Where The Dead Ones Go Book 3 -Emirate-

Chapter 9

Morris, Meta, and I decided to spend the rest of the day wandering around the Novus Zephyranth and enjoying what has left from the Golden Age that the ancient Anoixians and some survivors from other provinces have brought for safekeeping.

My retainer stalwartly followed the three of us just like the way he always did when we were in the imperial palace eons ago that made me feel absolutely safe and protected.

"What I don't understand is if Novus Zephyranth holds most of the blueprints and know-how needed to replicate the technology of our Golden Age, why aren't they sharing it to the outside world?" Morris asked curiously as we walked past an appliances store filled to the brim with great electronics for home and work uses, "I mean, just look at that all-in-one washing apparatus. Tierans are still using twin washing machines fitted only with driers and washers that require manual labor when this particular one just needed you to dump the clothes, and after a few minutes, it will have them washed, dried and folded nicely in stacks."

Barius cleared his throat behind us as he answered my cousin's question, "If I may answer that, it's not that the Novus Zephyranth is not sharing it. The mortals in this era just don't have the drive to even make a prototype one."

"Can you explain that further?" I asked as he nodded earnestly.

"My liege, I am privy to some memories you have, especially with the ones your excellent advisor has discussed in your class. I believe she once said that the mortals are emotionally and psychologically scarred from The Fall so much that they lost the ability to create new things, dare to try something trailblazing, or even invent technologies to advance their lives..."

Meta sighed sadly and shook his head, "Truly a pity. Even if they are not consciously aware, mortals today and age just don't have high hopes for the future anymore. I can't say I blame them. After their civilization in its epoch fell in a single night and day, I guess even the pain and fear had become ingrained so much in their psyches, they never recovered until now even if eons has already passed."

"Of course, what is the use of dreaming about a bright tomorrow when you feel deep down, it may end in a blink of an eye," I said quietly as I looked at the blue skies above, "It is up to us to lift them all from this stupor. If we can just pull this one-off, it will be a one-way ticket to Golden Age once more."

"Hopefully, one that will surely never end, Your Majesty."

I blinked at Barius and sadly shook my head in disagreement, "As much as I wanted it to be everlasting, I just learned the truth. Everything has an end. Mortals or immortals. Even a great empire like mine must end at some point for the time bring us all to the same end."

"Even if that is the case, I still believe that once we removed the threat of Typhon, the Golden Age may end in due time. It will not stop the mortals from dreaming of a better tomorrow," Meta said confidently as we arrived at the central park where Novus Zephyranthians are enjoying the afternoon with their loved ones who missed them for so long, "The possibilities are endless once the mortals are free once more to dream the way they did in ages past."

Barius nodded at him as he looked at his hands that is slowly but surely turning again to what they really are, ephemeral light of hope ebbing away, "That is the only reason why I and our liege are still holding on even if we know that not everyone will get their happy endings."

"Meta..."

"Done, my beloved," the god of time answered as he stopped the time for everyone except for me, him, and my comrades-in-arms, "Death has absolute power over the past and the present. I give Thanatos that much. But even he can't overpower the sheer uncertainty of what the future holds that even overcame him, am I right, Imperial Armada Forces?"

I looked at my cousin, who is like the rest of the Novus Zephyranthians, now paused and stuck in time.

The people who acted as if they are my very own family and stand together with me in this final gambit of mine.

"Lord Khronos, when our liege set us all free before the Imperial Council Armed Forces march through the imperial palace, we have already surrendered our lives to her," Bairus answered as he glanced at the men and women standing behind him proudly and now slowly dissipating in countless light motes as my power began to wane, "We have come this far and already prepared ourselves for the ending we have chosen for ourselves. Not just some random monsters have decided for itself."

Meta sheds a tear for them as they all kneel in front of us, "I know I have been saying this for eons now, but your father has raised fine children with gentle strength and determination. You are a really, really, lucky empress, Vivet."

"I know, Meta. Ceremonial my position may be back then, the only treasures I have that I can really call as my own are the soldiers loyal to my family," I said as I gave a grateful bow to them all, "Salvation was not I promised you all but still, you stand by me until now and I hope that you will continue to do so until the end."

They all nodded and stood up as they saluted at me with the utmost respect, "You have brought us a chance to be the guiding beacons for the bright future ahead of us all. It is our choice, and we already made peace with it. Our life for the new dawn!"

Barius shouted as my soldiers cheered loudly, and I wiped away my tears and try to give them a smile from the bottom of my heart.

"Then let's make our final stand so bright, it will illuminate the path towards the bright tomorrow."

Meta saluted them himself as he let the time resume once more, and they all scattered to bid their possibly last farewell to their loved ones.

"Vivet?"

I looked beside me, and I saw Morris, who is staring at me intently.

"We will succeed, my cousin. We will, right?"

"No doubts about it," he answered simply as I smiled sadly at him, "And if for some reason we shall fall, I am sure our friends will carry on for us."

-0-

"Where's Gala?"

A haggard-looking daughter of Hephaestus looked up when I asked her a question while she is busy rechecking the stocks of wines that Zenith and Taurei have just brought from the magistracy together with hundreds of Pagosians sent by the First and Second Magisters to help with the wedding preparations barely a week before the day of the celebration.

"She is locked in her room since yesterday morning and hasn't come out since," our class president answered as she violently burned the paper she is just looking at earlier in frustration and prepared to start all over again, "We don't know what in the underworld she is doing in there though I highly suggest that you steer well away from her for now. Her nerves are frayed three days in the preparation already."

