Chapter 72: Threads of the Past
The afternoon sun filtered through the windowpanes of Class 3-A, bathing the room in golden hues. Dust particles floated lazily in the warmth, undisturbed and silent. Yet within the classroom, a quiet tension simmered beneath the surface. Riku sat at his desk, eyes fixed on the pendant that now rested heavily in his palm—its crimson core pulsing gently, like a heart refusing to fall silent.
"Why did you wait until now... to awaken again?" he murmured to himself, turning it over. His mind wandered back to the memory of his brother—Kael's warm smile, the promise they made under the sakura tree, the sound of wind whispering between petals.
From behind him, a voice broke the stillness. "You're drifting again."
It was Airi. Her voice wasn't harsh, but tinged with a worry she tried to hide. She slid into the seat beside him, the sleeves of her uniform slightly rolled up, her eyes steady.
"Sorry," Riku said, slipping the pendant back into his shirt. "I'm just trying to make sense of everything."
Airi leaned in. "You don't have to figure it all out alone. You're not the only one who's changed, Riku. I've seen it in myself, too. In Kaito. In the way our powers respond to things we haven't even understood yet."
Riku turned to her, catching the seriousness in her tone. "Do you think it's all connected? The relics, the Bloom, Kael's disappearance..."
Airi nodded slowly. "And I think the answers are closer than we think."
---
Meanwhile, in the school library, Yuki brushed her fingers across the spine of an old, dust-covered tome. It bore no title on the edge, but a symbol was engraved faintly into the leather—a flower blooming within a circle of fire.
She opened the book carefully. Inside, sketches of pendants, faded maps, and handwritten notes filled the pages. Her heart raced.
"The Bloom wasn't just an awakening," she whispered, reading a passage. "It was a selection. Only those tied to the ancient bloodlines would resonate."
She flipped to the next page and froze. There, in charcoal ink, was a sketch of a boy with striking resemblance to Riku. He stood among others in a field of flowers, the pendant glowing at his chest.
"No way... this is dated over a century ago."
---
That night, the moon hung low over Hoshikawa. Clouds swept across the sky like silent messengers of fate. Riku stood alone at the hill behind the school—a spot where he and Kael used to stargaze. The grass rustled gently, the town lights glowing below like grounded stars.
A soft rustle made him turn. Airi approached, her face bathed in moonlight.
"I thought I might find you here," she said softly. "I couldn't sleep either."
"This place... it holds so many memories," Riku said, staring into the distance. "And questions. I keep thinking about what Kael was trying to protect. About what I'm supposed to do."
Airi walked closer, her hand brushing his.
"You don't have to carry this burden alone. Whatever it is we're caught in... we're in it together."
Riku looked at her, and for a moment, everything else faded. His voice came out lower. "You've always been the one pulling me forward, Airi. Even when I didn't want to move."
Airi smiled, though her eyes glistened. "And you were always the one who gave me courage to be honest."
Their hands intertwined, warm even in the night air.
---
Elsewhere, beneath the city, hidden chambers long forgotten began to stir. The Order of the Crimson Root—cloaked in secrecy—lit their ancient torches. A figure cloaked in black stood at the head of a stone altar, a pendant eerily similar to Riku's held in both hands.
"The Bloom King's heir has awakened," the figure intoned. "We are no longer waiting. The final bloom draws near."
The chamber echoed with murmurs.
"And the girl...?"
"She is the catalyst. Just as the prophecy foretold."
---
At school the next morning, the group gathered on the rooftop—Riku, Airi, Kaito, Yuki, Haru, and Ren. The breeze tugged at their uniforms as they stared at Yuki's discovery.
"This isn't just a myth," Yuki said, placing the book down. "This is real. And our families—our bloodlines—were part of something much older. Something that was sealed."
Riku took in the information slowly. "Then our powers... they were never meant to be random. They're inherited."
Kaito clenched his fist. "And if what that book says is true... there are people out there who want to control it. Or destroy us."
Riku looked at each of them, his gaze steady. "Then we need to be ready. No more waiting around. No more hiding. If this is the path we've been chosen for... then we walk it together."
Everyone nodded, the weight of their shared fate settling in—but with it came resolve.
In the distance, thunder rumbled—not from the sky, but from something awakening far beneath the surface.
And so, the threads of the past began to tighten.
The world of Scarlet Bloom was preparing to bloom anew.
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