Like a flower blooming in the mud, the rose grew and flourished gracefully with its dark, blood red stem that protected crimson ruby petals. From the shining silver bud and its gilded sepals, there was no other rose that exhibited the magnitude of grace it effortlessly showed off.
From Ancestra's chest, the bud that was in her body grew a vibrant flower that lusted for tragedy and hid it with beauty.
Like a black hole, every trace and remnant of blood from the wasteland dragged itself and flew towards the infantile rose, seemingly giving it life from the once living. Bloods of dark and light red, and even the thick, demonic black blood of the demons' corpses that looked like oil and ink more than anything.
Even the blood left on Sinsear's sharp fingernails.
The silver bud throbbed in a pattern as if it was a heart. Two beats in succession, and a pause before another two beats, and repeats. The more blood it was fed, the faster it sprouted. Second by second, one could see how fast this tragic rose comes to life, its greed going far as to devour the bodies of where it got blood from.
When the Blood Rose fully bloomed, the skies turned crimson. Sinsear looked up and back at the blood-hued sky with a smirk.
"Hehehe~ Now that's whatcha call bein' a showoff~. Can't say I hate it though~ Let's go, Adabbon~" She commented, patting the side of the dragonoid's large neck. Adabbon grumbled lowly before he resumed his trudging through Xenaron.
In the red-tinted wasteland was no other body, object, or entity left other than Ancestra. The Blood Rose, seemingly satiated by the amount of food it was given, retreated into the raven-haired child's chest, nestling the heart with its silver, thorn-laden brambles to protect and make her its captive.
Days pass by with not a single soul knowing how many.
After what it seems like waking up from a long night's sleep, Ancestra opens her eyes slowly, coughing. Her ears were ringing a high-pitched sound, accompanied with the sound of two heartbeats in-sync, producing a more prominent sound. She sat upright in surprise, and due to her uncontrolled strength, she smacks her head onto the cold, hard dead soil.
"Oww!" Ancestra reacted out of instinct.
"Oww…?" Ancestra rubbed her forehead, confused. It didn't hurt.
"It… didn't hurt?" asked Ancestra. Then she remembered something.
"Mom! Dad!" She shouted, looking around her. There was nothing but red. The ground, and the skies.
'They're… gone…?' Ancestra felt her heartbeat louder than ever. The Rose's brambles tightened around her heart, sending Ancestra to crash back down on the soil.
"Aghhh! Aghkk…. Gahhhh! AGHHH!!!! IT HURTS!!! IT… HURTS!!!" She screamed and twisted around, her lungs having trouble catching air. The little girl tried to grasp at the dead soil, shaking and shivering in pained grunts as she gasped and felt her throat constricted by thorns.
'Ah, Enicillis. Your father told me that it meant "strongest while calm."' Zanien's words rung through Ancestra's mind, taking her breath away for an instant. In the dead silence, she could hear her heartbeats loudly as if it was close to her ears.
"Hhhhhhh… Haaaaah… Hhhhhh… Haaaaah…" Ancestra tried to calm herself by steadying her breathing first. Slow and deep breaths followed, the Rose rewarding her host with ease. The brambles that constricted her heart loosened and made breathing easier again.
"I have to stay calm…" Ancestra told herself before standing up. Her body felt like it was weightless, and her limbs feel reinforced. Her head is clear, which was something she was already accustomed to. But it was clearer than ever, as if nothing could really surprise and throw her off.
"I heard Mom's voice… Mom?! Are you there?!" Ancestra clutched her head with a hand while shouting and looking around. Then she remembered.
"Wait… she's…" A dry chuckle escapes from Ancestra's lips. Her eyes started tearing up. She's finally caught up with herself. Her parents are dead. She fell to her knees, which didn't hurt nor tickle. She hugged them and fell to the ground, hiding her face in her thick locks of hair.
The sounds of a crying child mourning her late parents was swallowed by the silence of the wastelands.
After what felt like an hour, the girl stands up, her body in pristine condition. She looks at her arms, to see that her right arm, up to just below her shoulders is covered in bandages. Small gaps are visible from the way they're wrapped around her, and all she could see was several hues of red moving about as if her arm was the cast and it's molten metal in it.
"What… is this?" She asked someone, but there was no one who could answer her question. Remembering Johannes, she shook her head and gave way to another deep breath.
"No time to think, I have to get to the village…!" Ancestra lowered her body, kicking the dead soil with an unprecedented amount of strength, shooting off into the village's direction faster than a speeding bullet.
'Whoa…! My legs became stronger! My body feels lighter as well… Where did this come from?' She asked herself as she made her way to the village in less than two minutes.
Or, supposedly where the village was.
"Wh… where's the village? I know its here… But…" Ancestra looked around, confused. Fear gripped her heart. She looked around, seeing a large path of blood with locks of blonde hair by one end. Her heart pounded against her ears once more, the thorns wrapped around it asphyxiating her and robbing her of air.
"Kh…!" She put her bandaged hand over her chest, walking over to the trail of blood. Kneeling down, her bandaged hand gravitated towards it. As if there was some supernatural force pulling her hand to it, her fingertips make contact with it. The dried blood from the dead soil come and get absorbed by her fingertips, attracted to it like a magnet.
Ancestra felt her body become a little lighter, and a small dose of strength was injected into her.
"Wait… is this…?" She started to piece things together.
"Is this… a power? An… what did Mom call it… an ability?" asked Ancestra towards someone, only to be met with silence. She picked up the scattered strands of dirty blonde hair.
"Johannes…" She muttered softly. She clutched the locks of hair and raised them to her face. She closed her eyes and tightened her grip, remembering Johannes' words to her.
'"I'll try to save everyone."' His last words to her rung through her mind, her eyes welling up again. This time, she stopped herself from crying and wiped her eyes.
"Liuth Iluma Sinsear." Ancestra whispered. Her tone was cold, sharp, and merciless. There wasn't a trace of childish innocence in her voice anymore.
"Wait for me." She looked at the direction of Xenaron. Directly at Sinsear who had her back turned from what used to be Man's Last Bastion.
Sinsear smiled wickedly, licking her now clean fingernails.
"I'll be waiting... Little Ancy~" softly whispered the blonde, crimson-eyed angel.
"I'm coming for you." Ancestra raised her bandaged hand, pointing directly at Sinsear. Her crimson eyes glowed through her raven-haired bangs, unbeknownst to her that it started to change color from raven black to a light pink.
As if it was being injected directly with blood, lightening its color.