Chapter 80: The end of the beginning

"Let's go then," Felix said while standing at the doorway.

After seeing Alaric, I slept through the night. It was early morning and the weather was cold. It poured all night and hasn't stopped completely.

I looked at myself in the mirror as I fixed my black tie. This was the first time I was in full black attire. Something I expected to wear more frequently.

"Sure, coming," I answered him after a while.

I turned around and walked up to him. He followed behind me as I passed him and went down the hallways that were once flooded by the tears of the maids and servants.

Now it lay silent. No one dared utter a word during the first day of mourning. All the servants and maids were in full black. It was a sight to behold.

Alaric's body was taken off the bed last night. It was cleaned and placed in royal robes. That's what I heard so far.

Though it was raining, the funeral process would have to continue in such conditions. I met Alexander on my way downstairs and made him join us.

None of us spoke a word as we slowly made our way downstairs. When we reached the foyer, we found a crowd gathered. Amadeus and his mother saw us and watched us.

They looked at us as we made it down the flight of stairs. Their gaze continued to follow me as I walked past the mother and son.

There it was. Inside a casket made of dark mahogany wood. Its handles were made out of pure gold. Truly a royal casket.

It stood atop a podium that was covered with red cloth. Open for display. The door to the casket was wide open for visitors to see one last time.

The visitors were familiar faces from the party. After the party, most had gone back home. But upon hearing the news of his death, they all returned once again to pay respect to the fallen emperor.

A man stood next to his casket. A familiar man. It was Elric Wyot, emperor of the dark elves. Our eyes met as I walked up to the casket. He averted his gaze as I stood next to him.

Felix and Alexander came up from behind me and stood to my left. Elric was to my right. We looked at Alaric's corpse as it slept soundly. Inside a casket filled with soft material and in white robes.

Felix bows his head in respect. So does Alexander. Even Elric did it. I felt tempted, but I didn't bow.

Though he was dead, I could feel something from him. He was perhaps telling me something from beyond the grave.

Could he perhaps have learnt the truth? Has he met Mori? Was he telling me to do something?

But, before I could decode anything, Servants came up from the other side of the casket and closed it. A resting frown stayed on their faces as they locked him inside.

"Who will carry the casket?" Amadeus spoke up from the crowd.

Soft murmurs went around the room as people tried to decide who carried the casket. How has this not been decided?

Without another choice, I had to make a decision. The decision was clear.

"I volunteer," I raised my hand high.

Felix and Alexander looked at me with a dumbfounded expressions. But Elric had other plans in mind.

"I too, volunteer for this," He raised his hand and shot me a look.

One by one, people raised their hands. The last to do so was Amadeus.

The six people who would carry the casket were decided. They all stepped forward while the others stepped back. Elric and I looked at each other before grabbing onto the golden handles on the side.

Amadeus grabbed on from the other side, right opposite me. I held it on the front while Elric held it from the back end.

Kody and Sylas stepped forward to help. They were with Amadeus. The final person, the one in the middle, was a servant that had the heart to raise his hand.

We all grabbed on tightly. When we were ready, we shot each other an approving glare before nodding.

I began counting. "Three... Two… One… Lift!" I muttered before pulling the casket up.

Everyone did their level best to carry it up. Perhaps it was a mistake making Elric carry the casket.

Since we all carried it on our shoulders. We needed people the same height as us. Elric was a tower compared to the rest. While Amadeus was holding it up higher than his head.

"Start moving," I softly said while balancing the heavy casket on my right shoulder.

We moved a few centimetres away from the podium and began walking towards the wide-open doors. A cool breeze entered through the door and smacked me in the face. Along with sharp rainfall that was showering down slowly.

Gently we stepped out of the castle. A line of soldiers stood outside with their heads held low. But, this is where I made a slight miscalculation.

No one told me where we were going. Only that we were going to the graveyard where the last emperor lay.

An entourage of nobles followed behind us as we carried the casket outside. Slowly carrying it down the steps and through the pathway of the castle.

A line of soldiers, amounting to thousands, stood with their heads low. They showed the path we were supposed to follow.

Soon enough, we exited the walls of the castle. Nothing prepared me for the scene that would be taking place outside.

