Brutus heaved a heavy sigh, Sammy could tell he didn't want to think back to those moments.
"Sammy, what do you know about your birth? It might be a strange question, but I need you to be honest with me. I won't do anything, no matter what you say.", Brutus closed his eyes while bowing his head down. His heart was prepared for it.
Sammy stood up from her chair and sat down in front of Brutus. She didn't know why, there was something pushing her to sit in front of her father. Seeing him clench his hands and the tiny droplet of sweat at the side of his head going down, she found him to be remarkably human.
Not once did she think of her father as normal, yet the way he acted now showed an entirely different image. Taking her time, she finally spoke up, making Brutus almost twitch a bit.
"I..I don't know much about mother... or Chrysia, all I know is that she died while giving birth to me or not long after she had me. I was left alone since then, I never saw my mother with my own eyes. All I heard were stories about how you ra... got mom pregnant."
Brutus wanted to release the tension he held within, it wasn't as bad as he had thought. He was glad and sad that she was too young to remember anything. He was depressed to realize that Sammy knew about such words at that age, but he already realized his past failures, this is just another one to add to the pile.
Unclenching his hands he rubbed the Crystal ball.
"We both wanted a child, it just took a bit longer than expected. And your mother did not die while having you... and I assume you're just trying to spare my feelings, but you don't have to worry.
I killed Chrysia."
"...", Sammy didn't answer, she only had the rumors of the adults, but that one was an unproven fact.
"But not in the way you might think!", Brutus got a little loud, he seemed defensive and didn't want to be seen as the bad guy, even though deep inside him, he knew it was already too late.
"I...I… When I heard that you were born.. I was so happy…", a sad smile couldn't help but find its way onto Brutus's face. "I was overflowing with joy, the person I loved created a miracle with me... You, Sammy, that miracle was you! She was so proud of you, her smile and tears were so powerful against me. I couldn't help but be extremely happy as well.
In my uncontrolled state of joy, I hugged your mother with all my passion... and accidentally...I..I tried everything from healing magic that I knew! I contacted my messenger and asked for the best medical professionals, but they didn't want to send anyone! IT'S NOT MY FAULT, I SWEAR!...."
As a mage that kept gaining power through magic crystals but never trained he had no control over his strength. Brutus fell silent, his yell turned Sammy mute, the tears that dropped from his face felt as real as the pain in her heart. Talking about her mother and hearing about the tragedy tore her heart apart, but she kept strong.
Brutus started talking again, in a quiet, almost unperceivable, tone.
"…it's not my fault.... No. It was my fault, I killed her with my own hands and abandoned you because I was afraid. I was afraid that seeing you would turn my mind chaotic. The only person I had was gone from this planet due to my own weakness...my failure.
I was already close to Rank 2, so it didn't take long before I saw her, and then, I couldn't help but stay cooped up, thinking of a way to bring her back... I'm sorry Sammy, what I've done is unforgivable and unjustifiable."
Brutus recovered, he straightened his back and looked Sammy right in the eyes. His own red eyes reflected on hers. They were both distraught.
"And so, because of the crimes I have committed, I have decided to change this entire camp. From now on, nobody will have to work anymore, nobody will ever suffer again.", grabbing the Crystal Ball again.
"We can live together again, and start over as a fresh family, one that is being kept together by love and not fear. One that is free and not oppressed by anyone else. I want to create a paradise in this camp. With the leftover crystals I can easily buy the best houses and create a small town.
I... I want this whole thing behind me. But before all of that, I first want us both to see Chrysia, no, mom."
Sammy could only agree with her heart, her enthusiasm plastered an innocent smile on her face. Her emotions were tumbling around, but one thing was sure, if what he said was true, the suffering would end, and we would all move towards a peaceful future.
'If dad brings everyone together, we can live as a big family, he's even strong enough to protect us from anyone out there!'
Brutus stood up right before walking to a closet. Opening it, Sammy could see the many neatly arranged clothes and suits. She couldn't image Brutus wearing one, and he knew she was curious due to her look.
"Hahaha, if you're wondering about my suits, they're something of a distant past. I never wore these, but they are still as clean as ever. Mom cleaned this room on a weekly basis, I just got too used to having this place neat, making me follow in her footsteps."
He reached in the closet and pushed some clothing aside. He pulled out a cute red frilly dress.
"She made this for you one day. I have kept it clean for so many days, please Sammy, would you wear this, not for me, but for her?"
Brutus didn't see himself as someone who was worthy of any kind of favor or kind act, he was a monster in his own eyes. Now, it was up to him to make up any failings of the past!
