Chapter 128: Decisions
After receiving the treasure, Boey and Priam worked together, gathering all the bodies and burying them with dignity right there.
In the future, Seien would come to the planet and pay her respects at all their graves.
After finishing everything, the two returned to what had been the clan’s territory.
When they arrived, Flaris had finally woken up.
She had finally learned what had happened and was now sitting in a corner on the floor, with a pale expression and trembling eyes.
"Priam," Lumiere called.
When he turned, Priam saw that he was coming from the clan’s large courtyard. All the bodies of the clan members, or people connected to them, had been gathered and would be buried there.
He took a deep breath and first went to Flaris.
"Cousin..."
Hearing his voice, she raised her gaze. The despair in her features broke what remained of her composure; she threw herself forward and hugged him tightly, burying her head against his chest, sobbing without sound.
Priam remained still, his face completely stripped of expression.
His arms took a while to react. The pain and emptiness that had settled in his chest at that moment were so vast and absolute that they completely clouded any previous trauma he had. He felt nothing. Not the sting of sadness, nor the disgust toward physical contact. It was only a cold and protective numbness.
"We’re here..." he managed to murmur, his voice coming out almost mechanical, while his hand stroked her hair in a purely instinctive gesture.
It took a few minutes for Flaris to find the strength to stand up.
When she did, an oppressive silence guided everyone to the heart of that dead clan.
Orlaith, Shione, Lumiere, Flaris, Priam, and Boey... these were the only ones alive with the Vanculari bloodline in their veins, coming from that clan.
At least for now. In a few months, that number would increase.
A burial began, and everyone moved together, throwing dirt over each body.
Tears flowed from all of them, but in silence, they continued.
When Priam stopped before Flora’s body, the armor of numbness collapsed.
His face twisted into a grimace of physical pain, and his feet locked on the ground, refusing to take another step as he stared at her.
The air vanished from his lungs.
His body trembled.
Noticing that he was about to fall, Flaris and Boey quickly approached, supporting him from both sides, offering the support his legs could no longer give.
’Sorry... I’m sorry...’
The words echoed in his mind like a silent torment, a plea directed at someone who could no longer hear it.
The image of that pure-hearted young woman on that moonlit night haunted his mind, filling him with infinite guilt.
...
...
...
After the great and melancholic burial, everyone moved to the meeting room of the main building.
Orlaith, still clearly shaken, forced herself to work to keep standing. She looked at everyone and declared which clan resources had still been preserved.
Besides the Magic Arts, there was very little of any value, which luckily hadn’t been inside the inscriptions at that moment.
Even the contents of the spatial rings of every person on the planet had been lost. The power used to eradicate all life was absolute, capable of destroying all energies instantly.
"Well... for the clans of the Mortal Plane, this vast amount of Magic Arts is truly a great treasure. They always envied it, even without knowing it was the least important thing we had." Boey spoke calmly.
Orlaith nodded, sighing right after.
She explained that their only option was to get rid of everything in exchange for protection and resources on some other planet. Life in this savage world wasn’t easy, and now that they were weakened and without major support, the Mages around them would do everything to keep them under their feet and make sure they never grew again.
There had been no examples throughout history of clans that broke apart and, even with more remaining than the Ylisse clan had at the moment, weren’t completely erased within a few years.
Because of that, this situation was critical and dangerous for their existence. The most common path in this case was to be absorbed by another clan, and the Ylisse name would disappear completely.
But if they could obtain protection, receiving resources and support from the Aether-Wood Deer, they could try to rebuild themselves little by little. That was the only hope.
It was at that moment that Priam spoke.
"You don’t need to worry about the future. The only goal we should have is just to survive... because we will rise explosively again in a short time."
Those words caught Boey and Orlaith by surprise, leaving them confused as they stared at him.
Shione, Lumiere, and Flaris forgot to breathe. They felt that Priam was really going to reveal it.
Priam raised his hand and opened it. From inside, two emerald-green points of light came out.
They floated to Boey and Orlaith, disappearing inside them.
...
"!"
It didn’t take more than five minutes for the two to widen their eyes and completely freeze.
Priam saw their reaction, then finally concluded:
"With our complete Ancestral Art, everything will be different. As I said, you don’t need to spare anything. Burn everything you have now so we can survive stably for a short time. I’m sure any clan would accept such a good deal, for only a few years of true protection. We won’t need anything from the Mortal Plane in the future anyway."
