“I’m sorry, Hathaway, but I was born to be this way.”

I could see her getting annoyed by what I was saying. After letting out a sigh, she quickly glanced around. “I can’t agree with what you just said but explain what you are.”

“I’m not exactly sure,” I said as I walked and stood to her left. “I don’t feel pain and my wounds heal up quite fast.”

“Caladrius.” She gripped the handle of her rapier tight. “Fine. I can’t use my powers fully here as there’s no plants around.” She took off the blue rose corsage she was wearing. “But we have one shot at this. I need you to distract her.”

“Got it!” I dashed to the expanded room. I could hear Hathaway’s groan of annoyance as it seemed like she wasn’t finished. Whatever it was, I could see that she knew what she was doing so I didn’t care that much about the rest of the explanation. Taking whatever I could find, I ran towards Ashley and swung to the back of her head.

Ashley’s other arm transformed into a bigger amalgamation of vines and blocked my swing. She pierced my stomach and pushed me to the wall, locking me in place.

“Let him go, Jones.”

“No, he needs to know. He needs to understand this excruciating—”

“Pain?”

Her jealous glare at Arun turned to anger that she pointed at me. Heartbroken. I could see it in her eyes.

“I know you don’t want to hurt him, Ash. Let him go.”

“What do you know about me? You could never understand what I’ve—”

“Obviously! How could I know? Have you ever told anyone? How would anyone know if you don’t tell anyone, Ashley? Not even him?”

“Stop cutting me off!”

She let her grasp on Arun go and sent that particular arm to my face. The tip spread, forming a monstrous hand that later held my head against the wall. I couldn’t even breath, let alone spout any other nonsense. 

“None of you listened anyway. Someone like me is always just the air moving along without being noticed, not even by someone on my side for twelve long years.”

From the gap, I saw her body changing into something of a monster’s. So this is a Diegesis. Was that monster the other day a different person? Ashley’s vivid crimson eyes gazed at Arun who had lost his consciousness completely.

“No matter what I said, he would never listen. I may have been by his side all this time, but,” her head was looking down the moment she started reminiscing. Both arms that were around me weakened, gradually. I knew that it was our only chance.

“Hathaway, now!”

Hathaway threw the blue rose to the air. “May the azure petals keep you in peace behind the shackles of its thorns that keep you out of reach from those that you wished for.” She swung her rapier to the rose mid-air. “The Blue Rose of Longing!”

Pieces of the flower Hathaway destroyed each grew to parts of a massive cage of thorny vines, surrounding Ashley that had fully turned to a monster. In an instant, the cage compressed inward and trapped her. The agony that followed pierced even the coldest of hearts.

“O’ crystal of light, close your last page as this chapter, too, shall come to an end.”

Hathaway’s rapier and the scattered blue roses lit up, followed by the cry of agony from the creature. They all exploded, creating a gentle shockwave and the warmest of light. As everything died down, the room turned back to normal. Arun and the girls were safe and Ashley was nowhere to be found. In front of me, the damages and traces of everything were slowly disappearing.

“Once the Fairytale ends and the Boundary is gone, reality will reshape itself to make sense of everything.”

I looked down to my wounds that are already closed. “Was this also what happened last month?”

“Yes.”

“What about Ashley?”

“That wasn’t her. It was her uncontrolled Diegesis that turned into a Fairytale on its own. Ashley doesn’t even know this is happening.”

“And that’s it?”

“Everything that created that Diegesis, her story, will be gone from her very soul. Too early to know what will happen but at least her obsession will definitely be gone.”

“That wasn't an obsession. I can see it.”

“You’re naive, Sota.” She said under her breath, preventing me from hearing it. Gentiana Hathaway took out another business card from her pocket and put it on the table in that room. “The Footnotes. It will have all the answers you need about our world once you’re ready to face it.”

I only stared at her, nodding.

“Thank you, Hathaway.”