Pointing to the doors she came from, Brutus suggested she should change there, leaving him alone with the Crystal Sphere. Sammy was separated for a moment, but her heart was beating extremely fast.
Opening her sticky hands, sweat was covering the crystals. They had buried themselves a bit deeper in her skin, but didn't prick it open, leaving only a small imprint.
'What should I do? Dad became better, he's not evil anymore... we don't need to fight anymore...'
Sammy looked at the clothes she got from Brutus, they looked so cute and soft. The texture felt smooth to the touch, while she could tell she wouldn't ever get cold wearing it. It was perfect.
'When Conrad comes here, I'll have to stop him! Dad won't fight anymore, so I have to help everyone! If I leave the crystals here, he'll think it won't be necessary to fight anymore. When a knight leaves his sword at home, he's not going to fight anymore, the stories always go like that!'
Sammy dropped the crystals and put on her dress. At first, she fumbled a bit, but found her way in it eventually, it was her first time putting on a dress.
She looked lovely with it, her cheeks had gained a bit of the rosy tint she would normally have. Things were finally looking up. She wanted to leave a note or message behind, but didn't know how to and asking Brutus didn't fit the current mood, so she just hoped Conrad would understand her symbolic message or listen to her when he arrived.
Moving back to the grand room, she found her father in a suit... or at least trying to put it on. He looked uncomfortable, the collar was a bit too tight while the suit was unbuttoned. It was hard to close it since it required a delicate movement. Sammy could see another suit on the ground with one of the buttons pulled off. Brutus was either using too much strength or too little, but he had no control over it.
Brutus saw Sammy enter with her beautiful dress on, a single tear reached his eyes, which he quickly wiped away. He looked into an empty corner before praising her.
"Sammy you look absolutely lovely, your mother is very proud of you.", while Brutus looked a bit weird, his words contained his true feelings.
Trying again to put on the suit, Sammy came over and helped him out. One button at a time, she made Brutus realize how weak he truly was not being capable of something so simple. Pulling extremely lightly on the collar, he loosened it a bit, giving him space to breathe properly.
"Thank you, Sammy.", his smile felt so pure that even Sammy could feel it. "Now, let us say hello to mother, shall we?"
Brutus took the ball in his hands and looked for a final time at the empty corner. "It won't be long now.", Sammy didn't know if that was for himself or Chrysia, but she also couldn't hold in her anticipation.
"When I've poured in enough energy in this Crystal Sphere, and your mother's soul enters it, she will gain a body capable of speech. She will still be a bundle of energy and incapable of touch, but she'll be materialized in this world once more. I'll work on a homunculus capable of carrying her after we've settled everything."
Brutus almost started to shake a bit. It was time, all that work, all that suffering would finally end. A bright and colorful future was ahead, his sweating palms were noticed by Sammy, but she suffered the same fate. She placed her hand on his, making him slightly calm down.
"Hahaha, you're more brave than I am? You truly take after your mother."
"Now, let us..Hm!?", Brutus detected a large amount of active magic speeding towards them. "Is that?", he could tell something bad was about to happen, his heart stopped for a split second.
'It's explosion magic!'
"SAMMY!", Brutus turned to look at her before quickly rushing towards her.
BOOOOOOM!!!
A massive pillar of smoke reached for the dark night sky. The entire house evaporated in a sea of flames. Brutus was so shocked he didn't know what to do first. He couldn't tell who fired it, but it wouldn't take long before he would go and find them.
"Huh, wait...no?", Brutus looked down since he felt the warmth of Sammy.
"No, no, no, NO!!!.....not again....NOT AGAIN!!!!!"
Her body was squished between his arms, her spine was broken, and her skull was caved in. Blood blended with the red dress as it poured out on his skin, while the organs slowly fell out.
Brutus started to hyperventilate. "Wha.. n.... Sammy...", he started to grab the organs one by one and stuffing them back in her lifeless corpse, he tried to rebuild her, putting everything in the right place, but nothing changed.
The words got stuck in his throat, the only thing he could do was scream out his sadness.
"RHAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!", he wanted to hug the corpse, but got scared of destroying it any further, his heart was being pulled to all sides. Wiping his face, he realized only now how much he had been crying. His mind is in pure chaos, nothing made sense, thought and feelings overlapped while his angers was boiling like crazy.
Leaving his daughter's corpse alone, he stood up to see what a mess he became. His suit got destroyed while the blood stained his entire chest. Looking around for the monster that did this he found the crystal ball got shattered in the process.
His heart fell down a dark abyss, nothing was worth living anymore. It was then that he heard it.
"Shit, he's still perfectly fine."