Piece 1 (part 2)

"I couldn't sell it. I could never. But, I can at least give it back to her daughter. So, stop worrying about how expensive it was, even though selling it can easily buy us a mansion."

I quickly turned my shocked gaze to her, and Grandma only laughed. Our economy is very tight right now, and simply being able to keep the diner open is already a challenge of itself. And yet, here we are with the literal object that can fix all of our issues.

"C-Can I sell--"

"If you sell that necklace, I'm going to chop you up and sell your limbs."

"I-I'm kidding~… haha!"

Why would I ever sell this thing? It's not like it can buy us a mansion or anything!

"It is what your mother left behind. It was a marriage gift from your father to your mother. That alone should make it far more valuable than the amount of money that can be obtained from selling such an object." Grandma explained to me about the necklace's origins, and I was very shocked at how valuable this thing is. 

It's basically my parent's Mahr, a gift from the husband to the wife as something they keep during their married life. Something so valuable genuinely cannot be determined with just money alone.

"Try wearing it. I want to see." Grandma said as she walked closer, and she picked up the necklace as she held it in front of me.

I leaned my head forward so the necklace could wrap around my head easily, and it finally arrived on my neck. I looked down to try and look at the necklace that is in front of my chest, and it looked so massive up close.

"It's very big…" I commented as it dangled around my neck, and Grandma only laughed.

"Your mother barely uses it. She only used it on big occasions."

"Yeah, because this actually felt quite heavy."

I started playing with the jewel on my neck a bit more, and Grandma noticed something outside the diner. She quickly patted me in the shoulder, and I turned to find her staring outside.

"I also prepared another gift from you." She said while waving her hand outside, and I followed her gaze to find a large carriage that just arrived outside our diner.

The carriage seemed to be rather big, and I have never seen it before. However, I do recognize the person who is stepping out of the driver's seat as they arrive at the diner.

"Uncle John!!" I shouted excitedly as I got up from the chair, and Uncle John lifted both his hands up in the air.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE MILL!!!" As always, Uncle John knows no such thing as embarrassment, and hearing his shout made me even happier.

"Thank you!!" I said to him as I turned to Grandma, and she only nodded at me.

"You're welcome. Now, go. I figured since it has been a while since you visited them, it might be nice for you to finally come on your birthday." Grandma said while pushing my shoulder a little, but I only turned concerned at her.

"But… you'll be dealing with the diner--"

"Are you kidding me, Milly? I've been dealing with this diner by myself since you were two! I'll be fine, go. Say hi to them for me." Grandma said as she pushed me towards Uncle John, and I only chuckled at her while holding the necklace around my neck.

"I'll try putting the necklace on Mom if that makes you happy!" I joked to Grandma, and she only shook her head from how dumb that sounds.

I turned around and faced Uncle John, and I showed him the necklace on my neck with a smirk. Seeing the beautiful red necklace, Uncle John was very-very shocked.

"Holy, Milly! You've finally earned it!" Uncle John shouted after seeing the necklace, and I was surprised by what he said.

"Earned??"

"Yeah! That was your mom's necklace, right? I saw her wear it back in the day. She was mad beautiful!" Uncle John commented on the necklace, but the person behind me has already caught up.

"Johnny boy, just stop talking and just go. It's about to be sundown by the time you guys arrive there." Grandma said annoyedly with her hands folded, and Uncle John laughed while rubbing his back.

Beforelong, we are both well on our way towards a certain location. It's a place I have not visited in a long while, and last I visited was many-many months ago. It's not exactly a place that I can visit frequently since it was kind of far away, but it's somewhere that is just as important to me as my home with Grandma.

I can only ever visit it when Uncle John is around. He works as a carriage driver for a large carriage company for travelling, and most of the time he is outside of town to carry people or goods. And Uncle John appearing will always mean I will get to visit that location.

During the trip, Uncle John told me a little bit about my necklace. It was indeed a gift from my dad to my mom during their marriage, and Uncle John even said he was there when the two got married. He was someone who is very close to Dad, so naturally he has quite a bit of a history with them.

Speaking of history, we've finally arrived at one of the most historic places in the whole continent. A place that has not seen civilization in ten whole years, an abandoned city that was once inhabited by over three million population.

Veldonia Empire, the fallen nation that was unfortunate enough to be attacked by the dragon god.

Even from very far away, we can already see the gigantic wings of the dragon god, spanning far above the castle walls itself. The dragon god's size alone was already a quarter of the entire city itself, even though this city is the largest one in the whole continent.

Arriving at the front gate of the fallen empire, our carriage was halted by a group of guards guarding the walls. It was indeed a fallen empire, but everything in this place is still history. There are plenty of knights from the four great kingdoms and nations that are keeping an eye on the empire's wholeness, to make sure it's not wrecked or looted by bandits.

