Piece 1 (part 1)

The skies are always beautiful. Whenever you look up into the skies, you'd find a wonderful breathtaking view of the blue skies covered by the clouds.

Occasionally, you'd find a flock of birds, flying towards a direction as they migrate.

And then you turn your gaze down into the beautiful world that is underneath it, and you'd be just as amazed. A beautiful city that spanned for many-many kilometers, with various kinds of people existing within.

My name is Milly, and I live in a small dukedom city called 'Cytus'. It's a town that is filled with all kinds of people, ranging from the commoners to the nobles, from the young to the old.

This isn't exactly the place where I was born. I only arrived in this city ten years ago, when I was two years old. I lived here at a small diner at the edge of the town alongside my grandmother, who also arrived here ten years ago with me.

It is a beautiful place. However, it is not my real home.

The place where I was born is called 'Veldonia', an empire that was once the largest settlement in the whole continent.

It is an empire that was hailed to be the most powerful, the most advanced, and the fiercest country that has never bowed down to anyone. 

Once, it was an empire that had the largest number of citizens compared to any other country. However, it all changed when an attack came from an ungodly being.

Veldonia as an empire has withstood various wars. The civil war that overthrew the tyrant; the first great war where one singular Veldonia empire against five other nations; and the second great war where, once again, one single empire called Veldonia faced the five other nations.

Veldonia, as a whole, is powerful. However, it all came collapsing down when the mythological entity arrived and ravaged everything.

The God of Dragons, Harbinger. It is a dragon that is so gigantic that the full span of its wings can cover an entire mountain. It is one of the elderly beings that has long existed in our world, one of the most powerful as well.

Ten years ago, a powerful evil magician casted their summoning magic. In a blink of an eye, what was once a beautiful empire turned into a sea of flames.

Harbinger the dragon god was summoned, and Veldonia empire's ability for survival was tested. The empire has survived many wars in the past where it has always won. However, in such a horrifying and deadly match up, the empire had no choice but to collapse.

Two individuals stood out the most in the battle against the dragon god. One is the most powerful emperor who was known to win many wars for Veldonia, as well as being a human at the level of a demigod. The other is the most beautiful empress who was just as demonic as the emperor, and has done demonic things which saved Veldonia from the previous tyrant.

The emperor and empress stood all on their own against the dragon god. And at the final moments of the battle, the two gave their life to seal away the dragon god, so that Harbinger can never threaten the world anymore.

And now, the empire is merely history. With their emperor and empress gone, and their whole capital city collapsed, the people had no other choice but to evacuate into other countries.

Many countries have annexed the territories of Veldonia as their own. But with the country falling, no one can really fight for such a place.

Instead, the people hid. The government figures blended with the refugees, with some even switching citizenship completely and becoming one of that country's figures.

Ten years later, today… No one has really cared about the name Veldonia anymore.

With such a powerful kingdom disappearing completely in a single night, it's only natural that people will forget about it after a long time. People may have talked about it a lot when it was one or two years after it happened, but now… 

It is all just a great story in our history lesson books.

"Can anyone tell me about the story of the Emperor and Empress of Veldonia? How they rise up to the throne, as well as a little bit about the civil war? Anyone who tells them shall receive extra points from me!"

In front of a classroom at a public school, the class's teacher loudly announced and asked the fifteen students of the class in front of her. And hearing such a challenge, not many are that excited to be speaking in class all by themselves.

However, my scores have been quite behind as of lately. I have to keep up.

ZREGG!!!!

My chair was pushed backwards as I stood up, and I faced the teacher straight. Everyone noticed me standing, and they all kept their eyes on me.

"Milly! Glad that you're willing to give this a try! Why don't you start with the empress first, and then the emperor?" The teacher said to me kindly, and I nodded at her.

"The empress… Empress Elizabeth Veldonia. She became the Empress of Veldonia after overthrowing the previous tyrant in a seven years long civil war. She was the tyrant's daughter who was abandoned, and she only really ruled Veldonia for two years before getting replaced.

The emperor, Emperor Melvin Bond Veldonia. He became the Emperor of Veldonia two years after his marriage with the empress, replacing the empress who went missing after a magical incident. Emperor Melvin married the empress after accompanying her during the civil war, which then resulted in them getting married after their victory. 

