The tavern was quiet.

  No songs. No cheers. No laughter echoing off wooden beams. Just stillness—and the quiet grief of the living.

  Civilians filled the space, some silently sipping from chipped mugs, others sobbing into their sleeves. The fire in the hearth flickered low, casting shadows over faces marked by ash and fatigue.

  They had not just lost a battle. They had lost Vehra F. Jifuwara—the Concord of Telkha, a living legend. A warrior whose name once walked with Cinder’s Petal.

  Now… just silence.

  At the far table near the window, six figures sat in a ring of absence.

  Tela. Kana. Myke. Ronald. Ying. Jug.

  No words. Just pain.

  “She... always sang me a lullaby whenever I had trouble sleeping,” Kana said, voice barely above a whisper.

  “She did that,” Tela nodded. “To all of us.”

  The group sank deeper into their drinks.

  Then, footsteps.

  Sam arrived with a tray, placing Shein sodas—still fizzing—down on the table. “Well,” he said, trying to sound casual, “V’s gone. And so are all of Myke’s subordinates.”

  He gave Myke a side glance. “So tell me, boss. What’s the deal?”

  “It’s not your place to ask,” Myke muttered without meeting his eyes.

  “No, no,” Sam pushed. “I need to know. About Ming. About her. Who was she to you? How did you even meet someone like that?”

  “Sam,” Jug warned, sharp now. “Not the time.”

  “Why not?” Sam snapped. “Why Hennah? Why is it only her who gets to chase after Ming? While we sit here like cowards?”

  Myke’s hands clenched under the table.

  Tension thickened in the air, pulled tighter with every breath.

  Then—

  Myke stood. Sudden. Explosive.

  “Won’t you all just SHUT. THE. FUCK. UP?!”

  The tavern froze. All eyes turned.

  He breathed heavily, then slumped back into his seat.

  “I have nothing to say. Not about Hennah. Not about Ming. Not about who—or what—she really is.”

  A bitter silence followed. Only the crackling fire dared to speak.

  “So…” Ying finally said. “What now? We’re all broken. We’re not in shape to keep fighting.”

  Myke stared into his drink.

  “I don’t see another way,” he said quietly. “I’m going back to the start.”

  Jug blinked. “Wait—you mean…”

  “Yes.” Myke nodded. “Recruiting.”

  “You’re insane,” Jug said. “We already had our best team! You think you’ll just find another Vehra, another Hennah, another Ming?!”

  “They left,” Myke said flatly. “And there’s no reason for them to come back.”

  No one could argue with that.

  Outside, the winds of Cinder blew over the valley of the dead.

  Inside, six souls stared into the void left behind by gods, mothers, and monsters.

  And somewhere far from the tavern…

  A girl with too many names was already walking through shadows.

  The next day, everything goes back to normal. The villagers start working together to clean up their town after yesterday's war. As Myke wakes up, taking his fresh air, wandering around the town, help them and glaring at them. He was already thinking of the checklist of the members, as soon he saw Ying was sitting alone next to the tree, meditating with her bow, spear and her scrolls next to her.

  "Ying?" Myke said as he approach, yet she didn't response.

  "Yo, Lyo! Where should we find first?" Jug from afar said.

  As Myke glare at Ying, he was asking to join him, yet he left her meditate for a while, and goes to Jug.

  "Akira? Akira?!" Ying shout in the darkest void that she have entered before. "I wanted to tell you something. About Ming,"

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Then, he appeared, with his jacket and unhooded, staring at Ying with stoic look. He soon approach her. And as he is in front of her, he stays quiet.

  "Uh...well, Ming left us, the Valirion. And I wanna ask you something, who is Ming?"

  "Elyssa?"

  "Uh...yeah, Elyssa,"

  "....Lisa?"

  "Yeah, her too,"

  Then he silent, and continues, "...Mingwara?"

  "YES THREE OF THEM!!"

  Akira walks around her in circle with his eyes on her. "Would you bare the history of Mingwara...Lisa...Elyssa with me?" Akira said with airy and harsh voice.

  "I would love to? But..."

  "She's one of the Six Rings, comes from my own ancestors, from the blood that would bare the name of The Mother of All,"

  "Divine One?"

  Akira shook his head. "Elanara (Mother of All),"

  Ying paused before asking. "So who are you to her?" Ying asked.

  "I..." Akira halted. "I am...her husband...her protector,"

  "Ming and you...married?"

  "Didn't she told you about it? About our children?"

  "Well, Vehra did,"

  Soon Akira stunned after hearing her name. "Vehra...Melania..."

  "Yes, her." soon she noticed. "Melania? You knew her?"

  "She's my sister-in-law." he said. "Melania Fujiwara, Elyssa Fujiwara, Lisa Fujiwara/Itoh, Mingwara Jifu,"

  "Okay okay, take it slow. So, All of them...are related to you?"

  "Elyssa sacrifice me by beheading me,"

  Ying then went speechless. "Wait..."

  "Can't you see it?" Akira said.

  "So, a whole nightmare I felt...it was...you who gave Ming all her powers,"

  "No...not powers. Her name,"

  "Elanara..." Ying soon understood.

  As Akira looks away. Silents deafen once more.

  "But...why Ming left?" Ying asked.

  "Did she?"

  "Yeah...after Vehra's death,"

  Akira silent. "Melania...dies..."

  "Yeah, you saw that too,"

  "Through you," he turn his head to Ying. "Everything I saw, is through you,"

  "Wha..."

  "Even about how you feel about Myke,"

  Ying then blushed as he knew about her feelings to Myke. "Could you...not..."

  "Put that aside. Ming has something you don't know yet,"

  "Meaning?"

