Rose.

In a small flower shop—not exactly bustling with customers, but never completely empty either—a young girl moved about, tending to the plants. She wore a peculiar jacket, slightly oversized for her frame, split down the middle with two distinct colors: a soft sky blue on the left and an almost black shade on the right. Her steps echoed lightly on the wooden floor as she carried compost and water for the Xocia flowers. A bit of the liquid splashed onto her cream-colored skirt, staining it slightly.

Those flowers... they were breathtakingly beautiful yet frustratingly delicate. The slightest mistake and they withered. In a way, their pale white petals, tinged with muted pink, reminded her of someone—Zarek, her reckless companion.

Always getting into trouble. At least now, he had a real job working on the Golden Bridge construction, the massive project meant to connect their town with the neighboring city. It was a safer gig compared to his old, questionable line of work—what he liked to call "Exploring the Rift." Yeah, sure. That was just a fancy way of saying he looted the corpses of fallen explorers. She hated it. Even now, she could still picture him getting himself into trouble at his new job.

Something had changed in him after that day. Well, to be fair, Zarek was never the cautious type, but at some point, his recklessness turned into something bolder—like he had nothing to lose. He stopped taking hits without fighting back. That was good, in a way. But… it also got them kicked out of the orphanage a year later.

Not that it was his fault.

No… No, it wasn't…

Before she could drown in those thoughts, the soft chime of the shop's bell snapped her back to reality. Rose turned to greet a young woman dressed in loose-fitting clothes, oversized headphones snug over her ears. She seemed to be looking for something specific.

"Hey there! I'm looking for a Sea Tear."

"Sea Tear… Oh! Right. Of course. Give me a few minutes—they're kept in the dark since they're nocturnal."

"Okay."

The girl pulled out a holographic plate—one of the sleek new devices that had long since replaced old-school smartphones. Ostentatious, for sure. Rose still remembered how stunned she'd been when Zarek got her one for her fifteenth birthday.

She sighed at the memory. She had been happy, of course. But even now, she remembered how they barely scraped by that month…

"Come back soon! Our doors are always open."

"Good job, kid."

The shop's elderly owner gave her a rare word of praise. Rose didn't think she had done anything special—just her job. Nothing worth celebrating. Still, she bowed politely in thanks before finally clocking out for the day. Since she was still a minor, her job was only part-time, and—well—so was the pay.

Not that she could complain. Like she said, she was underage, so it wasn't like she had many options. She was lucky, really. The old woman had offered her the job after finding her crying one sunny afternoon, feeling useless because she couldn't do anything to help Zarek—who had always taken care of her.

A humiliating memory. One she'd rather not dwell on.

So, instead, she focused on heading home.

As she skipped down the paved streets of Volkov, Rose hopped playfully between the yellow lines dividing the empty road. Cars were rare in this town, so she wasn't too worried. A soft hum escaped her lips as she followed along with the song playing in her headphones, occasionally waving to the locals peeking out from their homes.

The architecture here was… bizarre. A strange but mesmerizing blend of human construction and creeping Fisioflora roots—residual growth from the Rifts. She had always been fascinated by it. Twisting vines, shimmering with an almost metallic sheen, wrapped around buildings, reinforcing their structure while adding an eerie, otherworldly beauty.

Eventually, she arrived at her own building—one that, like the rest of the town, was covered in lush greenery, the leaves reflecting a deep green with hints of silver, yet it was far older. Swiping her card over a glowing red scanner, she watched as the round door, covered in layered petals, shifted unnaturally before peeling back to reveal the entrance. She stepped forward, but not before indulging in a small habit of hers.

She leaned in and took a quick sniff of the vibrant green petals.

"Funny how they're living flowers, yet they don't have a scent… Kinda sad, really."

Stepping into the unstable, rickety elevator—something she usually avoided in favor of the stairs—she prayed that the metal deathtrap wouldn't plummet before reaching her floor. She lived on the eleventh floor, after all, and she was way too exhausted to climb all those stairs today.

As soon as the doors creaked open, she bolted out, shaking off the uneasy feeling. Making her way down the hall, she stopped in front of the plain white door to their apartment. With a sigh, she pushed it open—

—only to be greeted by the sight of a rabbit lounging on the couch.

Oh. Wait. No. That was just Zarek.

"...Yeah, no way I'm telling her I almost died."

Wait.

What?

Had her headphones messed with her hearing? Because she swore she just heard him say—

He almost died?

