Chapter 25

It might be imperceptible to others, but not to Ethan. Every passing day, the temperature continues to drop almost insignificantly, yet not to the Demon Kingdom.

After reading some books in the Kingdom's library, Ethan realized that the temperature drop could be a bigger problem than he had ever imagined, potentially posing a great danger to everyone in that place.

"Are you sure this is the right way?" Clovis questioned, following Aiden as they crossed one of the bridges connecting the entire Demon Kingdom.

"Yes, I used to come here a lot," replied Aiden, smiling brightly as he placed his hands on the railing, gazing at the lights of the islands ahead. "I spent a lot of time at Riley's house when I was a kid."

"When you were a kid?" Clovis said. "I thought you guys went through knight training together. Did being in different classrooms separate you for a while?"

"No... it's just that..." Aiden's smile vanished, and along with his head, his eyes dropped as if he were looking beyond the waters under the bridge. "Riley's mother, she..."

No more needed to be said; Aiden couldn't utter another word. Everyone immediately understood the meaning behind it, even Ethan.

The Kingdom's cities seemed unusually cheerful, unlike how they were a few days ago. This is certainly because it has been days since more wounded came from the front lines.

The lights seemed brighter, and the people livelier. They smiled and chatted easily, whether walking across the bridges, through the streets, or standing in front of a shop or a small restaurant. The whole Kingdom seemed happier.

"This is your first time here, right, Ethan?" Aiden asked.

"Yes, aside from the central city, I had only seen the other cities from afar, looking from the bridge."

"Well, being a more residential place, there's not much to see here, but you should check out the other places sometime. It's been a while since I've been there, so I don't remember exactly where it is, but there's a place with a lake with naturally warm waters that is amazing."

"That place is in River City, it's very close to the purple river that flows upwards," explained Clovis.

"Really? Like hot springs? And wait, a purple river that flows upwards?"

"Hot springs? What's that?" Aiden asked, confused.

"Oh, it's nothing special, just the term used in my world for places like that."

"I see, I thought you learned that word after going to the library."

"Well, it would be really embarrassing if Ethan knew something about this world that even you, a native, don't know. Especially since he's only been here for a few months."

"Tell me, why are you here exactly? Ethan wants to talk to Riley, but what about you? Just came to annoy me?"

"I just said something obvious, there's no reason for you to get annoyed. But..., changing the subject..."

Engrossed in conversation, none of them had noticed until then; that the house before them had been entirely burnt.

It's a house a bit distant from the others, well, one could say that the yard of that house is much larger compared to the others. This probably happens because it was built at the end of the island, a place very distant from any bridge that connects to the other cities, and maybe that's why no one said or did anything about it.

"Are you sure this is the right place...? Is this Riley's house?"

Their eyes widened, and their hands trembled. Aiden immediately took the lead and ran towards the entrance, but was stopped by Ethan before he could pass through the door's hole.

"What are you doing?!" he exclaimed, his hands trembling, his eyes filled with fury and desperation.

"Preventing you from entering a collapsing house," said Clovis, examining every part of the structure. "Don't worry, Aiden isn't in there."

"Isn't...?"

Aiden looked at the destroyed house.

The burnt walls that would collapse with any touch, the entrance, where there used to be a fragile wooden door that he had made with his own hands along with Riley and his mother... that place held many of his memories; the best memories he could have.

Breaking free from Ethan's grip, Aiden spread his wings and tore through the skies at extreme speed, flying towards the castle and beyond.

"Riley..."

When his feet landed on the golden sands of the beach behind the castle, Aiden froze.

He couldn't move or even say anything upon seeing that scene. The wooden boards and tools for building the canoe were ready next to Riley, patiently waiting for him, but he couldn't even begin to build it; he didn't have the strength to do so.

With his mother's cold and stiff body in his arms, Riley could only lament and cry until his tears stopped falling.

A warm sensation touched Aiden's back; it was Ethan's hands, pushing him and giving him strength to move his legs.

"Guys..?"

Seeing them, Riley quickly wiped the tears streaming down his face, but it was futile; they didn't stop.

"What are you doing here..? We... We have a new mission...?"

His smile was strange, not because it seemed forced, but because it was genuinely real. A pure and true smile, from someone who didn't want those beside him to see him in such a state, filled with sadness and pain; a smile surrounded by tears.

"Don't worry..., I'm okay. Just give me a few minutes and I'll meet you at the gate...."

Ethan didn't say a single word, but instead of leaving, along with Clovis, he began to build the canoe with the materials on the golden sand.

