That night, Celeste's hand touched Elian's. It was such a small thing, yet Celeste couldn't stop dwelling on it. Walking through the corridors of Floral Guardian Academy, copying notes during class, organizing medicinal herbs at the Rootwork shop—her fingertips seemed to remember that touch, just a little. (This is overthinking. It's definitely just my imagination.) Even as she thought that, she couldn't convince herself it was. After school, Celeste and Elian were in the greenhouse attached to Floral Guardian Academy. The greenhouse—a facility used for comparative research between real plants and dream flowers—had become their workspace for the day. Withered samples lined up in rows. Darkened petals collected from the Garden, each marked with a date and an anonymous code for the owner. Celeste picked up each sample one by one, comparing the color change records. Elian sat across from her, writing data. Only the sound of his pen moving filled the quiet space. "[serious]The discoloration at the base is definitely accelerating. It took three days to turn completely black from the initial withering, but the recent ones don't even take a day" "……I concur. The progression is accelerating." Short. But certain. That was Elian—he didn't add unnecessary words. At first, she'd found him hard to approach, but now she was used to it. In fact, his lack of waste made every word carry more weight. Celeste set down the sample and pulled her chair back slightly. She looked at Elian's profile. Black hair with red streaks. Deep crimson vertical slit pupils traced across the data sheet. The small black tattoo mark beneath his left eye seemed to float slightly in the greenhouse's green light. His usual hood was down today. Probably because he was working. (I hadn't really gotten a good look at his face before.) "[serious]……What?" Celeste hurriedly looked away. "[surprised]Oh, nothing. I was just thinking we might want to rearrange the sample placement a bit" "The arrangement is fine as is." Splash. The next instant, something rainbow-colored fell from the shelf above. Onto Celeste's face. Onto Elian's face. Splurt, splatter, splash—three times in succession. Celeste couldn't move for a moment. Slowly, she raised her arm and touched her own face. A slimy sensation. Looking down at her arm, blue, yellow, and red paint were smeared all over it. She looked at Elian across from her. Silently, slowly wiping his face with his hand. The colors mixed in stripes, creating something—artistic, really. Plip. Another color fell on top of Elian's head. Orange. "[serious]……" "[serious]……" Both of them looked up at the shelf. "Um, I'm so sorry! I made a small miscalculation with the quantities!" A face peeked out from behind the shelf. Vivid purple twin tails. Large pale pink eyes. Paint stains already scattered across her hair and clothes. When she smiled, her teeth showed clearly—a slightly apologetic expression, but somehow cheerful. A young girl. "[laughing]Ahaha, you two look so artistic! Oh, I'm Lyra, a first-year! I'm a Stella Painter—someone with the ability to synthesize dream paint from my own dreams—and I was making some here to practice painting in the Garden, but the mixture balance got thrown off……" "[serious]It exploded." "[laughing]Well, 'exploded' is one way to put it!" Lyra climbed down from the shelf. Paint bottles rolled around her feet. Some were already empty, and a rainbow-colored puddle spread beneath the shelf. Celeste stared blankly at it. Her mind couldn't quite catch up with the situation. The moment Lyra's eyes met Celeste's face—they lit up. "[excited]Oh my gosh, could you be—could you possibly be Celeste senpai!?" "Um, yes, but……" "[excited]I've been looking for you! The second-year Celeste senpai who supposedly has the ability of Flora Whisper! Is it true you can talk to plants!? That's amazing! Can I sit next to you!?" "Uh, well… sure?" "[excited]I'm making the seat next to you my designated spot! Starting today!" "That was fast" Lyra pulled up a chair next to Celeste and sat down without hesitation. She glanced at Elian and narrowed her eyes. "[sarcastic]……Say, you there with the gloomy face. I won't allow you to monopolize Celeste senpai." Elian looked up. "……Don't interfere with the work." "[sarcastic]I'm not interfering. I just want to be with senpai." "That's the same thing." "[angry]It's not!" Celeste wiped the paint from her face with her sleeve, looking between the two of them. (Um…… I really can't keep up with this situation.) --- Lyra stayed in the greenhouse. "[excited]Senpai, which of these colors do you like best? I'll mix one to match your eye color!" Lyra spread out her dream paint palette. Rainbow-colored paints lined up—the special paint that Stella Painters synthesize from their dreams, capable of fixing color into the Garden. Each color glowed faintly. "[surprised]Um, well…… blue, I guess?" "[excited]Blue! Then I'll mix in a little silver to match your silver eyes, senpai!" Lyra happily began mixing the paints. Celeste watched her hands despite her slight confusion. She was skilled. In no time, a beautiful blue-silver color had been created. "[serious]Let's analyze the samples." Elian tried to redirect the conversation. He was right. That was the original purpose. Celeste steeled herself. "[sarcastic]People like you who are so unfriendly always end up alone, you know?" Elian's hands stopped. Just for an instant. That was all. He immediately resumed writing with his pen. Celeste caught that movement from the corner of her eye. (Elian…… for just a moment there, he made a strange expression.) "Hurt" might be too strong a word. But he'd tried to maintain his expressionless face, yet his hands had stopped—that caught on something. "[gentle]Lyra, you don't need to say things like that." "[surprised]Oh, I'm sorry" Lyra apologized readily. There was no bitterness in her. She didn't hold onto