Chapter 3: Funeral
"He was a great mentor."
"He was a flawless leader."
"Even if he dies, his spirit will be turned into a banner, guiding us."
"The good fight has been fought, the path to be taken has come to an end, the way to be guarded has been guarded. From now on, a crown of righteousness is reserved for him."
Cemetery.
Funeral.
Under a lonesome gravestone, lay a pitch-black coffin, adorned with flowers, buried and covered with soil.
The crowd came to mourn, and gradually dispersed.
Liliana, dressed in a black gown, stayed alone until the very end.
She approached and caressed the tombstone, gradually reducing to a soundless sob.
Her tears had already dried up, she could hardly cry anymore, and the drops from the corners of her eyes were blood red.
She inherited everything from the person beneath the tombstone, whether it was power, thoughts or status.
But how heavy was the cost of this inheritance?
Friends fought to their death, but she alone couldn't die, she alone had to live on.
Like a hyena who had walked out of the wilderness after chewing on the bodies of its companions.
Even the revered, beloved, respected and cherished souls were slaughtered and devoured.
She didn't actually want these things; what she wanted was to be a carefree girl forever and live with the ones she loved, not being cast into the future alone, which might be the bright prospect that many people dream of, but was her own hellish abyss.
Liliana couldn't help but resent it, resent him lying alone underground.
He created the dawn of a new era, but selfishly buried himself along with the old era of the past.
How cruel, how selfish.
She truly wished to get back at him, bury herself together with him in the same coffin, not wanting to be separated in life and death, and let his carefully planned scheme turn into an illusion.
But she couldn't do that.
She carried too much burden, already destined not to die easily, even if countless lost souls cursed her, and countless nights were spent restless, she could not stop her footsteps, her soul would not surrender, and her heart would not soften.
That night when she held the lifeless body and wept loudly, she completely killed her past self.
"One day, I will come find you."
She caressed the tombstone lightly before leaving.
"I will come find you."
…
In the deserted and chilly cemetery, a group of five arrived late in the night.
There were five women dressed differently. Some were dressed elegantly with long dresses, while others were dressed in hooded gray robes, resembling thieves who didn't want to be seen.
They conversed with each other, their words filled with joy and happiness, like salary workers who had just paid off their debts, walking on the street feeling refreshed.
A girl wearing cat ears walked up to the tombstone, lifted her paw, and knocked on the ground.
"Is the boss not coming?"
"Perhaps he already has, who knows if this place is empty or not?" said another woman dressed as an aristocratic lady as she playfully tapped the folding fan in her hand. "Maybe he's already eloped with someone."
"The boss is not inclined to do such things."
The young girl carrying the flower basket approached, perhaps the youngest among them, but the most confident.
"If there was eloping involved, surely it would be with me."
"Oleander, stop dreaming," the girl with cat ears glared.
"Do you want to fight?" The flower basket girl fearlessly responded to the provocation.
"It's starting to get noisy again, how boring… Am I right, Beta?"
The witch, donned in a Victorian-style maid uniform, nodded. "I personally don't care much about the distinction between the main wife and the concubine… As long as I can take care of our master, I am already satisfied."
The noble Miss "Koi Fish," quietly moved two steps aside. "I really don't understand why you are so concerned about him, he clearly has these narrow and scary eyes."
"After all, you have a different background from us, so naturally your feelings towards the Emperor are also different, Lady Ha!" the snow leopard retorted, arms crossed.
"Enough, let's not argue anymore." Grey Cat raised her emerald-colored eyes and said calmly, "Let's start digging."
The girl with the flower basket hesitated, "Do we really have to dig him out directly? Wouldn't the Emperor be angry?"
"No, he won't." Koi Fish rolled up her sleeves and eagerly said, "The first thing he'll say when he wakes up is 'has my Empire fallen' for sure."
Several witches glanced at each other and chuckled.
Then they picked up shovels and started digging the grave with great enthusiasm.
They were so excited to be digging up their employer's grave, it was almost exhilarating. The thought of their unpaid wages and unappreciated efforts in the past made their arms almost uncontrollably powerful.
The coffin, buried less than half a day ago, quickly resurfaced.
Snow Leopard carefully lifted the coffin and placed it flat on the ground, her tail, almost as long as her legs, swaying.
"Hmm, it seems like the boss is still asleep and didn't hear anything."
"What kind of trouble is this? Let me go grab a crowbar!"
Without further ado, Koi Fish picked up the crowbar, and opened the coffin board.
Beta raised her hand, and a ball of light floated in her palm, illuminating the person in the coffin with both the light of the flames and the moon.
The young man was dressed in black, lying quietly in the coffin, surrounded by white flowers filling all the empty spaces.
Serene.
Silent.
The atmosphere suddenly changed.
The most excited Koi Fish raised an eyebrow in surprise and said, "Hey, you worthless boss, how much longer do you plan to sleep?"
She yelled and dropped the crowbar, giving the coffin a light kick with her foot.
The delicate white flowers swayed gently, as the serene and slightly smiling young man remained completely still, as if he was having a beautiful dream.
"Boss?" Snow Leopard bent over and leaned towards the coffin, reaching out to lightly touch the young man's hand.
She recoiled her fingers as if struck by lightning, her face losing some of its color, becoming icy and… frozen.
Dropping the flower basket, Oleander touched the young man's cheek. As an emperor whose golden eyes had awakened, how could his body rot easily? It remained just like his last moment before death, except without warmth, without a heartbeat, and without life.
