Year 652 of the Imperial Calendar. A chilly day in early March.
Just a few days after the final battle.
To the west of Crossroad.
“Phew…”
I took a deep breath and cleared my throat.
There was a lot of speaking to do today, so I had been taking care of my voice since yesterday. Serenade had been giving me honey tea and various concoctions since the morning.
After removing the necklace I’d worn for three years, my neck still felt bare. I rubbed my hand over the faint burn mark left on my neck and looked around.
Two towering memorial stones stood in the graveyard, where preparations were underway for both a funeral and a memorial service.
A funeral for those who had fallen in the final battle.
And a memorial service for those who had perished over the past three years.
Kings who had fought alongside us on the World Guardian Front had dressed in their ceremonial attire and attended. Wreaths of flowers, each crafted according to the customs of their respective nations, were brought along.
The western graveyard of Crossroad was covered with various kinds of white flowers. At first glance, it looked like spring snow had fallen.
A beautiful yet sorrowful sight.
“Ash!”
Even Ariel from the Lake Kingdom had come in person.
Though her kingdom was in turmoil, with the situation too chaotic for her to handle alone, she insisted on attending this event, saying she couldn’t possibly miss it.
This time, she came not as a warrior but as the heir to the throne, the First Princess.
She held not a sword, but flowers.
“Ariel.”
“How have you been?”
Ariel greeted me with a bright expression.
When I asked her how she was doing, she laughed confidently and said,
“The state structure is on the verge of collapse, the people are in shambles, and Father has abdicated, taking responsibility for what happened five hundred years ago. The royal family’s reputation has hit rock bottom. Things are anything but easy!”
“…Your words and your expression don’t match.”
This isn’t a situation to be smiling about. Why are you smiling?
But despite my comment, Ariel simply grinned.
“But it’s the most hopeful situation we’ve been in for the last five hundred years.”
“…”
“Though my kingdom still lies at the bottom of the lake, it has regained consciousness. Although my people are broken, they are alive. There hasn’t been a more hopeful moment in the past five centuries.”
Seeing Ariel’s resolute attitude and unwavering smile… I couldn’t help but smile back.
“We’re finally at the starting line. Whatever happens next, things can only get better. How could I not be happy?”
“You’re right.”
Despite the state of her kingdom, the Lake Kingdom had brought a floral wreath. Even with the kingdom sunken beneath the lake, they had managed to find flowers.
“Well then, I…”
Ariel gave me a slight nod before turning toward the graveyard, her arms full of white flowers.
“I’ll go pay my respects.”
Her expression was determined as she headed toward the row of graves.
I understood how she felt.
The Lake Kingdom was both a victim and a perpetrator.
Five hundred years ago, manipulated by the Demon King and the Outer Gods, the kingdom sank, becoming a nightmare that spewed out monsters to invade the world. Even Ariel, who had fought valiantly against the monsters for five centuries, had ultimately been consumed by the nightmare, becoming a puppet for the Outer Gods in the final battle.
Though they were unwilling participants, it was hard for the world to see them purely as victims.
Especially given the damage inflicted during the final battle.
The casualties were immense.
I looked at the newly erected graves.
Many soldiers and heroes were injured or killed in the battle. Even King Poseidon, who had served me loyally, had fallen.
Ariel, as the former master of the nightmare and the representative of the Lake Kingdom, had chosen to confront this situation head-on. She came here to pay her respects and offer her apologies.
“…”
Ariel walked into the graveyard with a tense expression.
Many who recognized her glared at her with hostility. The merfolk, in particular, looked at her as if she were their sworn enemy.
And at the same time…
“Lady Nameless.”
“Or should we call you Princess Ariel now…”
“Are you here to pay your respects?”
“Let’s go together.”
There were also those who welcomed her warmly.
Ariel had contributed greatly to the World Guardian Front as Nameless. People remembered the sword of light she wielded and the nightmare armies she crushed.
Though many still looked at her with disdain, there were those who understood her situation and were willing to accept the Lake Kingdom.
Ariel bowed her head silently and made her way through the newly erected graves, placing flowers on each one.
“…”
The path ahead for the Lake Kingdom is long and treacherous. They will likely be hated for a long time as the ones responsible for unleashing the monsters.
But if they acknowledge their mistakes and are willing to join the world in peace…
The animosity will eventually fade, and people will stand shoulder to shoulder.
Just as the many nations that once fought to the death here on the World Guardian Front now stand together, looking toward the future.
I believe in that.
