The story first starts after the meteorite, and five years later, news of the expansion is announced, which is to be in twenty years.
Horizon is born two years after the meteor, the first fully Pale blooded child to be born since. All of them grow up together, and Via becomes close to Ixora, becoming protective and possesive of her. After ten years (all of them are 15 now, except for Horizon who is 13), Kaede shows up (she is 13) and naturally bonds well with both Horizon and Ixora, but seems intimidated by Via. Ixora becomes friends with Horizon, leading Via to dislike him.
Five years pass, and the Cross gang shows up, with Endro, Ace and Cysii appearing in their respective order. At this time, Ixora and Via are 20, Kaede and Horizon are 18, Endro and Cysii are 22 and Ace is 27. The final 5 years pass, and on expansion day, Ixora and Via are 25, Kaede and Horizon are 23, Endro and Cysii are 27 and Ace is 32.
On expansion day, the following people are set to die:
will be set to die next Expansion, and Horizon is set to become priest after his death.
Ixora doesnt die during expansion, and Shu believes she has been chosen, setting her up to be the architect, along with Via, to build the cathedral. When the cathedral is close to being completed, lighting strikes it and Via, but both come out unscathed. Shu praises Ixora, somehow thinking that she was the one who can prevent death, letting her take all the credit for the build. (Ixora feels bad but cant say anything, she tries and is pushed away by Via.) Via both loves and hates her at the same time. Via tells Ixora that Horizon hurt Kaede before, and Ixora gets mad at him, refusing to talk to him despite his pleas.
This is because Via thought that Horizon was pulling Ixora away from her, influencing her, and one night above the cathedral, Ixora confesses that she doesnt truly believe in the Pale God, and that Shu was wrong, and she talked to Cysii about it. It's the breaking point for Via, and she pushes Ixora off the top of the cathedral, killing her.
She thinks that Horizon was the one who spoke lies to her, and thus ends up hating both Horizon and Cysii, blaming them for the death of Ixora and “making her do it”
NOTE: none of them are the villains of the story, all of them are fundamentally not a good person, and each of them have their own reasons for doing things. Via, for example, craved connection and latched onto Ixora, as she had no guidance from childhood and didnt know what it meant to love. Shu, too, was manipulated by Lycan, who had his own goals, and only wanted best for the Garden. Though their methods may have been wrong, at their core, everyone in the Pale Garden just wanted to love someone and feel love, and who are we to blame them in this society?
