Chapter Text
When The Rose grew, there was nothing. That wasn’t strictly true, there was land, and the stars, and the moon. But there wasn’t much else. There was some water, but The Rose avoided it, for she did not need to drink, and drowning was not pleasant, as she learned. She wandered for very long, until she found something.
At the cold top of the world, there was a pit. A hole. It had been at least 500 years, and having nothing else to do, The Rose jumped in. She fell for a very long time, and eventually it burned. But then, in the middle, it was calm. She was stuck there, and at the center, a pulsating grey mass. She reached out, and touched it, and became painfully aware of her existence. She knew of Grayscale, and that it was the reason she lived. She learned that she was immortal, because the Grayscale was endless, and she took from it, borrowed it. Hers was not limited, but as endless as the source itself. The only way for life to end would be to destroy the Grayscale. But she did not want that. Not yet. The Grayscale had plans. Grand one. For a planet full of life, with others like The Rose, for she was the test. The others would not be eternal like her, but there would be others. And that gave the Rose hope.