Gardenia’s Heart

Her body ached more than it ever had in her entire life.

As if weights were crushing her bones and a hammer had struck her head countless times, Rose felt that merely opening her eyes at that moment was nothing short of a miracle.

Gritting her teeth, she fought through the ringing in her ears and tried to focus her gaze on her surroundings.

It was white.

Like tangible smoke, a substance that resembled clouds—soft as cotton—surrounded her body in a spherical form. It was unlike anything she had ever seen before, something wholly unnatural.

Crawling, then forcing herself to sit up, Rose rubbed her eyes to adjust her sight, only to see the fluffy mass of clouds slowly fading away in a faint bluish glow, vanishing and revealing the world around her.

Towering stone mountains met at impossible angles, covered by a dense forest that showed almost no signs of life. Broad-canopied trees grew at surreal inclines, their roots clinging desperately to every crevice they could find to avoid falling into the abyss, reaching deep into the earth in search of nutrients.

Between the rocks, thick vines crawled along the cliffs. Their thorns, long and curved, were sharp enough to entangle anything that came near, preventing any escape.

The entire place was silent. The dense fog had taken on a purplish hue from the buildup of dark mana, turning into violet miasma. Light could barely reach such a place—it was so dark that it could have been mistaken for night, no matter the time of day.

“Where...” Rose murmured, glancing around.

Even though she had fallen from a height that could be measured in kilometers, the crater around her was only a few meters wide. Feeling the damp earth spread beneath her fingers and smelling the decay of rotting leaves, Rose kept turning her dizzy head, searching for something she needed to find.

“C–Cherry!”

Her voice trembled between a desperate cry and a choked scream. Gathering mana into her legs, she forced them to move and ran toward a nearby crater, no more than a few meters away.

There, another thin layer of fluffy clouds—the same kind that had formed a sphere around her—was fading. But what Rose found inside was nothing like what she’d hoped for.

Bruises covered the little girl’s arms, legs, and face in scattered patches. Crimson blood trickled from open wounds, and her clothes were torn in several places. Her eyes were closed, her expression twisted in pain, and cold sweat ran down her forehead in trembling drops.

“I’m sorry, Cherry, I’m so sorry!”

Holding the small girl tightly in her arms, Rose tried to feel her vital signs.

“Cherry’s glow...”

The light she loved so much was fading.

Frantically turning her head, Rose searched her surroundings, but no matter how hard her exhausted mind tried, she saw no one else.

It was her fault.

Thanks to the barrier Cherry had conjured, the two of them had managed to fool her mother’s mana-location and sneak into the expedition, hiding inside the bags Elarielle had prepared.

It was Rose who had insisted on following their mothers, and Cherry who had carefully crafted the plan to make it happen.

Placing one trembling hand on the girl’s cheek, Rose held the small elf gently as a tingling sensation welled up in the corner of her eyes—tears forming and blurring her vision.

She was suffering because of her.

Because of her, Cherry was hurt.

Because of her, Cherry’s glow was fading.

Her heart was pounding, beating against her ribcage like a drum. Rose felt her breathing grow shallow and uneven.

Her body trembled, her shoulders curling forward under the weight of the situation.

Biting her lips hard, she kept staring at the unconscious girl in her arms.

“Cherry... wake up... Cherry, please.” The words came out broken between sobs.

Her two mothers had told her that, being half metamorph, she could survive with far less than others would need. After several examinations, Elarielle had confirmed that whether it was water, air, or even sunlight—though it would be extremely uncomfortable—Rose could remain alive for a long time without them.

But that wasn’t the case for the golden-haired girl.

Unlike her, Cherry needed food and water. As a mage, she could withstand the miasma she was breathing, but her injuries would soon endanger her life if nothing was done.

If nothing was done, she would die.

If nothing was done, Rose would lose Cherry forever.

“I’m not going to sit here and cry!”

Tears wouldn’t change anything.

She was the one who had put her special person in this situation—so she would be the one to fix it, no matter the cost.

She wasn’t good at making big plans like Cherry, so she wouldn’t even try. Rose would handle one thing at a time and reach the outcome she wanted.

“First, a remedy.”

