The Tool That Never Begged - III

She was no longer… the shy, demure, diligent, and ambitious Marlina.

She had frozen her life's purpose into becoming Ansel's tool, relinquishing a brighter, more radiant future and its myriad possibilities.

If I hadn't influenced Marlina in my efforts to tame Seri, would she have avoided this fate?

As Ansel bid Nine to "rest well" and departed, a flicker of regret… long absent, stirred within him.

After Ansel's departure, Nine continued to gaze through the floor-to-ceiling window at the distant mountains and lands.

The scorched earth, ravaged by the flames of retribution, lay lifeless, as if deceased.

"I can see so much more than from the clock tower," the girl, who in Ansel's eyes had forsaken everything, murmured softly.

She closed her eyes, recalling the day that had determined her life's path.

The Garden, Shadewell, divergent choices, different roads.