Goodbye For Now

Riza and Sonalius finally saw the camp after three full days of travel. They walked through the dense forest which obstructed their view. After getting past the last few trees, they looked up ahead. They could see mountains on both sides of a valley with dense fog overshadowing it. A large river separated the forest from the valley.

"Hmmph, good location. Situated near the Degasi River, and between both the Vibrant forest and Mist Valley." Sonalius gave a nod of approval.

"Really? I knew that water sources attracted creatures, but the ones in the Vibrant forest are too weak to cause me trouble after eating-" Riza paused as she contemplated, "...after growing stronger. Thus, I thought that it would be safe if I kept my distance from Mist Valley. The water being close is also a good thing for us." Riza explained, "Plus, we are far enough from Lorea that the lychnus race only passes by here once a week. After all, we are over 200 km east of Lorea, and those fairy bastards live in the north over on Sunder Mountain..."

Sonalius was speechless towards both Riza's deduction and her knowledge for geography. Although he had already known this from his own experience and analysis, it was still impressive that this girl is very knowledgeable and wise despite her youth.

"Riza, have you ever thought of taking the route of becoming a mage? Your intellect and wisdom are already so great, and you'll surely learn the mysteries of the universe if you follow this route." Sonalius couldn't help but ask as he set the captive bodies he was holding softly on the grass.

"A mage? What's the difference between that and what I am now?" Riza asked, unsure of what defines a mage.

"Mages typically attack from afar and are almost always fully powered by the enlightenment of a law. In legends and old text, there was a woman who was named Magnus. She could call down meteors from the aether that struck the ground. Rather than using law-powered techniques, mages use spells created by mimicking the law itself." Sonalius explained. "A warrior's path, however, uses the body as a medium to connect with the law; the body becomes infused with the law and is an extension to oneself. The warrior can then use an object like a spear or sword to create techniques that are applied directly from themselves. You should know that our world is separated into the Eastern and Western continent by this point. The two continents are believed to have been one, but someone with immense strength split the world apart with an ax. Nobody knows what level these beings were at." He said as he sat on a log and let his body rest.

"Neither path is necessarily stronger. A warrior may not be able to comprehend as much through their mind, but their techniques are just as fierce and strong. The constitution and lifeforce of a warrior are also superior compared to a mage. Warriors may find themselves lacking in mind comprehension, but they make up for it in body comprehension. Letting the laws run through the body will strengthen it, and thus making their attacks and defense even tougher. A mage, on the other hand, can also become devastating. Their body may be weaker, but the power they output is no joke. They are exceptional support within a group too, boosting your teammates while hindering your enemies. There are even solo mages that are devasting with their attacks and illusions." Sonalius looked hesitant, like he wanted to say something else, but couldn't decide if he should. After a few moments, however, he sighed and decided not to share what he was thinking.

"Anyway, don't think about it too much. Once you reach that level, you'll naturally know what I mean." He said as he waved his hand dismissively. "Now..." Sonalius' expression grew heavy, "Let's say goodbye and bury your parents with Aizen's parents, who stood up for Sig'car's rampage."

When someone from Lorea died, they would perform this old tradition. With each scoop of dirt dug by their own hands, beads of sweat formed on heads. Their hard work and perseverance were sown into the ground, signifying the difficult the loss was for them.

Sonalius got on his knees and he started grabbing handfuls of dirt and scooping it back. Riza, who was looking at her parents, quickly rubbed her eyes and started doing the same.

"Have I told you how your parents met?" Sonalius forced a smile as he continued clawing away at the dirt, "Johnathan, at the time, as cool-headed and dignified as he was, was consumed with revenge and bitterness. His brother, your uncle Sam, was captured by someone from the Excardes inber race and made into their slave. Johnathan vowed that he would get stronger one day and rescue his brother."

"Enslave?!? Some humans are enslaved?" Riza said with apparent shock. She continued to dig but continued to think about the situation.

Sonalius nodded, "I suppose it's normal that they haven't told you this yet. Although humans are strong due to our number, resilience, and will to overcome anything, ultimately we have been targeted by many races." He said with a sigh, "There's still so many of us that are weak who become easy targets to other races. Many humans cannot even cultivate and are forced to become slaves just to live." He said with a frown as he was remembering bad memories.

"After spending 5 years of hunting and searching, he finally got his answer. He was supposedly taken by someone named the Red Berserker. After finding a lead, Johnathan did not stop there and decided to scout out the Red Berserker and see if his brother was truly there." Sonalius said with a heavy sigh.

"Johnathan, a couple of other people, and I were from a small village far southwest of Lorea. He told me he finally got a lead on his brother and was going to check the validity of the claim. He had said this many times before, and I always ask him how he knew. Usually, he would say he found out from asking the few excardes inber that he knew. This time, however, he had told me that he went into their camp and took hostages, even having to kill a few of them. Needless to say, he was sure about his brother's location." Sonalius continued as he voiced got lower. "I feared for him finally losing his mind and decided to go with him. When we got there, Johnathan confirmed that his brother was held captive there but..." His voice trailed off.

"What was it?" Riza slowly said, feeling perturbed with the sudden break in speech.

