Groggily Arthur opened his eyes. He turned to his right and was a little disappointed that Tess wasn't there. He turned to his left and smiled, as he saw her in her bathroom brushing her hair. It had been two days since Reynolds had died, and since then Arthur's been sleeping in Tess' room, with her in bed. Tess didn't want Arthur to be alone, and he didn't want to see his mother or sister, so the situation was perfect for him right now. It wasn't really that he didn't want to see them, he felt overwhelming guilt over his father's death, more so than last time, and he couldn't bring himself to face either of them.

"Good morning," Arthur said with a lazy smile.

Tess smiled and walked over.

"Good morning to you too," she said and bent down to give him a kiss.

"So why are you all dressed up?" He asked.

Tess was wearing a black and silver elven style dress that ended right above her ankles.

"This isn't really dressed up, some people just like to wear nice clothes once in a while. You know, when they finally decide to get out of bed. Maybe you should try it today," she said in an almost demanding tone.

"I got out of bed yesterday, I went to go talk to Elijah in the dungeon," he replied.

Yesterday Arthur was barely functional, only leaving the room once to talk with Elijah, since he felt he was truly helping him. With all the pain he felt he didn't have much more patience for anyone else other than Tess. The council was demanding to speak with him, wanting answers for his new and unusual abilities. Thankfully Commander Virion was working interference for him. This was ultimately only a temporary solution, but it at least allowed him to have some peace.

"How is Elijah?" Tess asked, sounding a little uncomfortable.

She knew Elijah was at one point Nico, and what his goal was, so she still felt a little worried at times that Nico could come back.

"He's trying to adjust, but Nico being in his subconscious doesn't help though." Arthur sighed as he laid on his back and looked up. "I never expected Nico to be this resilient. I just hope I can figure out a way to help Elijah stay in control and silence Nico for good."

Tess sat down on the bed beside him and placed a hand on his cheek.

"If there is a way, I know you'll find it."
She then leaned in and kissed his lips.

"But for now get up," she ordered as she pinched his side.

"Ahhh," Arthur cried out. "My savage fiancé is resorting to violence," he teased.

"I wouldn't have to if you'd get out of bed on your own."

"Or, you can get in bed with me?"

"No, we're going to have breakfast together."

"You do remember I have a part Asuran body now right? I don't need to eat."

"Neither does Sylvie but she still eats once in a while. Come on, it'll be good for you to move around and be seen by some people."

"Fine, but only because I don't want you to have to eat alone," he conceded and threw off the sheets before walking into the bathroom.

After another twenty minutes, Arthur and Tess were making their way to the cafeteria for breakfast.

"Tell me again why you picked out my clothes? These feel a little nicer than what I'd usually wear," Arthur questioned.

He was currently wearing a black turtleneck with matching black pants.

"Do I need a reason to want my future husband to look good?" She replied suspiciously.

Arthur noticed this but dismissed it, deciding if she was up to something it couldn't be too bad. As they got closer they walked by several people carrying trays of food, as well as some guards grumbling about not being able to sit and eat in the cafeteria.

"Hmm, sounds like we'll be having breakfast to go," Arthur commented.

"Oh no, we'll be eating there."

"Didn't you hear, the guards were told they couldn't eat in the cafeteria."

"Oh, I heard."

Arthur's eyes narrowed on her suspiciously.
"You had something to do with that didn't you."

Tess only smiled.

"Let's take a seat," she said as they entered the cafeteria.

Arthur took his eyes off her to look for a seat and froze as he saw they weren't the only ones there.

"Arthur," Alice said as she saw him and stood up.

Her face held a mixture of emotions, sadness, worry, and a little happiness since he was there. Beside her Ellie also stood up but kept her head down, hiding her expression, as Sylvie and Regis stood back to allow them their time.

Arthur tried to take a step back to leave, but Tess was behind him and pushed on his back to stop him.

"This was your doing wasn't it," he said as the guilt he tried to bury resurfaced.

