Chapter 6

Shizuku (softly):
Thank you, Azalea.
(sincerely)
Truly.

Azalea gives a faint nod, his expression unreadable but his shoulders loosening slightly.

Azalea:
It belongs to you now. I was only safeguarding it until someone could wield it without breaking everything around them.

Shizuku chuckles, a rare, small smile flickering across his lips.

Shizuku:
And I promise not to break too much.

He turns, walking a few steps away, holding the sigil fragment up to the fractured dome where dawn is just beginning to paint the sky.

Shizuku:
But I should tell you something. About your kingdom. About why it's still standing.

Azalea raises a brow.

Azalea:
It’s the Sigil Fragment of Earth, isn’t it? Even in fragments, its weight grounds the Floral Kingdom.

Shizuku shakes his head gently.

Shizuku:
That’s what most believe. But the truth is more… ancient.

He opens a small dimensional rift with a flick of his hand. A subtle green-gold glow bleeds out from within, and for a second, Azalea feels the breath of an entire ecosystem—forests blooming, vines whispering, rainfall in the distance.

Shizuku:
The real fragment keeping your kingdom afloat is the Sigil Fragment of Verdant Genesis.

Azalea (quietly):
Verdant Genesis… Regenora’s sigil fragment?

Shizuku:
Yes.

The glow fades. Shizuku closes the rift.

Shizuku:
The Floral Kingdom was built atop its resting place. You were chosen as its steward long ago, even if no one told you.

Azalea (thoughtfully):
So the fragment we gave… wasn’t the heart. Just a limb.

Shizuku:
Exactly. And Regenora’s will is still active, still feeding life into your domain. If that fragment were removed, the kingdom wouldn’t just fall. It would wither.

There’s a long silence between them. Azalea steps forward, brushing a hand over the rose at his shoulder—a piece of him that pulses slightly now, as if reacting to the truth.

Azalea:
You knew this the whole time.

Shizuku:
I did.
(pauses)
But I also knew I’d need your trust before telling you.

Azalea:
You’ve earned it.
(then, a little bitter)
Even if I’m starting to suspect you knew everything ten steps ahead of me.

Shizuku looks over his shoulder, expression unreadable now.

Shizuku:
It’s the job.
(pauses)
Being the Universal Emperor means knowing the garden might bloom from someone else’s pain… and having to decide if that bloom is worth it.

Azalea lowers his gaze.

Azalea:
And you still carry that burden alone?

Shizuku:
Not alone.
(glancing toward the sky)
But fewer people can carry the weight now than ever before.

The two stand in silence once more. The wind picks up, swirling fallen petals and cosmic dust in its wake.

Shizuku (quietly): Let’s hope Regenora still believes in us.