December 25, 2148.
It was Christmas.
Snowkes fell from the sky. The rough patch of grass had now be obscured by piles of snow.
Amidst the gentle fall of the snowkes, a woman stood with a nk expression with flowers in her hands.
Her pitch-ck hair fluttered by the snowy breeze. Her dark crimson eyes narrowed as she stared at the wall before her.
There were several names embedded on the wall.
Since one of the people, she came here for had ''A'' as the starting letter of his surname, Rachel was able to find him easily.
[Here lies the brave souls who had lost their lives during the cmity.]
She was at the cemetery.
After finding the first person she was here for, she crouched down and ced a flower in front of the wall.
Edward Ashfield.
2083 - 2148.
On that day, her grandfather protected both her, and her sister, Amy.
However, an incident urred.
The density of mana in the world fluctuated. And for a few minutes, mages lost control of their mana.
The same was said for Evelyn. Which was why it took her quite a while to set up the barrier.
In that brief one minute, the water barrier dispersed. But he was able to react quickly, pushing granddaughters aside as the ceiling fell from above.
Unable to strengthen his body with mana, therge debris fell over him, as the two sisters watched their grandfather''s immediate death.
It was a tragedy.
The two sisters could do nothing but save themselves, just so their grandfather''s death wouldn''t be in vain.
The mana fluctuation incident had caused the deaths of several others.
Rachel clenched her fist as the thought of that day resurfaced in her mind.
Lowering her head, her expressions cracked.
She pursed her lips.
"...Thank you for everything, Grandfather."
She truly appreciated him.
She didn''t grow up with him. But from that day, she realized just how much her grandfather loved her, sacrificing himself in the process.
To Rachel, he was her hero.
She continued expressing her appreciation as she sped her arms together.
Afterwards, she raised her head. On to the next person.
The one she was the most conflicted about the most.
Since the other person also had an ''A'' as the starting letter of his surname, it didn''t take long for Rachel to find him.
And as soon as she found the name, she narrowed her eyes.
Rafael Asami
2101 - 2148.
Unlike her grandfather, who was confirmed dead, her father was deemed missing.
But a collective had agreed that the missing were most likely dead at that point.
There was no surviving outside the human domain.
And so, the missing had been presumed dead, just a little over a month ago.
Rachel felt conflicted about everything.
There were so many loose ends she was unable toe to terms with.
But after all the confliction, she could very well agree that there was guilt.
Unsure why, she had felt regretful about everything surrounding her father.
If only…
If only she hadn''t let him go on that day…
To force him to stay with her and tell her everything.
But not everything came straight out of a fairy tale.
And after everything, she hade to realize that there were no such things as happy endings.
Gathering her thoughts, she crouched down and gently ced another flower.
sping her hands together, she offered a silent prayer.
She wasn''t typically a religious person.
But after everything that happened, she would like to believe that there was a god out there and that her family was in a safe ce.
"...I hope the two of you have found sce up there."
She silently spoke.
But truth be told, she didn''t know what to do next.
The academy was closed. The Ashfield and Asamipany were in a dire state of affairs.
The more time passed, she knew bothpanies would shut down at some point.
She didn''t have the skills to take the mantle and lead thepanies.
But what was the point?
Humanity was doing its best to recover at the moment. Companies that didn''t focus on products that would benefit humanity''s recovery were useless.
Since Rachel was the only heir to Asamipany, she had all rights to thepany.
She could start a charity program. But since thepany didn''t have any means to gain mary value, it would significantly decrease her financial status.
She had to step up.
To find her own way to help humanity''s recovery.
Yeah.
Now she had some ideas on what she should do with her life.
Clearing her thoughts, she walked ahead.
…To thest person she was here for.
The first wall she approached were all the people dead with ''A'' as the starting letter of their surname.
For the next person…
[Here lies the brave souls who had lost their lives during the cmity.]
"...."
She averted her gaze.
Seeing his name made her heart sink.
She truly couldn''t believe that he was gone.
But just like her father.
…He was deemed missing.
Three months had passed, and yet he was nowhere to be seen.
But…
"Damn it."
She clenched her fist.
Finally, she had gathered the courage to look at his name.
Brandon Locke.
2132 - 2148.
"Why…."
Why did you have to die?
Why did you have to leave me?
Why did I leave on that day?
She couldn''t believe it.
She truly couldn''t.
She could never ept it.
Over her dead body.
But unconsciously, she knew the truth.
In the back of her mind…
He died.
And that was it.
The harsh truth.
She wasn''t even there when it happened.
And just that thought had made her feel immense guilt.
She truly missed him.
But she had to move on.
However, just saying it and actually moving on was two different matters.
Before she realized it, tears started trickling down her cheek.
This was the first time she had ever visited his grave.
She couldn''t find the courage to visit him in the previous months.
"...I have to move on."
She said to herself.
Humanity was in a perilous situation.
She didn''t have the luxury to drown in her sorrows.
Brandon''s sister, Belle, had joined the military. She was trying to move on in her own way.
Raven had joined the Special Force and served to settle disputes all over the human domain.
Even he too… Brandon''s best friend was trying to move on in his own way.
All of them.
Reinhard.
ire.
Amy.
Sarah.
And now?
It was her turn.
She had to.
For the sake of her peace of mind.
Crouching down, she gently ced a flower in front of the wall.
sping her hands together, she offered a silent prayer.
And after finishing, she pursed her lips. The fog breath from the cold flowed out as she spoke.
"...Give me the courage to continue, Brandon."
Drip. Drip...!