Cherry was hurt, and the Demon King’s mist would soon make it hard for her to breathe.

If Rose could brew a healing potion, Cherry might recover enough to stabilize.

Rose knew the recipe. She was in a forest—herbs were everywhere—all she needed to do was find the right ones.

Although she felt safer keeping Cherry within sight, carrying her around could be dangerous.

Searching nearby, Rose found a small hollow log. Holding Cherry’s body close, she approached the opening, gently laying the girl inside and using some leaves to form a makeshift bed.

“This might be a problem.”

Watching the red blood trickle from the scratches on the girl’s skin, Rose frowned, guilt flooding her expression.

Since Cherry was unconscious, her mana was dormant, so the chances of monsters sensing her presence were small. However, the smell of fresh blood filled the air with a metallic scent—enough for any creature with a keen nose to find her.

Raising her left arm, Rose pressed the fingers of her right hand together, imitating a cat’s paw. She dragged her nails across her own soft skin until a thin cut appeared, and violet blood began to flow gently.

Whispering another silent apology, Rose rubbed her blood onto Cherry’s arms and the leaves around her. It wasn’t a perfect solution, but the scent of an injured monster was likely stronger than that of an elf.

“I swear I’ll protect you.” She pressed a soft kiss to Cherry’s forehead and murmured with quiet resolve.

Dragging a small thorny bush, Rose placed it at the entrance of the hollow before stepping back to take one last look.

It wasn’t the best hiding spot, but given her circumstances, it was the best she could manage.

Careful not to lose sight of Cherry’s location, Rose began running through the dense forest.

The terrifying number of thorns and uneven terrain made walking through that place feel almost claustrophobic. If not for her height, she was sure it would’ve been far more difficult to move quickly in such a confined space.

Running diagonally along a thorny vine, the silver-haired girl climbed one of the rocky ledges.

Leaping to the top of the rise, Rose tried to take in the maze of jagged ravines stretching before her.

Thanks to her metamorph nature, she could see well in the dark. However, with the Demon King’s mist limiting her field of vision, she couldn’t see more than a few meters ahead without effort.

Normally, finding herbs in such conditions would’ve been impossible—but she had something she could use.

Kneeling on the ground, the girl closed her eyes and placed her hand on the soil. Slowly, faint pulses of mana began to spread from her body, crawling through the mist and forcing their way forward.

Rose remembered perfectly every ingredient she needed to craft a healing potion—all she had to do was locate them.

“Mama Nia is amazing for keeping this up so effortlessly...” she muttered, a bead of sweat running down her temple as she studied the feedback returning to her, analyzing what her mana-location had detected.

Opening her eyes, she started running in a specific direction. Extending her bluish tentacle, the girl latched onto a tree root and swung herself toward a small opening on the side of a massive rock.

Reaching into the hollow of the cliff, her small fingers closed around something. She carefully pulled it out and inspected the tiny greenish leaf before gently placing it in the pocket of her dress.

Sliding down the slope to the nearest ledge, Rose repeated the process.

Her mana-location couldn’t reach far—not only because of the mist but also due to the amount of energy it required. As a result, the blue-eyed girl had to keep running through the dense forest, repeating the process several times to gather everything she needed.

She couldn’t tell exactly how many hours had passed since she’d been separated from her mothers. Yet, as the light around her dimmed even more, she concluded that night had already fallen.

After plucking the second-to-last flower on her mental list, Rose began walking more carefully, trying not to damage any herbs and risk losing hours of progress.

“A light...?”

However, as she crawled under a tangle of roots, her eyes caught something moving in the forest.

She didn’t recognize that glow.

Standing up cautiously, Rose crept closer.

If she’d thought about it for even a moment, she would’ve paid attention. She wouldn’t have even considered getting closer if she’d been in her normal state.

But after spending so long in that suffocating, oppressive forest, seeing something—anything—within the darkness made her want to approach it. She didn’t want to be alone anymore.

And that made her ignore the malice it exuded.

The instant her eyes locked onto it—and it felt her presence—it was already too late.

