The cold mornings in the island reminded its inhabitants that it was winter, or at least it was supposed to be. Every morning the forest and its surroundings were covered in a thick fog. It was a very interesting for the students, since they not only had their finals and winter break coming, but they were also going to have the prom that the Headmaster had announced.

Not so long ago, the syrictae mercenary received an invitation for the event that was made for him. Like if he wouldn't notice the humongous advertisement that they put on the buildings with an invisible paint that gave off heat to tell monsters like him that are able to notice heat sources. Even so, he appreciated the effort in letting all the lustful beings about the prom.

After mulling about the situation, Rahs could tell that unlike the great majority of the monsters, he was in a disadvantage for not having any shape-shifting capabilities. Any plans he made until that moment dissolved in the air slowly, and the mercenary scolded himself for not noticing the flaw in his plans. Even though he could have a good armor to take for the event, it would be obvious for the girls he had raped in the past to see him and bringing the whole event down.

Therefore, the only way to effectively attend the prom without giving off his identity was to completely hide or change his appearance. But he was not a magician nor had clothes to do it. Hesitantly, the soldier decided he had to approach someone else that would do him the favor. But where could he go? Who did he have to talk to? Most of the aliens he knew wouldn't be capable, and the few wizards and witches he knew lived in places where other mercenaries or fighters would challenge him. Even though he certainly would love to fight them, the disguise had a greater priority.

It was then that Rahs saw himself in need of asking his 'fellow' monster in Shokushu for help. He walked down his favorite hill in the island, careful of his steps due the thick fog, wearing a pair of greaves and boots, his usual gauntlets, and a tasset hanging from his fauld below the breast piece of his armor. He still covered all of his body with the brown cloak that made the leaves and grass he passed by rustle.

He asked a very short and slimy-looking monster if he knew anyone that could help him. The being climbed on his shoulder and if scared to lend a hand, he whispered that he knew of a certain Seraph that had magical powers. The fallen angel was the closest and one of the most powerful with magic, but to find him Rahs needed to search his garden to see if he was there. Annoyed by his ignorance about the location of the angel's garden and his act of climbing his body, the mercenary pushed the small monster away, and proceeded through the woods in search of other monsters that could lead him to the Thousand Blossom Garden.

As Seraph sat in the heart of his garden it grew and changed around him. The spells creating it were not solid or locked in any way, and that meant even he had problems predicting just how it grew. But that was simply part of the beauty of it. The constantly shifting and growing flowers, some seemed fairly natural, while others had no right to exist. For example at the moment the garden was ringed by what seemed to be a single vine made purely of flame, another flower was made of lightning, while yet another was made of pure void. Simply looking at that particular flower was painful, to touch it would be pure agony for anything. Of course this place being what it was Seraph had a modified effect for every flower prepared in case a student happened to wander into the garden.

He knew that several monsters knew of his garden, knew of him. He had felt them approach, felt them break the line of wards that acted as an alarm. But he did not care, as long as they did not try and interfere with him he would ignore them. Of course if they did try he would take steps to ensure they did not do so again. Rules were in place preventing a fight, but Seraph did not see teaching that just because something could do as it pleased to the students did not mean it could act without consequence and interfere with him as a fight.

While idly watching the garden Seraph's mind was on the upcoming prom, Vera had delivered the invitation, and as a personal thank you Seraph had put a watch ward on her after she had left. He had watched as she delivered the rest of her invitations, and when she was done and the others were done with her he had teleported her back to her dorm. What to wear? and more importantly did he want to try and plan a particular partner to 'dance' with or just see how things turned out? With his talents changing his shape would be easy, creating a human body for himself would give him normal sight, and the limiters would affect it thus removing his need to have his wings. A sufficient disguise, and one he could easily combine with a spell that would make anyone who saw him 'know' that they had never encountered him before.

But those two questions remained, and as he pondered them he did not notice the approaching mercenary who was approaching various monsters and slowly working out just where his garden was located in the forest.