"That's right," she said with a sympathetic tone. "I knew you were feeling guilty about your dad, and after everything you told me recently, I figured you were trying to avoid your mom and sister."

"With good reason."

"No, you need to talk with her and stop using me to hide. As much as I enjoy being so close to you, I can't in good conscience let you hide away from your problems. You need to talk with them. Even though I doubt it, if they do blame you, they also both love you and will forgive you."

Hesitantly he took a step forward. Tess took his hand and gave it a squeeze to reassure him he wasn't alone.

"Mom, Ellie," Arthur said as a nervous greeting as he slowly walked closer.

With tears welling up in her eyes Alice practically ran to Arthur and took him into a loving motherly embrace as tears began to escape her eyes. Slowly Arthur released Tess' hand and returned the hug as he too started to cry.

"I-I'm so sorry," Arthur struggled to get out without sobbing. "It's my fault dad's dead."

"No, this isn't your fault. Everything you've done has always been for this family."

"I let the scythe escape. I should have chased after him and finished him off. If I did, dad..."

"You couldn't have known he would have gone after us, let alone found us."

"But..."

"No. Your sister is safe because of you, I'm safe because of you. Your father died because those monsters decided they wanted to invade this continent. Your father and I wanted to contribute to the war, you couldn't have stopped us, we knew the risk. So please, stop blaming yourself, because I know your father never would."

"Brother," Ellie said, bringing attention to herself, her head still down.

"I'm..." she paused as she sobbed. "I'm sorry for..."

This time she was stopped as Arthur dropped to his knees and took her into a firm hug.

"It's ok," he said as tears ran down his cheeks. "You didn't say anything wrong."

Ellie pushed him back and punched him in the chest.

"You're still a jerk for scaring me," she said as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Sorry, I promise I'll never do that again."

"Now why don't we all sit down and eat breakfast together, as a family," Alice suggested.

Arthur got up and Alice guided him and Tess to the table they were sitting at, as Ellie gestured for Sylvie to join them. A few seconds later someone from the kitchen started bringing out all the food.

"Now eat up, we have a busy day today," Alice said as she picked up her fork.

"Busy? What's going on?" Arthur asked.

Alice took a shaky breath. "We're having your father's funeral today."

—————————————————————-

Upon finishing their breakfast the Leywin family, as well as Tess, Sylvie, Boo, and Regis exited a teleportation gate. As soon as they exited they were greeted by several familiar faces.

"Alice," Helen called out, gaining their attention.

Led by Alice they walked over to her and the rest of the twin horns and the Helesteas, who were all standing by three very nice carriages. As they arrived they were greeted by everyone with comforting hugs. Even Angela kept herself in check and didn't attempt to give her usual over the top emotional hugs, although it was a very firm one.

"I think I need a hug from her," Regis commented as he stared at Angela's exceptionally large bust.

"Say or do anything rude or vulgar today and I'll lock you down in my core," Arthur warned, as he could practically feel Regis mentally drooling as he stared at Angela.

"Sorry, right. Morn filled day today."

"I'm happy to see you all are up and about," Arthur commented as he returned a hug from Helen.

"That's thanks to you and Sylvie," Lilia replied.

"If you two didn't show up when you did, who knows if we would still be here," Jasmine added as she gave Arthur a hug.

"Anyway," Arthur said, trying to change the topic from that day. "Where are we exactly? I kind of was expecting us to be going to Xyrus."

"Blackbend," Durden said as he looked like he was fighting back some tears. Angela came over and gave him a hug as she rubbed his back.

"This was your father's hometown actually," Helen stated, a few tears started to escape her eyes, but she kept herself together. "Right here is where Rey, Adam, and Durden grew up and started their lives as adventurers."

"I didn't know you guys grew up together," Arthur commented, sounding a little surprised.

Durden just smiled and nodded as tears kept streaming down his cheeks.

After that, they all gathered into two of the carriages, as the other carried Rey's body. The ride to bury Rey was silent. Arthur had realized he didn't really know much of his father's past and was curious, but this also left him feeling guilty that he never asked him when he was still alive.

