Doran: “This place is spooky like hell”

Aijasyl: “You can always leave”

Doran: “That’s just harsh, Aijasyl”

Their group (Doran, Aijasyl, Korkau, Lumina, Lotus, and Karli) managed to find their way to a barren valley filled with nothing but skeletons, shattered earth, and broken stones.

If one were to say this was the home of death, it would not be too far from the truth.

Along the way they reunited with Toro, Lowa, and Gema.

They still had no idea of the whereabouts of Ren, Kizilkoz, Rocco, Akjan, Orin, Sukesir, and Sirinke.

Korkau: “No, it can’t be…”

Karli: “Big brother?”

Korkau: “Wait! Come back!”

He fell on his knees in tears.

Karli: “Big brother, what is wrong? What did you see?”

Korkau: “Our mother, I saw our mother. She was right there…”

He desperately pointed in the empty direction.

Yet, there was nothing there.

Karli: “Our mother is dead, so is rest of our clan, big brother. Only two of us remain”

The original Jou clan consisted of only Frost Wolf Demons, but due to suffering many clashes with other powerful clans, they have lost many of their members, until in the end, only two pure blooded members remained.

Afterwards, Korkau tried to reform the clan with demons that followed his lead, but even that was crushed into pieces at the hands of a certain crow demon.

Now, they were mere servants of another and in Karli’s case, a concubine.

Doran: “Uhm, guys, I think we might have a problem”

As they turned around, it was clear why the darkling sounded so worried.

The skeletons that they thought were motionless were gathering together into clusters, forming into various monsters.

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Each one gave off a putrid stench of dark energy.

Doran: “That’s dark miasma! Don’t let it touch you; miasma is never a good thing! If it infects you, you are as good as dead!”

Some types of undead produced various types of corruptive energy, and these skeletal monsters were no different.

Some simply killed on contact, others melted through the body, but the most sinister type converted the living beings into the vile undead.

In the human world he once was in, Doran had the misfortune of encountering these monsters on a near daily basis. He knew just how dangerous they were.

Doran: “The only way to beat them is to destroy them”

Aijasyl: “Sounds good enough to me”

* * *

Kizilkoz: “I can’t believe that idiot”

He just suddenly vanished from her sight, leaving her alone.

Somehow, she found herself in a wasteland, surrounded by bones.

Kizilkoz: “Could it get any worse?”

“Alas, it can, my child”

Kizilkoz: “Who…Father?!”

Image of the majestic eagle demon before her could not be mistaken for anyone else. It was the former Demon King, Akil Ras.

He stood tall and proud, with a mighty beard and eyes that pierced into one’s very soul.

But this did not make any sense. Her father and her entire clan were no longer among the living…

As she looked closer, she saw that his form was transparent, almost see-through.

When she reached out to him, her hand slipped right through him.

Kizilkoz: “You must be a mirage or a figment of my imagination”

Akil Ras: “I wish it were so, my child. But I am merely what’s left of my former self, a spirit with an unfinished task”

Kizilkoz: “You are a ghost”

He nodded.

Kizilkoz: “Father, your unfinished business, I will definitely complete it. The one who murdered you and our clan, Ren Karatengu, will pay with his life”

Akil Ras: “Your vengeance is misguided, my daughter. The one who took my life was not Ren Karatengu, but a man who shares his face and blood”

Kizilkoz: “Face and blood, what do you mean? Father!”

Like a mist that parted into nothingness, the image of her father was gradually disappearing into oblivion.

“Vengeance is not the answer…”

She desperately called out to her father to no avail as his form vanished from sight.

Shaking, sobbing non-stop, she begged for her father to appear before again to no avail.

Kizilkoz: “Father, please, come back… I am so lost….I don’t know what I must do. Please tell me what to do!”

Yet her pleas were met with complete silence.

* * *

“Mother, Father…Grandfather”

Akjan’s eyes were overflowing with tears.

The family members she had once lost were standing before her.

Father: “I can finally see you again, my daughter”

Mother: “You have grown so strong”

Grandfather: “Our time in this realm is limited, little one. Heed our words well and wisely”

Akjan: “I shall”

Father: “I am so proud of you….Please take care of your brother and sister for us”

Akjan: “Yes, I will”

Mother: “Follow your heart, my daughter. It will never lead you astray….”

Akjan: “….”

Grandfather: “Remember the first lesson I have ever taught you”

Akjan: “My magic is meant to protect the ones I cherish”

Grandfather: “Well said”

“Be his wings….”

Their forms started to steadily fade away.

“Please remember us”

Akjan: “Always”

Akjan: “Good bye, mom…dad…grandpa”

Even a stoic like her could not help but break down after reuniting with her loved ones only to see them pass on to afterlife before her eyes. But in her heart, she felt at peace.

She always regretted not being able to say goodbye to her family, but now she had finally made amends.