Chapter 35
"Draco Nii, you're back. Sniff! What took you so long? We thought that... waaah!" Dimitra exclaimed, her words interspersed with sobs as she laid eyes upon her brother's return.
His other siblings soon gathered around him, their faces etched with a mixture of relief and concern, tears streaking down their cheeks.
'I really made them worry a lot,' Draco thought, his heart heavy with the realization of the distress he had caused his family.
"It's alright, I am fine. I got everything we needed," he reassured them, his voice calm and steady, despite the turmoil he had experienced.
Draco had left the carriage next to a tree on the surface, along with his half of the black dragon scale.
"Didn't you say that we were all going to gather things together later?" Michalis asked with a sniffle.
Draco's expression softened, "That was the plan, but after seeing what happened to the town, I am glad that you all didn't come along." he replied.
"What happened to it?" Eleni hesitantly asked. Draco paused, his mind replaying the sickening scenes he had witnessed.
He didn't want to burden his already emotionally overwhelmed family with the grim details.
"Well, it was destroyed," he replied, his voice laden with a heaviness that belied the true extent of the devastation.
Eleni could sense the weight of her brother's words, and she muttered, "I see."
She knew that whatever Draco had encountered had been truly horrific, so she didn't press him further.
"So do we leave now?" Nikolaos asked.
"No, we will leave tomorrow. If we leave now, the night will meet us," Draco explained, his gaze sweeping over his siblings.
Clair, who had been uncharacteristically quiet since the previous day, spoke up.
"Then what do we do now?" she asked.
Draco took a deep breath and replied, "I think that we should pack up and move to the surface. We will depart early in the morning. I managed to find a map.".
He paused for a moment before adding, "But before that, I will be returning to the town to check one last area for any survivors."
Vasileios immediately protested, "Why are you going back? Aren’t the scary monsters there?" he argued.
Draco recognized the concern in his brother's voice, a remnant of the harrowing experience they had endured during his kidnapping incident in the past.
'Of course he wouldn't forget such a thing easily,' Draco thought.
"I will be fine," he assured Vasileios.
"I have the black dragon scale with me, it keeps the monsters away." He explained.
Vasileios stared at him with a skeptical gaze, and Draco couldn't help but smile.
"Don't you trust your big bro?" he asked, reaching out to give Vasileios a comforting head pat.
Vasileios simply shook his head in response, a bit content for now.
Draco knew that he would need to toughen up his siblings if they were to have any chance of surviving in the dangerous city of Orario.
As much as he wanted to preserve their childish innocence, the harsh realities of the world demanded that they grow faster to be prepared for the challenges that lay ahead.
"Alright, everyone, begin packing," Draco announced.
"We will set up camp on the surface and leave for a new place tomorrow." He instructed.
'This should help them adapt to the outdoors,' Draco thought.
With the dragon scales, the monsters wouldn’t attack them but they would still be heard and seen roaming around the edges of where the one-eyed dragons' aura influence ended.
As his siblings busied themselves with the task, Draco turned his attention to the place where their parents, grandparents, and teacher had perished.
He stretched out his hand, using his earth magic to conjure simple graves for them.
There were no bodies he could lay to rest – their remains had been reduced to ashes and mixed with the molten rock.
Draco's actions did not go unnoticed by his siblings, who had completed their packing and gathered around the newly formed graves.
They stood in solemn silence until Draco decided to speak up.
Clearing his throat, Draco stepped forward, his eyes glistening with unshed tears.
"We gather here today, in this place that once held the vibrant lives of our beloved family and teacher, to honor their memory and bid them a final farewell," he began.
He paused, allowing the weight of his words to settle over the somber gathering.
"Our parents; Mark, Chise and Rose. Grandparents; John, Anita, Rita, and Marcus. Our teacher: Rize, have left an indelible mark on our lives. They have guided us, nurtured us, and instilled within us the values that have shaped the people we are today," he said.
Draco's voice wavered slightly as he continued, "Though their physical forms have been taken from us, their spirits live on, woven into the very fabric of our existence. They shall forever remain in our hearts, their laughter, their wisdom, and their love, a constant source of strength and inspiration.".
He knelt down, his fingers tracing the simple graves he had conjured, as if to feel the connection to those who had once occupied this space.
"In these graves, we lay to rest the remnants of their earthly forms, but their true essence transcends the confines of the physical world. They have returned to the elements, to the cycle of life and death that binds us all." he said.
Draco rose to his feet, his gaze sweeping across the faces of his siblings, each one etched with a profound sorrow.
"We may never again see their faces, hear their voices, or feel the warmth of their embrace, but they will live on through us. In our actions, our decisions, and the way we choose to honor their memory, they will continue to shape the course of our lives.".
Draco turned his attention back to the graves, his hand reaching out to caress the freshly turned earth one last time.
"To our parents, our grandparents, and our teacher, we offer this prayer, may your souls find eternal peace. May the light of your memories guide us through the darkness of this loss, and may the love you have bestowed upon us continue to nourish and sustain us in the days to come." He paused, his eyes closing as he sought the words to convey the depth of his emotions.
"We thank you for the gifts you have given us – the gift of life, the gift of love, and the gift of family." Draco's siblings moved to stand beside him, their hands clasped together in a show of unity and support.
One by one, they each added their own words of remembrance and gratitude, their voices mingling in a chorus of love and sorrow.
As the final words faded into the stillness of the air, the siblings gathered around the graves, all turned away and began climbing to the surface.