- Within the Chrysanthemum Tree -

After everything had ended, Charlotte felt that she could take a breath for awhile. She felt that for this short amount of time, her heart has been put into a test.

Charlotte sat down and watched the three protagonists talked and laughed around each other. It was quite nice to be able to see this kind of peaceful scenery.

'If it was in the past, I thought that there is no way for me to get close to them because I'm a reader and they used to be characters on my favorite manhwa. But now... that wall seems to be disappearing.'

She smiled in relieve and satisfaction.

'Like what they said, there will always be rainbow after the storm.'

It was what she heard from Altaira.

'But then again, I don't see Altaira and Celeste around. They probably left first along with Estelle and Estrella. It's his style to run away from troubles and sacrifice someone else to do his work.'

She knew that from her experience for years after being schemed and tricked to do her brother's chores.

Usually within a party, she was always one of the noisiest ones along with Altaira. But compared to Charlotte, there were the times where he was content just with standing at the corner and watched everything with a satisfied smile on his face.

'I always thought that being cheerful and chaotic are the best ways to express my happiness,' she thought and looked at her right palm. 'But there are ways to congratulate something. And right now, just by looking at them...'

She closed her eyes and her right palm as to enjoy herself at this present moment.

'I'm happy.'

"It's quite rare for you to not join a party," Raisin spoke.

"To be more specifi, she is sitting at the corner smiling like a weirdo."

"I'm in a good mood now so, I won't beat you for what you've said."

The red- haired man came with Noah. The two of them walked side- by- side and walked towards her. And their expressions looked rather solemn which confused Charlotte.

It was normal for Raisin to look so serious all the time. Even Estrella described him as a grumpy old man who wasted God's blessing to have such a beautiful face. But Noah was different. He didn't look relaxed at all. His expression showed the hint that there was something troubling him which made her wonder what it was.

She stood up and walked towards them. Now, she was no longer the child who cried and waited for someone to find her while hiding in the dark. She could stand up and run towards those who required her help.

"Is there something wrong, Noah?" She asked immediately and straight to the point.

Noah's eyebrows frowned deeper. She was getting more certain that this was not a simple matter for him to look even stressed.

'Perhaps I should make him relaxed first?'

Charlotte extended her right hand and held Noah's hand which pretty much surprised Noah. He didn't seem to expect her to come up with such a gesture.

"You know," she said with a smile that showed that she was confident that everything would go smoothly. "If you have any problem, then you can tell it to others. We are always ready to help you."

Noah responded nothing for awhile.

'If only... I meet this kind of people sooner.... if only Celeste and I had the fortune to encounter these people.....'

He bit the bottom of his lips.

'Perhaps we won't suffer that much.'

His purple eyes looked at the brown- haired girl. She was waiting for him to answer her question. Of course, even if he didn't want to, he still have to tell this young lass about his trouble, because his trouble was related to her.

"It's about......."

≪ ◦ ❖ ◦ ≫

"Y... your hands turned into stones?! Shouldn't you go to the hospital?!"

Bam's blunt remark had made Rak's efforts to be stronger seemed to be useless. Because his hands could only change into stones, both Khun and Bam didn't found it as something worth to be proud of. Here and there, wherever he was, as long as he showed off about his new ability, all he got was mockery and blunt insult.

"What?!"

"Bahaha! Are you sick? Is that why you're wearing cast?"

"S... shut up or I'll kill you!"

"But how do you get rid of that thing, Rak?"

"Don't ask me!"

While Bam was asking Rak about his arms, Khun's eyes looked at somewhere else.

Bam was proud to know that his friends were capable of awakening their powers already. While Rak got himself laughed and mocked, others kept praising Khun. It was to be expected. But what he didn't expect was someone who always encouraged him didn't give him any praise at all.

'Where is she?'

Was it because she could read the future and knew that he would be awaking his power soon that she kept encouraging him? And was it because of her being able to see the future that she knew this would happen and didn't praise him? Because everything was to be expected?

