Chapter 118 How It All Began (5)

Chapter 118 How It All Began (5)

"Every plant in the world… Is my friend."

Rosalyn's cold and emotionless voice went one octave higher as she jubilantly declared her special ability. Her unmoving lips slowly curled upwards, and her bright Lapis eyes sparkled with pure delight.

Taken aback by her sudden declaration, Jin took two steps back and turned to look all around. He became exceedingly aware of every blade of grass he'd stepped on, and his analytical mind began to process the weight of the information he was given.

Every single plant in the world, every flower, every tree… Every seed.

Were they all Rosalyn's friends?

Does that mean that all plants had conscious minds? Whenever he mows the lawn, was he causing a mass genocide? And more importantly… Does Rosalyn communicate with every single plant in the world?

No brain on earth could process all that information. Even the world's most advanced supercomputers would be overloaded with data and overheat, let alone a mere young girl's mind. Jin thought of all the implications of Rosalyn's words, and he carefully constructed his next question.

"Y-You… Talk to all of the plants?"

"No…" Rosalyn shook her head as she reached down to a nearby flower. Gently stroking the white chrysanthemum, she ushered out a jovial smile and said:

"Plants… No thoughts, but… They have souls…"

"Souls?"

"Yes… Souls…"

Rosalyn raised both her arms, and an illusion overwhelmed Jin's senses. No, to call it an illusion would be an inaccuracy. What Jin was experiencing was real, but it wasn't visible to anyone without a soul.

Numerous specks of light emerged from every single plant that surrounded the pair. Emerald balls of light rose from the trees, mossy lights arose from the grass, beads of jade coagulated from the ferns…

In time, the entire area was covered with numerous decorated lights, creating a lustre that exceeded that of the morning Sun. Blinded by the radiance of the lights, Jin inadvertently covered his eyes as he could not bear the enormous strain on his eyes. Yet, even as Jin could not move a single muscle, Rosalyn stared straight into the blinding lights as if she were watching her favourite television show.

"Too much?"

Rosalyn asked the blinded young boy, who could only gradually look up with tears in his eyes.

"T-These… A-Are all the plants' souls?!"

"No? Only ten percent…"

"Ten percent?!" Jin couldn't help but exclaim. Just ten percent was enough to blind him thoroughly and even force his eyes to water. If Rosalyn summoned out all of the souls nearby, wouldn't it turn him blind completely?

"... Sorry."

Seeing Jin suffer, Rosalyn held her hands and dispersed the dazzling lights. The souls of each plant returned to their original state, and as if everything before was an illusion, the only light that remained was the brightness of dawn.

And yet…

"Rosalyn… Don't tell me you talk to every single one of those plants?!"

"Yes…?"

The green-haired girl tilted her head as if inquiring why Jin was stunned at her rather mundane ability. But in Jin's mind, he was completely blown away by the immense burden that the young girl must have taken on.

Rosalyn was just eleven years old, one year older than himself, yet she had to carry the burden of communicating with every plant life form around her. Jin himself would be overwhelmed if he had to talk with a hundred people, let alone the millions of plants that surrounded him every single second.

"My power… Vampire Aspect… Is the Dreaming Forest."

"D-Dreaming Forest?"

"Yes…" Rosalyn's emotionless demeanour returned as she started to narrate her painful and unbelievable past. "The Dreaming Forest… Is the Shadowgarden House's… Masterpiece. They… engineered me."

"Engineered you?! You mean they genetically altered you from the womb?"

"No womb… I was born from plants…"

"H-Huh?!"

Bit by bit, Rosalyn unveiled the dreadful deeds of the Shadowgarden House. Due to how slow she talked, Jin had to sit down patiently as he listened to Rosalyn's painful past. Unlike most Vampires, Rosalyn wasn't born from the womb.

A secretive collaboration project was created that joined the Elves and Shadowgarden House together. They used the best DNA from Elves who were attuned to plants and the Shadowgarden House's best genes to create a perfected product. One that could awaken a Vampire Aspect capable of matching that of the Vampire Progenitor.