Those two didn’t need much to understand the meaning of Priam’s words.
They were experienced enough that, after reading the summary of the Ancestral Art’s stages, they were certain it was terrifyingly incredible.
They felt like they were in the clouds. They could never have imagined that this was the true power of their race. But after reading only a little, they instinctively felt that it matched magically with the power of their bloodlines.
Priam gave them several minutes to read and reflect. In the end, both turned to him, full of questions.
Priam forced a smile and nodded.
"It doesn’t matter where I got this, right?"
The two snorted, understanding that he didn’t want to talk. It wasn’t news to those two that this youth hid many secrets and had many terrifying things stored away.
Priam spoke quickly, avoiding any questions from them. "Returning to the point. Soon, I’ll have a brother or sister. I want you to give them the best upbringing possible, without worrying about holding anything back. In a few days, we’ll go to the Divine Plane. I guarantee that, in a few years, the four of us will be able to get enough to bring everyone from our clan there. Then, we’ll restart the clan in the Divine Plane this time."
Orlaith became catatonic hearing that. It seemed like absurd and impossible madness, but...
That Ancestral Art truly had infinite potential. If Priam really stood out too much in the Divine Plane and became an inner disciple of a sect, he could truly bring his clan to live inside the sect.
That was something everyone in the Divine Plane dreamed of.
There had been many examples of clans of all sizes that suddenly ascended to the heavens, simply because they had one incredible youth who went to the Divine Plane.
Shione, Lumiere, and Flaris were tense in their chairs.
Only now did they realize that the entire future of their clan and family was completely on their backs. They couldn’t fail. But they felt immense confidence being by Priam’s side.
"Son... I trust you." Boey was the first to speak.
Orlaith woke from her stupor. She took a deep breath, stared Priam in the eyes, then nodded.
"I am the leader who brought irreversible disaster to the clan. My leadership no longer has relevance or legitimacy..."
"Mother!" Shione widened her eyes, exclaiming anxiously.
Orlaith waved her hand for her daughter to stay silent.
"It’s only fair that you, the greatest talent ever born in the clan, take the reins of everything. I agree to follow you, even without guarantees. Besides that... I’m handing over my position."
Everyone there was surprised for a moment. But...
Seeing and feeling her complete lack of will, they could only accept it. She truly didn’t want that anymore. Maybe freeing her from that responsibility now was the best thing for her sanity.
Who knew, maybe she would find a new happiness? As long as she was alive, life always gave her paths to explore and discover.
Orlaith turned to Boey.
"It can’t be said that a clan still exists, but you should keep this."
Thus, she handed him the Leader’s emblem.
She had found it on the Great Elder’s body, and now she was officially naming her successor.
Boey hesitated a little, but soon sighed and took it.
Indeed, all the clan’s hope was mainly on his son’s back. Besides that, the clan’s new generation was also connected to him.
"Mother..." Lumiere murmured.
"It’s alright. I trust the two of you, and I will never abandon you." Orlaith spoke in a calm tone, looking at her two children. "I just... want to use this free time to find myself again. It will be better for everyone if things flow this way."
The two had trembling eyes, but accepted their mother’s decision. Ever since their father died, she had lived depressed and barely fulfilled the duties of a leader. Indeed, she needed more freedom to try to be happy again.
After that decision, their new route was discussed.
They had to move temporarily to a new home.
It didn’t take long for Boey to assume his new responsibility and say:
"I trust my second race. My father and mother are important Elders of the race. They live on a planet with three other ’powerful’ clans, which have been in a balance of power for a long time. If we go live with them, bringing our entire library, that will make the Pyrix the hegemony of the place."
"Besides, they’ll be grateful... of course, in the long term, that will change, because gratitude has an expiration date in the game of power. But the current Leader is someone I fully trust. That planet will be very safe for a while."
Priam and the others agreed.
It was a place with three low-level clans, and since Boey was very connected to their upper power. After benefiting them so much, he would gain a lot of influence in the place temporarily.
It wasn’t ideal, because clearly the Ylisse clan would be a foreign and invasive body in that place. But it was still an acceptable environment for his son or daughter to grow.
Orlaith didn’t care. She would go together to this new place and restart there. Even if she wasn’t the leader, the clan would still need her help and influence.
"Great. If everyone agrees, it’s better that we leave." Boey spoke lightly.