The clouds parted as the sunlight shone through, illuminating the Flora-binding room, revealing two figures in the otherwise empty room. The two figures were standing close to each other, one was pinning the other's shoulder, their lips touching. A wave of dizziness crashed into Hajime. The mistakes from yesterday were catching up to him; too much wine led to an overwhelming hangover; having casual sex was better than he imagined; doubting Aveline made his heart ache.
The mistakes from today were overwhelming him. Octavia kissing him felt good but her words made him shiver. What did she know?
Octavia pulled away from Hajime, her eyes focusing on him, a sigh leaving her mouth.
"You're just like him."
"I'm like him?"
Octavia nodded, "You can touch any floralith without consequence."
Hajime shook his head, "I can't"
"Don't play dumb with me boy. I kissed you without giving you permission. You should've died."
A chill spread through his spine. She risked his life without warning him.
"What?"
Octavia narrowed her eyes. She stepped towards him, reaching for his neck, her hands glowing slightly, rubbing Aveline's flower tattoo.
A searing pain spread from his neck all throughout his body.
"Fuck!"
He reached for his neck and felt two other tattoos: the one from Veloria and the one from Sakura.
"Three bonds. Just like him."
Octavia touched his forehead and his pain died down. She smiled sadly and locked eyes with him.
"Hajime, I don't want you to end up like him."
"Who is he?"
Octavia snapped her fingers, a trio of roots growing out of the floor, a pair of them growing into chairs, the other growing into a table.
"Sit."
Hajime obliged. He had never before seen roots being used this way—he still only had control of one root. The chair was soft yet firm, scary yet beautiful, eerie yet safe. The smell of roses lingered in the air.
"Have you ever wondered why there isn't an Emperor? Why do Petalhaven nor Fleurdelis have Emperors yet Dominalis and Radiant Grove have both?"
He nodded. He remembered when he used to study magic and came across the Avyris and Aicte ranking. Octavia, Tella, and Lichtenia were the top three Aictes yet none of them had an Avyris that was partnered with them; Kaelos (The strongest Avyris) had Nyssa, who was the fourth Aicte.
"Emperor Dominalis has a harem of Floraliths. He switches every month or so to master a new type Flower mana."
Octavia chuckled, "He wants to surpass Kaelos so badly. But Kaelos is a monster in his own right. Anyways when I attended Rosevale together with Tella and Lichtenia, we were good friends—best friends even. We didn't want to bond with anyone else; We didn't want to expand our friend group. That's when Tella started to research the history of magic and found something."
Octavia stared down at her feet.
"She found a record of an old race. The Liths," she looked up to Hajime, "You guys are capable of bonding with more than one, impregnating floraliths and even boosting the speed at which we can learn and understand flower magic. Tella was relentless: she kept searching for any signs of their settlement or how to make one. She even convinced us to go search for one beyond Radiant Grove. She said that the Kudzu were focused on the Radiant Grove army and would ignore us."
Another sigh escaped Octavia's mouth, "Tella was our friend so we followed her, and by sheer luck, we found one. He was kind, compassionate, intelligent, and he taught us about the Liths. But Tella didn't care for that, she betrayed his trust and captured him. I thought she'd let him go after a while and come to her senses but he's still trapped inside Floraire castle."
Hajime scratched the back of his head. He thought Liths were just a species that the System came up with or that they lived on another planet, galaxy or universe.
"But, Hajime," Octavia put on a fake smile, "Your mothers are Aurora and Sophia. You're a human, a Floral Attuned."
She crossed her arms, "Care to explain?"
He forced a laugh. Everyone wanted to know his secrets; he wished they would stop and let him be. Poking his tongue in his cheek, inhaling a long breath, biting the inside of his cheek, his headache throbbing, he sighed.
"I have a system okay? There, happy? I'm a liar, reincarnator, asshole, cheater, and a whole bunch of other things okay?"
"System? Reincarnator? Speak actual words."
Hajime groaned.
"Fine. A reincarnator is someone who dies and comes back to life in another world. I was born with memories of my past life. When I was a baby, I had 18 years' worth of memory. And I have a system which is practically a god-like cheat."
"Cheat? God-like?"
"If I have sex with Floralith and virgins I get points. I can use those points to change the world, like," he turned towards the door, "Prevent Aveline from breaking her bond with me and killing a certain douche."
Octavia rubbed her forehead and squished her eyebrows together before she nodded profusely, "Umu, I understand, you're a witch."
He slapped his forehead, "No. I'm not a witch. They're not real—I hope."
Hajime spent the next 15 minutes explaining to Octavia what he was and what he believed the System was.
Octavia slammed her fist on the plant table.
"I got it. You're just a pervert."
"WHAT! No well yes? ugh"
"Kidding, kidding I understand."
Octavia giggled before continuing, "So you're an even rarer catch than a Lith. If Tella finds out I'm sure you'll replace that guy."
Hajime shivered. Octavia told him what that guy's purpose was: A breeding machine for Floraliths—not in a good way. His face seemed to smile as he smiled at Octavia.
"Oh, do you not want to end up locked in a cage and be used solely for your body?"
Hajime's head bobbed quickly.
"Then you have two choices: Either run away or become stronger than Tella. Because I can't; I'd lose in a fight against Tella, granted I would severely injure her but still. I'd rather not die for a pervert."
Hajime's bobbing ceased, "Runaway?"
Octavia nodded, "The guy said there was a Lith empire somewhere on this island. Probably beyond the Kudzu Territory. I'm guessing you'd fit right in."
"No. Not an option. My family is here. I'll train harder."
He gulped. He was still on the fence about casual sex but he needed to find a middle ground between his morals and the safety of himself and his family.
Octavia stood up and unlocked the door, "First we'll have to deal with this though."