Chapter 145: Last Talk

Vlad’s words remained in the ruined Garden long after he had spoken them. "Thank you, my dear daughter."

Emily stood beside him with tears still gathered in her eyes, unable to look away.

Vlad’s body was already beginning to lose its stability, but he was still conscious, and for the first time since they had found one another again, there was no anger in his expression.

There was only exhaustion and the quiet relief of someone who had finally reached the end of a journey.

Emily wiped her face with the back of her hand and looked around the Garden. "Do you remember this place? You used to change the flowers whenever I complained about them."

Vlad gave a weak laugh. "You still remember that?"

"Of course I do. I complained about one ugly section, and the next morning the entire area looked different." Emily smiled through her tears. "You pretended it was because you had already planned to change it."

"I had," Vlad replied, though the faint smile on his face made it obvious he was lying.

"You were terrible at lying," Emily laughed quietly.

"You were difficult."

"I was adorable."

"You were both."

The small exchange brought a little warmth back into the ruined Garden.

For a moment, Emily could almost imagine that nothing had changed, that she was looking at the Garden as it had been when she was young, with Maria nearby, Selene still a baby, and Vlad pretending he wasn’t constantly giving in to his daughter’s demands.

Then her smile slowly faded.

Vlad looked toward the destroyed Garden, and the warmth in his expression turned distant again.

Emily recognized that look immediately. He was thinking about everything that had happened, and she knew that if he died while carrying all of that regret, winning the battle would never feel like enough.

She reached for his hand. "Father," she said softly, "you don’t have to think about everything you did anymore."

Vlad looked toward her.

"You have me," she continued. "I’m still here. I have my sisters, my husband, and people who care about me. You didn’t lose everything."

Reinhard stood a short distance away and stayed silent. He understood this was something Emily needed to say herself, so he didn’t interrupt.

Vlad looked at his daughter for a long time before a familiar notification appeared in Reinhard’s vision.

[Investment Objective Completed.]

[A-Grade Investment Successful.]

[Calculating Rewards...]

Reinhard’s eyes shifted toward it. The mission was complete. He had saved Emily. The Heart of Origin had been destroyed, Emily had survived, and the objective had finally been fulfilled.

Normally, he would have been curious about the reward, especially after an A-Grade Investment, but this time his attention immediately returned to Emily and Vlad. For perhaps the first time since receiving the Akasha Investment System, Reinhard didn’t care about the money, the power, or another ridiculous ability.

He simply hoped. Please.

His fingers tightened slightly. Just this once.

He wanted something that could help Emily, or something that could give Vlad peace before he disappeared.

[Calculation Complete]

[Reward Granted]

Another notification appeared.

[Legendary Reward Granted: Last Talk.]

[Effect: Allows the user to have one final conversation with the people they love most.]

Reinhard froze. He didn’t even bother reading the remaining rewards as more notifications appeared beneath it. His attention had already locked onto the small description. Maria. Then another thought followed.

Selene. His eyes shifted toward Vlad.

This was it. The system had actually given him something that could help them.

Reinhard quietly retrieved the reward from his inventory. A small transparent orb appeared in his hand, carrying a faint golden light within it. Emily and Vlad were still talking and didn’t notice him approaching until he stopped beside them.

"All right, father-in-law," he said, holding the orb toward Vlad. "This is my last gift to you."

Vlad looked at the strange object with confusion. "What is it?"

"It will grant you one final conversation with the people you love most."

Emily’s eyes widened. "Reinhard..." she whispered, immediately understanding what he meant.

Vlad stared at the orb before slowly raising his eyes. "Is this serious?"

"Very."

Reinhard placed his hand against Vlad’s shoulder and activated Serene. A gentle Mana flowed through Vlad’s ruined body, stabilizing the damage without healing what could no longer be healed.

He frowned as he felt the limits of the ability. "I can’t restore you, but I can keep your body stable for a little while." He looked directly into Vlad’s eyes. "You have five minutes. Hurry up."

Vlad’s fingers closed around the orb. He activated it.

The Garden went quiet. A soft golden light appeared in front of them, spreading through the air until a familiar figure slowly took shape. Long blond hair appeared first, followed by golden eyes and a gentle smile. A woman stood before them with a sleeping baby in her arms.

Vlad froze. Emily’s breath caught.

The woman looked at Vlad for several seconds before her smile grew warmer. "My silly husband," Maria said softly. Her eyes moved toward Emily. "And my beautiful daughter." Her voice trembled. "I missed you two so much."

Vlad’s lips parted, but no words came out. For years, he had carried the memory of Maria as something he could never touch again. Now she stood in front of him, close enough that he could almost believe the years between them had never happened.

Maria smiled when she saw his expression. "You really haven’t changed."

"Neither have you," Vlad finally laughed, though tears were already running down his face.

"That is not true. You simply haven’t aged well."

"You’re still cruel."

"And you’re still terrible at expressing your feelings."

Emily covered her mouth as a small laugh escaped her.

"Don’t encourage her," Vlad glanced toward her.

Maria looked at Emily again, studying her face with a mother’s quiet affection. "Look at you." Emily’s tears returned. "You really did grow up."

