Chapter 122: Death(4)

"Joe...?"

"Y-yeah."

Joe, who was scratching his head in embarrassment, caught Luke's gaze. He was so focused on Joe that he didn't see the Gods' disbelieving frowns and looks.

"Uh... Alright, Joe. How do I return to my body?"

"Ah, you can't go back yet. The Ten Phoenixes' power is still repairing and restoring your body to normal."

"I see, so the amount of time I have to return depends on how bad I died, huh?"

"Yeah, and you died in the most severe way possible by ingesting withering souls all over your insides, so... It's possible that your recovery will take some time."

Luke sighed and took a seat on the floor. The Gods simply regarded him with pity.

"So I'll be stuck here for a while."

Luke grimaced and slumped his shoulders. Joe groaned and spoke in a cheery tone as if he was attempting to lighten the mood.

"Would you like to see your funeral?"

For a brief while, Luke, Aides, and the Gods were silent before frowning in disbelief at Joe. Joe shrugged his shoulders as he stared at them.

"What? All I wanted was for Luke to not be bored."

Aides immediately shot a question.

"By getting him to attend his own funeral?"

"I mean, why not? He also has to know what's going on in the overworld so he won't be too puzzled when he returns."

Luke was deafeningly quiet and pondered for a moment. He then stood up from the ground with a nod.

"All right, let's go."

The Goddess of Fortune was concerned as she gazed at him.

"Are you sure?"

Luke gave her a friendly smile.

"Yes."

"If you said so..."

When Luke heard the shackles clinking, he turned his head towards Aides. After that, he noticed Aides walking away.

"Where are you going, Aides?"

"It would be a waste of my time to wait with you because it will take you a long time to return to your body, so I'll do my work while I wait. If your body is ready, just call me."

Luke nodded and turned to face the three Gods who were staring at him. Joe was the next to speak.

"We're leaving right now."

Both Luke and Joe were enveloped by light. Luke closed his eyes and walked away from the abyss as the light carried him away. When Luke finally opened his eyes, he observed a crowd of people sitting in the plaza, all dressed in black. Luke then examined the box in front of him, it's his coffin.

His casket is currently on top of the Plaza's stage, and familiar kings and nobles from several kingdoms, as well as ordinary citizens, are seated below with solemn expressions. Many known faces can also be seen sitting and crying below Luke.

Lance and his family are seated in the very front row. Lance can be seen looking down, his fists clenched around a white flower. Norman and his mother Mary, Paulina, Noah, and Finesse can also be seen looking down with dark emotions on their faces. Norman is crying, and Paulina and Finesse are also crying and hugging each other. Noah and Mary simply patted their backs to soothe them down while carrying Ethan in their arms, yet they both appear solemn.

Luke then turned around to see his group silently crying on the other side. Liam is sitting still as if his soul has just left his body, while Selena, Lina, and the children mourn beside him. Klein is trembling excessively in his seat as Spencer stares at Luke's casket with bloodshot eyes. Yulia and Bell were both staring at the ground.

Eleanor and Julius have arrived as well. Eleanor is gently patting Julius' back while Julius is crying. Meanwhile, Ruth sits with his normal stoic expression, while Raphael, his tamed monster, sits sadly by him. Jasper is tightening his hands and biting his lips. Berg and Alexia have arrived too, and they have just sighed and looked at the casket with sadness in their eyes. Tina and Silviu, to Luke's surprise, are also present, both frowning and looking despondently at Luke's coffin.

Luke groaned; there were still a lot of people he knew at his funeral, but all he could focus his attention on was Snow, who was cradling the invisible Nash in her arms and crying uncontrollably beside Lance. Lance simply glanced at her and patted her on the back to soothe her. Luke just sighed and stared into the coffin at his unconscious face. Joe then asked him a question.

"You never expected so many people to come to your funeral, did you?"

Luke nodded, his gaze remaining fixed on his casket. He looked inside at his body and noticed how peaceful he appeared to be while laying down inside the coffin. Luke appears to be dressed in his newly tailored black commander suit, which Paulina prepared for him inside his coffin.

"I had no idea that kings and queens would attend my funeral."

"See how many people you've interacted with now?"

"Yes, and looking at all of them at once is exhausting."

Joe chuckled, while Luke simply groaned. They next turned their attention to the funeral process. The knights began carrying his coffin towards the graveyard after the significant figures and his group took turns looking at him one last time in his coffin. But they're not carrying his casket to any average cemetery; they're taking him to the Royal Family's graveyard.

Luke's eyes twitched as he stared in bewilderment at this.

"Why the hell are they taking me here?!"

Joe then pretended to be perplexed as well.

"Hmm, I'm not sure why. A hero who had numerous achievements across the continent died, and many kings from different countries came to pay their respects. That had nothing to do with commemorating the hero by burying him in a tomb of royalty or anything. Oh, I'm so perplexed!"

Luke glared at Joe, who was also overreacting, and Joe simply smirked at him. Luke then let out a sigh.

"How many days have passed since I died?"

"One day."

Luke was taken aback by Joe's response.

"One? One day? How come they're burying me so quickly?"

Joe simply shrugged his shoulders and met Luke's puzzled expression.

"I'm not sure either."

"I know you knew something."

Joe grinned.

"You'll find out soon."

Luke stared at Joe, then startled when he heard loud cries from all directions. He then noticed his group, everyone he knew, and even the townspeople, all wailing aloud as Luke's casket was slowly buried in the dirt. Liam and Lance just ignored the loud cries and just looked at the coffin being buried with dead eyes. They appear to be so dead inside that the loud cries all around them don't seem to bother them. They were all staring at the casket as it was slowly buried. Liam and Lance then flung their flowers at his coffin while staring at it.

After burying his casket fully, the people in the area began to walk away, wiping their tears. Well, all of them except for Lance, Liam, Snow, and Nash. The four of them merely stared at the freshly dug grave and Luke's tombstone, motionless. Luke frowned because it appeared that they had no plans to go.

The four of them remained in place until the palace butler and Spencer arrived to get them. Lance sighed and walked away after the butler tapped him on the shoulder and whispered something in his ear. Spencer, on the other hand, has grasped Liam's shoulder and is dragging him away. Spencer also extended his hand to Snow, but she simply shook her head.

"I'm going to stay here..."

"If you said so, haa... I'll call Selena and arrange for her to pick you up later."

Snow nodded slowly and sat beside Luke's gravestone. Nash's invisibility was finally undone, and Luke could see how swollen his eyes were. Luke grimaced as he looked at this. How much did Nash cry during his absence?

Luke frowned and crouched next to the kids, staring at them intently. They appeared exhausted and weak, which made Luke unhappy. He reached out to touch their faces, but his hand simply passed them by. He then scratched his head and clicked his tongue. When he straightened up, he then saw Joe was looking somewhere. Luke flinched when he looked where Joe was looking and saw Polly standing outside the graveyard's fence, staring them down as if she could see them.

Luke scowled and shifted his gaze to Polly, who was also staring at him. Then he frowned and gulped. Polly is a mysterious and unknown character to Luke, thus the fact that she stares him down as if she can see him further adds to Luke's decision to avoid her altogether. She is so... Ominous.