The following day, rain and a grey sky draped the imperial capital in sorrow.
The weather seemed to know that today was a day of mass mourning.
I had called my wife the day before to let her know I would be working overtime for several days.
It was now two in the morning, time to prepare for the funeral ceremony and the speech.
I looked toward the window glass, hazy and covered with morning condensation.
There was no need to examine it more closely. A single glance was enough to understand that outside was deeply bleak.
The servants kept moving back and forth continuously, preparing for the occasion.
I knew this even from within my room, because the sound of their footsteps was clearly audible from here.
The perpetrator was still unknown, and recordings from various victims inside the rift were being reviewed for further investigation.
While waiting for the funeral preparations to be completed, I would go and listen to the recording from Zambrud before he died.
I opened the door and left my office, wearing a mask to hide my face from the ordinary servants.
As I walked, the servants began to bow. The corridor felt cold despite the warming stones placed within it. The corridor was completely dark in respect for the victims who had fallen in this incident.
Though the rain appeared heavy and the wind blew fiercely, strangely, not a single crack of lightning had come since the storm arrived.
I arrived in front of the door to the investigation team's room.
I opened it.
And I saw that my subordinates were in a complete state of chaos and exhaustion. Secretary Ametyst had even been sent stumbling out by their argument.
She appeared to have been thrown hard enough to leave a slight crack in the wall of the room.
Ametyst then looked at me and quickly stood and gave a salute.
"Greetings to the Emperor!"
Instantly, everyone fell silent for a brief moment.
Until I finally said: "HI." While waving my hand.
Now everyone was shouting and the chaos grew worse than before.
"GWAAAAK! YOUR MAJESTY! THAT'S HIS MAJESTY!!!!!"
"WE'RE DONE FOR, THE WORK ISN'T FINISHED YET!!"
"IT'S A MESS! MY DESK IS A MESS!"
The panicking investigators began running around and colliding with one another.
The atmosphere in the room grew more chaotic and disheveled by the second.
I simply stood there watching, until I could no longer bear it and told Ametyst to stop them.
"EVERYONE, SILENCE!!!!!" She shouted.
She then glanced at me with a look that seemed to say: "I'm a good child, aren't I?" Eyes shining brightly.
I nodded to her and she looked tremendously pleased.
The workers all sat down neatly without making a single sound.
At that point I made my way to one of them, specifically the person stationed in front of a large computer with six screens.
I said to him:
"Relax. I'm here to view one of the recordings."
The nervous employee asked with a stammer:
"Is it the recording from Zambrud, Your Majesty?"
I confirmed it, then took the recording to watch privately, as it also contained footage of my child.
I turned toward the outer door and said:
"Your work is good. Please rest for a moment." And then left, closing the door to the room.
Outside, I heard them break into cheerful celebration.
I returned to my office. I saw that there was still enough time to cut the recording.
I inserted the file into my laptop.
The recording began with Zambrud watching my child fight a large cicada creature alongside his team.
On green grass swaying in the wind, he fought with great enthusiasm.
My child...
He looked happy there, more so than when under my protection.
I watched Balance recite incantations that appeared to be nothing more than random spell names and skill names, used to conceal his true strength.
Without realizing it, I smiled as I watched.
I felt a small happiness seeing that my child was safe in that moment.
My child appeared more relaxed and spirited, even though he kept having nosebleeds and was constantly exhausted.
Until the atmosphere of the recording shifted into something dark and gloomy, accompanied by howls from various animals.
Glitches in the recording increased, and Zambrud's breathing began to be heard.
"What is that? What is actually happening?" Said Zambrud in a panic, from among branches hanging overhead.
I wanted to continue the recording and investigate further, but it seemed it was already time to get ready.
Both of my trusted male servants entered, bringing my clothes and helping me prepare.
They were old friends of mine, and their families had served the empire for a very long time.
In front of a clean mirror, I tied several layers of cloth over my clothing, then put on a mask bearing a sorrowful and mournful expression to cover my face.
I walked toward the outer hall.
Outside, the families of the victims, workers, and several nobles were present beneath the prepared tents.
Black and grey dominated the color of the gathering, while white with red stains dominated the burial cloths.
The weeping of many families mingled with the sound of the heavy rain.
The usual scent of wet earth had been overtaken by the foul odor of 100 bodies, whether whole or scattered in pieces.
Some families had not come, perhaps because the victims had been alone, had been abandoned, or had simply not been regarded as worthy of mourning.
