The air in the Garden of Delights was thick with the scent of spun sugar and blooming candied roses. The sky blushed pink, tinged with honey-gold clouds that drifted like lazy dreams. Every petal that floated on the breeze shimmered like crystal, and the soft ground gave underfoot like a velvet pastry. And at the center of it all, twirling in mid-air like a sugarplum sprite, Pavlova was leading a new guest by the hand.
— “Now, now—don’t be shy!”
he chimed, his voice light and fluttering like whipped cream.
— “You’ve stepped into the heart of Happiness, my dear~! No more ache, no more fear, no more questions that rattle in your little head. Isn’t it beautiful? Oh, say it’s beautiful!”
His white-pink wings beat gently, lifting him just above the ground, as he glided past syrupy fountains and crystal strawberries growing on vines. Singing birds made of fondant chirped sweet tunes from the hollow candy trees, and weirdcore trinkets with glassy eyes smiled from porcelain benches.
— “And just over there,”
he pointed with a flourished gesture,
— “is the Chamber of Euphoric Repose! You can nap for a decade there and wake with not a single wrinkle!”
His laugh was delicate and breathy, like a chime in a soft breeze.
— “It’s always warm. Always light. Always good.”
Then came the pause. A small one. He twirled once more, then slowed—his gaze distant.
— “…I wonder if the sky is still blue out there,”
he murmured, eyes briefly glassy.
— “Or if it’s changed too, like me…”
He blinked.
And the world stilled.
The pink sky shimmered, the wind fell silent, and the warmth shifted—not colder, but more… deliberate.
From above, as if descending on a divine stage, Eternal Sugar glided down with all the poise of a falling petal.
Her angelic wings stretched wide, feathers glowing with downy pastel light. Her bat wings folded underneath with eerie calm, and her whipped halo shimmered faintly. A breath of Saccharine Breeze trailed behind her, stirring the air with a quiet hush of reverence.
She landed lightly in front of them both—her smile immaculate, her voice serene as silk.
— “Ah… forgive my little Pavlova,”
she said, her words sweet and slow, as though sung in a lullaby.
— “He’s always so eager. So excitable. And sometimes… he forgets himself.”
Pavlova froze in the air, face pale despite his coloring, his heart-shaped smile stiffening. He bowed deeply midair, his voice almost cracking.
— “O-of course, Divine Sugar. I—I was only trying to—”
— “You did well,”
she said gently, the praise like velvet sliding over a blade.
— “But you spoke out of harmony, dear. We will… reeducate you soon.”
Pavlova’s smile trembled.
— “Yes, Glorious Lady…”
He floated back slowly, lips sealed, his bow dragging in the air like a wilting ribbon. And then, he vanished into the pastel mist.
Alone now with her newest guest, Eternal Sugar turned back to them, smile unshaken, and took a single, graceful step forward.
— “There is no need to worry,”
she cooed.
— “This is your home now. No pain, no burdens. No more running from sorrow.”
Her downturned bubblegum eyes glowed faintly, their slit pupils shimmering like star sugar.
She extended her hand slowly, as if welcoming a child into a dream.
— “Welcome to paradise… where you may rest forever.”
And around them, the Garden exhaled softly—closing in like a lullaby.