Chapter 158: The Bells Toll: End of Arc Three- Troubles in the Conquered Lands

"No." Marcus rounded the corner and saw the Inquisition’s Guards hovering over a body with sombre expressions. Usually, he would make sure to be careful around them, but he needed to confirm his fears weren’t true. Pushing past them, he looked down at the bloody corpse with a soft smile and covered his mouth in horror. "No." Reaching down, he placed his hands on Raven’s neck. It was a pointless endeavour, but Marcus wanted it all to be a sick joke. He had to be sure that the man was actually dead.

"Fuck." Standing up, he grabbed his forehead, tired. "We must move the ArchBishop’s body. He does not deserve to be laid on the cold ground." His voice was quiet, and he got weak nods from those around. That being said, no one moved to pick up his body, afraid to make his death a reality.

"What happened?" A cold voice spoke from behind, and Esmond popped out of the air, frightening the people around. He looked at Raven’s body and clicked his tongue in annoyance. "This is... unfortunate," Esmond said before walking off to find Isra. He knew that this had to be dealt with perfectly before it was reported to Alfred. Esmond knew his Emperor and could already predict his reaction. "Marcus. Make the preparations for the Archbishop. We can not delay." Esmond shook his head once more and walked off.

Out of sight, his face showed a rare anger. Everything should have been perfect. Raven was not meant to die. That anger vanished, and he could only sigh. Once more, it showed his failures. He still wasn’t good enough.

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"Your Majesty." Esmond knocked on the door, and Chris opened it, letting Esmond in. He gave a deep bow to her, and Isra could already see there was a strange air around him.

"Is everything finished, Esmond?" Isra asked but didn’t get an answer straight away,y which she found strange. It reinforced the bad feeling she had. "Esmond. Answer me."

"Forgive me." Esmond bowed once more before taking a seat. "Raven has passed," Esmond said it straight, and his words stunned Isra, who took a minute to digest those words. Yet once they hit her eyes spread in horror as she covered her mouth.

"He’s.... dead." Her breathing became faster, but as she tried to calm herself. "Are you sure?" Esmond could hear her voice break as a small tear fell. All he could do was give a small nod. It was something that she didn’t want to believe, but Esmond wasn’t one to joke. Even the,n it would have been an awful one.

"We must make the preparations to send him home," Esmond said with his cold indifference, but everyone could hear a deep annoyance and anger in his words. Emotions directed at himself.

"Raven." She muttered to herself, forcing a small smile. Clasping her hands together, she turned to the sky. "Thank you for your service. Enjoy your rest." She didn’t know what to say. Their first meetings had been tense, but after years, the two had formed a small friendship. He was the one who led her wedding. She tried to think of memories of him, but each time it caused more tears to fall. Esmond saw this and got up quietly, leaving her. It wasn’t his place to rush her, and all he could do was work.

He walked through the corridors of the mayoral building to his office, and alone, he took out a pen and paper.’The rebellion has been crushed. The Archbishop has passed.’Esmonds’s hands shook as he wrote those final words. The first member of the inner circle had died.

’I failed.’Esmond spoke to himself as he pulled out a second book. Unlike before, he didn’t take a second to stroke its cover and quickly opened it to Raven’s name. Taking out red ink, he crossed out the man’s name with a bitter smile.’Forgive me, Your Majesty.’

Walking to his balcony, he reached for his messenger birds. Avoiding his usual ones, he pulled out a small white dove. Tying the message to its leg, he set it free and watched as it soared through the sky. His eyes never left it until it was a small dot in the distance.

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The bells tolled in Brookhaven. What should have been a time for celebration had become one of mourning. A week had passed since Mother’s death, yet no one saw it as a victory. Most made sure to keep their mouths tightly closed whenever around Alfred or Charles, but today was the day that everything became a reality.

Alfred walked into the Cathedral with his guard. Isra stood at his side, her face covered in a long black veil. They both held their heads down and made their way towards the casket. Alfred could see Charles standing over it, unmoving. His back looked small compared to the strong man he usually was. Taking his place next to him, the two stood in silence whilst Isra went off to take a seat next to Catherine.

"I’m sure he embraced his death happily," Charles said bitterly, and Alfred could only nod. Charles had said those words so many times that Alfred didn’t even bother to offer words of comfort anymore. "At least he stands with his beloved Sol now."

"He was always like that." Alfred smiled, and a small chuckle escaped his lips. "He’s luckier than most. Everyone usually fears death."

Charles smiled at his words. Reaching out, he brushed Raven’s black hair to the side. "How lucky." He scoffed but shook his head. "He always brushed off his responsibility to me, saying they were going to be mine. And yet here he is escaping his." Alfred rested his hand on Charles’s shoulder. He had burned all the anger he felt when he heard of Raven’s death. Now it was just a deep emptiness.

Alfred had seen what happened after death and could only feel bitter about it. Raven gave everything to a God that didn’t exist. Alfred hoped, no, prayed it would be different for him, but he knew better. That dark, cold place was somewhere Raven didn’t deserve to go to.

It was times when he wished he could prove Sol existed. Releasing his hand from Charles’s shoulder, he walked off, leaving him alone. He didn’t understand how Charles did it. Even when hearing the news of his brother’s death, there was no anger. He simply shed a tear and left. Walking through the halls of the Cathedral, he entered a side room and saw William with Esmond.

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’Brother, was it worth it?’Charles looked at the corpse in the casket. He looked at his pristine white robes with orange streaks in them. He saw the symbol of Sol around his neck. Despite all this, it was the only question he could keep asking. He didn’t blame anyone for his death. He knew his brother better than anyone. But he didn’t know what else to do and could only ask a question that would never be answered.

Touching the necklace on his brother’s body, he held the cold steel and wondered.’Did Sol exist?’If so, why would he take his brother already? He looked deep into his closed eyes.

"You would make awful company. Even Esmond would be more fun." His voice was so quiet that no one heard him talk, but his laugh at his own joke resounded in the Cathedral. He got strange looks, but no one judged him. "Haaa. I will see our oath out. It’s the final honour I can do for you, brother." Putting the symbol of Sol back on Raven’s chest, he quietly promised.

"Where’s Anton?" Asking William, he leaned against the wall. William took out a cigar, and Alfred smiled as he snatched it from his fingers. Without saying anything, he took out another and cut the ends off the two before lighting Alfred’s.

"He’s coming." William took a deep inhale of his cigar and looked to the door where Alfred had come from. "It’s surreal. I can still remember that day in your tent, where you made your declaration. It was really the start of everything."

"We all knew deep in our minds that you lot would be leaving me first." Alfred took an inhale of his cigar and lowered his head. Blowing out the smoke, he sighed. "I just never expected it to be so early."

"I don’t think any of us did." The three stood in silence. They all held the lives of thousands in their hands, yet Raven’s death was different. It was something they couldn’t accept but had to.

"We must stop now," Alfred said quietly. "Raven wouldn’t want it."

"Whatever your wishes are, he would want," William said, getting a small chuckle from the two.

"The man was always a fanatic," Esmond said, getting a knowing nod from the two.

"For now, we mourn. Work can wait." Alfred looked at the door and sighed. Leaning against it, he raised his head.’Sol. I hope you are real. Because if you are, please open your arms and accept your child. He is deserving of your light.’For the first time, Alfred sincerely prayed.