Far in the distance, groups of hooded beings steadily yet stealthily advance.

Under the night they stared at Taglagas, the destination in which they would bring forth destruction.

"My liege." Said one of the hooded lackeys, a captain who bowed down and gulped before the trio.

"What is it?" Sternly replied the man whose image was concealed.

Under his hood, his body was clad in black cloth and his physique posed no threat. Unlike the two next to him, he seemed normal.

Yet as normal as he seemed, none of them made the mistake of deeming him weak. Softly the lackey said, trying to appease the man at the center.

"...We weren't able to find the yetis that got away. My liege, forgi---"

Before he could even apologize, all of them felt a sudden thick air of aura and mana. It was apparent that it came from the man and woman beside their so-called liege.

Some of the lackeys almost suffocated, some nearly lost their consciousness. The captain who stood before the trio managed to kneel and say,

“Please… forgive us.”

The burly man with yellow eyes sighed noticeably. He was the one who almost took their breaths away.

“Can’t say I’m not disappointed.” He grumbled frighteningly hoarse.

On the other hand a lady stood, leaning on one leg while acting uncaring and cold. She was the one who nearly made them faint.

"Seems trash can never be trusted with a simple task." Her mana violently shook as it began growing brighter.

"We apologize, truly..."

The lackeys gritted their teeth, expecting an execution, yet after a while of shaking, their end did not come.

What followed was immense aura overpowering the two in strength. Unlike the two, it wasn’t suffocating and instead possessed an unusual tranquility. Yet all of them were more terrified, as it could be the calm before the storm.

"Under normal circumstances, all of you would have received the penalty for failing." Said the man whose face was now showing underneath his hood.

Golden eyes and hair, far brighter than the burly man’s yellow eyes. His face was void of emotion, yet one could feel his superiority, that under his stare, all of them were mere ants for him.

‘’But one more failure--- well, I hope it won't come to that.’’

“Yes! Tha...nk you, my liege.”

That had brought them all to their knees, as even when the trio was gone, they couldn’t stop trembling in fear.

All of them had witnessed enough to know that no matter how scary the burly man and the mage woman could be, he was far more menacing.

*******

Weeks went by in the blink of an eye. By then, Naell and Owly were to finally return to Taglagas the next day. Afterall it was already time for them to head back to school.

It was also the year’s end, and as Mundo truly was inspired by Earth, they too celebrated the end and start of a year.

Knowing this, Lily and Owly prepared for the worst, the possibility that Lilia would be against them staying up late.

So with the help of Naell (who found it funny), the three shared an effort to find every possible rebuttal they could find. By the time they were ready, they presented themselves to Lilia and began to negotiate.

“Mother, we come with a proposal.” Lily said with full formality, baffling her mother who could only reply with intrigue,

“Oh?”

Yet as they explained the details of their proposal, Lilia as she listened had been stifling a laugh with Naell.

Frightened, the young ones were, thinking she had made up her mind, until the baroness suddenly spoke in amusement.

“To think you all went to such lengths! Of course you can stay up late.” She said as she lightly ruffled Owly(?) and Lily’s hair.

With the children’s bedtime delayed and fortunately given leeway, they all happily went on to prepare for the night that was to come.

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Underneath the night of the winter’s cold, the family had moved to the balcony. Torches had been perched nearby and fluffy carpets were placed for them to lay on.

They had specifically chosen the spot as a complete view of Beryldot was much clearer atop it.

Amidst the snow and the chilly night, houses were filled with lights. People were flocked outside in the square with stalls and large campfires set up in its center.

Some were seated, while others were standing all viewing the sky, waiting for the so called shooting stars made by the Celestials.

Naell of course was skeptical, yet barely questioned the belief. He even recalled how the history of Mundo had explained it.

The shooting stars are made by the Celestials and are a known indication by all that a year has ended, and that a new year is to come.

At the moment, he couldn't help but be swayed into attending. He had heard that it was already a family tradition to view the starry sky in that place.

"Would the young master even attend?"

"Perhaps, he is getting along with his sister and Baroness now."

"I remember the last time he attended was when he was six."

"Before Baroness Alicia's death huh…"

Yet those thoughts eventually stopped as they called for his name. He then sat beside Lily and Owly.

Sebastian and Fharom raised their glasses to the starry sky. They had been drinking a new local brew, a combination of coffee and alcohol complemented with cream on top and melted brown sugar.

On the other hand, Lilia, Lily and Owly were savoring the taste of freshly baked pie. Its filling glistened a royal gold, as hints of the golden apples strongly peeked through. They happily paired it with the warm comfort of hot chocolate.

Only Naell, who was unbothered by the cold, was having a cold tea underneath that weather.

Lily looked to the sky and saw the stars twinkle. In her mind the stars were chatty and somehow seemed to speak.

“It’s so pretty…I wish Auntie and Uncle were here.’’ Said Lily while Owly nodded on her lap. Lilia smiled at the young girl and softly patted her hair.

Under normal circumstances, Andrea and Drew would be with them, yet they had gone to Arigare to meet with their son.

As they waited and conversed, happily laughing and eating, streaks of light then began raining across the sky.

