Luna’s words drew everyone’s attention upward.

What descended upon them was not ordinary wind-scattered debris, but something far more extraordinary.

Flowers.

Thousands upon thousands of flowers in varieties and colors they’d never seen before floated through the air in graceful patterns.

Petals swirled around them like a gentle snowfall, creating an aurora of color and beauty that seemed impossible.

The elves looked around in wonder and bewilderment.

"What are these flowers?" One elf asked, her voice filled with awe. "I’ve never seen anything like them."

"Neither have I." another agreed. "And I’ve explored the entire forest. These shouldn’t exist."

Even Leona looked stunned.

As the village’s foremost expert on fruits and flowers, she immediately realized something was wrong.

She examined one closely.

Then another.

Confusion filled her face.

"...I don’t recognize any of them."

Meanwhile—

Luca’s eyes trembled violently.

Because unlike the others—

He recognized them immediately.

And the moment he did...

His despair shattered.

This was because these flowers...

They weren’t from this era or this world.

They shouldn’t even exist anymore.

They belonged to a distant age.

A world long gone.

A past buried beneath thousands upon thousands of years.

And the moment he saw them—

Memories flooded into him violently.

Warm memories.

Painful memories.

Beautiful memories he thought he would never experience again.

A trembling smile slowly formed on his face.

Then—

A small purple flower drifted beside his ear.

And a voice whispered softly from it.

"Luca..."

The voice was gentle.

Feminine.

Filled with indescribable love.

The moment he heard it—

His entire body froze.

Goosebumps erupted across his skin.

His pupils shrank violently.

Because he recognized that voice instantly.

Then another flower floated past him.

"Luca..."

Another voice.

Another woman.

Then another.

"Luca!"

"Luuuca!"

"Lucaaaa!"

Soon, countless flowers circled around him.

Each one carried a different voice.

Some playful.

Some cold.

Some elegant.

Some cheerful.

Some quiet and melancholic.

But every single one called his name with such overwhelming affection that even the elves watching felt their hearts ache.

And Luca—

He stood there trembling.

Tears welled in his eyes.

Because these were voices he thought he would never hear again.

And if this wasn’t already enough to overwhelm him with—something extraordinary happened.

The flowers began converging together.

Petals gathered in the air.

A shape slowly formed.

Legs.

Arms.

Hair.

Eyes.

A face.

And finally—

A woman emerged entirely from flowers.

She was made entirely of flowers, every inch of her crafted from petals and leaves and blossoms.

But she was unmistakably, undeniably a woman.

Her face had eyes and lips and nose, all formed from delicate petals in shades of gold and rose.

Her hair flowed down her back like a waterfall of cherry blossoms.

Her body was slender yet curved, exquisite beyond words.

And she was beautiful. So beautiful that even the elves, who were themselves paragons of beauty felt their breath catch in their throats.

Luna, Lulu, and Nyx stared, unable to look away, utterly captivated.

But no one was more affected than Luca.

"Azalea." He whispered, his voice cracking. "How...How can you be here?"

The flower-woman smiled in response, a warm, loving smile that made his heart ache.

She then reached out and took his hand, pressing it against her petal-soft cheek, letting him feel her warmth, her presence, her reality.

"What can I say, Luca?"

Her voice was playful, teasing, yet underneath it lay a tenderness that brought fresh tears to his eyes.

"Seeing how pathetic you’re acting right now, I had to rise from my grave just to scold you."

She glanced at the other flowers still swirling around them.

"And it’s not just me. The rest of us came too."

"We couldn’t stand watching you make such a sorry spectacle in front of all these beautiful women."

The other flowers seemed to shimmer, as if in agreement.

And despite the insult, Luca’s tears flowed faster.

This was a dream. It had to be a dream.

But the warmth of her cheek against his palm, the sound of her voice—he knew it was real. He knew it was her.

He wanted to ask how. He wanted to ask why. He wanted to ask a thousand questions. But before he could, Azalea placed a delicate finger on his lips.

"I’m sorry, Luca. I know you have questions, but we don’t have much time." Her expression grew earnest. "We came here to say one thing."

She leaned closer, her flower-blue eyes locking onto his.

"Fight, Luca...I need you to fight."

He blinked, surprised.

"We’ve seen the future." She smiled, and her eyes sparkled. "And let me tell you—it’s glorious. Happier than you could ever imagine. A dreamland. Even I was shocked when I first saw it."

But her expression grew serious.

