"Hon! How could you be so calm? I-If I can find a high ranking priest, t-then t-there's still a chance w-we can…" The tears and the lump on his throat made Leo speak with difficulty.
Tiana looked her husband in the eye and said, "You know this too. That even the highest ranking priests wouldn't be able to do anything when faced with natural death. Besides, you know our situation, the higher the rank of the priest, the more they would be in the know about our circumstances…"
"I don't care about that! As long as you—"
Pak!
Before he could continue any longer, he received a slap on the side of his face.
Leo's eyes widened as he looked at his wife's eyes. He could see that despair and sadness were in them, as well as anger.
"As long as I live? Is that what you're saying!? How about our children!? What would you do if it puts our children in harm's way!? Do you think I'm not scared!? Of course I'm scared! I still want to see our children grow! To spend my entire life with you! I-I still… want to live…" Unable to bear it any longer, Tiana burst out in tears.
This startled Leo since his wife had always been calm.
Leo bit his lips and tenderly hugged his wife as she cried.
They stayed still in that position for who knew how long.
* * *
A few days later…
Tiana was able to gain some strength and was able to stand up a day after she fainted.
The family continued on their routine, making both Jin and Tanya feel as if things were back the way it was.
Today was the day of the demon beast wave, so Leo was stationed at the gates of the fortress.
He wanted to take a leave of absence but Tiana told him not to worry about her.
As such, it was only Tiana along with her children that was left in the house.
"Mom, I wiwl go outside to pway!" Tanya energetically said as she excitedly went out.
"Okay! Be sure to take care!" Tiana smiled.
Tanya nodded obediently and replied, "Yes mom!"
Lightly rubbing her temple, Tiana sat beside Jin, who was reading a book in the living room.
She smiled and said, "You're going to have your Awakening Ceremony next year, are you excited?"
Jin placed down his book and nodded at his mother while smiling brightly, "Yes, Mom!"
He would have believed that everything was back to normal if only he couldn't see the black particles that now occupied 50% of his mother's aura.
The aura of natural death. It wasn't a disease nor was it a curse. Well, it could be said that it was a curse every living being had.
It just meant that a living being's time was up.
That was all. It's that simple.
It was also because of this that Jin was helpless. He desperately read books about aura and life force but couldn't seem to find answers.
Therefore, he figured that it would be best to just spend time with his mother. To make her happy until her time was…
Jin didn't dare say the word.
* * *
Days passed by in a flash…
Jin spent less and less time exercising and reading books. Instead, he always helped his mother and did chores in her place.
He stopped being silent and became quite talkative. He laughed and joked with his mother and sister.
Jin also kept his little sister from playing outside all the time with the excuse that he's getting jealous of her friends since she was always playing with them.
Tanya giggled at her brother's words but decided to not play outside for a while.
The family spent their time with each other, wishing that the time wouldn't come…
Alas, reality had always been cruel…
As days passed, the time Tiana spent resting became longer and longer.
Until one evening…
Tiana couldn't get out of the bed anymore.
"Mom, awe you going to faint again? Rest first, 'kay? You need to west fiwst, so you don't faint!" Tanya reminded her mother with a mature tone of voice.
Her brother and their parents all looked at her with a smile.
Tiana giggled and said, "Yes, yes! Mom will rest first, okay? Go with your brother first and sleep in the other room, understand?"
"Let's go, sister. Mom and Dad are going to talk about adult matters so we should sleep first!" Jin said as he held his sister's hand and exited the room.
Leo and Tiana both had red blush on their faces as they heard their son's words.
"He seemed a bit lively lately, right?" Tiana said to her husband.
Leo nodded in reply. Then, he looked his wife in the eye and said, "Are you sure about this?"
Tiana nodded with a sad expression, "Yes. After all, I don't want my children to wake up by my side only to see that I died. I don't want them to see me die…"
Leo kept silent and just held his wife's hand tighter.
They looked back on the past, chatting about the time when they first met to what they were now.
Tiana giggled and said, "I didn't expect that a peasant like me would become the tutor of a musclehead warrior like you."
Leo feigned an angry expression and reprimanded his wife softly, "Don't call yourself like that, it makes me angry."
Then, he scratched his head embarrassedly, "Who would have thought that you would be able to point out the weaknesses in my swordsmanship so easily after witnessing me practice a couple of times.
Hearing her husband's words, Tiana smiled proudly, "Heh, then you fell in love with me!"
"Yup, I fell in love with you over and over again from that moment and on. That's why I always told you that you were the reason why I became as strong as I am now. I mean, you are literally the reason!" Replied the smiling Leo, which earned him a giggle from his wife.
Then, he asked jokingly, "It's a pity that you wouldn't be able to teach our children just like the way you taught me."
"Oh, they'll do just fine." Unexpectedly, Tiana responded seriously.
Confused, Leo asked, "Huh? What do you mean by that?"
Tiana just smiled and said, "Jin."