One... And two monsters Rahs had to question before finally having a clear idea where to go. The first of them was completely clueless about how to reach the garden since it only remembered how he walked into it but didn't remember the path. After its useless explanation, it warned the mercenary not to disturb the fallen angel since he tended to let the other monsters know that he loathed being disturbed. The monster also mentioned of the weird feelings one could have inside the garden, and after all that he suggested another monster that should know an exact location.

Pretty useless monster you are, no wonder he treated you like garbage. Though it was true the first monster seemed like one that would be bullied by others, he didn't quite expect that the second one responded similarly. A large ogre-looking monster told the mercenary he should be wary of Seraph and his garden. It could be as bizarre as it could be beautiful. The syrictae was fond of nature too, but to consider a flower bizarre was almost an insult for him, but since he didn't know what kind of magic spell the flowers had, he decided not to teach the second monster a lesson.

After being sent in the right direction, the fog started to dissipate somewhat. The soldier couldn't imagine exactly what the other monsters had seen to say those things, but he would soon get an idea as he could see a weird red line far away. But as he got closer, it started to look like a red vine, and then he noticed its real form. A vine of fire ringed the garden, and unexpectedly Rahs found himself being surrounded by flowers. The beauty they had was beyond anything the island could have... Except maybe some special students, but nothing in the wilderness was as beautiful.

But among the petals, there was also some things that any living being could tell that just didn't fit there. Like the flower made of void that the mercenary looked at. It indeed brought him pain but also some disgust. Gross, was the only thing he thought as he quickly kept his calm back and decided to look around. Solitude was the mercenary's partner in life, and so he had grown to keep his emotions and thoughts at bay, even when alone. The beautiful sight was disturbed only by his tall figure and brown cloak, which the garden seemed to make up for easily.

Seraph had felt something approaching. Even in his deepest meditation the alarm wards going off would rouse him. But when it had just been another monster, no doubt curious as to the rumours of a strange garden in the middle of the forest, he had simply sighed in annoyance and dropped back into his meditations. Anything that tried to rouse him would have to pass through the whole of the garden, and it's beauty hid just how dangerous many of the 'plants' were.

The moment one touched a flower the spell coiled inside it was unleashed, some were harmless, simple entertainment. But others were traps, and could be very deadly to the unprepared. The void flower was the most dangerous of these, but it was also the most obvious. A single touch was death to most things, and even Seraph was loathe to touch it. He had experienced enough void ripping his soul apart when he was trapped in a plane of the stuff. But there were other things, far more subtle and dangerous than void.

A flower that did not seem to be there, that did not seem possible. It was the most beautiful flower in the outer ring of the garden, and yet it grew through other flowers as if they did not exist. One would always feel drawn to it, the desire to take it and claim it appeared the moment one saw it. The flower of illusion. It had its own compel spell, one that could drive someone mad to just touch it. And the moment they did it made them believe they were in their darkest fear, it locked them inside their own mind and made them fight themselves. One would either have to push past it and ignore its lure, or somehow defeat their own mind.

And that flower was only the protection of the outer most ring of the garden. The deeper one went the more deadly the flowers became, and the more beautiful.

A few seconds walking slowly and carefully through the flowers, Rahs began to realize why the monsters told him to be careful of the garden. It was like a minefield. One of legs had touched a flower and suddenly it burst out and released some golden powder around the mercenary. Sure, a trick. But the next flower he touched carelessly made the ground shake beneath him. It seemed like the void flower was practically the safest to see, because it warned everyone that it was dangerous, whereas the others hid magic spells.

Since then, the mercenary walked carefully between the flowers. He had been lucky to touch only harmless flowers every now and then, until when he looked around to check his footing, he noticed a certain flower. It was like the queen of all flowers, and it grew like if the rest were nothing. It immediately caught the mercenary's attention, but he also had his own rules about interacting with something else that was not his. Sure, it made him walk towards it; Rahs could even practically hear a voice begging him to take the flower and admire it, but he had to focus harder, that doesn't happen at all.