"But reaching that future won’t be easy. There will be challenges. Burdens. Trials. You’re going to suffer, Luca."

"You’ll become the most pityful being to ever exist with how much suffering you’ll endure."

She cupped his face in her hands.

"But you have to go through it. I need you to bear it."

Her voice softened, grew tender.

"And I know you can do it. You’re my Luca, after all. No matter how much it hurts, no matter how much pain they throw at you, you can bear it."

"You can fight through to the end."

She said with a look of pride on her face before a tear rolled down her petal cheek as she added,

"I’m sorry for asking you to suffer even more. But please, Luca—fight. Keep walking. Never stray from your path, no matter what."

Her eyes searched his. "Can you promise me that? Can you promise me you’ll keep walking?"

Luca was crying openly now—ugly, gasping sobs.

But he nodded, his voice cracking as he forced the words out.

"Y-Yes....Yes, I’ll do it....I’ll walk all the way to the very end."

Relief flooded Azalea’s face. She leaned forward, pressing her forehead against his.

"That’s good. That’s really good."

But then her expression grew sad.

"Unfortunately, even though your journey will be long and painful, even though you’ll suffer in the cruelest ways, I won’t be there to accompany you."

"I won’t be able to support you like I did in the past."

She paused, then broke into a beautiful smile.

"But don’t worry. Me, and everyone else you see here..." She gestured at the swirling flowers. "We’ll always be with you. From the beginning to the very end, we’ll never leave your side. We’ll always be watching."

She turned to the flowers. "Isn’t that right, girls?"

A chorus of beautiful voices rang out.

"Of course! We’ll never let you go, Luca!"

"We’ll always be watching over you!"

"You’ll never be lonely with us watching!"

"Keep running—we’ll be right behind you!"

The voices overlapped, each one unique, each one filled with love. Luca’s tears fell even harder.

Azalea turned back to him.

"You heard them. We’ll always love you, Luca. We’ll never let you go."

"So all you need to do is keep going. Keep running. Never stop, all the way until the end."

She chuckled.

"And who knows? If you reach the end...you might just see us again."

She wrapped her arms around him.

"Until then...we’ll be watching, my love."

She kissed his forehead.

And the moment her lips touched his skin, the flowers began to fall.

The petals lost their luster, their life, and drifted gently to the ground like snow.

Azalea’s body also crumbled, petals scattering, her form collapsing.

"No, wait—" Luca reached for her, desperate to hold onto her, but she slipped through his fingers like water.

Even as she fell, she was smiling.

"I love you, Luca...We all love you."

"From the beginning of time all the way to the end of the universe, you will forever be in our hearts."

Then she was gone.

And Luca immediately fell to his knees, scooping up handfuls of petals, pressing them to his chest as if he could hold onto her.

"I-I’ll do it." He sobbed. "I’ll keep running. No matter what happens, no matter how much it hurts, I’ll keep running for you!"

"I’ll never stop!...I’ll never stop no matter what!"

He curled over the flowers, his body shaking with grief, his cries echoing through the silent square.

And just like that, the man who had made the world tremble, who had faced down armies and had suffered the most miserable pain without flinching was crying like a child, clutching a pile of flowers.

The elves watched in stunned silence.

They didn’t understand what had happened, but they understood one thing:

Luca was hurting. And they couldn’t stand by and watch.

Luna was the first to move. She ran to him and threw her arms around him, pressing her naked body against his back.

Leona followed, wrapping her arms around him from the side.

Lulu crashed into him from the other side, nearly knocking him over.

Nyx walked up slowly and knelt in front of him, taking his face in her hands and wiping his tears with her thumbs.

Around them, the other elves hesitated for only a moment—and then they surged forward.

Soon, Luca was completely surrounded by naked women, all of them hugging him, holding him, pressing their warmth against him.

"It’s alright, Hero. It’s alright." Nyx murmured.

"You’ll be fine, Luca." Leona added.

"I don’t know what happened." Lulu said. "But we’re with you."

"We’ll always be with you." Luna finished.

The other elves echoed them, their voices soft and comforting.

"We’re here, Hero. We’re not going anywhere!"

"You can lean on us!"

Luca sobbed even harder—but this time, the tears weren’t just from pain.

They were from relief. From gratitude. From love.

He was surrounded. Enveloped. Held.

He wasn’t alone anymore.

And as the flowers lay scattered around them, a new promise took root in his heart.

He would keep running. He would fight. He would walk all the way to the end.

No matter what.