"Maxem Stone, Martha Stone, Silo Stone, Jase Stone, and Hilda Stone," Heaorn mutters.

I nod, "Father, Mother, Brother, Grandparents." I tap each one as I say this in order from right to left. "This is Silo, the man you saw in the picture." I motion to the middle grave. I never told Command about my run-in with Silo in the forest, but after my emotions calmed down from the expedition, I knew that wasn't him. Even though I wanted to believe it was him, I knew better. An imposter. One I will never forgive.

"I only got to bury one of them, you know. My mother and grandmother were vaporized in the explosion, and my grandfather died a few years before."

"Your father?" Bell quietly asks.

I close my eyes, dropping my head. "You'll understand soon." We remain quiet for several minutes as memories run through my head. My mother never liked me, but she never disowned me. Silo and my father wouldn't allow it. Even so, she cared for me in her own way, making food for me when I was sick and taking me shopping once in a blue moon. Gran was kind but shrewd. She always had a stick up her ass. A chuckle escapes me as I remember her scolding father for crashing through the hedge maze once. Grandfather. I didn't know him well before he died. He stuck to himself, but he was always happy to see me, even if I was blinded by my ego, calling him old and useless. If only I could apologize.

Bell puts a hand on Silo's grave, "Your brother, he lays here?"

I nod, "Buried him. Some of the townsfolk wanted to help, but I refused." I go to say something else, by my voice cracks, and I close it, warm liquid dripping down my cheeks. I glance up, looking for rain, but it was nothing more than my tears.

Bell leaves, "We move in two hours. I will leave you to yourself." I expect Azu and Hearon to leave as well, but they sit beside me instead. A deep sadness washes over me. An emotion that digs its way to my very soul. The kind of sadness that only exists after the dust has settled.

"What was he like?" Azu lightly touches Silo's grave.

I wipe away the tears, "He was a genius. The pride of our family. He inherited my mother's good looks and my father's smarts. He was never sad. You know, I asked him once why he never yelled at me. Everyone did. I was a stuck-up, spoiled rich kid with an ego that made no sense to others. He told me, 'You are my only brother. The most important person in my life.' Silo was the only thing I was ever proud of. I never had friends as a kid, only those interested in my money. But he was there for me. Always. I still don't understand why."

My two team members sit in silence. I can't help but chuckle. My life is so different now, but at the same time, it is still so similar. I'm rich, just as I was as a kid; the only people around me were there for my money and clout. The only difference now is that I have no one to lean on. No one to tell me how proud they were or how happy they are for me to be alive. It only makes what I had hurt all the more.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Azu and Hearon stand, saying nothing more as they leave. Raindrops patter onto the gravestones. How convenient. I bow my head, closing my eyes as memories I had long forgotten flood my mind.

************

The airship settles down only a few feet from the entrance. Towering over us, the peak of the mountain disappears into the clouds as rain pours. After the estate was destroyed, our mine was sold to another, as we had no proof to show we owned it. Father kept all our important information in the house, not trusting the bank with our money or deeds. But the one who bought it never got to start, as everyone refused to work it. They said it was cursed. So the entrance was boarded up, and it has been forgotten. Julie's team makes quick work of the blockade. Apparently, Bell wanted backup, just in case.

The eighteen total members of the team follow my lead as we plunge into the old mining tunnel. I remember visiting this place for the first time. Ironically, it was when everything went wrong. We go by flashlight, packs on our back, and multiple carts filled with provisions and recording gear in the back. As we go deeper into the cave, small lights start to appear. The light is all sorts of colors, from pinks to reds to purples. Every color imaginable. Soon, the walls are like small night skies, with hundreds of tiny stars. Planetary Cores.

Behind me, people gasp as the cores lead our way, giving a dazzling show of lights. I was impressed, too, but now all I feel is dread. About thirty minutes in, I stop as a massive hole appears in the ground. Bell steps up beside me, "This is it. The entrance." I say, pointing down. The bottom is almost out of sight, but a bright yellow dot marks it hundreds of feet down. The walls are lined with more P-cores, and entire veins are exposed.

"Jesus, how did you survive that?" A nearby archivist exclaims. I trace a finger over the scar on my cheek. That's a question I still ask to this day. That fall should have killed me.

"Alright, people, get the repel gear out. We do not have all day," Bell instructs. It only takes a few minutes for me, Hearon, Azu, and Will to get harnessed up. I glance down at the hole, my hands shaking. I have to do this. It's time I faced him. I look at the other three, and they nod. We descend. I blaze down the rope, only stopping to lessen my speed every now and then. The next group is already setting up above me, and I reach the bottom in only a few minutes, far ahead of my group.

Cores are scattered around the ground, and a massive yellow core dominates the bottom. It's huge, at least as big as a floater. It's round, a rather peculiar shape, as round Plantery Cores are rare, typically more angular compared to the consistent sphere shape Neo Cores hold.

My team lands behind me as I walk up to the core. "Silen?" Will asks. I don't respond, as I crouch near a pile of rocks.

"This is where I landed." Small flakes of blood still stain the ground. I follow it to the core. I had a deep gash in my forearm, and the cut on my cheek was bleeding profusely. I touch a stain on the core, a small faded red dragging across the material. The other three don't say anything as they follow. I stop a few feet later. I turn away, biting my lip.

Will gets impatient as I remain still, pushing past me before jumping back with a scream. I hear the team above us ask what is wrong, but my group stares at the bottom of the core, shocked. There in the yellow glow of the massive object lay the remains of my father, nothing but the upper ribcage and skull exposed, as the core covers his lower half.

Hearon shakes his head in disbelief, "This isn't a mine; this is a tomb."

"Yes," I reply horsly, "My father's final resting place."