Chapter 89: Meeting
The next day, after a light breakfast, Ryuzen and the group headed toward the nearest graveyard for Venus’s father’s funeral.
The funeral wasn’t grand. They wore the same old clothes, carried the same weary expressions, but the grief in their eyes was unmistakable.
Venus cried silently. What hurt the most was the absence of her mother. She wasn’t even there to see her husband one last time. Still unconscious, locked in a world of silence, unaware that the man she loved with her whole heart had left this world while protecting their family.
Ryuzen stood quietly beside her, a deep sense of respect swelling within him. The man may not have been strong, but he was a real father. The kind Ryuzen had never experienced. A father who loved, who sacrificed.
Regardless, In that moment Ryuzen realized what he had to do.
He gently placed a hand on Venus’s shoulder and spoke in a low voice,
"It’s alright, Venus. Uncle was happy to see you and your mother safe in his final moments. To him, your safety and happiness meant everything. If you stay sad forever, he’ll carry that sadness with him in the afterlife."
John and Maki exchanged glances at his words, touched by the sincerity behind them.
On the other hand, Venus’s eyes blurred with tears. Those words, though meant to comfort, cut deep. They reopened the wound in her heart and flooded it with more sorrow.
Her lips trembled. Then, without warning, she stood up and hugged Ryuzen, clinging to him tightly as she broke down.
"Sob... Ryu... Dad... he left me... You won’t leave me too, will you?"
Ryuzen froze. The sudden closeness caught him off guard. He didn’t know what to do with his hands, with the storm of emotion pressing against his chest. Still, he knew this wasn’t romance. Not now. It was pain. Raw and helpless.