>>Amber

Ezio guided me to the entrance gate and I kept walking from there. Hael shouldn't be far. I can't see him from here but I'm sure he can see me. Well, he should be able to tell it's me, unless he went further back.

He wanted to stay away from the city so I'll have to walk a lot. I'm glad the purification went okay. I looked down at my hands.

And I don't even feel tired. It's like every time I use my power, it grows even more.

Just as I crossed the gates, I noticed another person running towards my left.

Queen Helena?

The atmosphere around me began to change. The sky started getting engulfed with dark clouds, eating up the bright light there.

I stopped in my path and watched her. She stopped on the other side of a bush, and then bent down.

Above the treetops, dark clouds gathered with an unnerving speed, their churning forms swallowing the blue sky. The gentle breeze that had whispered through the leaves moments ago turned into a cold, biting wind, carrying with it the scent of impending rain.

Why is she going there? I wanted to go to Hael as soon as possible but I also wanted to see what the Queen was doing? I mean, no matter how you look at it, it seems so odd that she's standing there behind the bushes. There isn't even a path there.

And what is she looking at?

I couldn't see anything because of the bushes. So, I went over to see what was wrong. I looked up, my eyes drawn to the darkening sky. The clouds were a turbulent sea of darkness, their edges illuminated by occasional flashes of distant lightning. The rumble of thunder echoed faintly, growing louder with each passing moment,

Then I looked ahead back at her. She seemed to be talking with someone.

"I hope it wasn't Hestia who knocked her out," Helena placed her hand on her temple and rubbed her hand there.

"Do you want me to see what happened?" It was a man's voice

"Your Highness?" I called her as I reached her and she looked at me

"Saint Amber!" She was a little surprised that I made my way to her, "Are you done healing the elves?"

"Yes?" I reached the bush and looked down from the other side. A person was there, unconscious.

It was Lilia

The moment I saw her, I felt a bad feeling course through my body. But besides Hestia sat a man. Long platinum blonde hair, a good-looking face, which sort of looked cute. A soft smile and soft features.

When he saw me, he stood up and passed me a smile, "It's nice to meet you Saint Amber," His voice was soft too, "I'm Callon, Helena's husband."

It seems Callon found the body and informed Helena. That's why she hurried here.

"Oh!" I gave him a courtesy bow, "It's nice to meet you, Your Majesty." I had no idea Helena had a husband, there was no mention of him the last time we were here. And Hael didn't tell me anything about him either.

"No need for the formality," He looked down at Lilia, "We seem to have more pressing matters to attend to."

"If Hestia took the book to Hael," Helena looked terrified, "He's going to kill her."

"What?" I was shocked, "No, he won't!" I said, "He's not that bad of a person!"

"He hates his mother." She began to walk inward through the forest while Callon picked Lilia up in his arms, "He made it pretty clear last time that he wanted to kill her."

He did make the threat but I don't think he'll actually do it

Right?

"Wait," I began to run, "I'll go. I was going to him anyway." Helena stopped, "If anything is wrong I'll handle it."

She didn't say anything and I looked ahead and caught some speed.

***

>>Hael

The temperature dropped, The wind picked up, rustling the leaves.. The light around me continued to fade as the storm clouds thickened.

Our last encounter when I was a kid. It keeps replaying in my mind

And my voice, my pleading, it seemed to echo in my mind...

Again and again...

I grimaced

My head kept ringing and I gripped her neck even harder. My eyes were on her and I stared at her. Tears rolled to the sides of her face. Her eyes were on me, her hands clawing at my hands, but there was no attempt to actually stop me.

...

You could use your magic to stop me. The same way I could kill you with mine easily.

Thunder rumbled in the sky, the wind grew colder and I stared at her face that was going pale

Yet here I am, using my bare hands while you use yours.

I looked into her eyes. The same ones that I have.

You won't stop me from this?

My grip loosened, and then I let her go. She gasped for air, her hands reaching for her neck while I stood up. She lay on the ground, coughing and gasping for air, and I could see the marks my hands had left on her throat.

I couldn't look at her anymore as I stood up, "Never appear before me again." I turned around, "Ever,"

"You can't forgive me?" Her voice was hoarse

"Not in this lifetime." I shook my head, "I can't even bear to see your face."