Emperor Melvin ruled Veldonia for six years, and still ruled the empire even after the empress returned three years into his leadership. The two were eventually blessed with a child in their eighth year of marriage. Both the emperor and empress lost their lives after their attempt to seal the dragon god ten years ago."

My explanation ended there, because that is all that the public knowledge is surmounted to. And after I ended my explanation, I sat back down, and the teacher clapped her hands. My classmates clapped their hands as well following my teacher, and I felt a little moved.

"Well done! A very well said and detailed summary on both the emperor and the empress! You seem to be reading quite a lot of them, Milly. Can I ask why you were so into them?" The teacher asked after giving her impression, and I realized I may have talked too much.

"They're heroes who sacrificed their lives, Miss…" I tried answering awkwardly, and the teacher turned quite happy.

"A wonderful reasoning as well! They are indeed heroes! Sacrificing themselves to seal the dragon whilst the people escape! I heard from a friend of mine who was a refugee from Veldonia, the dragon actually destroyed the city!! It was a very serious situation!"

The teacher began telling her own story to the children, but it seems like I wasn't the only one who was so interested in the story.

"I heard from my dad that so many people died." One of the students who sat at the very front said to the teacher, and quite a few of the students chuckled to that.

"Well, it is what happens when a dragon god attacks a civilization. It wasn't just an invasion, it was a slaughter! The emperor and the empress were very brave to seal the dragon god before it could hurt anymore people!"

The teacher quickly took control over the classroom by talking some more about the dragon. And as expected from the boys, they love talking about big giant monsters more than anything.

As the class went on, the topic turned from the emperor and the empress to the downfall day of the Veldonia empire. It was such a terrifying day that everything was written in history down to the tiniest detail.

However, they always seem to leave out one detail that not many people noticed. Just where did the emperor and empress's child go?

"Happy birthday, Milly. I got you a gift."

Arriving at my home, I noticed that the diner was quite empty. The diner wasn't that crowded this bright afternoon, but it will be soon once the sun goes down. With no customers making her busy, Grandma came out of the diner's kitchen and handed me a box.

I opened my eyes widely because I wasn't expecting her to suddenly give me a present right after I just got home, and I turned my surprised gaze to her. It was indeed my birthday today, and I wasn't expecting to get a present so soon.

My stare was asking her whether or not I could open it right away, and Grandma only folded her hands.

"Open it. It was meant to be opened right away." She said with a soft smile on her face, and I hurriedly sat down at a nearby table of the diner to see the box closer.

First, I untied the tie that is sealing the box shut. Then, I carefully lifted the top lid, and my eyes were immediately blessed by the shining object that was inside.

"It's… a jewel!!" I shouted after seeing the contents, and Grandma laughed.

"It's a necklace! Take it out." She said excitedly, and I carefully pulled the object out of the box.

It is a type of red crystal. It's placed onto a golden handler, with the whole string that will go around the neck made of pure gold as well. It also has a pair of smaller blue gems that are right next to the big red crystal, and I was far too shocked to be able to say a single comment.

I… can't believe it.

It's genuine… it's an actual jewel!

H-How can this be…?

I turned my concerned stare to Grandma, and she noticed that my expression was by no means what she expected. "What's wrong?"

Grandma asked, but I only turned my gaze to the necklace. I carefully placed the necklace on the table, not wanting to dirty it by my own hands any longer.

"Grandma… I am only twelve years old."

"So?"

"It's just.…I haven't been able to help you much with work yet, but you're spending so much for me--"

"You're worried that I spent too much money on that little thing just for you?" Grandma quickly guessed what I was feeling, and I nodded slowly.

"It's… extremely excessive--"

"What if I told you that necklace has been with me all along?" Grandma suddenly said, and I turned my gaze to her.

"It was in my hidden stash the entire time. I haven't taken it out yet until now because I don't see the need to. But, like you said, money is indeed a little tight right now. So, instead of buying anything for your birthday, I'll just use that necklace as your birthday gift."

Grandma gave me her explanation on the necklace, and I was so confused as heck.

"W-Wouldn't selling the necklace and buying me a cheaper gift be something better--"

"That is your mother's necklace."

Grandma very quickly said, and I opened my eyes widely. I turned my gaze back to the necklace that is on the table, and I realized that the big red crystal in the middle does have the same color as my hair.

The red hair color that my mother has passed down to me. This necklace might indeed be hers.