Chapter 679: Her Flower Withered
When the curtain of light dissipated.
The dim, yellowish setting sun hung in the distance where the sea met the sky.
It seemed like a night watchman, stingily sprinkling the last trace of warmth onto the mortal realm.
This day.
Was actually almost over.
During the plummet.
Kazuya's body continuously shrank.
In the end, it shrank to a size of only eight or nine meters, as if everything was regressing back to the time when the story of the Dragon Clan first began.
Fierce winds continuously battered against his wings.
And continuously poured into his ears.
But miraculously.
His eyes actually regained their vision at this moment.
Terminal lucidity?
Or did his body sense Kazuya's deep desire, wanting to take one last look at them?
Regardless of the reason.
Kazuya felt extremely fortunate in his heart.
This way.
He could properly say goodbye to everyone and entrust them with a few more words.
"The Dragon Clan's brief yet fervent dynasty, ends here."
Kazuya looked at the comet fragments scattered across the sky, twitched the corners of his mouth, and smiled with relief.
These things.
No longer had anything to do with him.
He lowered his head.
Looking at the Charizard in his arms, breathing out more than he was breathing in.
Kazuya raised his hand and gently stroked his head, using his tail to coil him tightly by his side, as if doing so would make the Grim Reaper take him a little later:
"Hold on a little longer. In a bit, your older brother will go with you."
"...Roar."
His younger brother weakly shifted his pupils, lying motionless on Kazuya's body.
His eyes, which had once burned with blazing flames, were now so dim that not a single trace of light could be caught in them.
The flame on his tail.
Had already extinguished.
Of course.
Kazuya's condition was exactly the same.
They were just barely holding on...
Because before dying.
They absolutely had to properly say goodbye to their loved ones.
This was their final obsession.
Rustle~
A sky full of black flowers rode the wind, gathering beneath Kazuya, supporting the two brothers upon them and delivering them to Florges's side.
Teardrops still hung on Florges's face.
She had sprinted all the way here, having long lost her usual nobility and elegance.
But she didn't care at all, solely using Wish and Grassy Terrain to heal her two younger brothers' injuries.
Unfortunately.
It was of no help.
Their bodies had completely lost all vitality.
It was only their obsession that allowed their consciousness to linger in these two corpses for a little while longer.
"...Flor."
Realizing this, Florges wept uncontrollably.
She helplessly held her two younger brothers tightly in her arms, her tears falling patter by patter onto their bodies.
The remaining Dragon Clan members and the partners of Team Black Dragon gathered around, but maintained a certain distance, seemingly wanting to leave them their final space.
Everyone looked sorrowfully at the three siblings hugging in the middle, silent mourning permeating the air.
Kazuya raised his hand and wiped the teardrops from Florges's face.
He reached out and embraced her in his arms.
At this moment.
Kazuya's gaze caught a glimpse of the comet in the distance that had been intercepted by Regigigas.
A flash of light passed through his mind.
He recalled the words Queen Ilene had spoken in the past.
Turning his head again to look at the comet fragments scattered across the sky, he fell into another daze.
Everything.
Seemed to be an ending long written by fate.
He looked down at Florges.
And finally shifted his gaze to the Tyrantrum standing silently in the back.
A segment of Aura was transmitted into the Tyrantrum's heart.
The latter trembled all over.
The Tyrantrum pushed over that giant boulder carrying their promise, heavily leaving a footprint on it, then turned to look at Kazuya, his eyes full of determination.
Kazuya reached out and pressed down on the giant boulder.
Unfortunately.
He had already lost his strength.
He couldn't leave any physical mark.
Blue flames surfaced in the palm of his hand, barely leaving a scorched, black handprint.
The promise was fulfilled.
"I leave it to you."
Kazuya said softly, his words full of trust.
"Roar."
The Tyrantrum nodded solemnly.
Then, everything is arranged. It is time for a proper goodbye. Kazuya quietly murmured in his heart.
His gaze swept across the faces of the companions around him one by one.
As if wanting to carve every single face deep into the memories of his soul, so he could bring them to his next reincarnation.
His gaze first fell upon Regigigas, Groudon, and Kyogre:
"You three..."
They stared quietly at Kazuya.
Without saying a word.
Especially Groudon and Kyogre.
Their eyes were red as they forced themselves to remain calm, like children fighting back tears and pretending to be strong.
"...If being awake makes you feel pain, then go to sleep. Once you fall asleep, you won't feel pain anymore."
Kazuya said with a smile, and then added a sentence, "Getting to know you guys, I was very happy."
These simple words almost made Groudon and Kyogre burst into tears.
Facing this kind of situation for the first time, they didn't know what to do. They turned around wanting to leave, but were held in place by Regigigas.
They.
Must watch him leave.
Kazuya turned his head to look at Rayquaza.
With only a few simple words:
"Let's fight together again next time. We will meet again."
In my past.
In your future.
This sentence was like a promise, and also like a hope, illuminating the sorrow of parting.
"Mhm."
Rayquaza nodded gently.
He looked forward to the arrival of that day.
"Everyone."
Hearing this call.
The Dragon Clan members trembled all over, even their breathing stopped, deeply afraid that even a little bit of noise would make them miss Kazuya's words.
"Thank you for following me to the very last moment."
Kazuya turned his head and looked at the distant sea.
Massive, heavy ice floes floated on the sea's surface. Within the ice-sealed pairs of eyes, not a trace of regret or fear could be seen.
Those were all the most loyal and bravest warriors of their Dragon Clan.
They used their lives to interpret loyalty.
"..."