The strong urge to touch the flower was fighting against his reason. While the intimidating figure of the mercenary stood still staring at the flower, inside his mind words and thoughts fought like berserkers. First of all, he was so fond of nature that even he had to take care not to ruin the plant life, and when he saw such wonderful flower, he had to look at his armored hand and realize its beauty would be corrupted by his touch. And then he took a step closer towards it. Second, that was the garden of someone else. It belonged to a fallen angel that had his fun raping girls in the school and was capable of powerful magic. And yet, he took another step. Finally, he had been warned of the dangers that hid beneath the beauty of the flowers. He had to trust in the past experiences of the monsters and finally believe that the flower was a trap as well, turning around and walking ahead.

He barely avoided a fight against nothing inside his mind. Though many things could bore the mercenary, there really wasn't a thing he was afraid of. He was made to face even death itself and come out victorious, so possibly he would have been prisoned in nothing if he had touched the flower. Though it didn't quite save him of brushing against another flower and setting his cloak on fire, but he took care of that pretty well, even if it made other petals to explode with colorful gases. Moving forward hastily, Rahs abandoned the first ring of the garden, and unknowingly stepped into a more dangerous one. And he was doing this for the sake of raping young students. He really should have waited for a more worthy reason.

As the wards watching the border between the outer and the middle ring of the garden alerted him of something breaking it Seraph snapped out of his meditations. Just as he had been about to reach a decision this new alert caught his attention. While this wasn't the first monster to make it past the outer ring, it was by no means a common occurrence. Intrigued Seraph waved a hand and the Darklight Grimore shimmered into existence. Turning to the 5th Chapter Seraph started to read about the approaching mercenary.

As Rahs passed into the middle circle of the garden it started actively seeking to impede his progress. A flower just out of sight started moaning, as if a student was trapped in the throes of ecstasy. Begging for something to take her harder. Of course to get a look at the sound Rahs would have to step off the path itself, and stepping into the dozens of flowers that surrounded him would no doubt prove unwise. His brief brushes against the new flowers revealed that none of these were harmless, and while his abilities and armour allowed him to shield himself from the effects the warning was clear.

Soon however the path split, one curved around and appeared to lead towards the voice, while the other continued deeper into the garden. For the first time the two paths had started to become overgrown with what appeared to be a green weed.

The weed was the flower of life, the moment something broke the stasis spell that held its power in check it would grow ravenously, consuming and converting whatever it touched until it ran out of living tissue to feed on, upon which it would wither and die, decaying until it became small enough for the containment spell to reactivate. if one looked close enough in the flowers to the side of the path one could see what appeared to be a student who had been completely engulfed by the plant, and if one listened close enough (and managed to block out the much louder cries) one could hear muffled moans and screams of pleasure. A warning of the fate of the unwary, delivered at the price of an earlier visitor.

The mercenary suddenly noticed how the flowers were no longer hiding mere parlor tricks. One had exploded like a fragmentation grenade, and that was just the first one. Thanks to his armor, Rahs barely felt the steel fragments, but the force made him lose balance and he stepped on a flower when he recovered it.

It was bad enough for him to step something as beautiful as a flower, but it was like if Justice herself came and brought punishment for doing such an act, as suddenly something the mercenary could only describe as arrows made of darkness fell from the sky. He had to summon a shell made of tentacles to protect himself, or rather the cloak (it was the only one he had in that moment). No more Mr. Funny Tricks, huh? Rahs thought as he dodged a black gripping hand that came from beneath the ground that would have taken him who-knows-where.

He reached down and tied the wide cloak to the metal pieces of his armor to stop it from brushing against the flowers. It was like he was wrapped in leather but at least it would help him in avoiding unwanted dangers. Just as he straightened up, he heard a girl's moan in the distance. That was something he couldn't leave unattended. But as he turned around, it looked like the source came from a distance, and the only way to reach it was through the flowers. As if, good luck with that, girl. The moans were of pleasure. It was like if the garden let Chopin's Fantasie be played for a musician to hear.

