8 years later
In the grand Schilla Empire, was a city filled with people who only knew happiness and peace. A city protected by the mightiest of the warriors who maintained the prosperity of the city.
From the lowest citizen to the richest person in the city, everyone was glad to be living there, the city had grown into what could really be called a heaven.
Yet in this heaven, today was a mournful day. For today marked the day when it lost its angel for forever.
The entire place was closed down and cloaked in silence. The streets were empty, paying respect to the one whose laughter they missed now. The people never celebrated anything today, as no amount of joy could overshadow the loss they felt on this day.
At the heart of this city, stood a magnificent palace - a mansion so grand that even just looking at it once gave birth to the feeling of admiration and envy in others.
Yet even the walls of this majestic mansion looked empty today, no servants or maids could be seen walking around as they weren't allowed too.
This heaven, which had heard and answered the prayers of everyone for years, had closed its gates to the world for today.
In the center of this mansion in a big hall, a woman stood in front of a portrait.
Her black eyes fixed on the image that was drawn on the canvas. Seemingly lost in her thoughts, her expressions unreadable.
For if this city was heaven and they lost its angel, then she was the one who ruled over it and lost her son.
This heaven was called Damascus, and the woman who was staring at the portrait trying to hold back the tears, threatening to fall down, was the one managing it -Artemis Raven Blake.
"Mother, I'm leaving for the academy. You should come too?" A soft voice broke the silence, drawing Artemis back from her thoughts.
"Hmm" Artemis merely nodded her head, unable to find the right words to respond.
"It's been 2 years, mother." The girl said, as she came forward and gently held her mother's hands. "2 years since we lost him. He's gone, mother."
"I told you to never say that." Artemis' voice held a mix of anger and grief, her eyes showing a warning to her daughter.
If anyone else said that to her, then their heads would've been rolling down before they could finish their words. But she was her daughter. And that's why, she was the only one who could say it.
"Staring at his portrait, stopping others from declaring him dead, it won't bring him back, mother. He wouldn't have wanted it." Amelia persisted, her tone resolute and unwavering. Yet her eyes never once landed on the portrait they were talking about.
"He promised, he promised me that he'd be back. He never breaks his promise, remember, or did you forget that too." Artemis said, her voice trembling with emotions.
"I haven't forgotten anything mother. But what you're doing is pointless. We both know no one can survive a dungeon crash. And he was already _ "
Amelia's words brought back the memories that Artemis buried deep in her heart. What she said were the facts, but her heart couldn't accept that. SHE couldn't accept that.
So ignoring her daughter's reasoning, she simply waved her away, "You should go. Your friends must be waiting."
"We all miss him, mother. But holding onto his memories won't bring him back." Amelia said gently, her heart aching for her mother's pain, but she had learned to bury her own feelings, hardening her heart to cope with the loss.
As Amelia left the hall, her eyes briefly landed on the portrait of the white-haired boy she once called her brother.
She scoffed at the sight of his smiling face. The memories of him and the memories of the day that portrait was made started flooding her mind. "Liar," she muttered. As she pushed everything back, her expression hardened again.
Artemis remained standing there, her gaze fixed on the portrait, as a single tear finally slipped from her eye. Amelia's words had hurt her deeply because she knew they were true.
The working part of her brain always told her that he was gone. That she lost him for forever. But her heart always refused to believe that.
Clinging to a feeling, a hope, a final straw of sanity that always told her that it's not the truth. That he's still alive, and that he'd be back one day.
She just has to wait for him..
'You're alive, right Rio.' She muttered, as she wiped her tears away.
The hope of his return was the only thing keeping her sanity intact. Otherwise she would've already lost herself in her pain and anger.
-
Aina was standing outside near the car, waiting for Amelia.
It's been a year since she started following Amelia as her maid now.
"Where's Esme?" Amelia asked, walking down the stairs, as she didn't see her shadow waiting for her outside.
"Th_that _ "
Looking at her stuttering Amelia clicked her tongue, as she sat in her car. "Tell her, she better not do this again. Or she can resign from her post." Amelia said, and closed the car doors, while driving away herself.
Aina, kept standing there looking at the speeding tail lights that left the smoke behind before disappearing from her gaze.
She looked at her hands, where a black and white bracelet was present. She gently caressed it with her hands, missing the one who gave it to her. The one whom she swore to serve for her life.
Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself as she went back inside. Busying herself in her work so much that her brain couldn't think of anything again.
And yet, everytime her gaze landed on that bracelet, the thoughts of that little boy couldn't help but bring memories of the past.
Inside the car, Amelia's hands trembled as she gripped the steering wheel tightly. Her eyes glistened with tears, that she refused to let out. [You know, you can cry if you want to]
"No one asked you. So just shut your mouth and watch, like what you did 2 years ago."
She said, as she closed her eyes tightly, forcing herself to remain composed and in control.
The world kept moving on, while the city of Damascus continued to mourn its only heir. The same was the case with everyone related to him.
Everyone just chose to handle that pain in different ways. Artemis and Amelia too handled their grief in their own ways. While one chose to ignore it, the other buried it.
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Dungeon Crash - When a dungeon core gets unstable, or when it can't fully merge with the world of Arcadia -It collapses on its own. Disappearing forever from the world, leaving no sign of its existence behind.
— The known reasons for this phenomena is the destruction of the dungeon as a whole, or if one crosses the limits set by the world system.
Ex - 1) if SSS rank hunters entered lower level dungeons those dungeons would crash automatically, cause the weak world of dungeons couldn't handle the pressure of high ranks.
2) if everything within a dungeon is destroyed, it'll crash upon its own and disappear. This is why, when excavating resources from the dungeon or killing monsters in the dungeon one has to be extra careful, cause their greed might make the dungeon unstable beyond limits and make it go khwash vroom.
– The effects of dungeon crash on a person is believed to be a sure death. One can't survive the distortion of space, and rejection of laws from the world, while being trapped inside.
Over a thousand years of Arcadia's history, only 4 people are known to have survived the dungeon crash, and even they died not long after their escape.
A/N - Yes, YOUR MC IS DEAD. HE GOT KILLED HORRIBLY. his death so bad that even you can't imagine it.
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