Maellan set out a wonderful tea party for him and Ronin in his own study room, away from the crowd and the bullying second brother. Zeuxis meanwhile ran off to join his Father with the adults to boast about his developing Mage Focus.

“So about Father being from Scirocco…” Ronin began, nibbling on his chocolate scones with his small teeth.

“Ah, right.” Maellan poured him some Jade jasmine tea. ” Father’s family, the Asuli, came from Scirocco.”

“Our grandparents still live there, but Father have…. cut ties with them for a long time now. I have never even met them yet, only heard stories from Mother that they were merchants involved with distribution of blue corn.”

“Blue corn?” Ronin tilted his head to the side.

“A rarity that only exists in their part of Scirocco, at the small fields and plains there. It was so rare that it was mostly associated to be a good gift to the gods when you request assistance.” Maellan explained.

“But I have never visited the fields myself, and I do not know exactly how big Father’s estate were, or how blue the corn was exactly.”

“Why did he move to Sephyrine if he was already in a wealthy kingdom with a wealthy family of merchants?” Little Ronin asked.

“Couldn’t he have pursued the princess there or a duchess instead of someone far away?”_.

“I never knew what Father’s motivation was for moving here. He never told us why he was in the Pax Sephry Ball, the greatest festival in Sephyrine.” Maellan shrugged.

He added saracstically: “Perhaps he merely wants to join the fun, and was lucky enough to meet Mother and ruin her life afterwards.”

“He traveled far just to join the festival, then.” Ronin sipped his tea.

After all, the Kingdom of Sephyrine and Scirocco were separated by a large sea called the Ouranochrous Sea. Sephyrine was near the Edge of the Celestus Realm, while Scirocco was more of in the middle lands.

Speaking of the Edge…..

“I don’t understand why we have to go to the Edge to bury mother. Can’t we just have her buried here without risking certain death?”

Maellan chuckled. “I don’t understand it either, but it’s tradition, Ronin. We may be intellectuals that don’t believe in them, but we must respect it nonetheless to avoid conflict.”

The Edge of the Celestus Realm was precisely what it means. It was the end.

Beyond that was nothing but the sky, and if you fall, you fall to your certain death.

After all, the Celestus Realm was also known as the ‘Floating Realm’. It hovers along with its twelve kingdoms about 30,000 feet….

Above the Abyssal Realm.

The Abyssal Realm meanwhile was the opposite shape of the Celestus Realm. While the Celestus Realm resembles a wide cone in shape, with the people living at the surface…

The Abyssal Realm resembles a large pit in the shape of a wide cone as well, getting narrower and narrower the deeper you go.

At the center was not a kingdom of gold, but a beacon that serves as the only light source for the creatures of darkness there. Because the Celestus Realm looms its shadow over them and blocks the sun.

It was called the ‘Sunless Realm’ for this reason.

It was even believed that the land mass that the Celestus Realm occupied was taken from what the Abyssal Realm used to be. After it was unearthed, it left that large pit, and nocturnal and vile creatures occupied it to make their own Realm out of a hollowed one.

‘The Celestus Realm basically existed from stealing their land, and casting its shadow over them.’ Ronin thought amusingly.

And so, if you fall from the Edge of the Celestus Realm, you would land in the Abyssal Realm. The worst criminals in the Celestus Realm were punished by being pushed off the Edge.

But strangely, cemeteries were also sanctioned to be in the Edge too, especially the noble ones.

It was some sort of belief that they would be able to move to the Other Side easier if they were buried close to the Edge.

Ronin found the superstition stupid. All superstitions, to be honest.

“Will I even be allowed to join the procession? Father just proclaimed me dead not too long ago.” Ronin finished his scones down to the smallest crumbs, not letting a single part of his food uneaten.

“If you are covered in cloak, I suppose. And pretend to be one of the servant’s children. You can stay by Cholie’s side.” Maellan said.

Cholie was the commoner servant Maellan was most closed to, the girl who treated their wounds. She was a Coal servant with too little Flame to develop a Mage Type. She was the daughter of Mavretri the butler who was assigned more to join Duke Taevas in search of Ronin’s cure.

She had only been around for a while, but…..

Ronin can notice that they have become even closer ever since the incident with Maellan’s Triannum test, and talked more with each other. Too close, in fact.

But that’s not really any of his business. Maellan had always been a supporter of ‘Heartstone equality’ and acted close with Commoners more than nobles.

The procession soon began, and it was a very tedious march. They had to walk under the hot sun for about two hours or so, taking a break every now and then.

Some nobles gave up formalities and just rode in carriages, but the old and superstitious ones kept walking. They clicked their tongues and complained how the ‘young ones have no regard for tradition and are so weak-willed nowadays’.

‘No, they’re just being reasonable.’ Little Ronin himself was very tired of walking with a heavy cloak to cover him, and his palms was already sweaty holding Cholie and Maellan’s hands.

“Want some water, young master Ronin?” Cholie asked him, holding out a flask

“No, thank you.” He answered. After all…

He doesn’t want to appear weak-willed and pampered like that Gold Prince of Scirocco enjoying treats and fresh, cool water in their grandiose carriage.

They finally reached the end of their journey, and Ronin caught his breath, finally drinking from the flask.

The funeral workers brought down the casket to the unearthed burial site for Duchess Akasa. The people gave even more fake speeches and threw blue roses at the buried casket.

Which Ronin could not care any less for.

What caught his eyes was the wide expanse of sky around him.

“The Edge is a really captivating view, isn’t it?” Maellan asked by his side, the wind blowing his long black hair. “Captivating yet dangerous.”

Ronin took a step closer and closer to the cliff, and Maellan followed after him. “Be careful, Ronin! Come back!”

Ronin ignored all this and tried to see what was below.

His real home. Where he belongs.

Looking down from the skies, he witnessed what the abyss looks like.

And it stared back at him, looking like a single large eye that occupied everything else. In the middle was the iris of a glowing beacon, connecting the heavenly land and the hellish grounds below.