Just as the Mantis hesitated, the sound of a delicate chime rang through the castle.
All eyes turned toward the enchanted rose.
One final petal was falling… spiraling… drifting in slow motion through the air.
Bella’s breath caught.
The Beast—his compound eyes wide—reached out instinctively. But the glass dome remained in place. Nothing could stop the countdown now.
The petal touched the ground.
And in that instant, all color drained from the Beast’s wings. His mandibles trembled. A deep hush fell over the castle. The curse had completed.
Or had it?
Bella knelt beside the Beast, who had collapsed to the floor, his body dull and lifeless like a discarded exoskeleton.
“No,” she whispered. “Not like this.”
She took his clawed hand gently in hers.
“I love you,” she said, antennae brushing softly against his.
A golden shockwave of light erupted from where their feelers met.
The rose lit up.
Its petals reversed their fall—rising, blooming anew, brilliant and strong.
The curse had been broken—not by time, but by truth. 💖
The Mantis gasped, then dissolved into a swirl of leaves, her presence released from centuries of bitterness.
And as the light bathed the castle, the Beast began to change…
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