Lioran froze when he saw the scene in front of him. In front of him there was a ground full of blood and a woman whose hands and legs were cut off. Seeing the cooking clothes that his mother and Mary used to wear in the restaurant, Lioran got scared that this woman might be his mother. But since the woman's hair was white, Lioran told himself: "This can't be my mother, nor Mary. This woman's hair is completely white. She looks like an old woman." But still there was a fear in his heart—what if it was his mother?
Finally, Lioran gathered his courage and slowly stretched his hand toward the corpse's face. He put his hand on the woman's hair and brushed it away from her face. When he saw the woman's face, Lioran froze again, his face showing no reaction—as if he had seen a ghost. Because the corpse was Charlotte, Lioran's mother, whose entire life energy had been absorbed, her hands and legs cut off. A 35-year-old woman who now looked like an old lady.
Lioran's legs went weak, he lost his strength and fell down on his knees, powerless, unable to move from the shock of seeing his mother's corpse. His hand still rested on his mother's face while his gaze turned to the sky, his mouth wide open, shouting: "Mom! Mom!" while no tears fell from his eyes. Then Lioran looked back again at his mother's face, searching for some hope that this woman only looked like his mother, that it wasn't really her. Looking for an excuse to escape from pain and loneliness. He began screaming: "No! This isn't my mom! My mom wasn't this old! Her hair was black! Someone must be trying to trick me!" and he let out a painful, artificial laugh.
At that moment Anahita answered: "This body belongs to Charlotte. Her life energy has been absorbed, that's why she looks old."
Hearing Anahita's words, Lioran screamed: "Shut up! Shut up! I don't want to hear anything more! Please don't say anything! Please shut up!" Lioran kept repeating: "I don't want to hear anything more, please don't say anything!"
And when he looked carefully at her face and saw his bright sky-blue eyes, he realized it really was his mother. With a face filled with suppressed sobs, Lioran pulled the corpse toward him and hugged her tightly, saying: "The only one I had in my life is dead. The one who loved me more than anything in her life. The one for whom I tried to be a good person. The one who always hugged me and said: 'Lioran my dear, are you okay? You didn't get into another fight, did you? Why do you never show your mom a smile when you see her? Don't you love your mom?'"
And I would say no, that's not true, and tried to force a smile on my lips, and she would say: "It's okay dear, if you don't want to smile, don't. I'll smile for you every day instead." And she would smile, a smile as bright as the sun, with her beautiful black hair and blue eyes.
Now that person is dead. So why do I feel nothing? Why don't tears fall from my eyes? Didn't I really love my mother? Lioran put his hand on his chest and said: "If I didn't love her, then what is this pain I feel in my heart? Why can't I give my mom a simple smile? Why can't I cry for her?"
And Lioran said: " mom…" and he hugged her tighter, whispering softly in her ear: "I don't know what this feeling is, mom. No matter what I do, no tears fall from my eyes. Even though you're the only person I love in this world, even though there's this immense pain in my heart. Mom, I'm sorry I couldn't be a good son to you. I'm sorry I couldn't give you a real smile. I'm sorry I couldn't save you. I'm sorry I was never honest with you. You deserved a better son, mom." Then he gently kissed her forehead. And again, with a sorrowful face, he whispered in her ear: "I'm sorry that I was your son.You deserved a better son."
After saying his last words to his mother, while hugging her bloody, limbless body, stroking her hair with his hand, Lioran turned his face toward the fire that had burned the tribe and said to himself: "Mom, I'm sorry. I can't play the good boy anymore. I will avenge you. I will burn them all, kill them all. I'll show them this pain a hundredfold. I won't forgive any of them."
He had hugged his mother like this for a few hours and then wanted to bury her body.
At this moment Anahita suggested using earth magic to dig a grave. But Lioran told her: "No, this is the only thing I can do for her. I want to do it myself, without any help from you, magic, or anyone else."
Lioran laid his mother down on the ground and began digging the earth with his hands. At first the ground was too hard, and in some places there were stones, so he started punching the ground to loosen it. After several minutes of punching and digging, his hands were completely bloody, while he kept muttering: "Sorry mom, mom I'm sorry, I couldn't save you. If only I had been there, if only I had been stronger…"
He said these words while his face showed no expression. His eyes half open and cold, his hair falling in front of his eyes, blowing in the warm wind born from the dragon's fire.
He had been digging for hours. The night had grown dark, and black clouds spread across the sky as if trying to swallow every bit of light.
Drops of rain fell gently from above, landing on his head and shoulders, as if the sky itself understood his sorrow and cried in his place.
The dark sky grew heavier with each passing moment, and the rain poured down harder. In this silence, filled with despair, Lioran lifted his head and gazed at the sky, at the moon hidden behind the veils of clouds, and at the rain that drenched everything. He whispered softly to himself, "Mom… you're watching me, aren't you?"
He climbed out of the grave, folded her arms and legs onto her body, and gently stroked her hair. As he went to lift her, he saw the necklace she always wore. A crimson pearl shaped like a dragon's head—his mother had always said it was a gift from his father.
Lioran took the necklace and stored it in his magic space, then carried his mother toward the grave. Gently, he laid her down inside, gave her one last sorrowful look, climbed out, and began to fill the grave with earth. For the last time, he gazed at the dirt covering his mother's face and said: "Thank you for always taking care of me. Thank you for loving someone like me. And yes, I love you too, mom, more than anything in this world. I hope you find peace." Then he filled the grave and turned his eyes to the fire. The fire that was the reason for his mother's death, and the death of everyone in the village.
Lioran stared at the flames—the only place he could ever call home—his eyes burning with the fire of revenge, and walked toward the burning tribe.
When he arrived, he saw that despite the heavy rain pouring down, the fire had not lost any of its heat or flame.
he asked himself: "If I had been here, could I have done something? Could I have fought such a dragon?" Anahita replied: "Fighting such a dragon in your current condition is impossible."
Lioran said: "I know. That's why I must grow stronger as fast as possible. I will kill every last one of them. Whoever is behind this. I'll make them regret ever being alive."
He spoke these words with a face showing no anger, no sorrow—only emptiness. An emptiness that could destroy everything.
Lioran then told Anahita: "Send all the knowledge you have about magic into my mind. I must grow stronger as fast as possible."
Anahita answered: "My knowledge of magic is vast. If I pour it all into your mind at once, it will cause brain shock. I suggest using the Healing Skill to prevent any risk. Do you want me to proceed?"
Lioran replied: "It doesn't matter. Risk is necessary for strength. Do it."
Anahita said: "Order received. Healing Skill activated. Transferring all knowledge of magic into your brain."
Within seconds, so much information flooded Lioran's mind that he started vomiting. Darkness fell over his vision and he collapsed to the ground, losing consciousness.