As much as it tempted Rahs to go after her, he knew that the flowers were more dangerous than in the last ring. But suddenly, as if heard by the gods, the mercenary noticed a fork. The path was divided in two, and one of them, upon closer inspection, led towards a student entangled in vines. A mix of noises filled his ears, but he could hear very well how the student seemed to moan in ecstasy as the plant engulfed her. But alas, there was a new danger to face. Like the flowers, the weed seemed harmless, but the more innocent things looked in this garden, the more dangerous it was.

Deciding that the girl was considered Seraph's victim for falling in his trap first, Rahs struggled forward, but the moans were too tempting. He almost considered going for the girl before he felt a tug on his cloak. He had stepped on the weed and it started to engulf his legs. He was on the right path, it went deeper to the garden, but now he faced a life-sucking threat. The only way out of Hell is through it, right?
With that in mind, the mercenary's legs yanked up and onwards. He started running, the cloak had protected his armor from the plant but now it vanished. His greaves and boots were lifted off the ground as soon as they were put on it. And yet, some weed stayed on the armor, trying to suck the life away from the syrictae.

As the weed was pulled away from the main plant, and with no contact with flesh, it quickly withered and died, falling off the mercenary after causing no real damage. Its rapid growth being the means of its death as the plant cannibalised its own existence in trying to spread itself. And like every flower before it the path quickly became clear of the weed. No one flower had a wide ranging area, with the sole exception of the vine that encircled the entire garden.

As Rahs moved past the flower of life he found himself in a new domain. The flower of death was the prominent flower here, and the other smaller flowers that surrounded it were its sub-sets. Flowers that on a touch spread horrendous pain through ones body, flowers that were laced with a poison that was far deadlier than any biological weapon, flowers that dulled the mind and whispered a single word into your soul. Sleep. One could see the forms of students who had done just that, who slept while their bodies writhed in orgasm as plants thrusted into dripping cunts an tight rear holes. Their dreamy voices occasionally letting out a moan as the pleasure wracking their bodies broke into their enchanted minds.

And of course all this was dominated by the flower of death itself. Black coils of vines draped across the path, looking like a black river crossable by stepping stones of pathway. But something about the vines drew you in, despite their appearance they seemed alluring. A whisper in your mind about the promise of whatever you desire, of living in heaven, the whisper of death gesturing you into its embrace. A single touch and the vines would grow, seeking flesh. And when they found it their power would be unleashed. This was called the flower of death for a reason.

Seraph had finished reading about the mercenary, and just in time to watch him enter the domain of the death flower, and all those flowers considered 'dark'. Rahs intrigued him, interested him. And maybe, just maybe, entertained him. His garden had never truly had to be tested, no monster had ever gotten past the flower of life before, and only those students he had allowed and guided around the flower of death had passed further in. He focused his thoughts and a command spread throughout the garden. Flowers of pain sprouted in the middle of each of the 'stepping stones' that threaded their way past the flower of death.

One would only have to move past twelve stones to get past the path that seemed to wind around the flower. But those pain spells attacked the soul, not the body. Armour would prove useless at stopping them, and the sensations would continue as long as one was in contact.

With that layer set Seraph settled down to watch.

With pure determination and will to survive, the mercenary survived another encounter with an impossible enemy, all in the name of non-consensual intercourse. Just a few seconds after he began to run, the weed withered and died. He could almost hear a fainting gasp as the whole path cleared. He must've been happy to have survived another danger in this wicked garden, to have Lady Luck by his side and his willpower to overcome the threats but... Damn that weed, it ruined my cloak.

Like if the garden was a weird representation of the cycle of life, beyond the flower of life was the flower of death. The change in the atmosphere could be noticed even in the air he breathed as the scent of death, pain and sex filled the air. Huh? It was true, but hard to notice at first. As the mercenary looked around, he saw among the flowers the dormant bodies of students. His first thought was to get them out of there, probably to have his own fun with them but also because the flowers until now meant trouble. But he quickly took that thought back as he knew that any touch with a flower could end in death. This sent a shiver down his spine in excitement.