anger. Celeste understood that much. Lyra stared at the samples for a while. Then she tilted her head slightly. "[serious]……Say, senpai, wouldn't it be better to arrange these samples by color change? That way the progression speed would be more visually apparent." Celeste looked at the samples. They were currently arranged by date. "[surprised]……Oh, you're right. Seeing the color gradient would make the rate of change much clearer." Lyra quickly rearranged the samples. From the faintly darkened ones to the completely black ones. The difference in progression was immediately visible. Elian watched her do this. He said nothing, but quietly rearranged his own data sheet in the new order. He didn't object—that was significant. (Lyra…… her observational skills are incredible.) Celeste was quietly impressed. She seemed carefree, but her eye was genuine. The visual sensibility of someone who paints showed through in moments like this. --- "[excited]Hey senpai, watch this!" When their work reached a natural pause, Lyra turned toward the greenhouse window. Beyond it, the Celestial Garden spread out in the pre-dusk light—though still before Luminous Hour, the outer edges of the Garden were always faintly visible. Lyra held up her palette and her expression became focused. The liveliness from before withdrew in an instant. The dream paint began to glow. From Lyra's fingertips, thin lines of color extended toward the Garden's outer edge—when a Stella Painter's ability activated, the paint could touch the Garden directly. Lyra moved without hesitation. In mere seconds, a small flower painting was complete in one corner of the Garden. A flower modeled after Luminous Lavender—six purple petals, pale light overflowing from the center. Bathed in the light of real dream flowers, the painting shimmered with life. "[surprised]That's incredible. You're really talented." The words came out unbidden. Not flattery—genuine. Lyra's painting was alive. It blended with the Garden's atmosphere in a way that felt natural. Lyra laughed, embarrassed. "[gentle]When you praise me like that, senpai, it makes me want to try even harder." That was when it happened. From one corner of the Garden, black mist seeped out. Slowly. Like ink dissolving in water, gradually—but inexorably. The black touched the base of the flower Lyra had painted. The color peeled away. One purple petal disappeared. Then another. The light at the center was erased. It took less than three seconds. Only a black stain remained. "……My painting……" Lyra's hand pressed against the window. Her voice was small. The brightness from before had vanished without a trace. Celeste felt Flora Whisper's sensation pierce through her entire body. It was close to pain—but not quite pain. All the flowers in the Garden were terrified at once. "Run away" "Don't come" "Help me"—all the voices overlapped, ringing in her head. "[cold]Both of you, step away from the window." Elian quickly pulled both their shoulders back. "[serious]It's reached the outer edge. The speed of encroachment is completely different from before." His voice was low. His usual matter-of-fact tone, but with a hardness she'd never heard before. Somewhere, a bell began to ring. The emergency bell of Floral Guardian Academy—three rings at long intervals. It was the alarm sounded when a critical anomaly occurred in the Garden. --- Night fell. Even after Luminous Hour ended, Petal Street remained in chaos. Gale from the Rootwork herb shop stood in front of his store with a difficult expression. Meena from the flower shop hurried down the street. Two teachers from Floral Guardian Academy ran past, heading to investigate. Celeste was on Petra Hill. Fifteen minutes on foot southeast, crossing the river—her favorite small hill. From the hilltop, she looked up at the Celestial Garden. There were twelve black stains. As if someone had punched the Garden repeatedly. "……It's the same speed as when Mother's was happening." The words came out. But they weren't directed at anyone—just a whisper to herself. "No, it's faster." Five years ago—when Celeste was twelve, her mother's dream flower had completely withered. Back then, the black stain had spread slowly. Tonight there were twelve in a single night. Twelve. Elian appeared beside her. He'd come at some point without her noticing. "[cold]Black mist is approaching the hidden sector." "[serious]I'm coming with you." "[cold]Don't." His tone was different. Stronger than usual Elian. "[cold]The scale tonight is different. I'll be at my limit just defending the sector entrance. If you're there, I can't fight while protecting you." Her words caught. She started to say "but" and stopped. Elian's crimson eyes looked straight at her. He wasn't angry. But he was serious—so she couldn't argue back. Elian ran. Down the hill, toward the Garden. Celeste watched him go. Until his figure disappeared into the darkness. "[excited]I'm coming to help too!" Lyra was there. She'd been standing on the stone steps below for who knows how long. Her purple twin tails swayed in the night breeze. Her expression was different from the cheerfulness in the greenhouse. It was serious. "A Stella Painter's ability must be useful somehow. With dream paint, maybe I can do something against The Shadow——" "[serious]Don't come." The words came out first. Lyra's face froze. The image from earlier was in her mind. The flower Lyra had painted, erased in three seconds. The color stripped away, becoming a black stain. The thought of bringing Lyra into that mist—her body rejected it. "[serious]It's dangerous. Tonight's scale is different from before. No one knows how far a Stella Painter's ability will work against this." "……Do you think I'm just dead weight?" Her voice was low. It was the first time Celeste had heard Lyra speak in such a quiet tone. "That's not it. It's just——" But the words wouldn't come. She couldn't exp