Chapter 19

' It's dark…too dark. What happened? Oh…yeah, I was trying to repair my weapons and upgrade them….. is this really how I go out? My soul won't even pass on, I'm going to be stuck here forever…. I could have at least seen those three one last time. '

      -heavy sigh-

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   The owl hooted repeatedly through the young night. The moon's shine was partially covered by a few clouds drifting by. The stars assisted in lighting the sky. 

      Alsi stumbled across to Ceal and Serena. 

      'Are they okay? What's happened with Agyro?' He thought as he made his way towards them.

      Meanwhile Ceal and Serena were sobbing painfully. Who wouldn't do so after killing their own father? 

     " Hey now, stop it…" the familiar voice spoke to them. Shocked, they raised their heads to see their father's eyes opening calmly.

      "You guys look ugly as hell when you cry like that." Said Agyro with a weak smile. Serena was overwhelmed by joy and gladness when she heard him…

      "DAD!" Serena said when she hugged her father as if she were a kid again, her tears flowing. Ceal didn't know whether to be surprised or joyful, he simply collapsed backwards and fell on his ass.

      "Ouch! Ouch! That hurts like hell!" Agyro exclaimed still with a weak voice. Serena withdrawed with apologies and sat him down carefully. Their weapons were still in his chest. Alsi had just arrived, he stood above them as they were all on the ground.

      "Let me remove these so I can heal you…" said Serena.

      "What? I didn't know you you could use healing kine." Said Agyro.

      "Well I'm not really good at it yet, but I did some practice." She said as she grabbed on to the katana's handle.

      "Hold on-" 

      Agyro stopped Serena by putting his hand on hers. He looked up at her and shook his head. Serena had a disappointed expression on her face.

      "You know that there's no saving me. Heck, I could drop dead any second…" Agyro said this whilst he still kept his smile. Serena couldn't look him in the eye any longer. She just couldn't bear the thought of letting her father die.

      "But I'm sure we can find a way! If I can just look through my books-"

      Agyro called her name repeatedly to stop her from talking…

      " Serena, I'm sure you can find a way. Your creativity has always blown me through the roof. But it will take more than just books to do so. Don't worry about me sweety pie. I didn't think my time would be up so soon. That demon must have really waited for an opportunity to hit me. I should commend it for its patience though I'm not really sure how long it waited. But hey, my time is up."

      Ceal was holding back anymore tears, he had never cried in front of his father, not even once. But now here he was, hiding his face with his hand. Agyro turned his head to him.

      "Ceal…"

      "Yes dad…" Ceal's voice broke a bit.

      "Stop hiding yourself like a bitch and look at me…" 

      Ceal wiped his eyes and looked at his father.

      " Ceal, it's okay to be weak sometimes. We're all human after all. Just be sure about who sees your weakness. Otherwise, in the end I'm proud of you. I'm proud that you're my son. You have no affinity for anything but sound and yet you still push through. Keep going, don't let anything stop you, you hear me?"

      "Yes dad." Ceal's expression tightened as he said those words.

      "And Serena,' he lifted his hand to her cheek. Serena held on to it with watering eyes,

      ' You remind me so much of your mother. Your spontaneousness however is my fault. You're an amazing weapon crafter. A true Ginknight. You're really smart too. I just know, that you're going to do amazing things."

      "You guys don't have to feel guilty for what you've done. You had no choice, but you freed my soul. I would have been stuck in darkness for eternity. And honestly, it's a huge honour, to die by the honest weapons of my own children, than by the weapons of some hateful stranger. So really, thank you guys."

      Serena nodded whilst tears already started to roll down her cheeks.

      Agyro then noticed the legs behind Serena and Ceal. He slowly lifted his head until he saw the colorful flame accompanied by scarlet eyes….

      "Ahhh, Alsi." Said Agyro. Alsi was caught off guard by Agyro's eyes and he looked away immediately. This made Agyro chuckle.

      "What happened to all that attitude? I thought you'd be laughing at my pitiful condition by now…"

      Alsi was wondering the same thing. Normally he would laugh at Agyro for being weak and not able to resist a demon. But then what he was feeling right then could have been anything BUT joy at his failure. He wondered why he was even standing there when he dodged funerals like the plague in his first life. Or rather he was hindered for the fear of being embarrassed by his heartless attitude and lack of respect towards the dead.

      Bringing Alsi to a funeral would mean making enemies and putting the business at risk. But there he stood, dumbfounded at his own feelings. 

      "Alsi…" Agyro called. Alsi lifted his head and looked at him.

      "Apart from me, nobody else would have been able to handle you, that I'm sure of. That's because the moment I saw you, back when you were still a spoiled prince, I knew there was something peculiar about you. Look at you now, you've grown up quite alot.' 

     He coughed out blood suddenly, but neither Ceal or Serena reacted, they just kept looking downwards as they tried their best to hold in their sorrow, knowing that his time was about to run out.