If Naell could describe what he was seeing, it was stunning and alarming at the same time.

Stunning as it looked far more detailed than fireworks. Different colors or rays; red, blue, yellow and even green simultaneously lit up the sky.

Alarming as the amount of lights indicated a huge amount of meteors roaming around in space, which could be surmised that one of many could land on Mundo.

The fact that there had never been an incident was something he was glad about.

Nonetheless, those scary thoughts only lasted for a few seconds as it was truly a magnificent sight.

Especially to Naell who never thought he could experience things like happiness, and the warm comfort of family.

He stared blankly even when the shooting stars were gone, and after a while, glanced towards his family. They all smiled and greeted him saying,

‘’Happy new year son.’’

‘’Happy new year brother.’’

‘’Hoho, Happy new year.’’

‘’Happy new year, noob, HOOT.’’

‘’...’’

Except for the last, Naell felt gratitude towards them and their words. Yet almost immediately his mind faltered, as he could not help but sense a strong wave of guilt.

Still, he was able to smile and reply to all of them as he said,

“Happy new year as well.”

They all then proceeded to greet the villagers that had gathered within the square. Music and dancing once again filled the area, with crowds of people having fun.

Naell did find it tiring that winter had many celebrations, including his birthday which he had forgotten about. Nonetheless, since it was better than being in school, he still found those celebrations somewhat relaxing.

As his sister and Owly were already sleepy, they decided to head back home. Their parents and Sebastian however, stayed as their presence was still needed.

For Naell, his excuse was finally valid, therefore, he was also able to go back. Yet unlike the two, he decided to head to the balcony instead of his room.

He began sitting once more and gazing upon the world he was currently living in. Under the comfort of the light and fluffy carpeting beneath him, he had not sensed how much time he spent there, not until his father approached him as he said,

“Beautiful, isn’t it.”

Fharom wasn’t surprised when he heard Naell wasn’t in his room. He knew that his son lately was often deep in thought.

He and others would commonly catch Naell’s gaze being far and seemingly distant. It made Fharom fear that Naell might go back to being reclusive, or worse, being indifferent to them once more.

He always blamed himself for not being able to help his son overcome the grief of Alicia’s death, that was why, he promised that he’d change and try his best to help Naell. Unlike the past where he thought simply silence and time would be better.

‘’Ah, yes…’’ Replied Naell who was awakened from his thoughts.

Fharom smiled and patted his shoulder. He then gazed to where Naell was looking and warmly then said,

‘’What is bothering you son?’’

Fharom who realized he was startled added on,

"Even Lilia lately felt it.… you’ve been staring blankly into nothing and seem to be deep in thought quite often."

Naell was truly surprised, he had no idea his expression could easily be read by people close to him.

He then knew he had two options, either feign ignorance or speak what was in his thoughts. At that moment, he chose the latter,

"Well, I… Father, lately I question if I even deserve this life." Naell said with a calm yet faltering voice.

He tried to hide the real meaning of his chosen words. He even tried his best to feel reassured that the old Naell probably was living somewhere.

Yet all that time, he felt guilty for taking his life away. Treading in his stead made him understand more what he might have gone through.

Of course there were things that were still a mystery to him. Still, Naell all this time could not really come to terms with the idea of living another man's life.

As he felt the pain in his chest grow, what he got was a reassuring pat once more on his shoulder.

For a moment Fharom stared at him, then gazed once more at the horizon. He then with a calm voice said,

"Whether or not you deserve it, depends on you. Learning from our past, working with our present, and growing is and should be our future."

With a reassuring smile underneath his brown eyes, Naell felt the warmest of his words. Fharom then chuckled as he added on,

"Your mom, Alicia, once said that to me."

Naell felt a deep feeling of longing just by hearing his mother's name. What came next was a surprise to him as he blurted out words that were not even his,

"Do you even miss her?"

Naell then immediately looked to his father and when he was about to apologize, he heard him speak softly with hints of sadness in his eyes and voice.

"I do, son, not a second goes by that I don't regret leaving her alone. Perhaps I could have even done something to prevent her… end."

Naell’s eyes began to water, and immediately he could feel that those words were something he wanted to hear for so long.

On the other hand Fharom was afraid to speak and ask further. Just like in the past, he was afraid to know if Naell was mad or felt he replaced Alicia immediately.

Still, with a push, he managed to asked,

"Were you mad at me thinking I neglected her memories?"

Naell saw a different facade, not the usual calm father, but a wavering one.

He could say “no” as personally, he was not mad at him, yet since he could feel that wasn't entirely the case, he decided to speak for the other existence that lingered.

"...I was, dad."

Fharom smiled wryly, he expected that answer. Hearing it was far more awful than he realized. Yet before he could even apologize, he heard him say,

"But I was angrier at myself knowing the truth, that my reason for hating this world, you, and everyone else, was for me to have a reason to live."

Naell then sighed as he turned to the stars. It was the first time in Mundo where he felt a load of pain in his chest was released.

‘’That is why, thank you father for not giving up on me.” Upon saying those words, Naell faced his father with a smile, in which a teary eyed Fharom immediately embraced his son.

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[ Thanks for reading! See you all in the next Volume ^ o ^)/ ]