"We realized why the captor was named the Red Berserker. He was given the name due to being excessively cruel and berserk. He was the definition of a sadist. If the workers slacked at all, he pulled out whips with metal shards. Sometimes they were lucky with just a few whips, but if the Red Berserker wasn't in a good mood and feel especially cruel, they would get tens of hits with the whip. It was a miracle that your Uncle and some of the other slaves survived as long as they did honestly. Johnathan, however, sunk even deeper into rage and fury. Seeing his brother after 5 years being torn apart broke him. Before I even realized it, he had started charging towards his brother. He had just broken into the novice level, and he decided to challenge the Red Berserker who was at the novice stage level 5. The Red Berserker viciously smiled at him like found a new toy and told Johnathan that he was going to enslave him too." Sonalius said seriously. "Other excardes inber were headed towards us, bells were being rung. We just stormed into their village, and chaos was brewing. While your father was fighting off the Red Berserker, I was dealing with the rest of the weaker enemies. We did not fare well and were becoming increasingly at a disadvantage." Sonalius smiled as he realized only one grave was left to dig.

"What we didn't know, though, was the Red Berserker had captured people from another village: Lorea. Your mother, Rey's parents, and even that traitorous Kiev all saw Johnathan and me rush in and decided to fight. Me and Rey's parent's fought the waves of excardes inber, while Johnathan, your mom, and Kiev fought the Red Berserker. Feeling overwhelmed by the sudden change, both of the enemies were killed in a few minutes. After freeing the prisoners, Johnathan quickly ran to his brother and cried with him. It was a very touching moment for everyone there. Your mother and the rest introduced themselves and told us they admired Johnathan and my bravely. They said if we wanted to come to Lorea, we could. Johnathan quickly left with the rest of them with his brother because he was badly injured, and our small camp didn't have anything in comparison to Lorea. I told the rest of our camp about Lorea, showed them the map, and left. Some came with me to Lorea, some stayed behind. After a year of living in Lorea on constantly spending time together, they married. Soon after, they got pregnant with you, Riza." Sonalius said as they finished the last grave. Riza's eyes were teary after hearing that story about what her dad and uncle went through.

"I tell you this story because I can see your father's rage in you. I know that you want revenge for everything Sig'car has done. Do not lose control as your father did and get obsessed with it. Seeking revenge won't bring them back, and it'll get you killed. Only once you're strong enough can you take revenge on them." Sonalius looked Riza in the eyes, "Don't go on the same path your father did. The innocent families that he's killed and guilt took him decades to reconcile."

Riza, despite being angry, decided to bid her time and nodded in agreement.

"Alright, do you remember what the next step is to burying them?" Sonalius tested Riza.

"Covering them with evergreen leaves and placing a Sentira flower on their head?" Riza said unsurely.

"Correct, we need to find evergreen trees and 4 Sentira flowers. Evergreens aren't hard to find, but we'll need to keep an eye out for the Sentira flower. Let's go, we only have a few more hours of daylight. I've already placed a small ward to keep animals away from the graves, so we can both go." Sonalius said as he saw the bright red sun getting lower. They started treading through the forest, picking evergreen leaves and searching for the flower.

"If I'm correct, This flower was one that is long-lived and quite pretty, right?" Riza asked.

"Yes, it's known mostly for its color and rebirth though. Within 1 year, the flower grows to maturity, dies, and is reborn into two through the previous flower. The original flower consumes itself after death, and then once it hit maturity, it releases another seed. Thus, the flower will live forever while its offspring floated and traveled with the wind. This is part of the significance of the flower and why we use it in death. We hope that the flower's resurrection and rebirth are applied to the dead. That as they die and decompose, their soul goes through rebirth and reincarnates back to us." He explained the meaning behind the ritual they are completing.

"What does the flower look like?" Riza inquired.

"You'll know when you see- ah, there's one!" Sonalius smiled faintly. 20 meters away was a bright red and blue flower with a swirl pattern to it.

Riza looked ahead and saw it. Her eyes shone with a marvelous light as she couldn't help but smile towards it. "So pretty!!" Riza had the feeling that if she touched, it would become polluted and be destroyed.

"Marvelous, right? I've heard that some people's spirits are immediately lifted just by staring or touching the flower." Sonalius laughed, "It seems to be true of you, Riza. Go on, pick the flower." Riza walked over and pinched the stem of the Sentira flower. The flower's stem broke, and she softly held the flower in her had.

They searched for another 3 hours until they found three more of the flowers. Riza's mood and outlook seemed to have improved a bit as she was smiling from time to time. Like a burden was lifted off, whenever she thought of her parents, she didn't think of their death and Sig'car. Instead, she started remembering the memories and how much she misses them already. Exhausted from running there and digging the graves, they returned to their camp and covered all four bodies in the evergreen leaves and placed their bodies in the grave one by one.

Both Riza and Sonalius grabbed two Sentira flowers each and held them in each hand.

"To our ancestor, we give thanks for the life these brave men and women have lived. The battles forged for us, the tears shed for us," Riza started to sob as Sonalius was speaking, "and the sacrifices that were made for us to live happy lives. We thank our ancestors for the life they helped create too. Help bring these souls home and back to us. Amen." Sonalius concluded as he placed his flowers on Aizen's parents and filled the grave. Riza placed the flower on her parent's foreheads and softly said, "Goodbye for now..."