However, Uncle John and I are regulars. We came here rather often, and the guards were already quite close with Uncle John. Some of the guards also originated from Veldonia, which makes them want to protect this fallen empire even more.

"All right, all done. Enjoy your visit!" The guard captain who checked Uncle John's carriage confirmed our entry, and Uncle John nodded firmly to the knight.

Beforelong, our carriage started moving again, and we entered the city walls. As soon as we entered, my nose was welcomed by the same scent that I have remembered from visiting this place many times before.

The scent of ashes and death. This is the place where so many people died in a span of only a few hours, and so many buildings were burned down due to the dragon god's flames.

Speaking of the culprit, now that we are within the walls, we can very clearly see the dragon statue from below. Its wings genuinely covered a quarter of the empire after being fully spanned open, and it was terrifying to see its body that had been completely sealed in stone.

The dragon god's current state is completely turned into a giant hunk of rock. Its whole body was sealed by magic, and every limb in its body was turned rock solid. It is now just a huge statue of a dragon that is made of a very special rock.

Many have tried to break the sealed dragon's stone body. Because the dragon's entire body has been turned into stone, surely an idea would've popped up to try and break the statue'd dragon to try and kill it. However, the stone surface that is the dragon god's skin was simply very strong, just as strong as the dragon's skin itself.

Knowing this, the people had no choice but to simply leave the sealed dragon god be. It's completely turned into stone anyway, and it shouldn't threaten any other countries in a very long time.

The carriage taking me and Uncle John was taken all the way to the city's middle castle, right at the center of this capital city. Arriving here, the carriage stopped, and I hopped down from the back door before walking to the front to greet Uncle John.

"Like always, I'll be waiting at the liquor store. I'm sure my friends who are guarding the city should be there right now." Uncle John said to me while giving me a thumbs up, and I nodded firmly at him.

The carriage started moving again, leaving me all alone in front of this gigantic castle. I turned my gaze to the barely standing palace owned by the leaders of what was once the strongest country, and I began entering the front gate.

Some might say… that Veldonia's downfall was their own shortcoming. They believed that from the way the empire has developed, it has strayed them from the gods, and the people have put their faith more in technology than deities. As a result of this, the heavens sent them a punishment, to bring forth the strongest punisher that has ever existed.

Their perspective can be understood. However, it is by no means what really happened.

Veldonia is the empire for the people. It is a place made to bring the people more happiness than they can ever ask for. It is a home for those who truly tried their best, all for a wonderful peace that could never be shaken away.

From their civil war many years ago, the wars against other countries, even the smaller challenges that they've faced during their reign.

It was the vision of the empress and the emperor to always maintain peace for the people, no matter the cost.

Ten years ago, the dragon god attacked this empire. Within only two hours, the whole city has fallen, and tens of thousands of lives have fallen. But, that was only what was reported.

In truth, only hundreds have lost their lives. 99% of the people were able to evacuate the city before the dragon god could touch them. There was an absolutely minimal amount of losses, which was guessed to be coming from the soldiers who helped do their best to delay the dragon god from touching the civilians.

And finally, the biggest reason as to why so many people survived. The very reason why Veldonia was such a thriving country, and why so many people longed for its return.

Arriving at the very top floor of the castle, my hair was highlighted by the orange sunlight of this wonderful afternoon. My eyes were blessed with the sight of a gray city in the distance, alongside a very scary gigantic dragon statue that is spanning its wings open.

It truly is a majestic sight, but it could've been so much better. I have longed for the sight of seeing this city again, but with less gigantic dragon statues and more non-destroyed buildings. From what I've heard, the buildings of the city was quite large and colorful, turning every beautiful evening such a blessing to enjoy from above.

And now, I am right at the spot where I can enjoy such a view. However, what welcomed me was only the gray city filled with ashes and moss, covered in shadow by the dragon's spanned wings.

Of course, that is not the only thing that can be seen from up here. I turned my walk to the left where a path on top of this exterior castle area was found, and I arrived at a rather large open place by the roofs.

It's a destroyed roof. A giant hole was punched on the rock solid walls, revealing the room inside of it. However, what is inside is what truly makes this place special.

The dragon god's frozen statue is facing directly to this place. Its raging eyes are staring directly to the place I am standing, or rather the place next to me.

A hidden place that not many ever truly knows. The place where they rested. 

The pair of legends who have protected the empire by giving their lives away to seal the dragon god… by sealing themselves as well.

In the opened room where the walls were punched open, two statues of individuals can be found lifting their hands up. The two statues were placed right at the center of the room, and from their expressions, anyone can tell that they are quite saddened by something.

Their decision to seal away the dragon god resulted in them also getting sealed. Also turned completely in stone is the Emperor and Empress of Veldonia, who has used an ancient magic to seal away the dragon god.

And seeing them here, my heart felt fluttering. Being able to see them, especially on a day like this, was truly like a birthday gift.

"I'm home… Mom. Dad."