The torment of the entire night battered Vivian's mind.
In the spacious, deserted two-story house, she sat on the sofa in a daze for the whole night, her eyes fixed on the door.
Traces of Lu Yingheng lingered everywhere in the house: the pattern on the sofa, the arrangement of the dining table, the faint, crisp scent in the hallway. They were all traces he had left behind day after day.
This was the home he had personally given her, her only refuge after she escaped the hell of the Order of Glorification and shed the stigma of being a calamity. It held all the warmth and hope in her life.
Her eyes could see the time of anyone's death, but Lu Yingheng's fate alone remained beyond her sight.
If Lu Yingheng, pinned inside the Hollow at that moment, knew what she was thinking, he would definitely have looked like this:
Lu Yingheng: (°ー°〃)
If you could see when Black King Nidhogg would die, that would be way too overpowered, you know?
He was a god-tier monster from another world!
Before, that had been her greatest source of reassurance, but the dead silence after she lost contact with him last night had left her in constant fear.
As dawn broke, she numbly unlocked her phone and tapped the pinned official account [Void Hunter · Dragon Emperor] with trembling fingers.
The pinned announcement was glaring and cold, its black-and-white words pronouncing the final outcome:
Dear citizens, we have an important announcement to make.
While carrying out a disaster prevention mission in the Crete Advanced Hollow, Void Hunter · Dragon Emperor was ambushed by a level-nine Ethereal.
To protect the people throughout New Eridu, he gave up his own escape route and perished alongside his powerful enemy, laying down his life in the line of duty.
To commemorate our hero, a citywide memorial procession will be held at noon today.
Issued by: Dragon Emperor Guard · Long San
The comments below were filled with disbelief, every one of them questioning how the powerful yet gentle Lord Dragon Emperor could possibly have died at the hands of an Ethereal.
But Vivian had no time to think about any of that.
Those few short lines tore apart the reassurances Vivian had clung to all night, utterly crushing every hope she had held.
Boundless despair came crashing down, swallowing her whole.
Vivian did not know how she endured the long morning.
Time seemed to stretch on endlessly, every minute and second steeped in icy grief.
Like an empty shell that had lost its soul, she sat blankly in the empty room.
She had once feared her own eyes. She had seen countless people part in life and death and learned early how cold the world could be. But Lu Yingheng alone was the light she could not see through, and the one she held onto most tightly.
Noon arrived as expected. Lumina Square, the busiest place in New Eridu, was transformed from its usual bustle as people from across the city made their way there of their own accord.
No one had organized it or called them there, yet ten thousand people gathered in perfect order.
Such was the unparalleled esteem Lu Yingheng had earned in this city.
Everyone knew that Void Hunter · Dragon Emperor was powerful but never cold, that he wielded the highest authority yet always carried gentleness in his heart.
He patiently comforted Hollow refugees who had lost their homes, treated every ordinary person fairly, fought crime and violence, kept the financial powers in check, and quelled calamities. Whenever there was injustice, he would always step forward to help.
Countless people remembered his kindness and protection, and now they gathered in the square to bid farewell to the hero who had safeguarded their entire city.
At noon, Lumina Square was utterly silent. Its usual clamor had completely vanished, and solemn, heavy grief hung over everything.
The solemn memorial procession slowly entered the square. A group of black-clad Dragon Emperor Guards marched in orderly formation, their backs straight and their steps slow and heavy, barely containing the grief that showed on their faces.
They had followed Lu Yingheng for a long time and knew his sacrifices and gentleness better than anyone. Now, every step they took was their deepest farewell to their lord.
Vivian remembered the Dragon Emperor Guard carrying the wooden box at the very center of the procession.
Long Er. When Lu Yingheng had first rescued her and brought her back, this uncle had even teased his lord, convinced that he had brought back a child bride...
Now he held a pitch-black urn solemnly aloft, supporting it steadily with both hands.
That small wooden box carried the hopes of everyone in New Eridu and held the burning life of that invincible guardian.
Everyone present lowered their heads in silent tribute of their own accord. No one whispered or made a sound; even the children obediently fell quiet.
A cool breeze swept across the open square, carrying faint sobs with it. Everything was frighteningly still.
Vivian stood at the edge of the crowd, her eyes vacant and her face deathly pale. Her gaze moved stiffly with the procession as the pillar in her heart crumbled bit by bit, icy despair seeping into her very bones.
In the sea of people, Alice and Hoshimi Miyabi hurried anxiously through the crowd, ignoring the soreness and exhaustion in their eyes as they searched desperately for Vivian.
When the devastating news arrived, Alice had frozen on the spot. No matter how Leoniel called to her, she did not respond, as though she had lost her soul.
In the end, Hoshimi Miyabi had burst into Alice's room and hauled her out of bed, finally bringing her back to her senses.
Then, the one they worried about most was undoubtedly Vivian, whose only family had been Lu Yingheng, so they hurried over.
When they finally saw Vivian standing all alone at the edge of the crowd, stiff as a puppet, their hearts clenched.
Her eyes red, Alice rushed forward and wrapped her arms tightly around Vivian, whose whole body was cold and rigid.
Her soft voice thick with tears, she gently comforted her. "Vivian... don't be too sad..."
Tears kept rolling down her own face, and she could not stop choking on her sobs, but she still tried to comfort her devastated friend.
Hoshimi Miyabi stood quietly beside them, silent the whole time.
Her fingers were clenched tightly around Jealousy, the blade Lu Yingheng had given her, at her waist. Her knuckles were white with tension, and the blade was piercingly cold.
She still remembered what Lord Dragon Emperor had said when he gave her the blade: it could bear all her power, and one day it would accompany her as she became the strongest, someone who could protect her family...
She had yet to become the strongest, and already there was one fewer person she wanted to protect.
Hoshimi Miyabi said nothing. She simply stood quietly beside the two, keeping them company in silence as they bid farewell to the ever-gentle Lord Dragon Emperor.
Vivian stared blankly at the urn held solemnly aloft. After a long while, the emotions she had suppressed all night finally burst forth, and large tears rolled silently down her face.
Her eyes were vacant, filled with endless self-reproach, and broken whispers spilled haltingly from her lips:
"I was too slow to realize... I should have noticed something was wrong yesterday..."
She hated herself for realizing it too late, hated herself for being unable to help even a little.
She had the ability to see when others would die, yet she had been unable to help the person she most wanted to help.
Vivian felt as though an enormous blade were savagely cutting into her heart again and again. It had been a long time since she had felt such heart-wrenching pain.
Tears blurred her vision. Her whole body trembled slightly, and grief nearly suffocated her.
Alice held her tighter, her voice growing thicker with tears as she continued to comfort her softly:
"No... it wasn't your fault... we didn't notice anything either... no wonder he said those things yesterday..."
Ten thousand people in the square mourned in silence. Only the two girls' stifled, anguished sobs drifted softly on the wind, filled with tenderness that could never be reclaimed and endless parting.