"What was that? What do you mean you almost died?"In a small flower shop—not exactly bustling with customers, but never completely empty either—a young girl moved about, tending to the plants. She wore a peculiar jacket, slightly oversized for her frame, split down the middle with two distinct colors: a soft sky blue on the left and an almost black shade on the right. Her steps echoed lightly on the wooden floor as she carried compost and water for the Xocia flowers. A bit of the liquid splashed onto her cream-colored skirt, staining it slightly.

Those flowers... they were breathtakingly beautiful yet frustratingly delicate. The slightest mistake and they withered. In a way, their pale white petals, tinged with muted pink, reminded her of someone—Zarek, her reckless companion.

Always getting into trouble. At least now, he had a real job working on the Golden Bridge construction, the massive project meant to connect their town with the neighboring city. It was a safer gig compared to his old, questionable line of work—what he liked to call "Exploring the Rift." Yeah, sure. That was just a fancy way of saying he looted the corpses of fallen explorers. She hated it. Even now, she could still picture him getting himself into trouble at his new job.

Something had changed in him after that day years ago. Well, to be fair, Zarek was never the cautious type, but at some point, his recklessness turned into something bolder—like he had nothing to lose. He stopped taking hits without fighting back. That was good, in a way. But… it also got them kicked out of the orphanage a year later.

Not that it was his fault.

No… No, it wasn't…

Before she could drown in those thoughts, the soft chime of the shop's bell snapped her back to reality. Rose turned to greet a young woman dressed in loose-fitting clothes, oversized headphones snug over her ears, just like hers own. She seemed to be looking for something specific.

"Hey there! I'm looking for a Sea Tear."

"Sea Tear… Oh! Right. Of course. Give me a few minutes—they're kept in the dark since they're nocturnal."

"Okay."

The girl pulled out a holographic plate—one of the sleek new devices that had long since replaced old-school smartphones. Ostentatious, for sure. Rose still remembered how stunned she'd been when Zarek got her one for her fifteenth birthday.

She sighed at the memory. She had been happy, of course. But even now, she remembered how they barely scraped by that month…

"Come back soon! Our doors are always open."

"Good job, kid."

The shop's elderly owner gave her a rare word of praise. Rose didn't think she had done anything special—just her job. Nothing worth celebrating. Still, she bowed politely in thanks before finally clocking out for the day. Since she was still a minor, her job was only part-time, and—well—so was the pay.

Not that she could complain. Like she said, she was underage, so it wasn't like she had many options. She was lucky, really. The old woman had offered her the job after finding her crying one sunny afternoon, feeling useless because she couldn't do anything to help Zarek—who had always taken care of her.

A humiliating memory. One she'd rather not dwell on.

So, instead, she focused on heading home.

As she skipped down the paved streets of Volkov, Rose hopped playfully between the yellow lines dividing the empty road. Cars were rare in this town, so she wasn't too worried. A soft hum escaped her lips as she followed along with the song playing in her headphones, occasionally waving to the locals peeking out from their homes.

The architecture here was… bizarre. A strange but mesmerizing blend of human construction and creeping Fisioflora roots—residual growth from the Rifts. She had always been fascinated by it. Twisting vines, shimmering with an almost metallic sheen, wrapped around buildings, reinforcing their structure while adding an eerie, otherworldly beauty.

Eventually, she arrived at her own building—one that, like the rest of the town, was covered in lush greenery, the leaves reflecting a deep green with hints of silver, yet it was far older. Swiping her card over a glowing red scanner, she watched as the round door, covered in layered petals, shifted unnaturally before peeling back to reveal the entrance. She stepped forward, but not before indulging in a small habit of hers.

She leaned in and took a quick sniff of the vibrant green petals.

"Funny how they're living flowers, yet they don't have a scent… Kinda sad, really."

Stepping into the unstable, rickety elevator—something she usually avoided in favor of the stairs—she prayed that the metal deathtrap wouldn't plummet before reaching her floor. She lived on the eleventh floor, after all, and she was way too exhausted to climb all those stairs today.

As soon as the doors creaked open, she bolted out, shaking off the uneasy feeling. Making her way down the hall, she stopped in front of the plain white door to their apartment. With a sigh, she pushed it open—

—only to be greeted by the sight of a rabbit lounging on the couch.

Oh. Wait. No. That was just Zarek.

"...Yeah, no way I'm telling her I almost died."

Wait.

What?

Had her headphones messed with her hearing? Because she swore she just heard him say—

He almost died?

"What was that? What do you mean you almost died?"