  "Let Hennah the one who sees it,"

  "Why her? Sam was asking the same thing to us. Why Hennah?"

  He soon goes closer to Ying. "She sees everything. Even myself."

  "H-How?"

  "She sense everything. She's sensitive on the single particles of the matter." he stood back. Then he left.

  "But why?!" Ying is desperate to know as he left.

  "She's my Amelia." he said.

  "Amelia?"

  "When the time comes...you...Valirion and Cinder's Petal...should be regroup soon."

  Soon after, Ying opens her eyes, looks around and stretches her body. As she noticed a written on her palm, said, "Hevalnya."

  "Hevalnya? That's not far from Jarta," Ying muttered. Then she thought longer. "Wait..."

  For after hours of searching, Jug and Myke arrived in the tavern, with no results.

  "Damn...it's hard than I expected," Jug said.

  "I think we have no choice but disband," Myke said.

  Fortunately, Ying arrived as possible. "Myke!" she huffed.

  "Oh, you're on time." Jug said.

  "What do you mean?"

  "We're about to talk about our disbanding,"

  "WHAT?!" Ying outrage about Myke's decisions. She approach to Myke and slaps his face.

  "What's...that for?" Myke suprised.

  "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK LIKE THIS, MYKE!?" Ying yelled.

  "We have no reasons to continue this team. You..may dismiss,"

  "NONSENSE!!" Ying slapped him again. "DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH GRATEFUL I AM IN THIS TEAM OF YOURS?!"

  "Likewise, we have-"

  Slaps once more.

  "Listen to me," Ying said. As he's about to say, she repeat it, and again and again until he goes silent. "LISTEN TO ME, MYKE Y. YARH!! I DON'T FUCKING CARE IF YOU LOST HOPE OR SOMETHING, BUT LISTEN TO ME AT LEAST A FEW MINUTES!!"

  Jug shock at Ying's behavior suddenly changed. "Woah...too similar to Ming...Imma go up first..." he left.

  "What do you think about Hennah?" Ying asked.

  "She's just dumb in any chance she did it right," Myke said.

  "Exactly, and why is that?"

  "I don't know,"

  "Because she knew everything. She know what is she doing. She know why she swears a lot, anything, every pranks, she know what she was doing a whole time,"

  "I don't know what you talking about. That's her business, why you need to know about,"

  "What do you think the reason she chase down Ming in the first place?" Ying asked again.

  "Because she felt that Ming is her mother?"

  "No..."

  "Because, she's clinging on her the most?"

  "ARE YOU DUMB OR SOMETHING?"

  "THEN WHAT?!"

  "SHE KNEW MING IS...SHE KNEW EVERYTHING ABOUT HER LIFE, HER HISTORY!!" Ying shout at him.

  "WHAT PROVE CAN YOU MAKE ME CONVINCE SHE KNEW ABOUT MING!!"

  "Remember how Hennah find Mya? How does she know?"

  "Where do you get that information from?"

  "Heh, Hennah herself,"

  "Well she told us she sensed it,"

  "Exactly." Ying said. "SHE SENSE IT, SHE SENSE YOUR FIANCEE, SHE SENSE A ROBBERY, AND SHE SENSE MING!"

  "IS IT A BIG DEAL?"

  "YES, BECAUSE HENNAH IS THE ONLY ONE WHO KEPT ANSWERS THAT WE DON'T KNOW ABOUT THEM YET, AND YOU OVER HERE, THINKING OFF DISBANDING AND 'Oh, let's make a new team' THING!!"

  Myke stays silent. Ying becomes more outrages than her usual thing. "If we don't follow Hennah by now, and stay here and not doing everything, this realm of Manalta will crumble UNDER THE NAME OF WHAT MING HATES....TAKERU..."

  And as that, Ying push him back, and walks up stairs and enter her room. Soon she goes out again, "IF ONLY MING AND HENNAH NEVER LEFT...VALIRION SHOULD'VE STAYED TOGETHER...OTHERWISE...Your Rose will never be Rose in the first place," and she shut her door.

  Myke is still in the process of what happened. All of his notes and checklist of recruiting somehow a waste for him.

  "If there's no Ming...Ying will be angry...more angry...if there's no Hennah...there's no colors...no jokes...no pranks...no fucking unhinged witch who makes every wins seems a streak...and no FUCKING BANTERING IN MY EARS!" He throws his notes away. "WHY AM I SO FUCKING PATHETIC!??" He scream.

  Behind the door, Ying just sitting against the door, crying and no words of what will happened next. After seconds later, Ying felt the door is open, and Myke enters. "You...right...It was a cowardice for me to disbanding Valirion...for all years of success." he muttered.

  Ying then stands up as she's with Myke.

  "Ming, especially. She's...she's the one who is always loyal to my own team along with Hennah. Both of them were never be separate, after all...I didn't noticed myself about them. I'm such a pathetic leader for them."

  "No no, you're not terribly pathetic. You tried," Ying said as she hug him. "You did your best for us as Valirion.

  "I should've not naive on them...I shouldn't let...I shouldn't let Valirion died like this..." his voice cracks, his legs lowered as his tears rolling down his cheeks.

  "That's why we need them, because without you, there's no Valirion, without them, there's no Valirion." Ying said.

  "Without you...Valirion should've gone forever..." Myke said. "And without you...I never being the same again..." he continues.

  Ying caress his head as he cries. "I know...Lyo...I know..." then she forehead on his, and nose touch. It calms Myke to his calmest mind. He holds that position to her, not letting go as he's been longing for the moment after Mya's death.

  "Please...I really don't want my Valirion to die like this..."

  "I will...

  dear,"