I woke up in bed and my eyes were cold. I sat up slowly and my hair covered my eyes. I looked at my hands then thought about Takeo. I heard the door open and Rei walked inside carrying a tray of food and a drink.
"It's amazing that Lythia knew what to do when she did. I'm glad you're okay. How are you feeling?" Rei asked then walked to my bed then set the tray in front of me.
I didn't answer and just stayed silent. Rei looked at me then got in bed beside me and held my hand. She could feel my destroyed soul as I grieved for my brother.
"I refuse to believe...that this is it. I refuse to believe that I played into Alastor's hands..." I said softly.
Rei laid beside me and kept holding my hand. "Just take as much time as you want...I'll be here my love."
I looked at the food and decided to at least eat something. I ate slowly and couldn't get the thoughts of my brother out of my head. He was dead in my arms just like my mother was. I promised him...I would walk beside him always even when I was gone. I couldn't eat any more than a small portion. Rei took the tray and set it on the nightstand beside her.
"I don't personally know how it feels to lose a family member by my own hands, but I can tell you that I'm always here for you..." Rei said as she cuddled against me, holding my hand.
I stared at the ceiling and was in deep thought. I wanted to respond to her, but I couldn't. I closed my eyes and hoped to just fall asleep once again.
Lythia sat in her home in Volta and brushed Isei's hair. Creiros was sitting in the coat hanger in her companion form, watching Lythia and Isei.
"Mama...Is papa Ryoma going to be okay? He seemed to be really hurt." Isei said then looked up at Lythia.
Lythia smiled at Isei. "Ryoma will be okay. He just needs some time to rest and in no time, he will be back to normal. Back to his old self or even a better version of himself."
Isei smiled and leaned against Lythia. "Is Papa Ryoma a great person? Like you said he was?"
"He is...He is more than great. I regret not marrying him when I had the chance. Maybe things would've ended differently and he wouldn't need to be on this quest, but all that matters now is that we are together at last and away from that terrible man." Lythia smiled.
Isei closed his eyes and Lythia rubbed his head then looked away and her smile faded away. She looked sad and wished there was something she could do to help me.
I woke up from my sleep and sat up on my bed then looked beside me and noticed Rei was asleep still. I got out of bed then left the room. I walked down the halls slowly and the images of Takeo kept flashing in my head. I held my head then left the castle and went over to Nebula.
Nebula looked at me and looked worried. She watched me climb on her back. She neighed softly.
"Take me to Pyroc please.." I said then Nebula nodded and galloped off.
Rei woke up and rubbed her eyes then noticed I wasn't beside her. She sat up quickly and got out of bed. She hurried out of the room and checked everywhere in the castle for me.
"Master Ryoma left not too long ago." A maid said.
"To where?!" Rei asked.
The maid shrugged as she didn't know where I was going. "I have zero clue. Maybe try asking Mistress Tsuhori?"
Rei nodded and hurried over to the room, Tsuhori was staying in. She walked in the room and noticed Tsuhori sipping on her tea, looking out the window.
"If you're looking for Milord...then just stop. He's already too far gone from Volta." Tsuhori said.
"Where did he go?" Rei asked.
"Don't know. But don't worry...he will return. All of his things are here." Tsuhori said.
Rei sighed and closed the door. She was more worried than ever now about me. My once arrogant and confident demeanor was tarnished and she feared that I might not ever return to normal.
Nebula landed in Pyroc and I got off her back. I walked into the city and Claire noticed me then smiled happily. She hurried over to me and hugged me. She opened her eyes and felt something was different. She looked up at me and noticed my emotionally drained expression.
"Ryoma...what's wrong..?" Claire asked and held my cheek.
"I don't want to believe it's true.." I said then she let go of me.
"What happened..? Come to the castle with me, we can talk about it there." Claire said then held my hands.
I looked at her and nodded. Nebula walked to me then I got on her back and Claire got on the back of her horse. We rode our way back to the castle. She tried to cheer me up a bit and break the tension within myself by trying to tell me things that would make me happy. It didn't work, but it didn't stop her from trying some more.
We eventually made it to the castle and we got off our horses. Nebula and Claire's horse galloped to the Ranch where Inoka was. She smiled at us then noticed Claire's serious face and knew it was something serious. She nodded and went back to tending to the animals.
Claire and I walked inside of the castle and walked to her room together. She closed the door behind us and I sat on her bed then she walked to me and sat beside me. Pyroc noticed me and rose her head.
"So what happened..? It must be serious if you aren't smiling like you used to. You didn't even hug me back." Claire said then held my hand.
"I played right into Alastor's hands like an idiot. I'm so fucking stupid and now I lost someone important to me and I can't believe he's dead. I refuse to believe this is reality. I refuse.." I said softly and looked at me hands. "I thought I could handle it if it were me killing him, but it hurt twice as bad.."
"Did you have to kill your brother?" Claire asked.
"Yeah..." I said then felt my heart aching when I said that.
Claire teared up a bit then pulled me into a hug then made me rest my head against her chest as she rubbed my hair. "I'm so sorry, Ryoma...I'm sorry for your loss.."
I closed my eyes and began to silent cry. Claire sniffled and wiped her eyes. She held me tightly and cried with me. "I miss him so much...I tried to sleep it away...I tried to imagine a world without my brother, but I can't. He was all I had left.."
Claire sniffled again then lowered her head. She was heartbroken because I was destroyed on the inside. She's only ever known me as a happy guy. She sniffled again and rocked from side to side slowly.
After twenty minutes of crying, we laid in bed together and I had quickly fallen asleep. Claire laid on her side facing me, twirling a strand of my hair around her finger. She caressed my cheek then smiled softly.
"So peaceful looking...yet...so broken.." Claire whispered to herself. "I promise to help you while you're here...I love you too much to let you leave my Kingdom still broken..."
Claire kissed my nose then closed her eyes, cuddling against me then fell asleep as well.
Inoka looked at Nebula and Phoenix. Nebula told Phoenix what happened and Phoenix chirped to Inoka, telling her what happened. Inoka crossed her arms and looked at Nebula.
"So he had to kill his brother. If I was in his place, I couldn't even...To even have that thought, hurts me on the inside. I want to help him some how and there's gotta be a reason why he came here." Inoka said.
Phoenix chirped.
"Resurrection..? That's impossible though. Neither you nor Claire can help with that. He's been dead for longer than seven minutes. It's impossible to revive him once his brain fully shuts off. The only way to revive him is through the act of Necromancy and no one wants an undead person. No matter how desperate you are, it's never worth it." Inoka said.
Nebula and Phoenix looked at each other then looked down. They knew Inoka was right, but they knew I didn't know about the time limit of the Reborn Flames. They knew there was no reason to tell me.
"There's only so much I can do as a sister in law. I know I'm not blood, but I can only help a little. A sister and a wife are different and I know Claire can help him. She's just gotta find a way to help him.." Inoka said then looked at the sky. "This is a task only she can complete.."