That thought kind of made him felt irritated.

Just some thoughts about Charlotte ignoring him already made him irritated, not to mention when he saw her holding someone else's hand and was talking with a smile on her face.

He knew that she was that kind of person, the kind who always hugged others and touched others without bothering whether the person they were hugging was a girl or a boy, but he didn't know since when he felt irritated seeing that.

Teasing Rak felt boring now. Rather than standing in silence while wondering what they were talking about, he chose to approach them and see what was going on.

"What the two of you are talking about?" Khun asked once he approached the two of them. Behind him, there were Bam and Rak following.

Once Charlotte heard Khun's voice, she was startled and let go of Noah's hand. Noah looked at Khun, but he said nothing. He was aware that Bam was glaring at him, but pretended that there was nothing.

"We were just talking about sworn enemy," she answered.

"Sworn enemy?" He asked while crossing his arms. "Whose sworn enemy you are talking about? I thought all of them have been cleared?"

Charlotte's expression looked troubled. Though she was still smiling, the happiness within her faded a little after she heard his question.

"It's...... my sworn enemy."

≪ ◦ ❖ ◦ ≫

Khun had never seen such a large chrysanthemum tree before. Could chrysanthemum grow this big?

The chrysanthemum tree stood mightily right on where it was and the purple petals fell from the ground one by one. That beautiful scenery could have made him felt relaxed... if it wasn't for the thought that they were there for an important business.

He remembered their conversation before.

"You sealed her sworn enemy?"

"Yes," Noah admitted. "And I was wondering if she wanted to go and see her sworn enemy."

He turned his head around and looked at Charlotte who smiled at him with a little bit awkward smile.

"Is that true?" Khun asked Charlotte.

"You don't believe in me?" Noah asked only to be ignored.

"Yes," Charlotte said and scratched the back of her head. "And I want to see my sworn enemy."

She wanted to go to see her sworn enemy that has been sealed. Since it was sealed, there was no way for her to see her sworn enemy anymore unless they chose to unseal her sworn enemy. But according to Noah, unsealing her sworn enemy would be troublesome as it would waste a lot of energy and in the same time, her sworn enemy was not someone could be reasoned with. In his opinion, the opinion that he told to everyone there but Charlotte, her sworn enemy was filled with hatred right now.

Her sworn enemy despised them for standing on her way, for wanting to put her in eternal loneliness and ignored her cries.

Khun's blue eyes were locked at the brown- haired girl. She was standing under the chrysanthemum tree.

'Would it be fine for me to get close?' He wondered. But even so, he still took several steps forward.

'It looks so peaceful from the outside. But I could feel it. Inside this tree, there is someone shouting in rage, someone drunk in hatred.'

She carefully extended her right palm and touched the tree. She didn't know why, but right now, she was not really afraid. She was unexpectedly calm. Was it because she was slowly becoming more like an adult?

'Right. I'm no longer the same person... that person who used to run away from her fear... will be facing her own fear right here and right now.'

She rested her forehead at the chrysanthemum tree. Even if right now she had the courage to meet her sworn enemy, but... her sworn enemy was sealed already. There was no way for her to get in and see her.

That was until she heard a man's voice.

"Do you wish to see her? Your deepest fear. The thing that you want to bury the most. You wish to see it?"

"Who?!"

She turned her head around in shock. The one who spoke those words was not Bam. It was not Noah or Khun. And it was not Raisin and Rak either.

Khun who was standing right in front of her now asked, "What's wrong?"

Charlotte didn't answer his question straightforwardly. Her mind was wondering whether she was imagining things, but her feelings were certain that she was not. She could heard the voice so vividly inside her head.

"I... just thought that I heard someone was speaking...."

Khun didn't understand that.

"What?"

"You didn't hear it?"

"I didn't hear anything," Khun answered. Something was telling him that this might not be a good sign.