"Please, there has to be something I can do." I didn't look back at her and began to walk away, "Hael, please!!!" She tried to grab me again but failed, "Hael," She groveled on all fours, "There has to be something I can do!"

"I couldn't kill you, maybe you should kill yourself." I refused to see her face again. Seeing her brought out emotions I can't handle

I don't know what to do when I feel them and they start to overpower me.

I really don't know..

As I kept walking away, I heard a tearing sound behind me, like something had been slashed open.

I frowned, an immediate sense of doom took over me.

It was followed by a horrible gushing noise and a gurgling that sent a chill down my spine. A strange fear gripped me, and I felt a cold sweat break out on my forehead. Slowly, almost mechanically, I turned my head to look back.

My mother was on the ground, her hands clutching a small knife, her throat a ragged, bleeding mess. Blood gushed out in rhythmic spurts, soaking the ground around her, but it was her eyes that froze me in place. They were wide open, filled with a mixture of pain and determination, and they were locked onto mine.

For a moment, I couldn't move. The world seemed to narrow to just the two of us, everything else fading into the background. The blood continued to flow, pooling on the forest floor, the gurgling sound growing softer but more desperate. Her mouth moved as if she were trying to say something, but no words came out—only more blood.

I stood there, frozen, unable to look away. What I was witnessing was too much to process. My mind raced, trying to understand how it had come to this

She was still watching me, her eyes pleading and filled with sorrow. From all four, she moved back and sat down.

"I'll at..on..e," Words couldn't form clearly, which was expected yet it made me feel weird. The blood continued to flow, soaking the ground, "Ma..y...be... in...an..ot..her.....lif...e..." her body twitching slightly as the last of her strength ebbed away. "I'll...do....bet...ter..." Her eyes never left mine but she passed me a final smile.

I felt overwhelmed. For the first time in ages, I couldn't keep up with what was happening.

Finally, the gurgling stopped, and her body went still. Her eyes remained open, still fixed on me, but they had lost their light.

I stood there unable to move for a while, unable to process what had happened.

...

I kept staring at her, stunned.

...

Did she just kill herself? ... Because I told her to? I shook my head softly but with absolute denial.

Why?

I couldn't kill her. I hated her so much and I couldn't do it.

I- I-

I shook my head

I-

Her body began to fall forward from her sitting position, I snapped out of my paralyzing stupor and I lunged forward, my feet slipping on the blood-slick ground. Just as she was about to hit the ground, I reached her, my arms wrapping around her frail form, catching her just in time.

My eyes were wide open

She was now in my arms, her body feeling so fragile, her weight so insubstantial. For a moment, I dared to hope that I could save her, then I realized what I was thinking.

Save her?

But then, as I looked into her eyes, I saw the light had faded, leaving only emptiness behind.

I couldn't take my eyes off of her. Her body barely held any weight yet it felt so heavy on my arms.

"Mom..." The word felt foreign on my lips. The sound was strange to my ears. Yet my heart palpitated at it.

And even though I called her, she didn't respond.

Her white clothes and her pale skin were soaked in crimson color, like a blood-stained flower.

I felt restless. I wanted to move around but at the same time I couldn't get the energy to do so. My body was itching to relive this anxiety building up inside of me but I couldn't dare let her body go.

"Mom, I..." I didn't know what I wanted to say, I had no words. What was I even feeling? It just felt so bad, I couldn't describe it, "I-"

Her body began to go limp before I could manage to get anything out.

!?!?!

I looked at her in horror and an unsettling change took place. Her skin, once warm and soft, started to crumble.

I frowned

What is happening?!?

Before I could do anything, her skin, her organs, all of her, started turning to sand beneath my touch.

No

What?

Panic surged through me as I watched her dissolve, the sand slipping through my fingers no matter how desperately I tried to hold on.

What? My head moved around in alarm.

Everything of hers, her nails, her hair, her eyelashes, everything, turned to dust and slipped past my hands, onto the ground.

????

I couldn't comprehend it.

I stared at my hands, coated in the gritty remnants of what had been my mother. Her form was gone, replaced by a mound of dust that sifted through my arms, pooling on the ground.

The sight was incomprehensible, all that I could hold onto was her blood stained dress.