At dawn, the Valley of Echoes bloomed with glowing nectar-flowers, each petal vibrating with energy. This was the Trial of Petals—a sacred test of purity and courage, overseen by a council of elder mantises, each cloaked in silk-like moss.
The Beast had to cross a bridge woven entirely from live petals, each reacting to the emotions of the one who stepped upon them. False steps would cause the flowers to recoil, collapsing the path into a thicket of venomous thorn-weevils below.
Bella watched breathlessly as the Beast stepped forward. He closed his compound eyes, focusing not on fear, but on Bella’s kindness, the warmth she had shown despite his monstrous form.
The petals shimmered under his feet, solid and safe.
Halfway through, his old instincts surged. Rage. Shame. Isolation.
A petal shuddered.
Bella shouted, “You are more than your past!”
Her words anchored him. The petals calmed. Step by step, he reached the end. The mantis elders bowed.
“The path is clear,” they declared. “The curse may yet be broken.”
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