      ' ah, but you still have alot of growing up to do. There's a whole lot of things you can do Alsi, but you'll never be able to unlock that potential if you stay as you are now. You're like a son to me Alsi, I want you to know that. Don't let failures and disappointment undermine you. Don't let stronger foes discourage you. You are strong, I want you to know that okay?"

      Alsi never thought he'd need to hear those words from anyone other than himself. And yet Agyro still managed to hit him where it hurts, especially after he completely gave up and admitted defeat like a coward. His expression also began to tighten. But then he noticed some tears flowing down Agyro's bloodied face. Alsi, Ceal and Serena were all surprised at what they were seeing. This is the first time they ever saw their father shed tears…

      "I can't lie though. I'm going to miss you guys…" Said Agyro, still keeping his calm smile under the tears. He opened his arms painfully and let them hug him. The siblings gave in whilst he ignored the pain. For Agyro, this moment was worth it. Alsi stood there, still having a dumbfounded expression on his face. Agyro looked up at him.

      "What? Too heartless to give your father his final hug?" 

      Alsi thought he didn't want to. But his body moved on its own. He suddenly threw himself at Agyro and joined in the hug. Agyro hugged them as tightly as he possibly could, although he was weak. Serena sobbed behind his back, whilst Ceal was still fighting back the tears that forced themselves through from time to time. 

      "I'll always be with you. Okay?" He said as he enjoyed the warmth of their embraces for the last time. 

      "I love you guys…don't for-" He suddenly ran out of breath. And everything became silent. They then heard Agyro inhale and exhale deeply. His calm smile still remained on his face, his eyes were still open. But his body lost all its energy at once. One of his arms suddenly hit the ground and they all opened their eyes to the realization that their father, their teacher, their trainer, Agyro, was dead.

      Serena started to cry out loudly, Ceal let his tears out and started to sob. Alsi had a blank look on his face. He never knew what it was, but deep down inside of him he felt it. He had being ignoring it the whole time. But this time, he couldn't. His eyes started to water, his chest started to hurt, his sorrow started to come up out of his stomach.

        "AAAAAAAAAAGGGHH!!!!" Alsi ended up crying out in pain as if he were hurt. Tasting the salt of his tears for the first time. They all cried helplessly as they knew for a fact that there was no turning back. The person who raised them from their childhood was gone. 

      An hour later, they carried his body up a hill. Ceal had his katana within its sheath, Serena hugged her staff that was stained with the blood of their father. Ceal and Alsi had shovels on one hand whilst carrying their father's corpse on the other. When they got to the top, they gazed at the amazing view. They could see the river flowing into the forests on the left. On the right were the rice fields of the local farmers. The water of the river sparkled in the light of the moon. A cool breeze passed by.

      With mournful expressions they set their father down gently. And then they started digging. Time went on until they finally managed to dig far enough. They set their father down in the grave they had prepared for him. When they stared down at him, he still kept the same calm expression on his face,like he could open his eyes and wake up any moment. But that was only wishful thinking.

       When they finished burying him, Serena set down a few flowers on his grave. Ceal then revealed a second sheath, he drew a sword that glistened in the moonlight. It was his father's sword, the same one through which he was possessed. He then forces it into the ground to mark the grave that belonged to their father. Afterwards they stood side by side, silently watching it. 

      They buried him here because this was their favourite place for a picnic when they were young. Alsi had always being a sucker for sceneries so he demanded this place. Looking at that grave, they began to relive the past. All their training sessions with him. The laughs they shared, the adventures they went on.The speeches he loved to give, aswell as the lectures. The things he taught them. They were there almost each time he repaired or upgraded that very sword that stood on his grave. 

      'A Ginknight should take pride in building their own weapon!' he always said. His voice still ringed in their heads when they recalled those memories. But that was it, all that remained were just memories. They then just realized the scariest thing about death. Dying in itself wasn't the scary thing. The most dreaded thing is the thought of who you leave behind. When someone dies, you will never see them again, and they will never see you. The chances are completely 0 percent.

      Alsi realized how much he had learned from this man. He also realized that he would have gone full rogue had Agyro not taken him in. Maybe he would have been dead a long time ago. When he thought of this, his tears started to flow from his eyes again. He tried to wipe his eyes but they just kept coming. Serena noticed Alsi when he kept rubbing his eyes. Suddenly, Alsi felt warm and comfortable. He realized that Serena was hugging him. Shortly afterwards, Ceal also hugged him like a little brother, since Alsi was shorter than him.

      When this happened, Alsi couldn't help but start sobbing again. Serena also began to sob and Ceal just looked downwards with tears flowing from his eyes. The clouds finally stopped hiding the moon and it let out its full shine. Their tears glistened everytime they hit the ground. The beautiful scenery beyond their father's grave came into full view. This is the second time tonight that Alsi felt a warm genuine hug. Compared to these ones, non of the girls in his past life could offer one this satisfying. 

      When they withdrawed, they took one more look of gratitude at their father's grave. Thanking him for everything he had ever done for them. They turned around, and left the site. Leaving their memories in the past. Leaving their father, in the dust.