Yes, this danger excited him. Ironic, to only feel alive when you are in Death's grasp. But like many times before, Rahs was determined to manage through its hold... Through the vines of the flower of death and beyond. But even when his heart beat with excitement, his body and mind remained cold and calculating. Not even the occasional moans coming from the girls could make him lose his focus, since he knew that the last weed could suck the life out of something, and guessed that this threat would bring the same result but in a much more painful way.

He looked at the black vines and how they covered the path, leaving only some spots clear that he thought he would have to jump towards them to stay clear. And it was then that he heard a familiar voice in his head. It was the same voice all the time. A sweet tone that promised peace and good life. Few times it lasted long enough to start promising the hardship and ecstasy that Rahs longed for. It was a cold embrace he and other soldiers grew to love and to stay away from until a weapon pierced their hearts. And his was still beating.

Just as he leaped across a piece of the black domain and a girl moaned with pleasure, a new flower bloomed from the earth in the 'stepping stone' where the mercenary was going to land. At first, it was nothing, but then, it was like a strong headache coming. Rahs knew that the new flower was the cause of this, and just like with the flower of life, he decided it would be best to hurry. He glanced ahead, looking how eleven 'stones' were left and they went around the flower of death. He obviously wanted to throw a lance into that alluring darkness. He quickly jumped again, and upon landing, a huge club hit him in the head. No, it was the flower's effect. His body was not being attacked, but his inner self was weakening and wasn't keeping the flesh straight.

Only way out... Through it... He kept repeating those words inside his head to stay focused as his soul was being battered. The mercenary was just a few meters away from the dreaded flower. Another few jumps and he was only three hops away from the vines. But suddenly, he tripped. The distance was short enough for Rahs to sustain himself using his hands on the other soil. One of his hands, though, pulled the cloak away from the black vines, and then pushed himself up. One, two... and three leaps. It was over. The soil no longer was covered in darkness and there was no flower of pain either. He landed on his knees, but since he was no longer under the effect of the flowers, he quickly recovered somewhat, and stood up, his back straight and head held high. Yet, another domain he conquered in the hostile garden.

Seraph was actually impressed as the mercenary made it past the flower of death. But now he was in the inner ring of the garden. He was the first non-invited being to make it into that ring, and the spells used to create it were barely controlled. They didn't obey any of the laws the earlier flowers did. The path was again overgrown, but this time by various flowers rather than a weed. And that overgrowth stretched the entire length of the path. Whereas before several students had been held here it was silent. Almost too silent.

The air had changed, whereas before the flowers had simply been acting in their nature now the garden felt hostile. Felt as if it wanted you dead, for no reason other than you were their. Even they could not unleash their dormant spells unless the containment was broken by contact. But they moved so that unless a step was fast enough the intruder would activate a flower.

The first flower's activation was a barely dodged jet of flame, and unlike the fire earlier this one did not care about armour, or enhancements. It did not burn or scar the body, instead it directly attacked the soul. No matter how powerful one's body or equipment was that was all meaningless here. One wrong step would utterly destroy your body via the medium of your soul, regardless of how powerful it was.

And this was only the beginning of the inner ring. The more powerful schools of each of the earlier domains. First Rahs would have to avoid the flowers of brilliant flame, and those seemingly sculpted out of pure ice. Behind them lay a flower of bone, and another of blood. Two very unusual schools of magic, and two flowers with very unique effects.

Rahs had only one way to go, forward. In fact if he had glanced behind him he would have seen the various flowers engulfing the path behind him. If he didn't move quickly enough, they would undoubtedly engulf him just as easily.

Looking ahead, the mercenary noticed how the path was overgrown like it once was with the flower of life, but this inner ring was overgrown with more flowers. He could also see more students around the new ring, but unlike the last domain, they were silent. It was an eerie silence that seemed to make the ears bleed. In fact, hostility floated around the air. It was like a thousand eyes that glared daggers were staring at him. It was like if he had stepped in holy land with mud on his boots.

