Night soon fell on the surface world while the city celebrated the arrival of Julius and his friends. As the celebration began above, Julius attended a quiet ceremony with his family in the cavernous bowels of the city. Ileanna lay atop a stone slab adorned with a colorful arrangement of bouquets. Julius slid his hand across her cold face with the gentlest of motions, his eyes gleaming with fresh tears.
“Brother, would you like to say a few words before I begin the crystallization?” Kirin asked.
Julius nodded. “Words cannot express how I feel for this woman. But I will try,” Julius replied. “Twenty years ago…I gave a similar speech in this very room. I had lost someone that I held dear. Myria was a wonderful woman. However, she often told me that she felt as if she were in constant compe
