My friends and I were standing on the elevated barricades of the first floor. It had been a few days since we brought back that bag of infused gems, and since then, I talked with Celeste about growing the blue moon lotus for her. After the discovery of the mana-infused gems on the third floor, it became quite apparent to me that this dungeon may end up too valuable to keep without some additional protection. All the conversations we had about those gems finally settled my resolve to help her, even if what I was ultimately creating for her was a weapon. The idea still didn't entirely sit well with me, but I can justify giving a weapon to someone who would protect my future wife with it.

  Our wedding was also coming up really soon, and as much as I thought that it wouldn't affect me, I was spending more and more time just staring at Luna when she wasn't busy. I was constantly battling this growing sense of anxiety and excitement that had been building in me since we first talked about moving up our schedule. It didn't help that every time Luna caught me staring at her, I got the most beautiful smile in return. I couldn't wait to finally be married to the woman I loved, and part of that was so I could stop being such an anxious mess until then.

  Luna turned to me and gave me the exact smile I had seen so often these last few days. ("Are you ready to start?")

  I looked up at the moon. For the best chance of the lotus flowers growing properly, they needed to be infused with my floral king magic during the full moon. We weren't sure how well this would work in the dungeon, since presumably this moon isn't actually real, but if that wasn't a factor, the thick mana in the dungeon would still help it grow. For obvious reasons, we were doing this on the first floor rather than the third. The soldiers had been able to keep control of the floor without any issues, and the snake monster wasn't due to respawn for a few more days. We wouldn't need to protect the flower, only help it grow and keep it away from any prying eyes.

  "I'm ready. Let's get started," I said.

  The six of us walked up to a small, fenced-in area that sank all the way to the ground between the elevated walkway. At the bottom of the area was one of the lagoons, built up with sealed rocks to have taller walls. Some soldiers had built this area on Celeste's orders without really knowing what it would be for. Not everyone knew much about blue moon lotuses since their use was restricted by Ironcastle and most other city-states, but the soldiers were so loyal that I heard none of them questioned it. It was already getting close to the time we would need to be ready. The lunar phase was in the waxing gibbous, and the rain had already begun.

  "Can you prepare the seed, Maxwell?" I asked.

  He nodded and pulled out the small box Celeste had given him. From inside the box, he pulled a large green and black seed. As instructed, he began to scratch open one edge of the seed on a sanding block. While he did that, I used the snake's power to control salt and pulled all of it from the lagoon before storing it in a nearby barrel. This would not be a good long-term place for the plant to grow, but since we were going to be forcing it through its entire lifecycle in one shot, it would be fine.

  Aria slicked her hair back with one hand. "I really wish we didn't need to do this in the rain."

  "Would it be better to do this during the earthquake on the third floor?" Piper asked teasingly.

  "As long as I didn't fall in, sure. I hate the water," Aria grumbled.

  I nearly bit my tongue to stop myself from suggesting it was because Aria was acting like a cat, but I couldn't not think about it. She even looked miserable in the rain like a wet cat might.

  She squinted at the walls of our little enclosure. "They couldn't have at least put up something for us to stand under while we waited?" Aria continued to grouch.

  Maxwell came over and pulled her into a hug. She froze up a little, not expecting him to show such a public display of affection, but her tail flicked back and forth excitedly. Aria leaned against him and rested her head against his armored chest as he shielded her body from the worst of the rain. It wasn't all that effective, but it drew her attention away from worrying about it.

  I smiled and pulled Luna against me too, since I was a bit eager to share in the moment. She didn't argue and just leaned against me while we waited for the time to be right. Outside of our enclosure, we could already hear the sounds of fighting. In the time that we've been here, Celeste's soldiers have grown stronger from all the monsters they've killed, and they've become used to dealing with the hordes of crabs without much trouble. They weren't in much danger from them anymore, and the few injuries that did crop up could be handled by one of their own healers. Piper's additional support wasn't really needed anymore. It wouldn't be long before we would supervise them fighting the snake monster on their own as well.

  Piper and Iris were leaning against one wall while Iris was practicing keeping the two of them dry using her wind magic. Aria probably would have been begging Iris to include her if she hadn't been thoroughly distracted by Maxwell. The mousegirl looked a bit strained from the effort, but she had quickly grown well past the typical strength for someone her age. She was around the same strength as many of the nearby soldiers now, even if she wasn't as geared toward combat since she was focused on support magic. That might change once we get some of the gem-crafted equipment, though. It was basically only a matter of time before she was geared up and could do some offensive magic on her own with the aid of those gems.

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  Looking up at the sky, the time was getting close. The full moon would come any minute now. I shifted into a floral king deer and awkwardly stood next to the lagoon. Even though I could use the floral king deer's power in my umber hound form, and even in my beastkin form to an extent, it would be the most powerful in this form. It would add a bit of strain to my available mana, but the risk of the ability not working the same as a true floral king deer was greater than the risk of running out anytime soon. Between the mana I supplied it and the natural mana inside the dungeon, there should be plenty of mana around to help it grow before I was forced to shift back.