The difference between this ring and the others at first was that the garden itself practically wanted him dead, and to accomplish that even the flowers grew and moved towards him, like little kamikaze soldiers. Rahs was just gonna take a step when he felt something bumped his foot from behind. Looking back, he barely avoided a jet of flame from the ground. A blueish flame that wasn't hot. Fire that didn't burn wasn't natural, and with a simple reasoning it was obvious that staying out of unnatural dangers was the best decision he could take.

The mercenary ran forward, hopping a bit here and there to avoid growing flowers. It didn't take long before his strong legs took him to the domain of the flowers of ice. A single brush against one proved to be even more dangerous than the last, as it exploded in an icy mist. Only his hand seemed to pass through it barely, and instantly he felt like if something inside him was ripped out. It was even colder than death, it was torture for his soul. Somehow, he kept going, probably he didn't have much of a soul or the minimized effect due only his hand passed through it, but the agony was obvious. If he had received the whole impact, surely he would have collapsed on the bed of flowers, dooming him for eternity. But a single voice inside his head shouted out and begged him to keep going. His survival instinct mayhap.

For a second or two, the mercenary stumbled. He almost fell twice on the flowers but managed to jump in time. That last flower proved that another single mistake would mean his doom. He couldn't afford to lose the focus. Beyond the icy flowers, were another field made of white petals. Too solid and big for being normal flowers. No, the flowers stopped being normal the moment he stepped into the garden. As he crossed the division, he could almost see how bones leaped out from the ground. Was he going mad? Or were those the bones of the ones he had killed coming back for him? Rahs didn't care, he only had one goal in his mind and that was to go forward. But deep inside him, just beyond the pain and battered soul of his was a spark of joy that moved his muscles.

Like the flower of death, the bone flower seemed to rely on the wicked vines that seemed made of bone, and even though there wasn't a single flower of pain in the soil, other much more dangerous flowers intended to stop his progress. He practically wasn't even running now, he was tip toeing across the field. Like a kid that tip toes across a pond to avoid getting wet, but his was a matter of life and death. And just beyond the marrowy flowers, another dangerous flower waited for him.

The air stank. It wasn't practically breathable, for it seemed like a huge flower rested on top of a lake of blood. I wish everyone would welcome me like this, Rahs thought as he pressed forward, glancing back and noticing how the growing flowers were closing in on him. The mercenary didn't even care to look at what seemed blood. It could've vines, or even a dark-colored magic, but it only shouted death for him. In a very clear attempt to finish him, the path got covered with the bloody substance with the new and dangerous flowers blooming from it. With an effort beyond human comprehension, the mercenary jumped across. It seemed like his body was a puppet moved by the heavens, for there was almost no explanation when you see someone moving across the valley of death the inner ring was without fear in his eyes.

It was a leap so great he had to land with his hands and roll forward. And a few meters ahead lied something that made him sigh with satisfaction. He didn't know exactly what it was, only that it wasn't the red flower and its dreadful domain anymore. Maybe it was the peaceful place where Seraph was, or maybe even more dangers to face. Hell, Rahs wasn't even sure which one he wanted.

Seraph was actually quite amused by the mercenary. It was very entertaining simply watching and seeing which power comes out on top, the garden or the mercenary. Seraph watched as Rahs approached the flower of shadow, one of the simplest flowers here. Rahs had almost reached the end, only the domain flowers of Shadow, Charm and Light remained in his path.

As Rahs approached the flower of shadow the elevation would somehow change. He would be able to see the layout of the path as it gently curved around. The edge of the path was all lined with black roses, but otherwise the path was completely clear. Any thoughts about this being easy would be quickly banished the moment one stepped onto the path between the shadow flowers. Every one of the senses suddenly shut down and could not work. You had to rely purely on guesswork and memory to determine where you were. Step off the path and onto the flowers and death awaited.

This was the inner ring after all, nothing about it was meant to be easy or fair.

Of course if one managed to get past that they would hear a females voice singing further up the path. Keep going and the would find an apparent clearing, no flowers grew in that clearing bar one. The source of the song, what looked exactly like a student sung naked in the heart of the clearing. She, or rather it, was the flower of charm, and the moment you touched her you fell under her spell and saw whatever it wanted you to see, felt what it wanted you to feel.