Hundreds, if not thousands crowded outside. Breaking down and sobbing profusely as we carried the casket out. One cry drowning out the other every passing second.

Metal-clad soldiers barricaded them and kept them from interrupting us. Their armours shined in the morning light that peeked through the clouds. Rainwater still rolling down from their helmets and chest plates.

Gentle rain showered down from the sky as we marched on with the casket on our shoulders. My heart pounded seeing the sights as we walked past a crowd that was full of tears.

Screams and cries of men and women filled my ears. It pierced like an arrow right through my ears. It took a lot to not react to their cries.

The crowd didn't stop growing. It continued to grow and grow as we slowly walked through the streets of the capital. Flowers are being thrown from both sides. Flowers of white colour.

Felix came up to me with a black umbrella that he was given. I gave him a stare and shook my head gently. He took the hint and moved back into the crowd of nobles, sheltering Alexander from the rain.

A shower of white flowers came raining down from both sides as we passed a busy section of the city. It littered the road and turned the grey brick roads into a white mess.

I wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. Luckily, my break finally came.

The graveyard's entrance could be seen from a distance away. Clean gravestones of nobility shined even though it was raining. They were sealed off by a marble tombstone that was placed over their graves.

Soldiers still guarded the graveyard. The lines of soldiers did not stop at the road, it carried on inside. We entered and followed the path that was marked out by the soldiers whose faces were unseen by everyone.

I took a glance at Amadeus to see how he was doing. Surprisingly, he grabbed hold of himself after last night and seemed much tamer. Though it was obvious he stayed up all night crying.

Tear marks were still left on his face and dark bags were below his eyes. That's what I noticed in the split second I had to look at him.

We continued down the path carved out of the ground inside the graveyard. A grave had already been dug and a bishop stood next to it.

The bishop had a holy book in his hand. He wore white robes and an odd-shaped hat with the sign of the six divines. A circle made up of the insignia of each religion.

Another podium was made right in front of the grave. It was covered with a black cloth this time. We hover the coffin over it and slowly place it down.

Everyone took a few steps back and gathered around for the funeral to continue. The bishop stepped forward and opened the holy book, ready to speak some religious nonsense.

"We gather around this gloomy morning to mourn the passing of our emperor. It is with great sorrow to see him pass. This marks the end of an era. But it also marks the beginning of a new dawn.

He was an emperor with a golden heart. A great diplomat, and ruler, but most of all… he was a man. The primordial god created him but blessed him with opportunity. He used these opportunities to help thousands during his lifetime,"

As the bishop continued, Felix came up from behind me and stood next to me. I glanced at him before I turned my head in front.

Amadeus stood with his mother. Looking at the mahogany casket as the priest continued to babble on. His mother barely kept it together. She was looking much better than last night.

She latched onto Amadeus' arm the same way Kathlyn did with me. But she held on to him as if he was her walking cane. Even still, she began to sniffle and softly cry while watching her husband lay lifeless inside the rectangular coffin.

"May his soul pass onto the next life and make it to paradise." The bishop finally concluded his speech.

We were asked to take one last moment to pay respect to him.

I take my shot and step forward. Slowly trotting towards the coffin before stopping right in front of it.

I placed my right hand on the coffin and laid my head on it. Closing my eyes and imagining his face one last time.

"I'll see you in hell, emperor," I whispered as softly as I could.

No one heard what I said. Without muttering another word, I take my hand off and walk backwards. Stopping back in the same place I stood in.

"What did you say?" Felix whispered into my ears.

"Best to not say," I told him while maintaining a straight face.

One by one, everyone that attended the funeral stepped forward and paid their last respect. Some say something under their breath while others lay their head on the casket.

As Amadeus and Lady Serena stepped forward, I noticed that everyone else had umbrellas. Other than me.

I turned to Felix and saw that he had given the umbrella to Alexander. Though at this point I was too tired to ask for it.

Felix walked away and stood with Alexander under the shade of their umbrella. While I stood in the rain next to everyone else who had one.

Amadeus and Lady Serena began to break down once again. They held on quite well till now. It's fine if they shed a tear or two.