  ("Tell me when I should start,") I told Luna.

  ("I will. Get ready!") she replied.

  I closed my eyes and pictured my river of mana like I had through so many meditation sessions with Celeste. This would be the first time I used the floral king deer's power after I learned the improved technique for controlling my abilities. Rather than forcibly squeezing the knot of mana, I would open it like a channel and let it flow through me, which would likely improve the efficiency by a significant margin.

  ("Okay, now!") Luna called out.

  I opened my eyes and focused on the seed at the bottom of the lagoon. I let my magic flow into the seed, which happily ate it up ravenously. The change in my technique for activating the power felt like night and day. Rather than exert myself to activate it, like trying to squeeze all the water out of a wet towel, I just let the water flow through me like a guided river. Rather than exertion, it felt more like relaxation to let the mana flow into the rapidly expanding seed.

  Stems of green pushed through the water and searched around before unfolding into large, green leaves, first below the water, then pushing up and opening above it. The floral king deer's magic accelerated the entire growth of the plant, causing it to move as if it had been sped up several times in a video. It was when the moon was at its highest point in the sky that a long stem pushed up from the center of our small pond, and the first flower began to bloom.

  The flower was beautiful. Bright blue glowing petals opened up around a vibrant purple center. Motes of magical light were levitating up in a small cloud around it. I could feel the magic in the air as it grew larger and larger until it was the size of a large dinner plate. Maxwell and Luna were quick to descend on the plant and pluck its petals from the flower. A part of my heart, the place where the floral king deer's instincts resided, cried out and was saddened by the intrusion of my friends. The feeling didn't start out overpowering like it had been with some of the other instincts I had contended with in the past, but I could feel it building with each petal the plucked. Like I had been trained, I just let myself feel the emotions, acknowledged the sadness the sight drew up in me, and let it flow away into my river of mana as I continued to power the plant's growth.

  All of the petals of the blue moon lotus were plucked and safely stored away, and the only part left was the strange looking lotus seed pod that had grown in the flower's center. The seed pod looked even stranger at its magically enhanced speed. Each seed in the seed pod moved around almost as if it were an eyeball in an eye socket before the seed pod stretched and they began to fall out into the waiting hands of my friends. Another instinct from the floral king deer raged at the affront of the walker's claims on the natural children of the lotus as they were also scooped up and taken away. Again, I forced myself to stay in control of my emotions and let the instincts pass without acting on them. I had never imagined the floral king deer would have such a strong reaction throughout this process. I knew that the seeds would have no chance to thrive in this environment anyway, and they would be taken somewhere else to grow eventually. That thought mollified the floral king deer inside of me, and I let that emotion also pass with the other strong instincts.

  I couldn't bear the transformation for any longer, and I shifted back to my beastkin form once the plant began to die. Now, at the end of its lifecycle, forced to bear its seeds prematurely in an unsuitable environment, the plant withered. I wiped tears from my eyes and sniffled as the intense emotions continued to flow through me, and my instincts continued to weep. Luna's comforting arms wrapped around me and pulled me to her chest. I slumped down to my knees and wrapped my arms around her as I cried for the poor plant.

  ("Helena? Are you okay? You're crying.") Luna's soft voice was grounding, but I was still a mess.

  I rested my forehead against her bosom and sniffled as I tried to regain control over my emotions again. They felt tangled up and confusing now that I was in my beastkin form again. They didn't feel fierce and raw like the umber hound's emotions. The umber hound's emotions were quick to come and quick to go, burning hot, then burning out. These emotions were different, slow and deep, they wounded my heart and it wasn't as easy to shrug them off now that the immediate cause was gone.

  ("I can't... I can't explain it, but it's so sad...") I whimpered through the rings.

  Luna kissed the top of my head and cradled me to her chest. It was still raining, and the two of us were uncomfortably soaked, but her presence against me felt so soothing. I pulled away and wiped the tears from my eyes. It barely helped with the heavy rain that was pouring down on us from the rising water. The lagoon that we had grown our plant in was overflowing from the sealed rocks surrounding it and was slowly mixing with the saltwater now. While I was recovering, Aria and Maxwell were pulling up the dead plant from the small pond so they could dispose of it without leaving any traces. Other parts of the dead plant would be rich with magic, so we were asked to collect it as well. The sight made my heart clench in another bout of sadness, and I was forced to turn away from it before it pushed me into another crying fit.

  ("Let's go. I don't want to watch this anymore,") I whispered.

  Luna nodded without a word and gave me another hug before helping me to my feet. I picked up the barrel of salt and focused on carrying that up with us instead of dwelling on the dead plant Maxwell had stuffed into his bag. If this was how a floral king deer felt whenever their plants were taken from them, I now understood why they could be so violent within their territory.

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