As one approaches the clearing the voice would shift from song to moans. As one entered it she would be frantically using her fingers on herself, and her body would appear to be nearing orgasm. A lure, one that had multiple enchantments of trust, of sanctuary, of safety, cast on it. Her eyes would glance at a visitor, and in doing so they would beg them to help her find release.

As he left the flower of blood, it was obvious he was running on something barely called a small hill. The mercenary stopped at the top and looked beyond. Nothing but dark flowers and a clear path. He looked at tit carefully even when he didn't know he would need the retained picture of the path. It was suspicious, but weird. Why was he able to see what awaited him? He memorized every curve in case he had to run over flowers or escape a giant flower, but he didn't see the challenge coming.

A clear path? This looks simp- Rahs wasn't even able to finish his thought as he took a single step forward. Everything turned dark, and suddenly the wind disappeared. It was like the scent of blood from before disappeared and the wind went completely calm. But there was something wrong... He didn't feel his steps anymore. He didn't feel how his body tripped and rolled down the small hill and landed on all fours, staying immobile after that. He only had one question for the loss of five senses.

What happened? The mercenary realized he lost all of his senses as he couldn't even feel nor taste his skin as he stuck his tongue out. For a living being to lose all of his senses is to practically be dead, and so he thought. He tried to remember if he had stepped on a flower he didn't see and wondered if he died and if he didn't even know it yet. But he still was thinking. The mercenary knew he was still somehow 'there' and absent at the same time. He had a goal, and tried to stick to it when confused. He had to suppose he was still on the garden and had to cross the new domain of the flower of shadow. And so Rahs began to think.

Since he lost all sense of feeling, the loss of any strength in the muscles must have caused his body to fall. Considering it was a straight line at first, his hope was that he still was facing forward. After trying to remember the total distance and the distance between the top of the hill and where it ended, he figured out that there were still some feet left until the path started to curve rightwards. But... Was he lying on the ground? His body was still on all fours, but he didn't know that. And there was only one way to ensure his measurements were correct. He had to simulate the action of standing up. And to do so from an unknown position, he had to do one first. So he let all the strength go and his body fell limp on the ground. Without knowing this, he pretended to be rolling forward and when he thought he had rolled enough to be sitting on the ground, he faked the strength in his legs and stood up, and somehow his body stood up like he intended.

But, was he standing correctly? His ears weren't working nor his sense of touch so he couldn't feel if his center of gravity was where it was needed. And the only way to make sure he stayed standing was to keep moving, like a ball that defied gravity as it rolled along a vertical road if fast enough. So he pressed forward, his mind stepping into nothingness as his body stepped on the ground and moved. His intelligence was not one to underestimate, he had remembered the angle at which the path started to curve. And so, doing all of his suppositions and calculations while thinking he was stepping in the correct way, he moved effectively along the path, just like in training with a minefield, but without the sight and touch. He had remembered the number of curves and how sharp they turned. He didn't know how long it took. Rahs only knew one thing: He felt the ground again.

His eyes met light again. And he only saw nothing but a clearing. No flowers, no freaking magic vines trying to kill him, nor any other threat nearby. His ears heard something, though. It sounded real so he figured he was still alive. It was a woman singing, and it came from ahead. Patting the dust off his cloak, the mercenary walked forward, and the only thing he saw was a nude girl. But as soon as he realized this, the girl began moaning and fingering herself. My prize? Rahs walked almost without thinking now. The girl looked at him and then he heard her ask for release. The mercenary considered this, until he remembered what he experienced just moments before. He had felt the most similar thing to be dead and managed through, there was no way he was gonna trust the girl.

Rahs pressed on, ignoring the flower and walking by it as it writhed on the ground, one hand in her cunt and the other trying to reach out for him. "Please..." it said, and he stopped, his back facing the naked girl. And suddenly, he burst out laughing. As if his mind was finally broken, he laughed and laughed.