It looked like a distorted colossus, nearly three meters tall. Its skin gleamed in shades of ivory and gold, as if made of metal, yet marred by holes and fissures—as though a piece of the forest floor had been torn away and molded into a grotesque shape.

From every part of its body, enormous thorns jutted outward. It walked on two thin legs, the contrast with its thick arms giving it a grotesque, nightmarish appearance. Its limbs were long and twisted, dragging slightly as it moved. From its arms, tree-like growths sprouted—trunks adorned with pale gray and white flowers. A lipless mouth stretched into a grotesque arc between its shoulders, a row of razor-sharp teeth forming a distorted grin.

“—!?” A scream caught in her throat, never reaching the air.

Raising her arms at the last second, Rose blocked the monster’s thorned fist. But even the thick layer of mana surrounding her was not enough to prevent a deep cut from splitting open her flesh, a stream of purple blood spilling out.

“Argh!”

Throwing herself backward, Rose rolled across the ground to gain distance—but the ivory colossus would not allow it.

It charged forward, raising its thorny fist again to crush her into the earth. Acting purely on instinct, Rose slammed her bluish tentacle against the ground, propelling her body aside once more.

A thunderous impact echoed through the forest as the colossus’s blow shattered the terrain beneath it.

Its eyeless head turned toward the girl who had escaped again, a high-pitched grinding sound—like metal being chewed apart—scraping from its jagged teeth.

The distorted noise was enough to make every fiber in Rose’s body scream in alarm. Her heartbeat quickened, adrenaline flooding her veins.

Gathering her gelatinous material, she sealed the wounds on her arm. Concentrating mana in her right hand, she formed a dense blade of ice.

If she stood still, she would die—so she ran.

Zigzagging between trees and thorny vines at full speed, her bluish blade shimmered in the darkness. The ground sank beneath her every step as she accelerated to her limit, circling around the ivory colossus.

Unable to track the silver blur, the monster began lashing out wildly, smashing rocks and trees as it swung its massive arms.

Pumping more mana through her body, Rose lunged forward. Twisting her wrist, she struck the creature’s side with her icy blade.

A sharp sound like shattering glass erupted—but it wasn’t the colossus breaking. It was the blue blade splintering into countless pieces.

“What—?”

With a gasp of disbelief, Rose watched her weapon crumble. Not a single crack, not even a chip, had appeared on the creature’s marble-like shell.

With no time to think, Rose jumped back, her silver hair fluttering in the wind as she ran to avoid the monster’s next blow.

She hadn’t even managed to pierce its hardened shell. All her failed attack had done was enrage it further.

Forming another ice blade while dodging the rocks hurled her way, Rose leapt between the treetops, heading toward a higher ledge.

The monster followed close behind.

Using the momentum, Rose wrapped her tentacle around a tree, twisting it to launch herself even faster. With a powerful swing, she hurled herself toward the creature again, aiming for a decisive strike before it could reach her.

“—!?”

But as she moved through the tight forest space, her arc of attack caught on one of the dense vines. The ice blade refused to move.

Pain shot through her arm and wrist as she tried to hold on, a blinding surge of agony crashing through her mind.

Yet there was no time to scream—because death was already upon her.

Clenching her teeth, Rose dropped her ice sword, coiling herself around the monster’s fist that was rushing toward her and using the creature’s own body as leverage to hurl herself away.

“Argh!”

With another groan of pain slipping from her lips, the small girl ran, gaining distance.

She had to escape.

Jump after jump, she used all her speed to cross the ravines and steep drops in the terrain.

Her life was in danger, and her senses were on full alert. It was precisely because of that heightened awareness that, when she was about to leap over a narrow fissure, her body froze.

“That...”

Staring down into the ravine, Rose began to sweat cold.

“The last ingredient is down there.”

Perhaps because of the air pressure difference, the mist didn’t flow easily into the narrow gap, allowing her to see the interior more clearly.

At the deepest point of the chasm, a small greenish flower with thorns at its base emitted a faint, nearly imperceptible bluish glow.

There was no way for her to tell exactly, but the drop had to be at least two hundred meters — maybe even more. It was almost a perfect vertical fall. The smooth rock meant climbing back up with bare hands would be impossible, and with no footholds, jumping down would be a dangerous gamble.

