The unexpected increase in the fee loomed over Bastian and his family like a sinister shadow. They knew they wouldn't be able to afford it; their family would be left defenseless in the midst of the economic turmoil plaguing the kingdom. In the streets, discontent spread like a raging fire.
- The world crumbles under the yoke of beasts and greed.
- There is no corner left where peace resides.
- We are forced to join the Akemir.
These were the words echoing in the streets.
Bastian, overwhelmed by despair, felt lost. However, one day, he heard an intriguing rumor: the Rakentis were recruiting brave souls for a dangerous mission in a remote area of the kingdom, near the Yeva volcano, south of the Kashar Empire. The region had become a nest for monsters that were dangerously approaching civilization. The king, concerned about the situation, had decided to send explorers to understand the unusual behavior of these creatures.
Bastian presented himself to the Rakentis and begged them to accept him into their ranks. Although they agreed, they warned him that life on the frontier was harsh, and survival was far from guaranteed. On the night before departing, Bastian bid farewell to his family. Fiora, with her fiery red hair, embraced him tightly.
Promise me you'll return.
Bastian looked into her eyes, his hands holding her tenderly.
I promise you, my dearest. It's a promise I will not break. Take care of our children, guide them in this world while I'm not here.
With tears in her eyes, Fiora nodded.
I love you, Bastian. I love you with all my heart -she whispered, her voice trembling, her words choked by the pain of parting.
Bastian turned around and gradually disappeared into the darkness along with the other knights who had joined the expedition, knowing it was a difficult choice but the only one possible. They left the city and ventured into the forest. Behind them, his family watched with sadness, trusting wholeheartedly that their father would return alive.
Days turned into months, and those months slowly turned into years. Bastian never returned. The kingdom announced the sad news that all the explorers sent had fallen to the Varuk. The guarantee of belonging to the Aemir faded, leaving Fiora heartbroken as she realized she couldn't provide protection for her children and had lost forever the one person she had come to love.
Fiora's tears knew no respite, and her heart was shattered, leaving her with a pain that found no comfort anywhere. Bastian, her beloved husband and valiant protector, had been torn from her side. Destiny had played a cruel and merciless card. Fiora, with a broken heart, couldn't help but think of the last time she had seen Bastian's eyes, the promise he could never fulfill. The tears flowing from her eyes were like rivers of sadness, and her soul was plunged into the deepest desolation. Her children, Arion and Lyra, surrounded her with love and understanding. Although they also wept, Arion, now an 18-year-old young man, showed surprising strength. He knew he had to be strong for his mother and his sister.
Fiora, in her immense suffering, was struggling in an abyss of sadness and melancholy. She didn't know how to face the world without Bastian's love and protection. But one day, while sitting in her room, immersed in the agony of loss, she had a vision. In that vision, Bastian spoke to her from beyond the veil of life, assuring her that he was well, that his love would endure forever. The vision brought a glimmer of comfort amid the abyss of her pain.
Fiora woke up with a smile on her face, knowing that Bastian would accompany her eternally in her heart.
It didn't take long for Fiora to succumb to the overwhelming weight of her grief. The void Bastian had left in her life was insurmountable.
A few days after receiving the news of Bastian's death, Fiora reunited with him in eternity, her soul joined with her beloved in a realm so distant from that of mortals, where no sorrow could touch them.