They stepped back and left the coffin alone. A wreath made of grass and white chrysanthemum was placed atop the casket. Interesting that it defines death even in this world.

Finally, the final act of this show.

A few servants stepped forward to carry the coffin again. Men dressed in black ties stepped forward from the crowd and grabbed hold of the casket. But they didn't have enough manpower.

Elric and I were the only two people who had our emotions in control. There was no other choice.

Seeing as it is our duty now, we stepped forward to help.

"Grab the casket and bring it over," I told Elric while walking towards the hole that was dug out before we came here.

It was seven feet deep. Enough to fit me and the coffin together if I stood upright.

Without a second thought, I jumped into the grave which had a layer of sloppy soil, sinking in my feet as soon as I landed.

I looked at the sky while waiting for the coffin's shadow to dawn over me. It finally did and Elric looked down at me before slowly lowering the coffin.

I held out my hands and reached for the bottom of the casket. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Felix jumped into the grave and stood on the opposite end of the grave as me.

"You can't bury a coffin alone," He said while holding the other end of the coffin.

Seems like I overlooked it while trying to be the hero

The ones at the top slowly let go of the coffin and let us handle the rest. Felix and I managed to slowly bring it below our heads and held it above our pelvis.

Soft wails came out from the top as we slowly lowered the coffin. If I had to guess, I would say it was Lady Serena.

The rain begins to pour once again. It was not heavy but it was much worse than the beginning.

Our outfits were completely ruined by mud. My hair had mud stuck to it. Such a shame for the rain to begin now.

By the time Felix and I got up from the grave, we both were soaked and muddy. We looked at each other to see our conditions. We would be teasing each other by now if it wasn't a funeral.

Three shovels lay next to the mound of earth beside the grave. Felix and I looked at each other before turning our gaze to Amadeus.

Amadeus looked at me and knew what he had to do.

Even though we had countless servants ready to give us aid, Amadeus insisted that we did most of the process of the funeral. He said it was to pay respect to his father, something I haven't done since being at this funeral.

Alaric was a cultist, not a follower of the religion that is widely accepted in this world. He must be quite cross seeing that he is being buried rather than cremated.

The three of us grabbed the shovels and got down to business. My outfit was beyond cleaning and I took full advantage of it.

Felix and Amadeus were capable men. But they were nothing compared to me when it came to landscaping.

In my past life, I had to take up a part-time job in construction. This included shovelling tons of dirt from the ground or mounds of dirt.

My haste shocked the rest that was present at the funeral. Sweat began to form around my neck and forehead as I continued to bury Alaric as fast as possible.

In an estimated time of two minutes, I had nearly filled up the grave to the brim. Just a bit more was left which I let Amadeus do.

Seeing as though the grave was filled, I let Amadeus do the rest. I began acting as though I ran out of energy. Felix understood and did the same, leaving Amadeus to continue with a tiny hill of dirt.

He laid down the last chunks of earth on his father's grave and levelled it with the shovel. He stared at it as the funeral came to an end.

At last, everyone placed wreaths of flowers on the grave. They didn't stick around any longer as the rain got heavier.

Lady Serena left as soon as she placed the wreath. In tears and despair, being taken away while under the shade of a black umbrella.

The bishop soon left and the only ones left were the four of us. Alexander, Amadeus, Felix and me.

Amadeus stared at his father's grave and looked down in despair. The three of us stood behind him as the rain poured. It cleaned off our clothes but soaked us.

The young emperor began to cry once again. His tears were washed away by the heavy rain, not being seen by anyone other than me

Without thinking about it, I began walking up to him from behind. He didn't notice me till I was right behind him.

"You've been brave today. It's not easy to bury your father. I can tell from experience," I told Amadeus as I wrapped my hands around his torso.

His tears stopped as I told him those words.

"F-father…?" He muttered out in delusion.

"He's gone. He left you with a responsibility. Won't you complete it?"

"Yes… I will…"

A smirk breaks from my lips as I place my chin on top of his head. "This is just the beginning of a new future. The new future is much brighter. Your future is bright, Amadeus. It's brighter than the stars on a night,"

"How do you know?" He asked while rubbing his tears away.

"It's written in stone. You will be a star, Amadeus. The brightest star."