'So I'm the only one who could hear his words?' Charlotte wondered to herself as she looked at the tree again.

What on earth was going on?

"Your life- savior... as well as your biggest enemy," the voice spoke again, as if he could hear her words and replied to her confusion. "Right now... I have that strength to allow you to get inside the tree. But once you step inside, if you can't conquer your fear, then you should be trapped inside. It doesn't matter for hundred of years or thousand of years... defeating your fear is the only way to get out from it."

She could not understand his first line. She just knew that the invisible guy had the ability to allow her to see her sworn enemy. But once she went inside, unless she managed to conquer her fear, then she won't be able to leave.

She would be left alone together with her fear.

"............."

It was so quiet.

Charlotte turned around again and looked at the tree. Her eyebrows frowned not because of her suspicions, but because she was determined.

'Even brother had conquered his fear. I shouldn't lose.'

This was not a competition, but motivation.

'Even if it takes a thousand years, I still have to face what I've been running away from.'

"I want to get in," she said suddenly.

The others could not hear her voice clearly as she spoke in a low volume, but she was sure that this mysterious guy could. And so as Khun as he asked her where she wanted to go. But his question, however, was ignored by the brown- haired girl.

A moment later, she heard a reply,

"The decision has been made."

The same, faint red smoke appeared suddenly in the air and circled her right arm. Charlotte recognized that smoke. That faint red smoke appeared when she was using the clicker back then... when she thought that she had seen it wrong.

But that didn't seem to be the case.

As soon as the red smoke touched the tree, white light began to glimmer on the chrysanthemum tree.

"What the?!"

It became an unexpected and unwanted surprise for the rest of them who had no idea what was going on.

'This can't be!'

It was something that even Noah couldn't comprehend.

'Gardenia's seal... how can this be? Is it because she's an irregular? But this is a technique taught by my father who's also an irregular! She could break the rules of his seal?!'

The white light glimmered before blinding everyone with its brightness. Charlotte closed her eyes for a moment and was still able to maintain her calmness. When she opened her eyes again, the white light seemed to have formed a path to her to get inside.

She couldn't see what was covered with that white light. She could only feel that this was the door to see her enemy. The white light didn't destroy the whole tree. In a rectangular shape, it was a door to get inside.

"What did you do?!" Khun asked her, feeling that she knew what was going on.

Charlotte's lips curled into a smile. The mysterious guy was not lying at all.

"I did nothing," she answered. "I simply want to see someone."

As she was just about to walk inside the tree, she could hear Bam's voice calling her from distance.

"CHARLOTTE!"

She could hear Bam was shouting for her name in worry. She knew that he wanted her to step aside and not to get inside. But this was something that she had to face, something that she should be facing alone.

'I can't keep relying on them to survive,' she thought. 'And I'm sure they would be proud at me if I could conquer my own fears and troubles. But as the younger one, it is a must for me to tell my brothers where I'm going.'

She turned around and smiled at Bam in ease.

'So that they won't be worried and could wait for me to return in peace.'

"Don't worry," she assured him. "I'll be back soon. I won't leave too long."

The second time she wanted to get inside the tree, she was stopped again. But this time, she was stopped by Khun.

"No. It's too risky," he said. "If you want to get inside, then let's get inside together!"

He held her hand tightly in order to prevent her from going inside. But he was still careful as not to hurt her.

"Sorry but," with her left hand, she removed his hand that was holding her right wrist. "This is something I must face on my own."

"What?"

"Be assured, Khun," she said. "I know clearly what I'm doing."

After saying those words, Charlotte immediately turned around and ran inside the tree before he could stop her.

"CHARLOTTE!"

The green vines grew from the ground, becoming a wall to prevent the others from coming.

"LOTUS TURTLE!"

And with that wall of green vines, neither Bam and the others could catch up with her. And once she went inside and vanished without leaving anything behind, the white light was getting smaller and smaller. The door was closing.