Dubbed the 'Sleeping Beauty' initiative, this secretive collaboration had been hundreds of years in the making. By selectively breeding Shadowgarden Vampires and taking the purest Elves from their lineage, they planned to create the next Progenitor-level Vampire, one that could defend both the Elves and elevate the members of the Shadowgarden House to the next level.

Although it was immensely unethical, and not to mention made illegal by the Ten Guardian Houses… The project continued on under cover of darkness.

And in the end… Rosalyn was born.

Through a mysterious method of using a branch of the World Tree, the perfect Vampire-Elf hybrid was born. Rosalyn had inherited everything good about the Shadowgarden House. To top it all off, she had gained the ability to use Spirit and Nature magic, a feat only unique to Elves.

With masterful gene editing, there wasn't a single defect in Rosalyn's DNA structure, which made her into the perfect specimen that she was. There would likely never be another Vampire or Elf that could be born as beautiful as her, even if the 'Sleeping Beauty' initiative was ever repeated.

Rosalyn's birth was a one-in-a-million, no, a bona fide miracle.

And her power, the Dreaming Forest, was even more miraculous.

"The Dreaming Forest… Let me… Control all plants… And use their Spirits…"

"Wait… So you can control a plant even if they are kilometres away?!"

"No… As long as they have a soul… Anywhere on Earth."

"W-What?"

Jin's jaw dropped at the bombshell revelation. If Rosalyn was telling the truth, she had the power to end the world if she wished. She could order every plant to wilt away, causing the ecosystem to collapse and, ultimately, destroy life on a planetary scale.

But that wasn't all; as long as Rosalyn grasped the plant's 'soul', she could spy on anyone she wished. Be it in the most secure parts of a government facility to the deepest parts of the ocean.

As long as there was a tree, a flower, or even just one blade of grass nearby… Rosalyn could spy on anyone in the world.

"W-Why are you telling me this? Shouldn't this be top secret?"

At this moment, Jin forgot about every thought he had and unintentionally asked that question. It was natural to feel suspicious. Rosalyn's capabilities were a complete secret for such a large-scale operation that was kept under wraps, even to the upper echelons of the Vampire Society.

And yet, Rosalyn easily divulged everything to a boy she'd just met. Not to mention, over the past few days, Jin never really got the impression that Rosalyn wished to be his friend. But, the girl easily spilt the beans just because Jin asked the question.

No one in their right mind would do that, especially to a boy they'd just met.

But…

"Jin… Special…"

"Special? Why?"

"Jin… Came for me…"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

At Rosalyn's enigmatic words, Jin twisted his chin to the side and fell deep into thought. Did he know her from before and had just forgotten about it? Or was there something he was missing? Fortunately, he didn't have to wait long for Rosalyn to unveil the truth.

"Jin… will save me… She said so."

"She?"

"The Tree in the middle of the World." Rosalyn smiled jubilantly as she declared her deepest secret.

"No one knows… Not Aunt… Not Priestess… Jin is… The promised saviour."

"Saviour? Who am I going to save?"

"Us."

Rosalyn pointed her index finger to herself and then toward the villa.

"Me… Irina… Lilith… Ysabelle… You will save us."

"Save you? Do you need saving?"

"... I don't know?"

The green-haired girl shook her head and restrained her playful giggle.

"You will save us… And you will become important to us… You will love us… And you will… make us happy. That's what she said. That's why… I made us come here."

"Wait a second, can you see the future?"

"Future? No… I'm not a prophet…"

Rosalyn laughed off Jin's question and reverted back to her emotionless state. She looked afar, possibly at the numerous trees in the distance and continued her enigmatic words:

"I just… see the dreams of trees… And that dream… told me about you…"

"..."

For the first time in his life, Jin was struck speechless. He didn't know what to do or react to Rosalyn's words. Frozen stiff, he watched as the doll-like beauty let out a sombre smile with the falling red leaves drifting in the background.

It was the most surreal and beautiful thing that Jin had ever seen in his life.

And with the rising redness of dawn, the sky seemed to be bleeding tears as Rosalyn brushed her hair to the side and smiled.

"So Jin… When the time comes… Save me, okay?"