And with that, I Just nodded quietly and remove myself from Eonia's side since, as far as I can observe, it is not only my close friend who is very stressed out.

The home of Rebie and Vaski slowly transformed from a dreary palace as an excuse for a fortress into a beautiful wedding venue that is starting to rival the serene-looking glass buildings of the northern nation.

As I walked to the foyer, I saw Avesa talking earnestly with several priests and priestesses that just arrived to support her in making sure that her brother will only have the best possible scenario in his debut as their new High Priest.

Brent Jarvis, the butler of House Mycenae, has just arrived with another shipment of wines from his nation as he handed them all over to his counterpart in the House Axiopisto wearily before bidding his farewell, apparently to support Seolla and Tina. They are now busy sorting through the priceless silverware and cutleries at the corner of the room.

I decided to head over to the kitchen, thinking that it won't be that busy inside, only to find the octuplets of Lytta running around on all flours carrying cooking ingredients, knives, and chopping board and taste-testing the sample dishes with the goddess of the hearth who is now giving advice to Asher on how to increase the volume of the meals without affecting the flavor.

"So it is better if I purposely make the dishes flavorful to some extent rather than make it bland to avoid the taste being too overpowered?"

"Yes, Asher. After all, would you not agree that it is just easier to add water to balance the taste than trying to mix in condiments all over again if it gets too unsavory?"

My feral friend repeatedly nodded before returning to his cooking as his brothers, together with the chefs from Scythia and Anoixi, are busy finalizing the menu for taste-testing later.

"Move aside, Vivet. Coming through, please!"

I automatically flatten myself when I heard the irritated voice of the daughter of Amphitrite, who is now carrying a large and ancient flower vase followed by dizens of chambermaids bringing identical ones trudging alone hurriedly behind her.

"Narcine is already at her edge as we speak. So if you don't want her to summon cactus flowers for your wedding day, then step aside or get stepped on!" Taurei followed in a serious tone as he finished off the entourage with several wads of colorful ribbons to tie the flowers together.

I just smiled a little at the two as they ran past me. They might come off as rude, but I know they are just acting like that because they want our wedding to be as near as perfect, and they will not even allow me, the bride herself, to ruin even a single part of it.

When I arrived at the garden, I indeed saw the daughter of Persephone at the center willing dozens upon dozens of sampaguita flowers to bloom as fast as they can while they are being picked by the waiting Scythian girls and boys turning them into crowns, garlands, and confetti.

"Persephone: Full Bloom!"

With a single invocation of the name of the goddess of flowers and queen of the underworld, Taurei and Rebie's close friend made all the shrubs around her, and her attendants bloom in such amount, the flowers covered almost the entirety of the plant itself.

She let out an obviously annoyed whimper when the son of Hera returned with another order for her.

I decided to make myself scarce when they began arguing about it and head to the throne room to see if the emira is there and true enough, Vaski's mother is there with her son and talking seriously about something important.

The guards closed the doors behind me, and the two noticed me and stopped talking abruptly as they watched me head in their direction before stopping just a little and respectfully bowing as a woman of my position to someone beneath my standing.

Emira Deira seemed to notice this and carefully asked a question, "Have you recovered what you have lost, Your Imperial Majesty?"

"I blocked Morris's mind to make him think you are fast asleep..."

I quietly thanked Meta in my mind as I raised my head to look at the two descendants of the Scythian Province Dynasty that survived The Fall of the empire eons ago.

"If I am, to be honest, I wish I didn't, Your Highness," I answered sadly as I looked at Vaski, who is confused, "You haven't told your own son, I presume?"

She shook her head and looked at my friend fondly, "No, Your Majesty, I haven't. I don't think it's my call to tell him the truth without your consent. Well, now that we are talking about it, would you mind if he hears it from you?"

"I wouldn't mind in the slightest, Your Highness. After all, I already entrusted him with more than what I did to my husband, isn't that right, Vaski?"

Poseidon's son touched his chest as if to answer the inquiring gaze of his mother and bit his lip as he willed my gift to materialize from his very heart.

"Is that..."

"Yes, mother. She entrusted this to me. Me of all the friends she has," Vaski whispered as the pristine feather I conjured a while ago hovered in his trembling palm emitting a soft golden glow, "Is what you will say right now about this, Vivet?"

I nodded and smiled a little at him, "Well, I can't say that they are totally unrelated, but now that I think about it, even without my memories, I still unconsciously trusted a Scythian Dynastic member with something that is of utmost importance to myself. I guess you could say that old habits die hard."

"This is such an honor, Your Majesty!" the emira exclaimed as the feather reacted to Vaski's presence and it produced a scene made of golden light depicting our fight against each other during the entrance examinations, "To be entrusted by such a valuable keepsake of the empire is like our very existence as Scythians are validated."

"But who are you, Vivet? No, I guess that's not the real question to ask, eh? Let me rephrase that, who were you?"

I closed my eyes and bit my lip as I tried to hold back the tears, "As you had heard what Typhon had said when he met me in battle. I am a leader without a nation, a monarch without a throne. A girl whose past was robbed from her, a present that is ephemeral at best, and a future I can only dream of. I am Viera, the First of the Vieta Imperial Dynasty. Leader of the Plurinational Alliance Xenocracy Empire. The last of my line. My loyal Imperial Armada Forces and I have paid the ultimate sacrifice to traverse the time and space and fight for a future that was taken from us all too soon. My memories were taken from me as part of the payment. Now, thanks to the Simera Cavern, they have returned, and so does the burden I must carry with the weight of the crown, which I no longer have."