The Cemetery was not far from Blossom, so travel only took a day. During the whole trip most of the group was solemn… Well except Eve and Sakura. Eve mainly because there was little that could bring the Elf woman down. Sakura on the other hand was more curious than anything else. After all, before meeting the group and the rebellion she rarely left the palace… Now she was outside of Blossom.

It was strange returning to the Cemetery, it was not long ago since they had been there with Remus… Yet a lot changed since they last had been there. Many of them were very different people than how they were when they were with Remus, some more literally than others.

The Cemetery was as silent as a grave. There was no fog anymore, so the setting orange sky was visible clearly, with barely any clouds in the sky. As for The Cemetery itself, it had been burned down. The ruins that Remus had taken care of that reminded him of his days with his wife and son… The Village that Eve and Azanor once lived in… it was nothing but Ash.

There was nothing to gain for Elande to do this. Yet he had done so anyway… At this scene… Azanor could not hold it in. This place meant a lot to the Demon. Tears would fall silently down his face, his hands shaking. Eve would hold his hand to comfort him, but at the view even she looked upset.

The others did not react any better. Damon looked more than just sad, the Werewolf looked livid. His one eye seemed to widen as he took in every part of the place. Sakura seemed to try and calm him down, but he did not say a word. He was a lot less talkative than before.

“Is this… Why would they… What is even the point?” Sakura questioned in dismay at the sight. The sheltered woman could not comprehend such actions.

Surprisingly enough, despite adoring Remus, Alice did not shed a single tear. After all, even now, the woman did show that she blamed his death on herself. Yet she didn’t cry at all. Instead she would run ahead. She would rush out of sight, eventually looking desperately through the ashes, digging around with her bare hands.

“Alice? What are you doing?” Kazius questioned in surprise, running after her. The two would find themselves where they had last seen Remus, the others not trailing far behind.

“Found it” Alice stated, raising up Remus’ sword. It was made of Mithril, something like that would not burn from fire. It appeared to be enchanted, but as to the potential of the sword, it was hard to say.

“You found something for us to bury-” Kazius began to question. The sight of The Cemetery, it was a shock even to him. He had heard about the damage from the Shadow Fiends… But even now, his heart had not been ready for such a sight. It brought on a grief too strong for his other half to suppress. Currently he was overwhelmed with more emotion than what he had felt in a long time at once. Not since being in this very place. Such weakness was something that infuriated the other part of him. What mattered was, Elande ha fully destroyed one of the few things he cared about.

“No. I am not burying Grandpa’s sword… Lazne… Elande… If Ratier had a brain neither of them would have done this to Grandpa… They wouldn’t have made me so miserable…. They wouldn’t have killed Ivy… They wouldn’t have gotten to execute my parents… You wouldn’t have given into…” Alice trailed off, shaking her head.

The normally passive woman that seemed like she would accept everything, seemed to have a passion burning in her eyes. Her gaze did not waiver even once, not even when the others seemed to finally catch up.

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She would shove the sword’s hilt to Kazius, wanting him to grab it. “You said we are in this together… And you know I love you… And that I do mean it when I say I will get my hands dirty for you… So, promise me… We will kill Lazne and Elande with these swords…” Alice stated firmly. She wanted revenge and more.

Kazius was surprised, he didn’t expect her to so passionately beg for him to kill… Even if it was Elande… But he knew, revenge was something they all wanted… In fact, Kazius wanted so much more than that…

“I promise.” Kazius confirmed, accepting the sword. A small smile gracing his features.

“Of course, I will help.” Damon added in a determined manner.

“Before we take care of my brother… I think we should take care of The Church… Enough is enough. We have the strength. Let’s declare war.” Azanor stated in a determined manner. The Demon would then look at Eve. Considering the fact that Lazne was alive… Perhaps Eve losing her memories and ending up in a church was not a coincidence. Along with anger, Azanor likely wanted answers for the state his wife was in. Even if she may never regain her memories.

“We risk being weakened by starting a war right before another… But letting these people be is not a luxury we have… I also believe we should go to war…” Sakura admitted in a calmer matter, but also seeming upset.

“It won’t be easy, war with Ratier means war with Zelphar and Thimdur too… But I refuse to let them keep their power… They shouldn’t have even gotten it to begin with.” Azanor added with a frown. His bitterness would radiate from every word.

“They are mean.” Eve seemed to agree with him quite eagerly.

“We’ve fought a war before… And Vargstam has been taking fighting more seriously since then… They are not the same army they were when we fought the Frost Giants. We should attack on a full moon and I will prove it to you.” Damon stated firmly, clearly losing his hesitation to use the power in his blood… Whether he was over his issues with his father… Or simply he had changed along with Kazius, it was uncertain.

“Blossom now has food… And control was not lost thanks to you, we’ve found little need for an army, but the guard is the size of an army. My father was very strict on security. They would be happy to be of use to their new king.” Sakura would add.

“Yes… That is good… But that won’t be enough… We don’t have cities like Ratier, none that big anyway… They also have better weapons… 31 Edicts other than Elande, who oversees that elite group. There are also 18 disciples close to that power… I was almost one, so I know this. Our army could destroy their army easily, but Edicts and their disciples would be too much for them. If it is us, that is another question… We ourselves need to be able to handle so much more… I believe Alice and I have grown strong enough to kill Elande… Do you have that confidence?” Kazius questioned.

“I have not slacked off.” Damon responded firmly. “I could lose an arm and I still wouldn’t lose…”

Azanor looked troubled at the question, seeming to have mixed thoughts, “Perhaps not… But… Give me a week… I will go to Rowan and scout Zelphar and Thimdur… Then… Then in a week’s time I will have the power I need.” He finally would agree, looking solemn as he said this. It was not hard for Kazius to realize what he planned to do.

The whole group had sacrificed a lot for power. Whether through loss or something else… And it seemed Azanor intended to abandon one of his principles to do the same. A rule he had not broken since he met Eve, before she lost her memories. Rowan and Shadow Fiends was plenty to investigate the two countries… But Azanor intended to go there as well…

He intended to eat a soul.

Kazius nodded at this. I he had that type of resolve; he would not stop him. He cared about Azanor, but Kazius was who he was for similar reasons. He would then look at Eve and Sakura.

“I am strong enough. You will see!” Eve stated eagerly, her first clenched to show her determination.

“I may not look it because I would not raise a hand against the people in blossom… But I am quite strong…” Sakura would add firmly.

“Good… then we will not have a war… No…. take a good look around what is left of this place…” Kazius stated as he gestures at the ashes, “When this is all over… You won’t be able tell the difference between this place and the Kingdoms. I can promise you that.”

At this the others would cheer; a fire was light within them. Whether the fire would burn them along with their enemies… That much wasn’t clear.

“The Remus Empire will have it’s revenge!” Kazius shouted. Yes… Revenge…. The notion brought malicious glee into his heart.