Chapter 78: Death's embrace

My eyes slowly opened as I heard the sound of rustling and muffled movements of cloth. I was staring at the open balcony doors as dark clouds covered the sky.

Strong winds made the room colder than it already was. Curtains flew high as the wind flew into them and pushed them up.

The rattling of the glass panes on the balcony door started to irritate me. Rain was brewing. Luckily it was not so tempestuous.

I slowly sat upright on the edge of my bed. My naked feet landed on the carpet and felt much warmer.

My troubles were not over. I still had to close the doors.

Slowly, I stood up and made my way to the door. My hair flew back as the strong winds hit my face and naked torso. A shiver gets sent down my spine. As I walked closer to the balcony, it got colder and harder to see.

I managed to close the doors. The rattling continued but at least I won't be cold anymore.

When I turned around, I saw Amelia on alert. Her tail stood straight and her fur stood up.

"Why are you so alert?" I muttered in my half-asleep voice.

"T-the rain is scary!" She exclaimed as I flopped back down on the bed. "I'm scared of it!"

Short laughter comes out of my mouth. "You're not scared of anything but you're afraid of mere rain?"

"Hey! It's scary!" She came to me and curled up next to my stomach.

I gently caressed her back as she trembled. Slowly she began to calm down and relax.

"Be brave," I muttered to her in telepathy. "There's no reason to be afraid of rain,"

I picked her up and rolled to my back, placing her on my stomach while looking at her yellow eyes glowing in the dark.

Even though she is a dragon, she acts like a child. I have mixed emotions about the way I'm treating her. I'm being too kind. If she grew up to dragon parents she would've had to survive on her own by now.

She laid down on my chest while staring back at me. I gently pat her head which she enjoyed the most.

"Are you really a dragon?" I asked her with a smirk. "You don't act like one,"

"How does a dragon act then?" She asked me back, offended by the question.

"Touche,"

I looked to my left and saw the weather outside. The sky was full of angry clouds. But the sky was blue. A dark hue of blue.

We must've slept quite a long time.

"What are you doing?" Amelia asked as I frantically waved my hand on the side table.

"Looking for my… watch," I answered back, stretching my arm out to my side table.

I managed to feel my watch in the palm of my hand, grabbing hold of it and bringing it close. I dimly turned on the lights in my room and tried to read the time.

"Ten minutes past seven…" I muttered while reading the time.

All my sleep had vanished when I opened my eyes. I felt rejuvenated for the first time in a while. For the first time in a while, I was not sleep-deprived.

Kathlyn would've been proud to hear.

Speaking of which, I felt a sudden panic when I thought about her. Seeing the weather, I hope Ron has taken shelter somewhere. Or hopefully, the rain hasn't reached them.

"A-are they going to be okay?" Amelia said in a trembling voice while reading my mind.

I closed the watch and placed it on my bed before looking at her. "I'm sure Ron has everything managed," I gave her a reassuring smile.

That's what I hope at least…

"You're not confident, are you?" She murmured, reading my mind again.

"I am. But doubt always stays,"

The doors to my room flung open. Bright lights from the hallway blinded me as a dark but familiar figure stood at the doorway.

"Oh, you're awake," Felix said while walking inside. "I thought you would be knocked out for longer,"

"Seems like I didn't need that much sleep," I chuckled while slowly sitting up, and laying my back on the bed frame.

"The weather has gotten bad," Felix said while staring out of the balcony doors.

I looked outside with him as the glass panes shook from the wind. However, the winds were beginning to calm down.

A minute passed as Felix and I stared out the window. Suddenly a few raindrops fell on the door. The few turned to dozen and the dozen to countless.

"Speaking of rain," I got up from my bed. "Seems like mother nature is in a gloomy mood,"

"Not the only one who's gloomy," Felix turned around and teased me.

A short wheeze escaped my nose. "You would understand why though," I told him while picking up my shirt and watching.

"Not really," Felix answered as his cheeky smile wore off. "Growing up, I didn't have many friends. Especially to the point where you and Lady Kathlyn are,"

It got me curious as he spoke of his past. "Huh, how was your past like then?" I asked him casually.

He was taken aback by my question. "Never thought you would ask me that," His eyebrows shot up.

Felix seemed uncomfortable talking about it. What happened in the past that I do not know of?

"If you don't want to tell me it's fine," I reassured him.

"Well, you asked so kindly, might as well,"

I listened with keen interest as he began talking about his past. He took a seat on the floor with his knees bent, laying back on the balcony door and staring at me.

"Growing up, I mostly helped my father on the farm. I didn't have time for education which meant I couldn't socialize much,"

He began explaining to me about his past. A story I was interested in knowing for once. It was shocking to me how dark and depressing his past is. But it also answered many of my questions.

Felix fidgeted around with his hands while avoiding eye contact. Something I never saw him do.

A miserable frown rested on his face as he continued to tell me in detail about his past. He had remembered every minor detail even after so many years.

"Then, my father joined as a knight. He was killed during the second war. After a week, my mother killed herself too…"

It took such a drastic turn it shocked me. Something that would come out of a dark fantasy novel.

My heart sank as a newfound respect grew in me for Felix.

"Stop, you don't need to force yourself," I cut in abruptly.

He was about to continue but he held his tongue. He smiled at me and looked down in shame.

"I spoke too much, didn't I?" Felix said through a sorrowful smile.

