The Bloom
On a distant planet, explorers discover a living ecosystem that adapts to their every fear — and hungers for it.
They called it Eden-9.
Lush forests.
Gentle rains.
A paradise.
The first colony ship landed with laughter and champagne.
By the third week, the first "bloom" appeared — a massive flower the size of a house, its petals gleaming like wet metal.
At first, the scientists marveled.
Then the hallucinations began.
Fear followed.
Arguments.
Blood.
The blooms grew larger.
Captain Reza thought she saw her dead brother walking through the mist.
Dr. Halvorsen claimed the blooms whispered his darkest secrets.
Eden-9 wasn't a planet.
It was a mind.
A hungry, ancient intelligence that grew what you feared — and fed on the terror.
By the time the colony realized the truth, the blooms covered everything, pulsing with the memories of the dead.
And Eden-9 bloomed brighter still.
Waiting for the next ship.
Lush forests.
Gentle rains.
A paradise.
The first colony ship landed with laughter and champagne.
By the third week, the first "bloom" appeared — a massive flower the size of a house, its petals gleaming like wet metal.
At first, the scientists marveled.
Then the hallucinations began.
Fear followed.
Arguments.
Blood.
The blooms grew larger.
Captain Reza thought she saw her dead brother walking through the mist.
Dr. Halvorsen claimed the blooms whispered his darkest secrets.
Eden-9 wasn't a planet.
It was a mind.
A hungry, ancient intelligence that grew what you feared — and fed on the terror.
By the time the colony realized the truth, the blooms covered everything, pulsing with the memories of the dead.
And Eden-9 bloomed brighter still.
Waiting for the next ship.
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