The Dahlia

The sweet dream burned down the Ever-Flame Mansion, taking with it every trace of "her."

Destruction, Remembrance... flowers of betrayal bloomed wherever they passed.

To return to the dreamscape no one remembers, who will be the one to set her aflame again?

She escaped from the deepest depths of The Abyss, burning away every memory tied to her existence.

Following the trail of scorched marks, we tracked her to this place, where the countless Garden of Recollection's mirrors reflected the silhouette of a lone girl.

"Memokeeper Dahlia, why did you betray the Garden of Recollection?"

She tapped her cheek with her claws, her smile reflecting the same curve across innumerable mirrors.

"I simply grew tired of it... just as I once betrayed the Destruction."

Her gaze swept across numerous reflections of herself in the mirrors.

"Yes... I have fallen into your mirrors. But doesn't this mean that when I set my memories ablaze, all these mirrors will burn along with me?"

She pranced into a strange dance, her skirt twirling simultaneously in thousands of reflections... The cold flames on her dress hem gently licked the mirrors' surfaces, before swallowing them into the fire.

In the reflections of the Garden of Recollection's mirrors, I saw that lady offer all her bouquets of memories to the raging flames. Her childhood burned to ashes, her youth turned to dust, and finally, all of her past...

And burning along with them, our myriad mirrors.

"Feeling hot and restless? Then step into the gentle flames with me..." Through the mirror ahead, she smiled at me.

I can no longer hear those cries... With joy in my heart, I step into the mirror, chasing after that dancing figure. As I followed her steps, then matched her rhythm, I finally grasped the hem of her dress...

And at last, she met my gaze. In the flickering light, her hands smoothed over the hem of my dress, and the blue of her eyes drowned all of me, like tender waves.

<align="right">— A Memokeeper's memory</align>

"The Memokeepers thought I surrendered all my past, but who said those memories were 'mine'?"

Toying with the flames on her tail, she walked toward the next memory.

"Constance... though not the eldest among the siblings, she was like our big sister. When teaching us, her tail was intimidating, but it never harmed us."

<align="right">— The Scribe's memory</align>

"When we learned the skills of 'Destruction' from Father together, Constance was the only one who mastered them the fastest, as if... she was recalling some long-forgotten instincts. Scary, isn't it... yet her voice remained so gentle."

<align="right">— The Shacklebound's memory</align>

"With her slender fingers, she would tune my strings and teach me to pluck passionate melodies. Ah... I know... though flames dance at her fingertips, her heart remains cold."

<align="right">— The Tuner's memory</align>

"Constance... my most ambitious and most excellent child. She needs not the flames of Destruction bestowed by me. She has long been ignited by the flames deep within her heart.

Such prodigious ambitions. The Ever-Flame Mansion favors members like her. I have no doubt that one day she'll grow tired of the Annihilation Gang's games. When that time comes, our Master will welcome her with open arms, for only the most violent destruction brings THEM joy..."

<align="right">— Duke Inferno's memory</align>

On the night when twilight rain fell, Caterina, Dubra, Akash... they vanished in the flames.

Yet she who is partial to conflagration did not set the mansion ruins ablaze, but gathered the memories from the embers...

"Father, for your death I shall mourn. I will become the smoldering flame beneath sweet dreams, embracing all that yearns."

Under the curtain of Nihility's rain, no one could make out her expression. Was she smiling, sobbing, or perhaps...

She said her name was Constance.

That was the first time I saw her. Wearing a white dress, she was fixing my hair as I had just woken up from the incubation pod.

She said her name was The Dahlia.

That was the second time I met her. During a mission, her white gloves wiped away blood stains off me... just like my sister used to do.

"Don't be afraid, I'll always be by your side."

She vanished into the depths of the sweet dream, leaving behind only a faint trace of floral fragrance.

The Planet of Festivities is full of eager Dreamchasers, yet she casually becomes a part of others' memories.

I follow the script's directions to take action, while she never took any of it seriously.

During this long banquet, she twirled along the musical stave of the Paths, seemingly unable to refuse any invitation...

She traverses through the Order's melody, yet can't resist touching the notes of Harmony. Listening to the hum of Propagation, and under destiny's playful whims, she willingly lets herself be swallowed by the shadows of Nihility, while deliberately or not... becoming entangled with the dance partner of Remembrance.

As always, her enthusiasm was intense, yet fleeting.

She said that only by putting her life on the edge of a blade could she truly feel the joy of being alive.

So, her gaze upon me was complex...

On her face, I saw pity for my inevitable death. I also saw delight, as if she had created another beautiful memory. Not to mention curiosity, to see how I would defy my destiny.

I asked her to burn away the Nameless' memories of the Finality, for those memories were far too dangerous.

With the flames from her tail, she set the Nameless' past ablaze. Yet, she smiled as she told me,

Nothing is ever truly forgotten, even through the most intense combustion.

Perhaps she has done this millions of times before.

She abandoned much, all because she was always searching for something.

Perhaps this is why she keeps attending banquet after banquet. Even as the attendees whisper and curse her as the symbol of mourning and decay. Few remember that mourning is a tribute to life, that withered things once had their moment of glory.

<align="right">— A certain Stellaron Hunter's distorted memory</align>

If she were to be cast in the play of the Finality, among the confluence of countless possibilities, she would find ways to rebel in every single one.

The Stellaron Hunters hold too many secrets of the cosmos, and as she peers into these memories, the Destruction will one day cast THEIR gaze upon her.

Weary of her endless suffering journey, she hastens the coming of Finality by becoming the Overlord who destroys Remembrance, taking the name "Ephemera."

In one possibility, she would make everyone in the cosmos forget her ascension, as if the eighth Lord Ravager had never existed.

When time reaches its end, her flames will engulf the Eden of Blessed Insight, burning every trace of the universe's past to ashes. Thus, she declares to all Pure Children of Anāsrava that she will leave behind a tomb of the Remembrance for the cosmos.

Therefore, I rejected her request to join the Stellaron Hunters, to sever this raging possibility.

<align="right">— Script Notes</align>

"Remembrance, Destruction, Finality..."

With a smile and flowing skirt, she twirls ceaselessly.

In the end, she still doesn't know which destiny she should embrace, perhaps nothing will ever truly satisfy her...

"But this way, I'll never be Destiny's Slave."

As the dance ends, only echoes linger in the ashes.

"So let us fall in love again, rebel again, and cast ourselves into destiny's currents once more."