It was not my place to deal with all of that now. What I had to address afterward was the matter of my own family.
I had to fix myself first, before I could fix others.
In that cold place, I walked accompanied by servants who held wide umbrellas above my head, while others held the hem of my robes to keep them from the mud and water.
I ascended the podium that had been built, topped with a canopy of purple cloth.
I looked toward the grave of Zambrud. He was one of those people, an orphan once rescued by the Jaeger family. I assured myself that he was at rest wherever he had gone, that gemstone of a person. Afterward, I placed my notes on the podium table and directed the microphone toward me.
The broadcast cameras of the journalists were activated.
I switched on the microphone. A clear sound rang out from it, drawing everyone's attention toward me.
And at that moment I began my speech.
"Test... test."
"Proud citizens of the Night Empire.
Families of the council members who have fallen.
Colleagues who have lost brothers, sisters, and friends in this incident."
I closed my eyes, then steeled myself.
And opened my eyes with resolve.
"As you can see before you, I have not come to bring joyful news, nor to boast of achievements. Rather, today we grieve together over the passing of our innocent colleagues."
"It should be known that this event was something that no one could have predicted, including myself as Emperor."
"I stand here as someone who has once felt the loss of someone precious. I know the pain that you are enduring right now."
"I know that the words and gifts I can offer will not bring them back to you."
"But I promise that their deaths were not in vain."
"The investigation into the abnormal rift will be continued with the empire's full resources.
Security technology will be upgraded.
Expedition protocols will be revised.
The families of the victims who have come today with sincere hearts will receive full compensation and imperial support. For those who showed no regard for their family members, they will receive nothing from us. We, as members of the imperial institution, have investigated the backgrounds of the victims."
"I swear! To strive so that an event like this does not happen again! I also swear that if it does occur again, we will minimize casualties to the fullest extent of our ability."
I stood facing the 100 coffins ready to be buried, then bowed ninety degrees before them.
"To the heroes who have fallen:
Thank you... for your courage.
Thank you for your sacrifice.
Thank you for... teaching those of us who remain the meaning of loyalty, friendship, and duty."
"With all of my heart here before you, we... we ask your forgiveness for our failure to protect you."
The audience began to look at me with sorrowful expressions: an Emperor who usually stood upright with his cold aura, now offering an apology in the rain with a voice that ended as though faltering.
The mass burial was then carried out at that moment, broadcast and watched by nearly the entire population of the Empire.
The families who did not truly love the victims left without taking anything. Only a very small number of people who truly cared for them remained.
After the burial was completed, the rain subsided. The remaining families of the victims adorned the graves with red spider lily flowers and lanterns of a dim yellow light.
They believed that the light and the flowers would guide the souls to rest from a painful struggle.
When everything was done, I went to my older sibling's grave.
I stroked the tombstone and began speaking to it.
"Hey, brother/sister... if you could see me now, you would probably scold me and call me a fool. But if you were still here... could you help me?"
Of course the grave would not answer my question. I only stared at it.
"I brought you some small gifts. I hope you like them."
I placed several of their favorite little accessories there, left some flowers, and then walked away from that place with a heavy heart.
A woman's voice???
In the darkness of the River Nyx, the souls of Nicolle and Rock wandered without direction.
From their expressions it was clear they were asking: where were they? What was this place?
At that moment they suddenly saw the figure of a boy around the same height as Balance, but with wolf ears and a wolf tail, his long hair tied behind his back.
"Who are you?" Rock positioned himself in front of Nicolle.
The boy turned toward them.
His eyes were red, patterned with blooming flowers. He carried a black scythe and a lantern with a red light.
The boy then said:
"I'm not your enemy. I'm here to guide you."
Rock relaxed his posture.
"I see... we are no longer alive." He said.
Nicolle then moved toward the boy, but he immediately stepped back.
"Um... forgive my carelessness, but... did Balance make it out safely?"
The boy nodded, signaling that Balance had survived. That naturally brought them relief.
He then created a path from thousands of red spider lily flowers leading toward a light.
"Go now, quickly!"
Nicolle and Rock were urged forward by him, until they were drawn by the soul tree and transformed into soul orbs of yellow and pink.
But before that, the boy said to them:
"Wait until Justice comes to receive your souls into his world. That is where you will find happiness."
They did not understand what the boy meant. Besides, they had already been pulled away quickly into the soul tree.
The boy smiled watching it, then returned to the dark expanse of the River Nyx.
To Be Continued