“It’s not that I want to. I have to. I failed my vow by not saving Phloria but now I have fulfilled it by avenging her. Thrud took Phloria away from us and I took away everything she had. It won’t bring Phloria back, but it’s the best trade I could get.
“I’m now at peace with myself and ready to bid her goodbye. If I don’t, the hole in my heart left by her death will never start to heal.” Lith said.
“About that, where’s Valeron the Second?” Kamila’s tone sounded casual but she was inwardly worried about the baby and how he would upend the life as they knew it.
“I’m sorry for deciding it by myself, Kami, but I had to.” Lith took her hand and shared the recent events with a mind link.
“You did the right thing. I’m proud of you.” She clenched his hand, helping him to stand up.
Salaark opened a Gate for them that led directly inside the Ernas Mansion and outside the Mausoleum where Jirni and Orion stood guard in their Royal Fortress armor. Tyris herself was there, keeping them company in silence.
They raised their weapons at the Gate and quickly lowered them as soon as Jirni and Orion recognized their friends. They nodded at Kamila and Solus, but Lith was the one they were staring at.
‘I wish I could tell them how sorry I am.’ Solus thought while clenching her hands. ‘I wish I could open my heart about how much Phloria meant to me and how many moments we have shared together since the academy, but that would raise questions I can’t answer.’
She had not been able to give a eulogy during the funeral and even now Solus was forced to hide her own grief. She knew and cared about Jirni and Orion as much as Lith, yet to them, she was still a stranger.
“It’s done.” Lith answered their gazes. “Thrud is dead and so is everyone involved in Phloria’s kidnapping. The Golden Griffon is destroyed and the Kingdom is now at peace.”
He opened his hand, showing them the golden lily pendant.
“I gifted it to Phloria back when we were together and she gave it back to me after my marriage. Yet I feel that it doesn’t belong to me. Even when Phloria was enslaved by the Unwavering Loyalty array, she kept looking at it.
“When she turned into a Demon, I could feel that she longed for it. This pendant is comprised of a few grams of gold and some of the happiest memories of my life. I want Phloria to have it.
“I don’t want to risk that her spirit might linger instead of finding peace.”
“Thank you.” Orion said, his eyes tearing up and his voice cracking. “Thank you for avenging my Little Flower.”
It lasted only for a moment. Then, he remembered that he still had several children and that they might be the next. Orion’s heart hardened again and his determination to Awaken became stronger.
“I don’t want to sound ungrateful but before putting the pendant in Phloria’s tomb, I’d like you to try and summon her.” Jirni didn’t falter.
Her face showed no emotion for Thrud’s defeat nor hope for the summon.
“Sure.” Lith shapeshifted into his Abomination form, letting the Void take the wheel. “Phloria Ernas, if you can hear me, please answer my call!”
His voice sounded like a guttural howl yet it was filled with pain and grief. Countless chains burst from his body and scoured Mogar for a trace of Phloria’s soul. Out of the blue, one of the chains plunged inside Tyris’ chest and then into Orion’s.
From there, it bolted toward one of the tombs inside the mausoleum, yet it wasn’t Phloria’s.
Juria Ernas came out of the darkness, her white eyes crying tears of Decay that turned into sparkles of light the moment they rolled off her cheek.
“It’s nice to see you again, Saefel. Orion, my child, you have my deepest condolences for your loss.” The founder of house Ernas fell onto her knees and slammed her head against the ground in penance. “It’s all my fault.
“In my incompetence, I thought that by keeping my descendants out of the Awakened community I also would keep them safe. If it wasn’t for me, your ancestors would have reached their true potential and you would now have the power to save the members of our family.”
The Void went pale, having no clue what was happening and Tyris managed to get even paler.
“Juria?” The Guardian stuttered the name. “Is that really you?”
“Juria the Unbreakable?” Orion fell onto the ground, his knees too weak to stand.
“Yes. I’ve come because Phloria couldn’t make it. She is still troubled by her new condition and coming back might have broken her. Yet your grief causes her great pain and she was willing to risk everything to deliver you one final message.” Juria replied.
“Yet I couldn’t allow it. I’m the Matriarch of the Ernas. The death of every one of you is my failure so I came here in her stead.”
The spirit of Juria was unstable, flickering in and out of existence. Lith could feel through the chain that every second cost her great pain, both physical and psychological.
“What do you mean?” Jirni asked.
“This world is beautiful but terrible. Once you get here, you remember all the pain and the struggle that living demands. If Phloria came back, her bonds might have forced her to stay, maybe even for millennia, before she managed to find her way again.” Juria said.
“Now please, take my hand and receive her message.”
Orion and Jirni exchanged a quick look and then complied.
The mind link didn’t transmit words but feelings and images. Wherever Phloria was, she wasn’t alone. She was at peace, the only source of distress was the grief of her parents and siblings.
In the message, Phloria expressed all the love that she had failed to convey to them during her life.
All the words she had never found the courage to say. Jirni and Orion cried as they now knew for certain how much their daughter loved them and how thankful she was for having them in her life.
“I love you too, baby girl.” Jirni sobbed. “You don’t have to worry about me anymore. Mommy will live strong and will protect your siblings.”
“Goodbye, my Little Flower.” Orion said amid hiccups. “I’m sorry for losing you so soon, but every single moment we spent together lit my life with joy. Even if I could turn back time, even if I knew there was no way to avoid your death, I would do everything all over again.
“Rest in peace and don’t worry about Lucky. I’ll take care of him for you.”
“Thank you.” Juria said. “I’ll give her your message just like I gave you hers. Goodbye. You have my blessing.”
The Demon cut the chain connecting her to Lith and faded away.
“It’s unlikely to succeed, but since Juria answered my call, do you want me to try and conjure Valeron?” Lith asked with the Void’s voice.
Tyris’ heart was torn between the desire to see her beloved again and the wish for him to be at peace wherever he was.
