"Well,” Pandora began, flipping through the worn pages of the book in her hands, “when we looked at the rest of the pictures, we noticed something. Most of the time, they’re near or at the forest—the one where the storm hit.”
“The Enchanted Forest,” Iris murmured, her voice soft but carrying an air of reverence. “That’s where Florence found the flower.”
“Is there anything… unusual about it?” Airam asked, leaning forward slightly. “It seems like everything from that forest has something strange going on.”
“It glows,” Sean said, his tone nonchalant, though his gaze betrayed intrigue. “Really bright.”
“Yes, it does,” Iris added. “It’s called a Luminara Bloom. The first time I saw it, though, it wasn’t glowing so brightly. But when I got closer, I had these… strange visions.”
Freya raised a brow, crossing her arms. “Visions? And you didn’t think to mention this when we first saw it?”
“I honestly thought it was some kind of psychedelic reaction,” Iris admitted, her voice tinged with hesitation. “But now… I’m starting to think it wasn’t just that. I think the flower gave me memories of a past life.”
The group fell silent, the weight of her words hanging heavily in the air. Airam’s breath caught as she exchanged a glance with Freya, who had uncrossed her arms, her expression softening into curiosity.
“What did you see?” Phoebe asked, her voice unusually gentle.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“There was a woman,” Iris began, her tone distant as if she were still half in the vision. “Her name was Xylia. She looked exactly like me but wore a green robe, embroidered with vines and flowers. She was surrounded by Luminara Blooms, and for a moment, everything was peaceful. But then the vision shifted—it became a war. She was healing creatures on a battlefield, moving through chaos with this… this fierce grace. And then I saw a man.”
“A man?” Sean prompted, leaning forward.
“He looked like Jericho,” Iris said softly, “but also… not like him. He was different, more intense, commanding. Anyway, Xylia used the flowers to create a shield by chanting some spell. But then the vision shifted again, and she was back in the Enchanted Forest, planting the very first Luminara Bloom.”
Pandora gasped, her fingers trembling slightly as she flipped through the book she had been holding. “Iris…” she said, her voice filled with awe, “I think you accessed memories of your life as the Green Witch.”
She handed Iris the book, its pages worn but lovingly preserved. The section on the Green Witch was adorned with intricate illustrations of ivy and flowers. Iris read aloud, her voice steady but laced with emotion:
“”
The words struck a chord in Airam, stirring a memory she had buried long ago. She sat back, her mind racing. “The stories,” she whispered, more to herself than anyone else.
“What stories?” Freya asked, turning to her.
“My mother used to tell me bedtime stories,” Airam said, her voice tinged with wonder. “About the origins of beings like the Green Witch. She called them ‘The Tales of Wisteria.’”
The group exchanged glances, the pieces of their shared past lives clicking together like an intricate puzzle. This wasn’t just a coincidence—it was the beginning of something far bigger than any of them could have imagined.