The Rampardos Alpha, who was usually the most obtuse and simple-minded, became melancholic at this moment.
He had no flowery rhetoric in his heart.
It was so barren that at this moment, he didn't even know what words to use to say goodbye to Kazuya.
Recalling a hundred years ago.
That Charizard had grabbed him, flew straight high into the sky, and smashed down heavily...
That smash.
Forged a full century of sovereign-subject camaraderie.
Later, he followed Kazuya to conquer the northern territories, step onto the rocky mountains, and unify the grasslands...
At this moment.
The Rampardos Alpha lowered his head towards Kazuya's direction.
He was sincerely grateful.
Thankful to Kazuya, for giving him such a splendid life.
The second-in-command Rampardos looked at his older brother's demeanor, then glanced at the withered Charizard lying in Kazuya's arms; his eyes reddened as he bowed his head deeply.
The rest of the dragon flock followed suit.
Expressing their deepest respect in the most primal way.
They had been forcibly gathered together through various means.
In the beginning, they were indeed more or less unconvinced, and even up until a few years ago, there were still Dragon Clan members who wanted to break away from the clan and leave.
But from that exact moment just now.
They all sincerely acknowledged their identity as part of the Dragon Clan from the bottom of their hearts, and felt incredibly proud and honored because of it.
Kazuya swept his gaze over the flock of dragons, suddenly grinning, his voice as light as if coaxing children who were about to cry:
"It's getting dark, let's sing. I don't want to leave in such a quiet environment."
"Remember the first song I taught you?"
"The Ancient Dragon's Chant."
"Let's sing that, and leave the past in today."
As his words fell.
He immediately started humming that inexplicably cheerful tune to himself.
It was clearly a cheerful song.
Yet it was a song of sorrow used for farewells.
But truth be told.
At this moment, it was surprisingly fitting.
The first to open their mouths were the Bastiodon clan, followed by the Kommo-o clan, then the Rampardos clan...
One dragon tribe after another gradually joined the grand chorus, the cacophonous voices gradually merging into a winding stream.
Just like back in the beginning.
From Kazuya and his initial trio, walking all the way to today, converging into this massive family on the grassland.
Life is like an out-of-print movie that cannot be replayed.
As scenes of the past century drifted past their eyes like a revolving lantern.
Tears.
Naturally began to fall from pair after pair of dragon eyes.
Sounds of choking sobs mingled within the humming.
As if not wanting their sobs to be discovered by their companions, some dragons deliberately sang louder.
The sound drifted away with the wind.
Floating to every corner of the world.
Declaring the end of an era.
Kazuya quietly withdrew his voice and looked down at his arms.
Florges was holding his younger brother with one hand and Kazuya with the other. Her eyes had already lost their luster, as if her soul had departed along with them.
"I'm sorry, it seems I have to say goodbye to you."
Kazuya raised his hand and rested it on Florges's head.
"Flor."
Florges's face struggled, but then relaxed as if relieved.
She raised her head to look at Kazuya, brought her head close, and gently touched his snout with her forehead.
Waves of pollen drifted out from Florges's body and slipped into Kazuya's and his younger brother's nasal cavities.
Kazuya felt sleepiness surging up, his eyelids fighting each other.
In the past.
When they suffered from insomnia and couldn't fall asleep.
This was also how Florges soothed them to sleep.
Kazuya's consciousness gradually sank, but he still continuously murmured from his mouth:
"I'm sorry, leaving you to live on all alone."
"I know that loneliness is something even more painful than death. This is very unfair to you, but I still want to say..."
"Do not immerse yourself in the sorrow of the past."
"You have to carry our share and properly embrace the future that belongs to you."
"As long as you keep living, good things are bound to happen. You must live in a better world..."
"You are the proof that we existed..."
Kazuya's voice gradually faded away completely, sinking into the bottom of the sea along with the setting sun.
He and his younger brother embraced, nestling in Florges's arms, smelling that incredibly familiar floral fragrance as their consciousness completely slipped away.
His younger brother's eyes were tightly shut.
A serene smile hung on his face, like a little baby who had just fallen asleep.
His older brother's body was warm.
His older sister's body smelled sweet.
It had always been like this since they were little.
It had never changed all this time.
As long as he was by his older brother and sister's side, he could sleep very happily.
He was the happiest child in the world.
He always had been.
"Flor~"
Goodnight~
Florges looked tenderly at the two younger brothers in her arms.
Teardrops slowly rolled down the edges of her trembling petals, crashing onto the cold bodies in her embrace.
Within the crystal-clear teardrops.
A distant yet clear picture was reflected...
On a sunlit grassy meadow.
A sturdy-looking little Charmander poked his head out from the grass, sneaking towards the black flower in Floette's arms.
He opened his mouth wide, seemingly intending to take a bite and taste it.
As a result, a slightly larger Charmander immediately ran over from the side and knocked him hard on the head.
The little Charmander immediately clutched his head and started crying.
Shouting from his mouth: I don't want you as a brother anymore!
But the scene shifted.
The three little ones were snuggled together, dozing off in the warm sunlight.
The younger brother hugged his older brother's tail, smelling his older sister's floral fragrance, revealing a happy and peaceful smile on his face.
The teardrop shattered, and the reflection dissipated.
The three tiny figures were forever frozen in that sunny afternoon.
That was a past they could never return to.
It was a warmth that Florges would never be able to touch again for the rest of her life.
She reached out and caressed their faces.
Knowing in her heart.
In the flower garden she cherished so dearly.
Those two most brilliant Eternal Flowers... had forever withered.
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