flower, it's not even alive!"
Emerald froze mid-motion, a fainted gasp slipped from her lips.
Iriel narrowed her eyes and reached to snatch the flower back, but stopped when she saw Emerald's expression.
"Everything is alive. Iriel. Even the grass we're sitting on, the trees are alive—the sky, and even this willow tree. "
Iriel blinked, settling back down with her legs curled to the side. Her palms pressed into the grass. "Huh? Are you serious."
Emerald opened her book and flipped through its pages until she found a blank one. She then placed the withered flower inside, careful not to break it, and closed the book firmly.
"They all have energy." She continued, in a strict tone. "Like, small round particles. They can be any color—red, yellow, blue, purple and even pink. These trees have green and yellow energy inside them. Flickering gently. The pulse of life. "
She lifted her finger and pointed toward Iriel. "Even you have it. Yours is white."
Iriel squinted, leaning closer, her mouth slightly open. "I thought you were blind. Emerald." She whispered. "If you can actually see, I promise I won't snitch. Pinky promise."
Emerald shoved Iriel's face away with her palm. "Don't be silly. If I could see, why would I pretend to be blind?"
Emerald stood, wrapping her hands around the book. "I want to see, the way you see the world Iriel."
Emerald began walking slowly down the hill, her bare foot brushing against the grasses in a gentle motion.
"I wanna see the birds, how do they look like?" She tilted her head upward. "I heard they have wings that let them flap their way into the sky. Hmm… I wonder how that feels like to wonder in the sky."
She paused before speaking again. "Are they beautiful, Iriel?"
Iriel stayed behind Emerald, fists clenching tightly at her sides. "They're… pretty."
Emerald turned toward the whisper.
"I'm sorry. I—I didn't mean to offend you," Iriel blurted out "I'm sorry, Emerald."
"It's okay."
Iriel exhaled, then hurried on, she quickly thought of something. "You know, there's a way to experience how it feels to fly. There's a spell that lets people fly—isn't that wonderful?"
Iriel streched her arms wide, grinning. "You could learn it.! Aren't you an [SE] user too? I heard it's not a hard skill to learn. We—could learn it together!"
"…That doesn't sound bad, but I'll let you do it alone, I—can't learn any [SE] spells. I can't see them."
Iriel heart dropped low. She nervously laughed, "HAH! Uh—Right! Uh—You know what—NEVERMIND. That was a stupid idea. Pfft—"
Iriel's attempt at humor earned a laugh from Emerald, and she found herself looking up, heart quickening.
"It's not a bad plan. Maybe one day, my father will find someone who can cure my blindness. Right now, you can… describe things to me. How about…a fox? How does he look like?"
Iriel expression stayed uncertain, a sheen of sweat on her face, her heartbeat quick and unsteady. Yet as her eyes fixed on Emerald, the corner of her mouth lifted, and a shy blush colored her face.
"A fox…hmm."
⪻────────𖤓────────⪼
Iriel ran frantically through the vast field. She hid and dodged the origami dragon-like-bird using the burning trees and carts.
The origami roared, scattering and burning everything along its path. Iriel's face was bloody but her body was composed. Even a few laughter came from there and then.
Then, the origami dragon shrieked, its paper wings igniting as it tore through the air. Fire licked the ground behind Iriel; she twisted back narrowly escaping the blaze.
But the situation shifted—smaller origami birds burst forward, their folded beaks slamming into her chest. The impact hurled her across, hitting the charred tree.
Iriel wasted no time into getting back on her feet, blood streaking her face, laughter trembling at the edge of her lips. She removed her heels and hurled them at the small origami birds. It shredded two of the origamis mid-flight.
The dragon origami flew up in the sky while Iriel wast busy with the smaller ones, then he descended in a swept, sharp motion.
It set its grip at her, aiming at Iriel. Its claw, sharp as a blade, carved across her side. Missed as Iriel lunged herself to the other side. Flesh splitting, hot blood gushed, staining the ground in the process.
Iriel rolled down, clutching her abdomen, letting out a groan, yet her eyes blazed in the storm of fire.
She dragged herself and began running toward Emerald, but the origami let out another pool of fire at her direction, shadow swallowed her whole.
The dragon origami paused mid-air, Emerald shifted her gaze. Only the crackle of burning wood filled the air.
Then—a scream cut through the inferno.
[ SUMO : unlocked—]
「 Eternal Bloom」
As those words were heard, everything froze. The dragon's massive paper body hung suspended, claws inches from the ground. The smaller origami birds remained locked in the sky, their wings caught mid-flap, flames halted mid-curl.
Silence pressured down, heavy and absolute.
From the stillness, a translucent ring erupted, growing larger, widening, slicing through the fire. It obliterated everything in its path. Flames clashed before being swallowed into a bigger one. The origami convulsed once before its body disintegrated, its paper scales curling into dust. While the smaller ones dissolved completely mid-air, their folded wings unraveling into nothing.
When the ring faded, everything was gone. Only embers remained.