The nerve... The nerve! Rahs turned around and looked at the flower of charm. "Silence, illusion!" He could fight against a thousand nude and busty women and kill them if necessary, Rahs wasn't going to fall for something like that. From both of his arms sprouted one tentacle each, and suddenly got detached from his skin. Upon seeing the tendrils, the girl's face lit up like if promised to meet eternal ecstasy. But the mercenary took the two tentacles and tied them together, making a dull mass of tough tendrils. "You can go fuck yourself!" he yelled as he threw the improvised weapon at her, hitting her clearly on the head. And then Rahs turned around and kept walking. Sex could wait. Survival was still more important than that in the soldier's mind.

Seraph watched with interest as the mercenary made his way almost perfectly through the flower of shadow, the only mistake was he was slightly off the middle of the path. But that was still impressive, than again considering what Seraph had learnt from the Darklight Grimore about the mercenary it was also expected. Rahs was not some muscle bound thick headed alien who was only interested in their brute power.

He watched as the flower of charm was almost completely ineffective, no doubt a direct result of the fact he had just been past the flower of shadow. Making a mental note to change the orders around later he watched as the thick mass of tentacles was quickly consumed into the flowers skin, and as Rahs walked away the ground behind him fell silent as the flower returned to a plant form.

One final test, one last trial of nerves. The path in front of the mercenary was clear and straight, and if Rahs was keeping track of distance he would have realised that the garden was far larger than the area enveloped by the flame vine that formed its wall. The flowers along the side were suddenly all perfectly ordered and not a petal crossed over the path. Most of the flowers were gold or yellow, or various other shades of metal, stone or gems.

Until finally Rahs arrived at the flower of light. A single plaque stood in front of the mercenary and the flower, and although he would not understand the characters written on it he could still 'read' it as a result of an understanding spell.

If you believe that Seraph wishes to speak to you the flower of light will let you pass without effect. But if he does not and you step through it will destroy your soul, your existence and your memory. If your heart lacks the courage to take the risk than step back now. The garden will not impede any attempt to leave.

The Flower of light itself was a circular hedge that completely enclosed the heart of the garden, and Seraph himself. No matter how high one went it would still be just slightly higher than you. The final defence against unwanted visitors. While every flower before here could be avoided or protected against this was the one flower that Seraph had to let you get past. The rest of his garden was free to wanderers, but the heart, the core, was restricted to only those he invited. If Rahs truly wanted to speak to him he would have to trust that the fallen angel would let him pass the flower of light without harm.

As the moans faded and silence returned, the mercenary walked forward, entering what would be a section of the garden that looked like a better organized outer ring. The annoyance he felt due the continued attempts to kill him was fading quickly, his concentration focused in the perfectly clear path ahead of him. The cold atmosphere that characterized him was back again and without the fear of brushing against the flowers, Rahs untied the cloak from the armor and it once again swayed lightly as he walked.

Even while admiring the colors and calmness of the flowers, he noticed that he felt like he had ran through the entire forest and yet this garden was still not over. How could I miss this huge place? Feels like a pocket dimension... Or the island's bigger than I thought. He kept wondering until a plaque in front of him and a huge hedge that restricted the path. Rahs looked at the letters and realized he didn't know what they said until somehow he already knew what it warned. Slightly confused by the understanding of the strange language, he decided to believe that a spell or Seraph himself let him know of the last challenge.

If I believe? Lacking courage? He felt a bit underestimated as he re-read the plaque and looked at the flower of light. He had crossed a huge field of flowers with startling effects, just to cross even more dangerous fields, survived a life-sucking weed and crossed the domains of flowers that no longer went for his body but tried to destroy his soul and even suffered the loss of his senses. There was no way he was leaving now. Besides, he still thought that the only way out of hell was through it, and believed that the fallen angel should listen to him now after surviving his wicked garden. And so, no longer caring for what could the flower possibly do to him, he stepped forward, expecting the hedge to move from the path and let him inside. He didn't falter even when the flower was capable of erasing his complete existence.