Aiden couldn't say anything, he couldn't act at all. His hands shook at the slightest attempt to address Riley, and his feet didn't even move towards him;

"What kind of pathetic friend am I?"

Finally, one of his hands managed to rise, but it didn't last long, as it soon started to retreat slowly. However, something sturdy and broad was placed against his chest; it was Ethan again, giving him the answer to what should be done in that situation where he couldn't help with words.

Riley tried to contain his tears, but couldn't. The crying continued, despite repeated attempts to make it stop, but no one cared, no one seemed to even be listening; at that moment, the canoe was the only thing they should have in mind and worry about, definitely, nothing else mattered.

The moons shifted, spreading their dual glow across the entire Kingdom, and finally, after a long time without saying a word, the canoe was finished.

There was no sigh of relief or even a phrase to lighten the mood after so much work. After completing the canoe, Ethan, Clovis, and Aiden carried it closer to the whitewashed sea, then returned to sit near Riley.

Aiden couldn't stay still, his body trembling as he fidgeted with his fingers, but what he truly couldn't avoid at all was changing the direction of his gaze multiple times.

Clovis and Ethan, after finishing the canoe, remained sitting in silence, just waiting for Riley's decision. But Aiden couldn't do that. Every moment, his eyes turned towards his friend.

"Come on, you idiot! Useless! Say something! They are your family...! Say something!"

His mouth remained silent, but his mind couldn't shut up at all.

"He wasn't even seven years old when he did the same thing for me..." his fists clenched on his pants along with his eyes "Come on..., please.., a child did better than this. So don't be such a coward, say something..., say!"

Time passed again, causing the moons to move in opposite directions. The red one illuminated the Kingdom, while the blue one set over the calm waters of the sea.

"Damn...!"

Aiden couldn't express himself.

After wiping his tears on his shirt sleeve, Riley rose with his mother's body in his arms. He walked, slowly and hesitantly, towards the small canoe; each step seemed to last an eternity, while the weight surrounding him only increased.

Many times he faltered, falling to his knees in tears, but he quickly rose again.

Placing her in the canoe was difficult, letting her go seemed impossible, but after a long time looking at her pale face, he managed to do it.

There was no pushing her, he didn't have enough strength to do it. His feet dragged through the golden sand, slipping and bringing his knees to the ground. His hands trembled just by touching that cold wood, having no strength left to move it from where it stood.

"There's no more time. Come on, say something.., say... Say!"

"Wait!" exclaimed Aiden, abruptly standing up.

Without saying another word, he walked slowly towards the canoe; this wasn't right, Riley could never move that canoe alone, after all...

"She's my family too."

Looking at her angelic face, now pale and lifeless, was difficult. After all, her contagious joy was now gone. But it didn't compare to the pain of kissing her cold forehead and bidding her farewell forever; "Goodbye... mother, and.. thank you. Thank you for everything..."

Pushing the canoe was not only painful, but also challenging. Many times he thought of giving up, but that wouldn't happen... Aiden had felt that before, he had participated in that exact same scene before, and just like now, back then, Riley was by his side too.

After an unparalleled effort, the canoe finally reached the sea, slowly being carried by its calm and silent waters.

Riley raised his hands to create the white fire dragon, but he couldn't. Falling to his knees on the golden sand, he didn't have the strength to do that.

However, still, with a white body and red eyes, the dragon emerged in the air, passing over the small boat on the water and setting it on fire. It tore through the skies slowly, illuminating the path to peace more than ever.

Riley and Aiden looked to the side with their eyes filled with tears; the one who created the dragon was Clovis, who remained silent, standing beside his friends.

Ethan raised one hand and made good use of what he had learned in the last three days studying magic.

True "ascension" isn't just about understanding the mana within you, but everything around you. It's about the ability to control, manipulate, transform, and do anything you want even with the mana of the environment.

Suddenly, a small drop of water fell on Clovis's forehead and ran down his face.

"Why did you do that...?" asked Clovis, looking at the skies as the drops of water continued to fall towards him.

"Believe me... it's much easier to cry when it's raining."

Not spending his own mana, but shaping the existing mana in the sky and creating drops of water from it; in a few moments, as the canoe drifted away, Ethan made it rain across the entire Demon Kingdom.

"I understand..."

Not only on the beach, tears fell all over the Kingdom. The rain served only as a starting point, as the first drop trickled down their faces, everyone let go.

Crying always seemed sad because of the situations it normally occurs in, but not on this day. Today everyone cried as a form of liberation; everyone was letting out the weight and sadness they had on their backs.

"Yes..., now I understand."

With the fall of the rain, not even Clovis could keep his eyes dry.