The rain had become part of the background of his existence. For two years, the skies of Modernia had watched him fail.
Veneri sat on the cold stone near the shoreline, barefoot and soaked. The ocean stretched endlessly behind him while droplets of rain rolled down his skin and along the glowing blue peony tattoos that climbed his back and wrapped around his prosthetic arms as naturally as flesh. In front of him floated another Mandala. It was beautiful enough to make lesser mages worship it and useless enough to make him want to destroy it.
It hovered in the air perfectly.
A giant peony bloomed at the center as the Bindu as concentric circles spun around it. The geometric grid beneath had become circular instead of square, flowing into itself while petal-shaped gates expanded from the sides. Radial patterns spread outwards with mathematical perfection and the outer boundary pulsed softly with sapphire light. It was flawless and it still did absolutely nothing. Veneri stared at it with tired eyes and flicked his fingers. The entire thing shattered into glowing dust.
He sighed heavily and dragged his hand through his wet hair, which now reached absurd lengths, clinging to his shoulders and past his waist.
"I am beginning to hate flowers."
Melody, who sat nearby beneath a massive leaf she used as cover from the rain, laughed so hard she nearly dropped it.
"You're saying this while creating a flower-shaped Mystic Circle. That sounds incredibly hypocritical."
He pointed accusingly at the ocean.
"The flower is the problem."
"The flower is not the problem. You made a perfect Bindu."
"I know."
"You made stable concentric circles."
"I know."
"You created radial symmetry."
"I know that."
"You even adjusted the geometric grid to suit the function of the circle itself, which is honestly brilliant."
"I know!"
"You survived the twenty-second threshold too then perhaps, you simply suck."
Veneri turned to stare at her in disbelief.
"That was unnecessary."
He groaned and leaned back against the wet rock.
For two entire years, he had repeated the process endlessly. Drawing the Mandala itself was never difficult because his control had already become monstrous after mastering Nepenthes and Rune Manipulation. Perfect lines meant nothing to him anymore. Perfect circles were effortless.
The problem was that Mandalas were different. Normal Mystic Circles functioned because of logic. Mandala functioned because of meaning. That was what made them terrifying. And right now, his Mandala had structure without soul.
The Peony Mystic Circle floated again before him after another attempt, stable and glowing, standing perfectly for more than twenty seconds without collapsing.
Nothing happened. It was dead.
Veneri rubbed his face.
"I don't understand what I'm missing anymore. The structure is complete. The stability is complete. The runic focal point is functional. The energy flow is perfect. Even the outer boundary is stable. I rebuilt my entire Magecraft system from zero. I made a language from scratch. I mastered it. I surpassed my limits. Why is this thing refusing to work?"
Melody stopped smiling. For the first time in months, she looked serious. She stood up and walked over to him barefoot as she sat beside him. Then she pointed at the Mandala.
"That is your problem."
"The Mandala?"
"No. You."
"I'm very close to throwing you into the ocean."
"That is exactly what I mean."
Melody crossed her legs and rested her chin on her palm.
"You're treating a Mandala like a Mystic Circle."
"It is a Mystic Circle—"
"No, it's not."
She tapped the glowing Peony Bindu.
"A Mystic Circle is logic. A Mandala is desire. You are building a body without a heart."
Veneri stayed silent.
"Mandala did not originate from mages. It originated from people trying to understand themselves and the universe. Every Mandala is different because every person is different. The structure matters, yes, but structure alone means nothing. The Bindu is not merely a focal point. It's you."
She pointed at the concentric the circles.
"The concentric layers are your growth, your experiences and your thoughts."
Then the gates.
"The gates are what you allow in and what you reject."
Then the outer boundary.
"And the boundary is what protects what you treasure. You built this perfectly, Veneri, but it feels empty."
He looked away.
"I don't know what you mean."
"Yes, you do. Why are you making this?"
He hesitated.
"To become stronger."
"No."
"To survive."
"No."
"To stop the—"
"No. Why are you still trying?"
That question made him freeze. The rain hit harder against the rocks.
"You suffered. You lost your Magecraft. You destroyed everything you built with your own hands. Your body is literally anew. You are exhausted all the time. So why are you still moving?"
He did not answer.
"You are immortal, Veneri. Immortality is cruel. Emotions become dangerous over time. Most immortals stop feeling deeply because pain stacks forever but you are different. You still care."
