OVA
Description
Aquilegia, known as Mokuren, is a central figure whose past life as a researcher on the moon drives much of the emotional conflict in the story. Her full name is Kou=Has=Sei=Te=Moku=Ren, and she holds the position of a Kiches Sarjalian, or Kiche, a kind of priestess or shaman marked by a red, four-leaf clover-shaped dot on her forehead. This mark signifies her connection to the divine figure Sarjalim and grants her special abilities, primarily a deep empathic bond with nature that allows her to understand and communicate with plants and animals. As a biologist by trade, this ability complements her scientific work studying the planet they call KK, which is Earth.
On the surface, Mokuren is often perceived by others as an ethereal, untouchable goddess due to her breathtaking beauty, her sacred status, and her calm, seemingly perfect demeanor. However, this public image masks a complex and deeply personal inner world filled with insecurity, loneliness, and a powerful yearning for genuine human connection. She is acutely frustrated by the fact that people are drawn to her only because she is a Kiche, not for who she is as a woman. Men approach her out of curiosity or a desire for her status, and women keep their distance out of envy, leaving her with very few true friends. Her decision to join the research team on the moon base is motivated by a desire to escape this gilded cage, to find her own identity as a person separate from her role as a Kiche, and to be seen for her ordinary self. She even privately prays to meet a nice man, revealing a candid and slightly mischievous side that contrasts with her serene public face.
Upon arriving at the moon base, Mokuren is immediately drawn to two of her new colleagues. One is the kind and attentive Gyokuran, who treats her with obvious affection. The other is the brooding and openly hostile Shion, who makes no secret of his contempt for Kiches. Paradoxically, it is Shion who captivates her, precisely because he is the only person who ignores her sacred status and treats her like an ordinary person, even if that treatment is often rude. Her feelings for Shion become the defining relationship of her life. Despite his coldness and the cruel act he commits against her, exploiting her love for him in a sexual encounter that leaves her physically and emotionally devastated, her feelings do not turn to hatred. She is tormented by the realization that he lied when he said he loved her, a truth made evident because her Kiche, which would disappear if she were to lose her spiritual purity, remains intact. Yet, she cannot stop loving him and even agrees to a formal engagement with him to mitigate the scorn he faces from their peers for his actions.
This pivotal, traumatic event is the source of immense misunderstanding between them. Mokuren loves Shion unconditionally, while Shion, consumed by self-loathing and believing he forced her into the relationship, cannot accept that her feelings are genuine. He mistakes her enduring compassion, a core part of her nature as a Kiche, for mere pity or duty. Throughout her life on the moon base, Mokuren displays remarkable emotional resilience and tenacity. She endures gossip, ostracization, and Shion's erratic behavior, all while trying to maintain her duties and her sense of self. In a moment of great tragedy, when the team learns their home planet has been destroyed, she is looked upon to perform a miracle, but she is just as devastated and powerless as everyone else, a fact that highlights the burden of others' expectations. The story presents her perspective on these moon base events, which is often vastly different from Shion's, showing her vulnerability and her quiet strength in the face of overwhelming loneliness and tragedy.
As the past life of the present-day character Alice Sakaguchi, Mokurens memories and unresolved feelings bleed into the modern world, influencing the actions and emotional struggles of the reincarnated characters. Her development arc is one of tragic miscommunication; she and Shion genuinely love each other but are unable to see the truth in the other's heart, leading to a lifetime of pain and isolation that only finds resolution in their new lives on Earth. Her notable abilities, centered on her empathic link to nature, are so powerful that when she sings, plants respond by growing explosively, a phenomenon that caused no issues in her controlled home but became a nuisance on the moon base. She can also use contact telepathy to share memories and images with others. Ultimately, Mokuren is not the pure, passive figure she appears to be, but a woman of deep passion, stubborn hope, and a profound need to be loved not for her divine mark, but for her mortal, flawed, and resilient self.
On the surface, Mokuren is often perceived by others as an ethereal, untouchable goddess due to her breathtaking beauty, her sacred status, and her calm, seemingly perfect demeanor. However, this public image masks a complex and deeply personal inner world filled with insecurity, loneliness, and a powerful yearning for genuine human connection. She is acutely frustrated by the fact that people are drawn to her only because she is a Kiche, not for who she is as a woman. Men approach her out of curiosity or a desire for her status, and women keep their distance out of envy, leaving her with very few true friends. Her decision to join the research team on the moon base is motivated by a desire to escape this gilded cage, to find her own identity as a person separate from her role as a Kiche, and to be seen for her ordinary self. She even privately prays to meet a nice man, revealing a candid and slightly mischievous side that contrasts with her serene public face.
Upon arriving at the moon base, Mokuren is immediately drawn to two of her new colleagues. One is the kind and attentive Gyokuran, who treats her with obvious affection. The other is the brooding and openly hostile Shion, who makes no secret of his contempt for Kiches. Paradoxically, it is Shion who captivates her, precisely because he is the only person who ignores her sacred status and treats her like an ordinary person, even if that treatment is often rude. Her feelings for Shion become the defining relationship of her life. Despite his coldness and the cruel act he commits against her, exploiting her love for him in a sexual encounter that leaves her physically and emotionally devastated, her feelings do not turn to hatred. She is tormented by the realization that he lied when he said he loved her, a truth made evident because her Kiche, which would disappear if she were to lose her spiritual purity, remains intact. Yet, she cannot stop loving him and even agrees to a formal engagement with him to mitigate the scorn he faces from their peers for his actions.
This pivotal, traumatic event is the source of immense misunderstanding between them. Mokuren loves Shion unconditionally, while Shion, consumed by self-loathing and believing he forced her into the relationship, cannot accept that her feelings are genuine. He mistakes her enduring compassion, a core part of her nature as a Kiche, for mere pity or duty. Throughout her life on the moon base, Mokuren displays remarkable emotional resilience and tenacity. She endures gossip, ostracization, and Shion's erratic behavior, all while trying to maintain her duties and her sense of self. In a moment of great tragedy, when the team learns their home planet has been destroyed, she is looked upon to perform a miracle, but she is just as devastated and powerless as everyone else, a fact that highlights the burden of others' expectations. The story presents her perspective on these moon base events, which is often vastly different from Shion's, showing her vulnerability and her quiet strength in the face of overwhelming loneliness and tragedy.
As the past life of the present-day character Alice Sakaguchi, Mokurens memories and unresolved feelings bleed into the modern world, influencing the actions and emotional struggles of the reincarnated characters. Her development arc is one of tragic miscommunication; she and Shion genuinely love each other but are unable to see the truth in the other's heart, leading to a lifetime of pain and isolation that only finds resolution in their new lives on Earth. Her notable abilities, centered on her empathic link to nature, are so powerful that when she sings, plants respond by growing explosively, a phenomenon that caused no issues in her controlled home but became a nuisance on the moon base. She can also use contact telepathy to share memories and images with others. Ultimately, Mokuren is not the pure, passive figure she appears to be, but a woman of deep passion, stubborn hope, and a profound need to be loved not for her divine mark, but for her mortal, flawed, and resilient self.