The choir sang hymns, the casket procession reached their places, priests sprinkled holy water over the caskets, blessing the deceased for their journey to the afterlife…
As the ceremony progressed, my turn to speak approached.
I slowly climbed up to the podium. Looking around, I saw the faces of countless people gathered like clouds.
“Today…”
I began, making eye contact with each one of them.
“…is the last funeral ceremony that I will preside over here in Crossroad.”
I extended my hand to the side.
“From now on, the funerals will be overseen by the eldest daughter of the Cross family and the next lord of Crossroad, Lady Evangeline Cross.”
Evangeline, who had managed most of today’s ceremony, gracefully bowed.
I smiled slightly at her and continued.
“And perhaps, we will never again have to hold such a large-scale funeral. I sincerely hope so.”
I took a deep breath and looked up at the sky.
“So many have died.”
I gazed at the clear, cold spring sky for a moment before lowering my eyes and looking at the people around me.
“And… even more have survived.”
The fear that had always lingered in people’s eyes was no longer there.
Instead, it had been replaced with relief and peace.
“The age of war is over. The nightmare is over, and the monsters will no longer invade.”
I emphasized once more.
“Now it is up to us, the survivors, to usher in a new era of harmony.”
An era of harmony…
A bitter smile formed on my lips as I said those words.
“Many of you gathered here probably know this better than I do. It might be harder to maintain this era of harmony than the era of war.”
The kings exchanged awkward glances.
It is easier to fight and kill each other than to talk and understand each other.
This world had spent too long in pain and hatred because of that.
“But if we do not forget the past three years we spent together on this front…”
I made eye contact with the people once more.
“If we do not forget the time we fought shoulder to shoulder to protect the world…”
I smiled.
“Then working together to build this era of harmony will be a challenge worth taking.”
Faces full of mixed emotions reflected on the past three years.
Three years ago, no one could have imagined that so many nations, so many races, would stand side by side, listening to me speak as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Seeing this, I nodded.
“And this is what the departed, those buried here, would want us to do.”
I turned my gaze toward the graveyard.
“They fought and died not for any particular ideology or nation, but purely to protect the world… This is what they would truly wish for.”
The countless graves buried under the white flowers, and the two memorial stones…
The people buried there, those who died under my banner…
I stared at them for a long time.
“…When I first arrived in this city, I said something during the first funeral I presided over. Do you remember?”
When I asked, a smile spread across the faces of the citizens and soldiers who remembered that day.
I also smiled back and repeated the words I had said then.
“I told you that you would continue to die here. I distinctly remember saying that.”
And now.
“Three years have passed, and today, I say this.”
I finally corrected my words.
“You will no longer die here. From now on, you will live here.”
The lips of those who had fought with me over the past three years tightened with emotion.
“The winds of those who became before us have protected us.”
Meeting their tearful gazes, I nodded.
“And they will continue to protect us… and our era of peace.”
Taking a deep breath.
Thinking of those who had fallen before us and become the wind.
I softly recited the most famous elegy from Earth.
Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow;
I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sunlight on ripened grain;
I am the gentle autumn’s rain.
When you awake in the morning hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I have become a thousand winds…
At that moment, a breeze swept through.
The wreaths laid in the graveyard swayed in the spring wind, sending a flurry of white petals our way.
Smiling in the midst of the petal shower that looked like spring snow, I spoke.
“I hope you will remember. The faces of those who fought on this front.”
One by one, people closed their eyes.
“Remember the faces of those who became the wind before us. And remember the comrades who fought by your side.”
I closed my eyes as well, recalling their faces, the time spent with them.
After a brief, silent moment of reflection…
“If we do not forget those faces, if we can recall them and remember the past three years, wherever we are…”
I slowly opened my eyes.
“Then, as they wished, and for our own sake, we will be able to live together, not with swords, but through dialogue.”
Lifting my gaze, I saw everyone looking at me.
I firmly declared once more.
“The war is over.”
Slowly, I turned around and deeply bowed toward the graveyard.
“To the heroes who ended this war, rest in peace.”
With heartfelt sincerity, I whispered quietly.
“May we never forget your legacy.”
As I straightened up,
Boom! Boom, boom, boom…!
A salute echoed in the distance, honoring the fallen.
And so, the last funeral I would preside over came to an end.
–TL Notes–
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Beautiful poem, some of the best moments this series has offered.
I can’t imagine how difficult these funerals must have been to write. They are definitely a stand out part of the series.
I still remember the first funeral where Ash said it’s expensive for them to die. He was not wrong, the amount of preparations needed to hold these must have cost them a fortune. Yet they always held them, no matter what.