Roran sat silently in the village square, his head down. The villagers around him had already forgotten his uncle's death and were discussing the explosion in the forest. The villagers thoughts were divided: one side argued that it was an attack, while the other claimed that the beam of light descending from above was a sign from the Goddess Caelum.
Roran didn't care about any of it. His brown eyes stared blankly at the ground as he pondered his father's death and Khazak's connection to the incident. Why was Khazak there? Why had his own father died in his hands? Why had he hit Khazak in the first place? When Khazak collapsed to the ground, Roran had carried his father in his arms and moved forward, his eyes fixed on nothing else, until he reached the priest. But now even that priest disregarded his father, insisting that the explosion was a sign from the Goddess Caelum.
It felt all the blood was drained from his body. While staring at the blood on his own clothes. His father kept appearing in his mind, each time with more detail, each time more painfully. Again, again, and again. Finally, his father appeared before him after the explosion, as if he had taken Khazak's place. His father's words to him were: "Why didn't you save me…was your life more precious than mine? You left my side because of your precious lover and now your worthless father is dying in your arms and you didn't even care."
Roran jumped up from his sead after the scene played in his head, placing his hands on top of his head. His eyes were trembling, he shook his head, he was crying uncontrollably. From that piercing scream, the words could be heard: "No, it wasn't because of me... it can't be because of me... I'm n-not guilty..." Upon hearing this, the villagers fell silent all at once.
No one dared to make a noise; only Roran's voice, lost in madness, echoed among the villagers. At that moment, Uncle Reagon, who was sitting nearby, attempted to go near Roran, but before he could take action, Lucia embraced Roran, she got under his shoulder and she dragged him away. The atmosphere shifted suddenly. As Reagon stood up, he climbed to a higher spot and asked:
"Dear villagers, is there anyone among you who has witnessed the event with their own eyes?"
The villagers remained silent. Reagon continued:
"Then on what basis do you have for defending your opinions?"
Reagon asked this in a harsh tone but the villagers' silence continued.
"Then let me ask another thing. You all know that the blacksmith Ronny died in this explosion, right? So why are you prioritizing an event you didn't even witness over Ronny?!"
The villagers bowed their heads down and continued to remain silent.
"Well then, dear priest, you have Ronny's body with you, don't you? So why is no one concerned about his funeral?"
After these words, the priest murmured some things but couldn't find his voice. Seeing the priest's condition, one of the devoted villagers exclaimed:
"What right does someone who isn't even from our village have to question us?!"
After those words echoed through the village square, a silence ensued for a while, but then murmurs began to rise. These murmurs gradually turned into loud voices and jeers, and soon escalated into insults and derision. For Reagon, who was completely justified in this matter, receiving such a reaction despite losing an old friend became the last straw. Reagon's mana spread through the crowd instantly, and everyone froze. Then, due to the unseen pressure on the villagers, they knelt down.
Reagon's dark blue oppressive aura was speaking volumes about its effect on everyone. Of course, since there were no mage among the villagers, no one could perceive this pure aura, but there was no doubt that everyone could feel this suffocating pressure deep in their bones.
After a few seconds, which felt like hours for the villagers, Reagon withdrew his aura. The entire village had fallen to their knees, trembling in fear. Even though Reagon, as a mage, knew that what he did was wrong, he felt no regret. Reagon walked away and went to his home, while the villagers stood there in silence while not moving at all. Finally, the baker broke the silence and said:
"Let's get on with the business concerning Ronny now."
Sounds of murmuring and approval began to rise among the villagers. Then, the priest brought Ronny's body, hastily wrapped, from the church. A statue was quickly cast from the stone quarry. According to the church of the Goddess Caelum, when a person dies, they are placed inside a statue that depicts her son praying, as they believe every soul takes on this form in death. It is believed that by praying eternally, they will find peace in the afterlife. Ronny was placed inside the statue and moved to the cemetery, where all the statues look the same, as it is thought that all souls are equal after death. The priest began the funeral."
