CHAPTER 142: A TOAST TO THE DEPARTED

"Why before the night?" A low voice spoke up in a certain corner while looking at the decorated plaza filled with various small coffins and a few unique elements around them.

Children who would usually fear the dead and stay away from something like these coffins were writing various things on the wooden boxes with special pens, playing with them as if there was nothing fearful about them.

"Why do it before the night?" The one asking was the captain of the city, Sir Lucas, who had accompanied the forces of the 12th city closely.

The one he was asking this question, certainly, was KiRA.

Despite not being a native, the captain had understood that this outsider knew more about their world than they did themselves.

As someone who had experienced the red night many times in the past, he had always been curious about this simple thing.

Why was it that their people celebrated the completion of the Red night before the following night?

If the main goal of the celebration was to honour the dead, then should it not happen during the night when they had passed away? Why was it that they did their best to conclude everything before nightfall and go for a good rest at night?

"It’s not because the natives wanted to make sure the red night’s effects don’t remain, so that’s not it." The captain contemplated. "If we were afraid of something happening, we would not rest during the day either.

But that is not the case usually."

Captain Lucas had thought about this question for a long time now. It wasn’t all that important, but he had always been curious about this tradition they had.

He had tried to find the root of the tradition in the old records, but he had never been able to find anything related to it.

Each time the red moon passes, this special question comes back to him and almost haunts him... it had haunted KiRA in the past as well, but not anymore.

"It’s not as complicated as you think, captain," KiRA answered him in a gentle voice as he watched his partner play with the native ladies and the children with the flower decoration around the plaza.

He kept his eyes on her as he answered him in a noble tone, making the captain wonder what his true origin was once again.

"The truth is, the people of old times were simply too tired to wait for the celebrations till nightfall.

Think about it yourself. Back when there was nothing like the advanced technology that we have right now, they only had swords, stones, and walls for their defences.

Most who fought in those battles did not make it out alive; fewer were able to survive with their bodies intact.

There were times when entire cities fell under the cruel attacks of the monsters. In those times, the monsters didn’t come in ’waves’ either.

The war was more wild, more dangerous than what you must have seen until now, so the people who did manage to survive had put everything they had on the line."

Utterly exhausted and drained of whatever energy they had to prepare for the funerals, the rest was followed immediately by a small, good meal in the name of the departed.

It wasn’t a celebration back then; it was simply an offering to the ones who could not make it through the damned battle.

With the passage of time, the traditions changed, and after many years, the offerings became a celebration, while the natural response of exhibition, which was followed by a good night’s rest, became something people followed like a tradition.

"Oh..." As if to have been enlightened once again, the captain gasped for a moment before nodding his head in understanding. "You have opened my eyes once again, Mister."

The captain nodded and realised, even though they had fought a far less exhausting battle this time, most of them, including himself, already wanted to go and rest.

The rest that they get at night with their families was different. Even those who had lost their loved ones would have the people of the city to look after them.

Their age and background did not matter anymore. The fact that their loved ones had lost their lives so that the new generation could survive alone was enough evidence of their commitment to their city’s safety.

Their past did not matter as the people of these cities were given a new roof to live under, with the warmth of a new family that would at least love them a little more than strangers would.

"Anyways, it seems like we will be beginning soon now." The food was prepared by the wives and children of the victorious men who had returned from the battlefield.

The old wine that they had stored away was out as well, and the city that had lived in Terror the whole night was now going to celebrate the victory along with their people who could not make it back.

In the outside world, the humans had already received news and reports about the deaths of many players during the battle.

The families of the deceased players would be compensated according to the Association, but no amount of money will ever be able to buy back the lives they had lost in this battle.

The truth of the matter was going to remain the same, be it the city where the natives were looking up to the Holy swordsman of the north, or the cities where Ziggy’s influence had spread widely.

It would not matter where and how they died exactly. On that battlefield, all human deaths were equal.

And now that the battle was over and they did not have many they had gone into the deadly war with, instead of tears, their sacrifices would be appreciated with cheers, smiles, and stories from the ones left behind.

"Death is as beautiful as a sunset and as terrible as a mind-twisted monster of the Red Moon’s night." The captain left KiRA with those few words and a bitter smile, walking up to his wife and child who were playing with Izzy at the moment.

The flower crowns that were made by the young children, the favourite dishes of the people who weren’t among them anymore, as well as the large bonfire made at a certain distance in the plaza, were now assembling the festive evening.

In the various cities, the scenery was pretty much the same.

The place they might be celebrating in could have been different, but at the end of the day, there were cheerful sounds of children playing around the coffins, there were widows who did not wear black, and there were also widowers who chatted with unknown women intimately.

The elders told the children and players stories of the past, when the monster waves used to be more dangerous.

Creatures who had survived the night of the red moon by going into hiding were turning back to the forest.

The area around the forest was still contaminated by the affected creatures, but as a natural phenomenon, it would all clear out soon, and the forest would return to being healthy and safe once again.

Nature was playful sometimes, hindering the humans and giving them despair while at the same time, presenting them with grave challenges...

The creatures that survive the night would proliferate rapidly, increasing their ranks with the remaining resources all to themselves.

With the arrival of a new era, the outsiders (Players) would move away from the floor, leaving it for the new members of their kind that’d make new connections with the natives of this new world.

In the following few floors, the players would face challenges that might seem a little less dangerous, but in this tower, nothing was simple.

’Worlds are meant to be destroyed and rebuilt, while life is meant to be thrown away and cherished.’

KiRA, aware of the elaborate illusion all of the natives of this floor were living in, gave his final sigh as he watched the celebration of the natives unfold from a place the others could not see.

Izzy, lost in the fun, was still aware of the presence of her partner, but chose to be ignorant this time, embracing the fun in all its glory.

After this floor, things would be different for them.

As the players knew, if the tower at least followed the same floor structure as the Tower the players were aware of, then they would only encounter a different civilisation on the 10th floor.

It would also be one of the most challenging floors for them as it would introduce [Classes] to the players.

With the addition of the classes, the standards of their world would change as well. Divisions would happen and then... and then KiRA wanted to see how She would handle that situation.

"What do you gain by taking all the burden on your own shoulders? Becoming that curse’s core wouldn’t be a painless thing, no?" Captain Rose appeared beside him out of the blue.

It almost seemed like she had materialised before him or something like that. He did not notice her at all... but considering she had recovered a significant portion of her powers, this much was expected.

"I don’t do anything if there’s nothing to profit from it, captain. Besides, the curse that most would despise is always appreciated by the likes of us." The sincere, warm smile was unexpected for Captain Rose.

"I’ll get something from this, so do not worry. These are small things, after all." He looked at her directly this time, his deep red eyes reminding her of the red night that she had faced countless times already.

"You’ll have to stay here for a while longer. Once I’m strong enough, I’ll be back and break this damned curse myself." That was a future goal he could not ignore.

There was much more to gain from this curse. So much so that the witch who created it would’ve never expected it to turn out to be so useful to someone.

{ "Let us raise glasses in honour of the departed." }

KiRA nodded and looked back at the festivities.

It was his last day here as well... so as he raised his glass, he had a bitter smile on his face.

He’d leave soon.

And along with him, he was going to bring the memories of every single person who was living right now under this curse of a floor.