I stood up from my bed and walked towards him. "You didn't speak too much. It was getting hard for you to remember your past. I don't want to see you in tears or pain,"

He looked up as I walked towards him. Our eyes met as I knelt down and patted him on the shoulder.

"I'm your only family, aren't I?" I smiled. "You have nowhere else to go. If I let you go, you will be lost,"

"I will have my title as a double knight, right?" He smirked at me arrogantly.

"Fair,"

I hooked my hand around his neck and clenched on, pulling him closer.

"I hope you found brotherhood and friendship while working with me," I gently pat him on his neck.

Felix grabbed hold of my arm and smiled wider. "A bond that goes deeper than blood. That's what I've found,"

AMADEUS' POV

I rushed down the hallways of the castle. The lights flew past me in a blur. My heart began to beat faster and faster with every passing minute.

The third floor, through more hallways. Sylas rushed in front of me with the tail of his tuxedo flying in the wind. We both were dashing down the hallway with no time left.

Father's health has been deteriorating since morning. The healers cannot figure out why. Nothing is working. It's getting worse with time passing slowly.

Suddenly, Sylas came into my office with dreaded eyes. He told me his condition became critical. I should rush to meet him one last time if it is the last time.

A sudden bolt of thunder flashed out of the window behind me, followed by the sound of a loud bang that was muffled by the walls of the castle.

The rain began at seven and didn't stop. It became worse as time went on. Thirty minutes passed and yet, the rain showed no signs of stopping.

Sylas stopped but slid across the polished wooden floors. I do the same but come to a stop before the doors of his room. It was left wide open.

Inside, he lay on his bed. His mouth partially laid open as his eyes and cheeks sink in. His face looked pale. Was I too late?

Mother knelt beside the bed, holding his hand in tears and sobbing profusely. My heart sank as I saw the sight. A new memory was engraved deep into my mind.

"F-father…?" I muttered, too shocked to even speak properly.

Mother turned her head slowly, looking at me through her silver blonde hair with tears rolling down her cheeks.

"A-Amadeus…" She spoke through her sobs.

I began walking into the room. My jaw dropped open and my throat became dry.

As I grew closer and closer. I could see him still breathing. I was not too late.

A smile came out as he saw me. He was breathing heavily as I stood over him. My knees felt weak and I was brought down.

"Amadeus… My son…" He spoke out in a husky voice.

"F-father…" I murmured.

Tears began rolling out of my ears. I couldn't hold back anymore.

Mother let go of his hand and put her head down on the mattress. Her crying became worse as she broke down even further.

I grab hold of his hands. "Not yet… Don't go…" I softly cried out.

His hands slowly left my hands and caressed my cheeks. I looked at him with teary eyes, not being able to see him through the tears.

"Stay strong… I'm not going… anywhere…" He muttered. "You know where… I'll be…?"

"I-in h-heaven…?" I answered him.

"N-no…" He coughed. "Come closer…"

I leaned closer to him as he wiped the tear off my left cheek. He let go of my cheek and pointed at my chest.

"In here…" He said softly with a smile.

My tears would not stop anymore. I couldn't hold them in.

Sylas and Kody both came inside the room and stood behind me. Neither of them could watch as father slowly passed in front of my eyes.

I grabbed his hand once more and fell back on my knees. He looked past me and looked at the two behind me.

"Kody… Sylas…" He said softly in a husky voice. "Protect… my family…"

The two couldn't hold back tears either. I couldn't see behind me, but I heard sniffles from Kody for the first time as he began to break down as well.

Slowly, I became a similar mess to my mother. I continued to sob and sniffle every breath as I looked at my father in a blurry vision.

"I love you… my dear…" He spoke to mother. "I wish… we could have spent more time…"

She began to howl at the top of her lungs. "No! You're not dying~!" She screamed out through tears. "Not yet! It's too soon!"

"Don't die yet!" I screamed out, not being able to hold myself back. "Who is going to teach me how to rule!"

I expected him to not answer my question. But to my surprise… he did.

"Arto…rius…" He said softly. "He's always there…"

I looked at him with a dumbfounded expression. Tears still rolled down my cheeks and crashed onto the bed.

"I accept it… This is fate… There is no turning back…"

He took a deep breath. We all stopped and looked at him. His hands fell limp, with no sound, no breaths.

ALARIC'S POV

The room fell quiet. Only sniffles from my wife could be heard. The tempting feeling of closing my eyes came.

"Rest easy, emperor," Mori's voice came through as my eyes became heavy.

The world around me slowly darkened. My eyes were wide open and yet… the world was dark. My eyes darted around to see the room around me grow darker and darker. A dark mist engulfed it.

Sylas and Kody stood still as if they were statues. The dark mist covered them as their bodies disappeared.

Amadeus and Serena's bodies followed the same fate. They were stuck in their position as the fog slowly took them away from me. Silence soon dawned as not a single sound entered my ears.

Out of the darkness, a skeletal figure dressed in a dark blue hood came out. The hood was ragged, only covering the top half of the skeleton. The colour of the hood seemed worn out as if it was centuries old.

The skeleton embraced me. I felt the bones wrap around my body as it held on tightly.

So this is death's embrace?

A calm sensation fell on me as peace overwhelmed me. The feeling of being embraced by death. The highest honour of the cult. I finally made it.

My final achievement in life. To be gently embraced by death. I finally felt it.

I couldn't be any happier. My eyes felt teary and before I knew it, my eyes were full of them. I closed my eyes one last time, softly tearing up as the hooded skeleton continued to embrace me.

This is the greatest feeling.