"Arthur, are you ok?" Alice asked.

"Yeah," Arthur replied, realizing his regret must have been noticeable on his face. "It's just, I just realized how little I actually knew about dad."

Alice gave a weak smile as tears started to flood her eyes again.

"Then after we bury your father would be a great time to ask. We were going to have lunch together after, and I'm sure it would be good to talk about all the good times we all had with your father."

—————————————————————

Reynolds was laid to rest surrounded by his closest friends and family, under a large oak tree by the Sehz River not far outside of town. His grave wasn't the only one there, he was laid to rest beside his childhood best friend Adam. And even though her body wasn't there, Lensa, a member of the twin horns who died several years before Arthur was born, also had a tombstone there in her memory.

After saying their last goodbyes, they returned to town, entered a restaurant for lunch, and inevitably reminisced about Rey.

"So Arthur," Vincent started, as he leaned back in his chair and looked around to Regis lying on the floor behind Arthur. "What's with that new bond of yours? Do you actually fight with it?"

"I'm not an it," Regis said with a tinge of annoyance as he sat up. "I am a majestic as fuck, badass wolf," his eyes then locked on Angela. "Who happens to identify as male."

All eyes became wide as they locked on the black wolf from hearing him speak.

"He's literally a living weapon given to me by the Asura for the war. He was actually collecting mana as a crystal in my hand to essentially wake up."

"So I take it that he's capable of full conversations?" Lilia asked.

"Yeah, he's just been keeping quiet considering the situation," Arthur replied.

"This is actually quite surprising considering he absorbed mana from a retainer horn," Sylvie chimed in. "Even though he's loyal to Arthur, he's normally vulgar and rude."

"Watch it, gecko princess. I don't hold any loyalty to you," Regis growled.

"Calm down you two," Arthur said with a sigh.

"It's almost like you two already have kids," Angela laughed, causing Arthur to blush but try and act natural, as Tess just covered her face to hide hers.

"Anyway," Arthur said in an effort to divert attention from him. "Durden, what was my dad like when you guys started as adventurers?"

Durden smiled as he recalled the memories.

"Well, growing up here and hearing all the older adventurers sharing their stories, you can't help but want to get out there and make your own stories, and Rey was no different. I remember the three of us always trained, practicing fighting even though we didn't know what we'd awaken as." Durden started chuckling. "Rey awoke two months after we did, and literally the next day he wanted to register as an adventurer."

A server then brought some ale for everyone of age, meaning only Ellie and Sylvie were drinking juice. Sylvie did try to take Tess' when she wasn't looking, but Regis proudly grabbed the back of her dress with his teeth and pulled her back.

Vincent raised his mug. "To Reynolds, a great husband, father, friend, but most of all, a great man."

Everyone's glasses raised a toast to Rey.

"So did you guys really become adventurers right away?" Ellie asked Durden, as she was enjoying hearing about her father.

"No, I was able to talk him into waiting till after he got into the dark red stage. It took him two months to get into dark red, and during those months the three of us hunted D and E ranked beasts to make a little money for our gear, and in your dad's case also to use the mana cores to help him along. Even though your father awoke later than us, when we finally went in to be evaluated he actually ranked higher than us. He was always a natural fighter."

"And a natural leader," Helen added. "That's what drew Lensa and me in."

Without a word from anyone, she began to recall her first meeting with Rey. "I remember I came to an outpost after taking on a subjugation quest. There was a nest of... I can't even remember what they were, just that they were some kind of arachnid beasts. Anyway, the eggs hatched, the outpost barely was holding them back, and they requested any help they could get. I met Lensa when I was trying to rent a horse to ride there, she was doing the same, and we ended up bonding on the ride. The senior adventurer was A ranked, and immediately took charge. He had a party of other A and B ranked adventurers, and we were pretty much the only mages keeping the beasts back. That guy had this brilliant idea of luring out all those smaller arachnids," she said sarcastically.