Her tentacle couldn’t reach that deep, and worse yet, the monster was still coming.

She could try to find that mana herb somewhere else, but that would mean more hours of searching.

Rose had already spent too much time. If she didn’t return soon, Cherry would die.

Gritting her teeth hard, she jumped.

Using her tentacle to wrap around her body and gathering all the mana she could in her back, Rose slid down the side of the ravine, feeling cuts open along her skin.

The fall made the wind whip through her hair and dress, purple blood painting the rocky walls like a mural.

When she was about to reach the bottom, Rose pressed her legs against one side of the ravine and her back against the other, channeling mana into her legs as she fought to slow her descent at any cost.

Finally, a burst of dust exploded outward as the small, bloodstained girl landed at the bottom.

“Ah... Aah... Ah...”

Panting heavily, Rose struggled to calm her racing heart, large drops of sweat falling from her body.

What had looked like just a crack in the ground was actually connected to a cavern, the space below expanding far beyond what she could see from above.

Unable to fit through the passage, the ivory colossus couldn’t reach her here.

Ignoring the searing pain spreading through her back, Rose staggered forward toward the greenish flower.

It was the last one she needed—after this, she could go back.

However...

How was she supposed to pick this particular flower again?

Mana herbs were far more delicate than ordinary plants. If she picked it the wrong way, it could wilt in seconds, and all her effort would be wasted.

Her trembling hands couldn’t quite reach the flower that was so close.

Rose shook her head several times, trying to recall the information she needed most right now.

Should she risk just pulling it out?

Should she wait until she remembered how to do it properly?

The little time she had left echoed in her mind like an alarm.

Just as more questions began to flood her thoughts and her breathing turned erratic again...

(Remove the thorns first, then the light-colored leaves. After that, you can pull it out by the stem without any problem.)

A voice echoed through the darkness.

Wrapping a thin layer of mana around her fingers, Rose carefully removed the sharp thorns one by one before plucking the lighter-colored leaves, not hesitating for even a single moment throughout the process.

Gently pulling the flower from the soil without its roots, she stood up slowly and placed it with the others tucked into her dress.

“I’m sorry.” Turning her back, the silver-haired girl lowered her head, guilt clouding her gaze. Clasping her hands in front of her chest, she spoke with difficulty. “It was all my fault. I should’ve listened when you told me not to come along. We’re here because of me, and only me.”

Rose pressed the tips of her fingers together, bracing herself for the words that would follow—words that she knew would hurt far more than any wound on her body.

(It’s alright. Part of being a child is trying reckless things. And part of being an adult is helping children learn not to repeat them. I’m sorry as well; it took me longer than I expected to recover after shielding you both from the fall.)

But the gentle, warm voice didn’t scold her as she expected. A wave of relief washed over the small girl, and she immediately brought her trembling hands to her tearful eyes, rubbing them with all her strength.

She was in a dire, desperate situation—but someone from her family was still with her.

When that thought, that realization, finally reached her, Rose couldn’t contain her joy.

Lifting her head toward the familiar, comforting glow, she looked up at the woman floating in the air.

Her slender, graceful body was adorned with a perfectly tailored outfit. Pale skin framed soft pink lips, a faint smile forming as she rested her hands on her waist. Long, vivid red hair cascaded down her back like a flowing river, full of gentle waves. Her piercing orange eyes glowed like the embers of a furnace. Upon her head sat a black, wide-brimmed pointed hat, decorated with elegant golden patterns.

Her attire was a refined blend of white and crimson—a fluttering, puffy skirt reaching her thighs, sleeves extending to her wrists, and a thin lining covering her modest chest. On top of it, a fitted black mantle etched with luminous golden symbols clung softly to her frame, stretching from her shoulders to her waist. Along her back, the mantle widened, giving the impression of both a long cape and a second skirt.

The outfit concealed nothing of her beauty yet radiated a graceful modesty—perfectly suited for both a place of study and a battlefield alike.

(Let’s go. I’ll help you get out of here.)

Carefully, the little girl approached the translucent woman, a bright smile spreading across her face.

“Thank you, Grandma Sylvan.”