Funeral
The protests had ended, which wasn't a surprise to anyone. Much of the Dirt District got destroyed, and the body count is still moving up... It's already in the tens of thousands.
A few minutes after Veronica and Michael left the area, the Creator's Will and Lawbringers had arrived.
When they found no survivors, Billie hadn't given up and, after an hour of constant looking, they found Gerald.
He was still breathing, albeit barely. They gave him a healing potion, which helped him physically, but upon waking up, there was only pain in his eyes.
He spent the past week looking for his brother, who had disappeared. The Mask of Wrathful Temptation gives the user very strong anti-divination, so it was impossible to find him.
Billie was even worse off. After getting back to the HQ, they found the large amount of blood. Neither of them knew if it was Michael's or Rob's, but after a quick divination, the answer became clear.
She hadn't stopped crying since. Gerald had tried to comfort her, but he was just as bad as her.
They also haven't found signs of either Veronica, Ted, or Michael, and after spending days looking around the church, they accepted their deaths.
Now, a week after the incident, the Unbroken sent a squad to replace everyone. A 6th Order Oracle commanded the squad. She was great at divination, but even she found no clue to their missing friends' whereabouts.
She talked with Billie and Gerald. She offered them three choices. Either they stay in Hammon and work under her command, or they become one of the wandering Unbroken. They can also quit the Unbroken, and they would give them a lot of money.
Neither had made their choices yet. Gerald wants to find his brother, but has no idea where to start, while Billie can't even think about her future.
Her whole life was Rob. They were still young, but she loved him more than anything.
Now, after one week, they headed to the Timeless Cemetery. It was a special place, where only followers of the Church of Time could get buried.
There weren't many people at the funeral. It wasn't even a true funeral, since there were no bodies. They just placed down a few headstones, with the names of the people they lost.
Billie wore a full black dress, with a black veil to hide her crying face. Next to her walked Gerald. He wore a full black suit and a black bowler hat.
There were a few other people at the site, too. All the members of the new Unbroken squad, a few people from the Creator's Will and Lawbringers.
These are all made sense to everybody, but two people stood out from the rest. It was a young girl, and an even younger boy.
Gerald knew their names. Ann Miles and her brother Jamie. They had issues with the headstones, since Veronica was part of the Miles family, and the fiancé of Michael.
They didn't know where to place her, so to solve this problem, they moved the whole Miles family next to Veronica's and Michael's headstone.
The day was gray, and at some point, it began to rain...
Ann felt it fit the mood of the city. They weren't alone in the cemetery. There were lots of funerals happening at the same time, since most of the people living near the Church of Time were followers of the faith.
She and Jamie were still in school when the police officers arrived. They told them what had happened, but Ann just couldn't believe it.
The last week was a mess. The Free Cities are very strict about piracy laws, so they got nothing from the state. The government confiscated everything they owned, which was nothing.
They had sold the inn before the attack, and all their property was still inside. They literally had nothing left except what they took to school.
The two of them spent the night at the police station. Jamie didn't stop crying after hearing the news, and he was clinging to Ann all week.
It was so bad that she could only go to the bathroom after he cried himself to sleep, otherwise he would have a mental breakdown.
After the first night, they got transferred into a foster home, which was packed with children who became orphans in the destruction of the Church of Time.
She and Jamie had to sleep on the floor, since all the beds were taken. Only when everything was silent, and when everyone was asleep, did Ann cry.
Her tears were silent, but very painful. She never showed emotion, but at night, when nobody can see her, she lets them go.
In the past week, she mostly felt numb. Even here, standing before the grave of her family, she felt nothing but emptiness.
It didn't feel real. It felt like she was watching a play in the theater, like all this was happening to someone else, but no... This was her life now...
Her mind was already working on what to do next. She had decided to drop her studies and find a job after Jamie got better.
She needed to make money, since the chances of them getting adopted were very unlikely.
Even as the ceremony began, these thoughts circled around her head.
The people watched as a purple-robed woman walked up and behind the headstones. Her hood was up, which hid her face. The only ornamentation of her robe was a lone hourglass hanging on her neck.
Nobody had ever seen a necklace like that, but they didn't look at it for long. If they would've, then maybe they could've seen the sand falling upward instead of down.
"Today, we gather to celebrate and mourn. This dark day was inevitable, but also too premature. Today, we mourn the loss of many great people, ones that should've lived longer, but their string of fate was cut..."
"Today, we celebrate, since these people believed, and so they shall rest with her for eternity. Something everyone of us will experience, regardless of faith."
She made sure to look at the people from the Creator's Will and the Lawbringer. None of them commented or said anything regarding her statement. They weren't immature enough to get offended at a funeral.
After taking a deep breath, the faceless woman continued.
"Ted Walton. One of the best this world could offer. He was always sincere and wanted the best for everyone. He sacrificed himself to save the people of Hammon, something few people would do... You shall never be forgotten... Old Friend..."
Her voice turned melancholic by the end, but each person was fighting their own inner demons.
"Rob Robbins. A great husband and even better friend. Someone who was fearless 'till the end. His sacrifice helped this city in more ways than anyone understands... You shall never be forgotten..."
Billie started to wail after hearing her late husband's name, but the woman didn't stop.
"James Miles. A husband, a father, a friend, a caretaker. There aren't enough words to describe how many lives did he save, by risking his and his family's. It is a shame that the law disagreed with him... You shall never be forgotten..."
The Lawbringers shifted uncomfortably upon hearing that, but the woman was looking somewhere else.
She stared into the distance, where a giant oak tree stood. Below it, two people stood, a man and a woman. They both wore black, and their faces were covered by either the edge of a top hat or a veil.
They were turned towards the funeral, and watching everything intensely. Below her hood, the woman smirked and continued.
"Sofie Miles. A daughter, a sister, a friend, a fighter. Her story had only just begun, but it seemingly already ended. She was a fighter throughout her life, and even at the end, she didn't give up... You will be remembered..."
Jamie was crying loudly, but Ann wasn't paying attention to that. It might have been her grief, but she felt like the priestess was talking in much greater detail than she was supposed to.
She didn't think about it for long, because she had to focus on controlling her emotions.
"Suze Miles. A wife, a mother, a friend, a protector, a caregiver. In life, she only cared about one thing: her family. She defended each member, even if they weren't hers by blood. She was selfless, kind, loving, and serious. Her sacrifice was something greater than even I could imagine... Rest in peace... You shall never be forgotten..."
Her eyes continued to stare at the distant pair as she reached the last two people.
"These last two individuals were so close in the end that I shall talk about them together..."
"Veronica Navarro and Michael Kane. Two souls that met each other in dark times, but together they lit each other's way. Both were unserious people, who would do anything for their friends and family..."
"One was a man of exceptional talent. He was fair and always wanted to do the right thing, even when the situation made it impossible..."
"The other was a woman who suffered so much throughout her lives. She loved this world and she should've lived peacefully. She loved to dance, and appreciated how colorful the world was, and she wanted to keep it that way. When it came to loving her family and her fiancé, she was truly an Artist..."
"These two shall move on together, where ever their journey will take them... You two are remembered..."
After saying this, the woman turned her head a bit, until she was staring straight at the woman below the oak tree.
"Life is precious and fragile, but it is something that's needs to be experienced. The pain, which you all feel is something fleeting, and no matter how dark the tunnel is, there is always a light at the end, and you don't have to walk alone in the dark..."
"Now, let's have one minute of silence to commemorate these lost souls!"
Everyone bowed their heads, including the woman. They stayed in perfect silence. The only sound was the chilly wind of the approaching winter blowing through the gray cemetery.
By the time the one minute was over, the two figures had left...