"Step aside!"

Using his orb, Bam was hoping to be able to break through the vines. But the vines were made in order to stop them and prevent them from coming. Charlotte knew how powerful her brother was and so, she made those vines ten times tougher and thicker on purpose.

"Damn it...!" Raisin cursed.

'You think I would let you get inside alone?'

Khun had destroyed a vine that was trying to ensnare his ankle with his ice spear. It was hard to do so as she was determined in going inside on her own, but he had no other choice. After that, without hesitating, he ran towards the door that was closing.

The white light had gotten smaller that only one of his hands fit to get inside. But as soon as his right hand went inside the white light, his whole body was pulled inside. And no matter how much he struggled, he was bound to be pulled inside the tree.

And everything went black.

≪ ◦ ❖ ◦ ≫

"What?! You said that... you met our mother?!"

Estrella and Estelle were both surprised.

The mother who they cherished the most, who they cared the most, who they yearned the most, she had appeared as their sworn enemy and was killed at the hand of their friends.

Tears dropped from their eyes. They always longed to see their mother. Even if her mother was present as their enemy, they were fine with that. They just wanted to see her once again and to hear her voice one more time, even when what comes out from her mouth would be something harsh and cruel.

But their mother had a different thought. Rather than breaking their children's and her hearts by fighting against each other, wouldn't it be better for her to be executed first by someone else? That way, their children won't have to stain their hands and lived in regret.

She was so confident with her thoughts that she didn't know it was not what her children wanted. And she was so certain with her actions that she didn't know that her children would have been happier to solve the things between the them on their own.

Droplets of tears fell from their eyes as the painful memories resurfaced again.

"I love you."

At the end, those three words were the words that they wanted to hear the most, as well as the words that tormented them the most.

'Where am I?'

He felt dizzy and suffocated.

It was as if someone had pushed him to the ocean to be drowned, it was so hard to breath and open his eyes for a moment. He could only wonder where he was while trying to stay conscious... because he felt like he was going to faint any time.

"You wish to follow her to the abyss?" A voice asked with the hint of curiosity.

It confused to him to hear someone's voice in the middle of the darkness. He couldn't open his own eyes, but it seemed like his ears were still working. It was clear for him now that he was not actually drowned. But if he wasn't drowned, what was this suffocated feeling?

"Abyss?"

"Be careful," the voice continued again with the tone of mischief. "Trust is the mother of deceit."

"What?"

"That girl is cursed, you know."

"Cursed? I-- I don't understand."

He felt like the one who this stranger was referring was his friend, Charlotte, Xi. This person seemed to be referring to the only reason why he risked his life and entered a rather foreign place despite of knowing he could just die anytime.

For him, Charlotte was not a jinx. For them, her existence was not a curse. Charlotte, Xi, or even Nox, they were not cursed.

Khun swore that he had never heard this kind of voice before. As far as he could remember, he didn't know anyone with this voice. This complete stranger was talking to him with a rather ease and casual tone as if they were friends or something. He could hear him snickering as if there was something amusing. It was a rather malicious snicker.

Khun couldn't read someone's mind. He could only observe them and guess what was running on their mind. And listening to his snicker carefully, he was certain of one thing. Whatever this guy found amusing, it must not be anything good. It was the snicker of a demon who laughed at the sight of his target falling slowly to darkness and desperation.

"Of course. Not even she knows this. But I'll tell you a little secret."

Suddenly, the pain of the suffocation seemed to be lessened. He still felt suffocated and dizzy, but it was better than before. He could open his eyes slightly now even though his vision was blurred.

But what he saw turned out to be a land with scorching fire everywhere. His nose could only smell the heavy and disturbing scent of fresh blood. All his ears could hear was the cries of people. Young, old, male or female, there were cries and begs for mercy.

"Spare us!"

"Please!"

"I still have a family who I should take care of!"

"Please!"

"Please!"

"SPARE US!!"