**RORAN'S POV**
"Thank you, Lucia. If I had stayed there a little longer, they would have thought I would have become crazy."
"Well if you say so… Like everyone I also saw the beam of light but differentiating from the others. It felt like the beam of the light was calling for me and so I went to that hellish place. When I arrived at the scene Khazak was holding my father in his arms. I asked him what has happened but he didn't asnwer Maybe he couldn't, I don't know but in afit of rage, I punched Khazak and he passed out right there. I took my father in my arms; I couldn't see anything else at that point. Slowly, I walked to the priest and placed my father in his supposedly divine arms. You already know what happened after that."
After Roran shared all of this, his eyes were filled with tears, and his throat tightened. Noticing his state, Lucia wrapped her arms around Roran's head and pressed him against her chest. In response to this gesture, Roran began to sob uncontrollably. Lucia held him in her arms and gently stroked his head.
Lucia, as if singing a lullaby, murmured softly, saying, "It's okay, it's okay," calming Roran down. They stayed in this position for a while until Roran's ears caught a sound—it was the sound of the funeral. Suddenly, Roran sprang to his feet, he rushed toward the funeral as he was still sobbing uncontrollably.
He couldn't miss his father's funeral. When he arrived, his father had already been placed on the statue. Forcing his way through the villagers, he reached the statue of his father and knelt before it. Not a single sound came from his mouth, but tears were flowing like a river from his eyes. He knelt there, mouth open, silently crying. It was as if he wanted to say something, to scream, to shout, but he couldn't utter a single word. He couldn't even catch his breath.
After what felt like hours but was only a few seconds, Roran was overwhelmed by a sense of emptiness. In that moment, neither his father nor Khazak was on his mind, until suddenly the image of Khazak holding his father flashed before his eyes. He let out a piercing scream, collapsing face down in front of his father's statue, continuing to cry out in agony. His wailing lasted so long that, by the end, only one or two villagers remained by his side. For a mere blacksmith in the village, no one would offer more than a brief lament. After about an hour, the only ones left were Lucia, Reagon—who had joined later—and Roran, who continued his relentless mourning. After a few more minutes, Lucia approached Roran and gently said:
"It's getting late, Roran. Should we head home now?"
She said this while crouching beside him and wrapping her arms around him gently.
"...I'll stay here a bit longer..." Roran replied quietly.
Roran didn't even look at Lucia as he said this.
"Whatever you want, Roran... I'll come to get you soon, okay?"
"..."
"Is that alright, Roran?"
"...Alright..."
After saying this, Lucia sadly left Roran's side. Roran remained there for about another hour, continuing his silent mourning, lost in his thoughts. During this time, he considered many things, both emotional and logical. Emotionally, his thoughts were tangled between Khazak, his father, and Lucia. Logically, he pondered how he would earn a living without his father and what he would do with Khazak from now on. And then there was Lucia—he had become so attached to her that he couldn't even think of separating from her. Yet, he felt regret; he had spent his father's final moments mostly with Lucia, never imagining that his young father would pass away. Just as he was deep in these thoughts, Lucia returned.
"The sky is almost dark, Roran. Let's head home."
Without saying a word, Roran stood up, and Lucia linked her arm with his.
"I'll take you to my house. You'll stay with us for a while. I don't want any objections."
Roran gave a slight nod, acknowledging Lucia without looking at her. Lucia felt a momentary sense of achievement, but upon considering Roran's condition, she felt guilty for her own happiness and firmly led him home, as if dragging him along. Roran's eyes were reddened from crying. When they arrived, Roran encountered Lucia's mother, who said:
"I'm so sorry for your loss, Roran. Please, rest now. I couldn't make it to the funeral because I was overwhelmed with work; I'm sorry."
"...It's alright... Thank you..."
Afterwards, Lucia led Roran to his room and laid him down on her own bed. She sat on a nearby chair, took Roran's left hand in both of hers, and began to sing a hymn. With Lucia's loving and soothing voice accompanying him, Roran fell asleep.