"Deception, it's all deception…" Kneeling on the ground, Oleander's fingertips could only feel a sensation similar to touching a stone. There was no spirit, no vitality.
The elegant maid was flustered. She looked at the coffin several times, but didn't have the courage to confirm anything.
The silent Gray Cat stepped forward, raised her paw, and the gray mist tore open the black funeral attire as if it were a sharp blade.
The wound in the center of the young man's chest was presented to everyone, with spiraling patterns and lingering breath, unable to disperse until now.
The flesh didn't instantly decompose, but slowly turned into ashes, dissipating into nothingness.
Such an injury was befitting of a deity's work… and clearly impossible to survive.
"…" The maid covered her mouth in shock.
She looked at the young man lying peacefully in the coffin, bent over in agony, suppressing the burning desire for revenge in her throat.
The witches were in chaos, their previous joy replaced by a profound silence and grief.
They were laughing at the silly guests who came to the funeral around the cemetery before, but now the same heavy feeling pressed upon them, making them breathless.
Was it true?
He really… died?
"I don't believe it!"
Snow Leopard sobbed with a hoarse voice, "How could the boss die? He even defeated the great demon in the abyss…"
"I don't believe it either!"
There was a hint of recovery in Oleander's eyes, trying hard to deny the reality before her.
"The boss is so strong that only a God could kill him! Even the Pope of the Teaching Country can't do it, can he?"
Koi Fish also shook her head and squeezed out a smile.
"Yes, yes…"
"It is said that disasters last for a thousand years, it would be strange if this guy doesn't live until the end of the world!"
"He must have only been injured too much, just resting, it's only a fake death! Just sleep for a while, it will just take a little longer."
Several witches laughed optimistically and comforted each other.
They spoke words that they might not even believe themselves, ignoring the reality in front of them.
Only because deep down inside they were unwilling and didn't want to accept this cruel reality.
They were unwilling to admit… that the emperor, who had been respected as a co-ruler, was as powerful as a deity, had a mind to conquer the world, and had both severity and mercy, had died just like that.
How could he possibly die?
Clearly they had talked countless times about the days after retirement, how could he bear to give up this hard-earned freedom?
But at this moment, no one spoke up.
The maid Beta lowered her hands lightly, her eyes indifferent and unfocused, neither joyful nor sorrowful.
She whispered, "Your Majesty, he's really gone. Accept the reality, everyone."
At the sound of the words, Snow Leopard raised her gaze, and her pair of silvery eyes turned dark red.
"Say that again!"
The turbulent magical power surged, shaking this tomb.
"It's the spiral fragment."
The maid clutched her skirt corner, lowered her head, and tried hard to conceal her tremble and the mournfulness of her voice.
"It's a Genesis Fragment… No one, whoever it is, can survive under such power, even our master."
Once again, the witches' hope was shattered.
Oleander murmured, "But…why? Why did my big brother have to die?"
Snow Leopard sneered, "So this is Liliana, this woman…"
"No," the maid said with difficulty, "Even if Liliana holds the spiral fragment, she cannot kill him if the Master doesn't seek death."
"So why?" Koi Fish kicked the floor fiercely, "Isn't it better for him to live? Why should he die? Why did he accept Liliana's challenge, is he stupid? Is he? @＃￥@.."
Beta's voice was bleak and pale.
"Perhaps, this is the outcome the master wanted."
"A world without him or the Empire."
"He was an emperor, a ruler without an empire, and without a purpose to exist."
"The Master achieved the goal of his life, wrote a perfect script, deceived the world and reshaped the nation's corrupt system."
"He had no regrets left, so dying at the hands of Liliana was the desired outcome."
She pressed against her chest, tears falling in big drops, wetting the soil and dropping on the white flower petals.
The witch wept silently, her voice hoarse.
"He, our Lord, was a very gentle person."
"But in order to achieve this vision, he killed, killed, sacrificed, and used many people."
"Therefore, he must believe that he is not worthy of happiness."
"Even though he had described many times about his retirement plans, he never mentioned where he plans to go… He never thought about what he really wants…"
"Only death, only eternal rest."
"So, enough, it's enough… let him be…"
She averted her gaze and pleaded in a mournful tone, "Rest well."
Under the desolate night sky, witches gathered around the deceased emperor, staring at the person who would never wake up again, their hearts torn apart by excruciating pain.
As the empire crumbled and order was rebuilt, we all gained our freedom, but such a beautiful ending forever entombed the one who devoted himself to the country and the people.
Why can you leave so freely?
Grey Cat, who had been silent for a long time, bent down and lowered her head to the point where her forehead almost touched the youth's. Her long grey hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her voice was hoarse and deep.
"Your Majesty, please wake up soon and stop playing tricks."
She gently shook his shoulder and spoke to the silent body.
"Your Majesty, could you please keep me company and talk with me?"
"As we agreed, we will go to the Far East to see the cherry blossoms and to the pole to see the flightless birds."
Her voice was tainted with sadness, her words gradually choked up, the witch hugged the person who would never return, pleading and praying.
"Your Majesty… please don't oversleep…"
"I beg of you…"
"Wake up…"
The witch buried her facial features among the buried flowers and her mournful crying resonated throughout the desolate wilderness.
No matter how sorrowful the weeping, it could not resurrect the departed.
That night, gray conflagration razed the land within dozens of miles around the graves into ruins and burnt earth.
There were some who had glimpsed afar, a gray witch grieving and weeping within the fiery abyss.
The great fire consumed all and took away every trace of the past.
Only a group of living beings who couldn't abandon the past remained, wandering in the new era like lost souls.