"While his party hunted the mother. That bas..." she paused as she realized Ellie was there and rechose her words. "That guy had told us there were half as many as there actually were because he and his party wanted to hunt this high A ranked mana beast, which we later learned was worth a fortune. He knew he and his team couldn't handle the babies as well, so he used us as bait. When we saw the actual numbers we all realized we were as good as dead, all but Rey. If it wasn't for him rallying everyone and coming up with a new strategy, we all would have died. He had come up with an idea that actually drove most of the beasts away." Helen laughed.
"When those jerks came back they were so pissed we were all still alive. Apparently, they had to fight their way through the beasts that were driven off and were completely exhausted."

"Why would they be pissed you were alive?" Tess asked.

"Because part of the posting for this quest stated all profits would be shared equally with everyone that fought. The parts and the core they got off the mother spider were worth a fortune, but after being split up between everyone we only made a small profit. Rey could have had a huge party after that, all he had to do was ask, so many people respected him. But he was just happy we all made it out alive because he cared more about the people than the gold. After that Lensa and I both decided to ask if we could join their party. Knowing we had a reliable leader that would look out for us like that was more valuable than gold."

"Well our story wasn't quite as dramatic as that," Angela said as she nudged Alice. "Alice and I were traveling together when we saw a post requesting help with an A ranked dungeon."

Angela gave a sly look as Alice blushed and covered her face. "We didn't even clear half the dungeon before Alice was practically begging to stay with the party because she found the man of her dreams."

"It was the same for Rey as well." Durden chimed in with a smile "He fell for Alice the moment he saw her and was determined to sweep her off her feet, but Alice wasn't going to give in that easily. She just acted cool and enjoyed Rey trying everything to get her attention. It lasted at least two months when Alice decided she was satisfied and finally returned Rey's feelings. It was a treat for everyone except Adam as he was too dense to realize what was going on."

As the stories about his father continued, Arthur learned a lesson he didn't even know he was missing. The Twin Horns and Helestias weren't his father's friends, they were his family, his brothers and sisters made through the bonds they shared. And just like with his mother, sister, and Tess, there was nothing he wouldn't do to protect them.

—————————————————————-

After many hours filled with merriment, of just about everyone sharing funny and heartfelt stories about Reynolds, it was night time, and Arthur and his family were now returning to the floating castle.

"Mom, Ellie, I'll see you both tomorrow, I want to talk with Tess for a bit," Arthur said.

"Of course," Alice said with a smile. "We'll see you sometime tomorrow."

"Come on Regis, let's go," Sylvie said as she followed Alice.

"Umm, no thanks, I'm sticking with Warrior Princess and his princess," Regis replied, sitting down beside Arthur.

"They aren't going to have sex, and if they did they would kick you out first," Sylvie said with an annoyed tone.

"Gahhh, fine," Regis replied as he followed Sylvie.

"I'm confused, did you tell him something?" Tess asked as she watched him walk away.

"No, Sylvie did," Arthur replied as he guided her to start walking.

"What did she say?" She asked as she walked beside him.

"Don't worry about it," Arthur replied, then quickly went to change the subject. "Anyways, I want to thank you for getting me out. I didn't go to my father's funeral last time, I think I needed this closure."

Tess took his hand and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"I'm happy I could help. I can't imagine how painful it must be to have experienced your father's death twice."

"It's not easy. But really the hardest both times was facing my mother."

"Why? From what you've said about before, she didn't blame you. So I can't imagine she would have this time too."

"I didn't expect her to blame me. I blame myself."

"Arthur, it wasn't your fault."

"No, this time it really was. But the worst part is, with this being the second time, I feel like it's worse. Almost like I failed my parents twice."

"Arthur..."

"I know my mother doesn't blame me, but would she if she knew this wasn't the first time? I honestly don't know, but I blame myself. And I won't forgive myself until I at least figure out what went wrong."

"What went wrong?"

"Everything I tried, failed to bring my dad back. I couldn't even turn back time again. I need answers, I need to know why I keep failing to save him."