124 Sprouts of Wisdom (2/2)

Reed had seen how power had clouded the judgment of common people all too well. People who had never experienced the intoxicating surge of ecstasy always succumbed to it.

They'd become slaves to it without even knowing it'd even happened.

He hated to it admit, but he now understood why the stone had rejected him.

I'm not ready. I will never be able to lift it as long as I am susceptible to the power it contains.

Poison — that's what it is. I've always known this. But even so, I've never been able to avoid the effects it's had on me.

New questions had arisen from this realization. It was the beginning of something new — growth.

Then how do I prevent it from affecting me? How does one become immune to the effects that power has on the heart? Can it be done?

Although small, these seeds — those simple questions — were the means upon which he would change. In fact, it was a reason for celebration…

Regret was a painful gift that offered a person a clearer insight of themselves and the world at large. It made them see life past their own limited perspective.

To wallow upon regret was a mistake, as was to try to forget it.

Reed had finally reached the breaking point. At some point in time, he had committed both mistakes.

When she had sacrificed herself to protect him, he had wallowed in regret. Tried to chain it to himself with… an oath to her…

…And when she had been sacrificed, he had tried to run away from it in exile in a land far, far away…

But this time… it was different. In this specific situation, he could neither wallow nor run away. The circumstances had forced Reed to finally confront his regrets head-on.

It had not happened yet; Reed could still save them.

He had no excuse to wallow in what'd happened or run away from it. The future was in his hands. He just did not know it yet.

I need answers and I'm way out of my league here.

What I need is back up. Someone who might be able to point me in the right direction…

Thankfully, he knew two such people. They could help him. In fact, they had been the first people who had popped into his head. He was sure that they could shed some light on his problem.

Two entire lifetimes of wisdom were downstairs in the bakery, probably enjoying their morning cup of coffee.

There was nothing to lose in asking them… aside from a couple of loaves of bread and some coffee.

Such a price is easy enough to pay, thought Reed.

Reed gazed at the stone a final time before he finally forced himself out of his bedroom. He had taken the first step and broken the hold — the curse of the stone — it once had on him.

…Little did Reed know that the moment he stepped out of the bedroom, something had happened to the stone.

The stone, which had once been completely dyed crimson, had changed.

A tiny patch of crimson had disappeared. Beneath the stained blood on the stone lay something else, unknown to Reed and even to… him.

It was something new. It was not something that had been put there by him. A most curious thing had happened — a change in the course of fate that would eventually lead to… incredible things.

Where it had come from, or how it had formed was beyond the ken of the stars.

The stone, for the briefest of moments, throbbed in anticipation and the Anima around it blossomed in response. The garden plants that'd been Reed and Lu'um's bedroom had mysteriously grown what seemed like an entire decade by the time they'd turned in for bed that night.

It'd been quite the surprise — seeing a miniature forest grow out of nowhere...