The silver iris brooch pricked Ayla's collarbone as it released counterclockwise rose scent—like reversed-growth specimens from her mother's lab. Chandelier crystals refracted Lucas' ocular patterns, mirroring ventilation shaft carvings from his fifteenth year. As music swelled, the first petal detached, cerulean dust hologramming teenage Lucas shielding her from lab explosions, his back embedded with Salvator Mundi crystal shards .
(Second petal's inverse-growth thorn pierced her fingertip, blood refracting twelve timelines)
"This waltz..." Lucas' prosthetic palm registered three degrees colder. "...was your mother's first lesson to Odile." The third petal charred mid-air, projecting Odile injecting memory blockers into her temple beside an incubator labeled Subject 21—matching Salvator Mundi orb codes .
Eric's laughter grated through reversed gears: "Reverse bloom means each petal bleeds backwards. Certain to continue?"
The fourth petal revealed Lucas' spinal fusion. Surgical incisions exposed gears engraved with Mona Lisa poplar grain 7. Blood ascended brooch veins, crystallizing inverted starbursts at her clavicle bolt—mirroring Salvator Mundi Christ's orb posture .
(Odile's perfume spiked—turpentine and rotting iris roots)
"Enchanting duet." Odile emerged from gilded mirrors, laser-ring slicing the final petal. "Let me hasten your withering."
Engraved letters staggered Ayla—Eric's true name entwined with Lucas' DNA helix, labeled 97.8% Purity. Marble reflections warped, showing teenage Eric burning lab files containing Adoration of the Magi sketches .
Lucas' cybernetic heart overloaded, exhaust scorching Ayla's hairline. His torn shirt revealed twelve reversing scars—subdermal microfilms flashing her memory edits synced to Mona Lisa's lash tremors .
"Your body heat..." His cerulean-stained finger traced her jugular. "...matches Benois Madonna light refraction ratios."
The last petal disintegrated into maternal holograms: Eric—Odile's first gene-edited prototype. Lucas—21st optimized vessel. Falling chandeliers shattered into inverse rose thorns as Eric's watch chain snared Odile—its gear teeth interlocking with Salvator Mundi frame filigree .