He looked at the waves.
"I suppose."
"No, not suppose. You have five terrifying women waiting for you."
"That is unfortunately true."
"You love them. You care about your siblings. You care about your people. Despite everything that happened to you, despite all the suffering, despite losing people, despite betrayal, despite dying repeatedly… why have you not killed yourself?"
The question hit harder than anything. He went silent. Then, almost too quietly—
"Because I want to go home."
Melody said nothing. He looked at his hands.
"I want to annoy Adela again."
A small laugh escaped him.
"I want Narisva to start bragging about herself for no reason. I want Elyonari to force me to have her tea. I want Asenane to pretend she is not worried about me. I want Phaenora to stop teasing me long enough to sleep. I want to see my daughters grow stronger."
He lowered his head.
"I want to keep my promises."
The rain mixed with something warm on his face.
"I am tired, Melody. I really am tired of all of this but I still want to live."
"There."
"There what?"
She pointed at the broken remnants of the Mandala.
"That."
"I don't understand—"
Melody stood and stretched.
"You finally stopped lying to yourself. Try again."
Veneri looked unconvinced.
"You seriously think feelings are the issue?"
"I know they are. Stop drawing with your mind and pour your feelings onto it."
Veneri stared at the Mandala for a long time.
Melody sat nearby under her oversized leaf, watching him carefully while pretending not to watch him too carefully. Her dark hair framed her face as she leaned her cheek against her palm, looking surprisingly patient for someone who had watched the same failure happen for nearly two years.
Veneri looked at the Mandala again.
Why was he making this? The answer came immediately.
'Because it was easy.'
No. That was not right.
The rain suddenly felt quieter. Then, unexpectedly, he thought of Elyonari. A small smile tugged at his lips.
He remembered her face every time he created sapphire peonies out of his energy just to annoy her. She always looked so fascinated by them no matter how many times he made them. She kept treating something simple like it was some grand miracle. Even when he changed the colors just to tease her, she still reacted like he had handed her treasure.
He remembered how serene she looked when holding them. How gentle she became. How she once carefully preserved one inside a crystal vase because she thought it was beautiful. The memory made him laugh quietly.
"She would love this."
For the first time since he began his training, this thought felt honest. He was not making this because it was easy. He was making this because he wanted to create something beautiful.
His fingers moved. The Mandala trembled. Almost immediately, the Peony Mystic Circle suddenly burst with life. The Bindu bloomed.
The giant peony at its center unfolded like a living flower awakening after centuries of sleep while the concentric circles rotated faster and faster. Energy pulsed through the geometric structure as the petal-shaped gates opened, resonating with a melody so soft it barely sounded real.
The beach was filled with hundreds of thousands of glowing peony petals. Flowers bloomed from nowhere. Petals drifted endlessly through the storm like fragments of stars, floating gently through the air while glowing sapphire peonies sprouted along the shoreline, the cliffs, the wet stones, .and even across the surface of the ocean itself.
The scent hit immediately. It was the smell of blooming flowers after rain mixed with something strangely comforting. Melody immediately stood up.
"Oh."
The rain stopped. The drops froze in place.
Water rose into the sky in spirals, hanging weightlessly around him as if gravity itself had forgotten how to function. Rain evaporated before touching the Mandala while the world around him seemed to resonate.
A massive sapphire beam pierced the sky, scattering the storm clouds instantly as light spilled through the darkness. Rain stopped in mid-air, evaporating into glittering particles while sunlight finally broke through after what felt like endless gray skies. Petals danced endlessly in the wind. The beach looked sacred.
A single peony drifted slowly and Veneri reached out instinctively. It landed softly in his hand.
"It's beautiful."
Behind him, Melody looked completely speechless. She groaned dramatically and grabbed her head.
"You have got to be joking."
"What?"
She pointed violently at the glowing paradise around them.
"I spent two years trying to explain emotional resonance to you!"
"And?"
"You solve it by being romantically pathetic?
"That is a very rude way to describe love."
Melody crossed her arms.
"You literally unlocked Mandala through yearning."
He looked at the flower again and smiled shamelessly.
"I miss my beloveds. Is that an issue?"
"You are unbelievable. You know what? That might actually be the most romantic thing I have ever seen. Ugh, if only I met someone like you in my time. Maybe I would have experienced the same love you show your beloveds."