It had been a little while since Kerberos had brought Caedus and Lyndin to his planet; he'd thought, perhaps, to return with more of the Velencians, since he wanted as many of them as possible to see a vibrant, living world, but for the moment, he hadn't found any to invite. Besides, he could return so frequently that he rarely needed to worry. Twice a week; a three-day break would be enough, and then he could bring another visitor.

Besides, his thoughts had been troubled of late. He knew that they were likely approaching a conflict with the Negaverse--something he'd managed to avoid in his time since purifying. That was an unpleasant thought, to him; there might be someone who would recognize him as a traitor. Or he might have to fight someone he knew. Like Lellouch, still under Chaos's thumb, as much as she wanted to insist she wasn't.

But more than that, it was a little upsetting how useless his magic was in direct confrontation--there was only so much grief and regret one could throw around, and so many in the Negaverse were not particularly driven by those sorts of feelings. So he knew that he needed something more, to defend his friends and his home.

As he stepped inside the temple, he smiled at the light floating in the pool--the one Almadel had given him, in trade for a wisp---and as he walked, his little friend bobbed up and butted against his cheek. Kerberos gave a soft laugh, and turned to nuzzle at it, a show of affection that the little glowing orb seemed quite delighted by.

A bit of motion caught his eye, and Kerberos turned--and there was Irit. He was walking down a hall Kerberos had not gone down before, because it had seemed to lead to nowhere--but apparently he must have been wrong, because as he jogged to follow his previous self, he watched Irit go to the end of the hall, and press his hand into a small divot in the wood that Kerberos hadn't noticed. Kerberos stood forward, and put his hand over Irit's--and for ghost and man, the door opened.

What was inside made him gasp.

There was a massive asphodel plant in the center of the room--or at least, that's what Kerberos assumed it had to be. As it was, the poor thing was withered, practically dead.

"The First Flower," Irit said, and Kerberos watched his image walk up to it and run a finger over its branches. "The one from which all other asphodel on this planet grew, if you listen to the priests." He shrugged his shoulders. "How true that is, I can't say--but it is very ancient, and very powerful, and tending it is an important part of my duties as the Senshi here."

He was speaking to someone, teaching them--and as he faded away, an idea struck Kerberos.

He walked up to the plant, and put a hand to its withered trunk.

"Hello," he said, softly. "I know it's been a while, and I'm sorry I've been visiting but haven't taken care of you. I didn't know I had to," he admitted, a little embarrassed.

And then, like he would do if he were offering it to a person, he pushed a little of his Transcendent energy into the plant. Then, a little more.

And as his power flowed between them, the plant sang.

It burst to life, all at once. Green bled over brown, and the leaves filled and grew, and the ends of the stalks burst into bloom, glowing asphodel as large as Kerberos's hand.

"Oh," he said, softly, "you're beautiful."

In his head, he heard a whisper, a dream, a half-remembered name.

Thousand Asphodel Chorus.

And he knew--that was what he had sought.

He smiled.

"I'll be back," he promised the plant. "But for now, I have to go home and practice."