"I wish you could have seen it," Emily whispered.

"I am seeing it now."

Emily began telling her everything she could think of. She spoke about the life she had built, the people she had met, the places she had gone, and the family she had gained.

She told Maria about Maki, Yuna, and Lily, about the strange situations they constantly found themselves in, and about the man standing beside her.

Maria eventually looked toward Reinhard. "So this is your husband?"

Emily’s cheeks turned red immediately.

Reinhard gave a small bow. "It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mother-in-law."

Maria laughed.

"Don’t encourage him," Vlad sighed.

"I like him already," Maria said.

"I knew we would get along," Reinhard smiled.

Maria’s expression softened as she looked at him. "Thank you for taking care of my daughter."

His smile turned quieter. "I’ll keep doing it."

Maria nodded, as though that was all she needed to hear.

Then the baby in her arms began to glow.

Emily stared as the small figure slowly changed, growing into the appearance of a little girl with light blond hair. She looked around curiously before her eyes settled on Emily. "Big sister?"

Emily broke down completely. "Yes," she whispered.

The little girl smiled. "You’re pretty."

"So are you," Emily laughed through her tears.

Selene tilted her head before reaching one small hand toward her. Emily slowly reached back. Their fingers never truly touched, but the sight alone was enough to make her chest ache.

For all these years, Selene had only been a name and a memory that existed through the stories of others. Now Emily finally had one moment with her.

Maria eventually turned toward Vlad. "I know what happened," she said quietly.

His smile faded.

"I know about the town. I know about the Bloodkin. I know what you became."

Vlad lowered his head. Maria stepped closer. "I wish you had come to us sooner."

His shoulders trembled. "I didn’t know how."

"You didn’t have to know how," Maria replied. "You only had to come home."

Vlad closed his eyes as tears slipped down his face. Maria didn’t tell him that everything he had done was forgiven as though it had never mattered. She simply reached for his hand. "Grief was never meant to be carried alone."

Selene reached toward Vlad as well, and he looked at the two of them, his expression breaking completely.

Then the golden light around Maria began to fade. Vlad’s eyes widened. "No..."

Maria smiled at him. "Our time is almost over."

Emily reached toward her. "Mom..."

"Don’t cry, sweetheart," Maria smiled warmly. "I’m happy. I got to see you."

Selene gave Emily one final smile before her small figure began fading with Maria. "Goodbye, big sister."

Emily’s lips trembled. "Goodbye, Selene."

Maria’s figure disappeared soon after, leaving Vlad and Emily standing together in the ruined Garden.

Vlad stayed silent for several seconds. Then he looked toward Emily, his body becoming translucent. "There is one more thing I have to give you."

Emily looked at him in confusion.

Vlad raised a trembling hand toward her. "The Heir of Tepes." She stared at him. "And the Singularity weapon, Tepis. It is still in the Garden." He gave her a faint smile. "You know where to find it."

Her eyes widened as she looked at her own Bloodkin transformation. "This power... my form... When did you...?"

"Before you left." His voice grew softer. "I left half of my power inside you."

Reinhard’s expression changed. "It was always there? But I never saw it, and none of the doctors mentioned anything."

"He’s a Calamity," Emily shook her head slowly. "Their ability to hide things is legendary."

"Indeed," Vlad chuckled weakly. "I hid it inside her using the power of concepts and laws. Not even another Calamity would have noticed it."

Emily trembled. "You did all of that for me?"

"I was always worried about you," Vlad answered. "I never wanted to hear that my daughter had died somewhere while I was unable to do anything." His body became even more transparent. "This is all I can do for you now."

He looked toward the place where Maria and Selene had disappeared. "I have to go now. I want to see Maria and your little sister."

Emily bit her lip before forcing herself to smile. "Tell Mom that she has three other daughters too."

Vlad blinked. "Three?"

"Maki, Yuna, and Lily," Emily nodded, tears running down her cheeks.

His eyes softened. "Of course. I will tell her all of it." A small smile appeared on his face. "I saw the memories of your life through our Blood connection. I have plenty of things to tell her."

Emily smiled brightly through her tears. For the first time, she wasn’t crying because she was afraid of losing him. She was happy that he would finally have something good to talk about when he saw Maria again.

The remaining light around Vlad began fading faster. Emily stepped closer. "Goodbye, Father."

"Good." Vlad’s eyes moved toward the empty space where Maria had disappeared, then toward the place where Selene had faded, before finally returning to Emily. "Me, Maria, and Selene will wait for you in the other world."

Emily’s tears flowed freely. His smile remained gentle. "But don’t come too soon." He paused for a moment. "We want to hear so many stories from you."

Emily covered her mouth as she cried. That was all he wanted to leave her with. Not revenge. Not hatred. Not another burden. He wanted her to live.

Vlad’s body finally began fading completely. Emily reached toward him, but she didn’t try to stop him. Reinhard remained beside her, quietly holding her shoulder as Vlad gave them one final smile. "Thank you... for everything."

The last traces of his body disappeared. Emily stood there in silence, staring at the empty space where her father had been.

Then something faint appeared in the distance. A spectral image slowly formed beyond the ruined Garden. Emily’s eyes widened.

Vlad was walking through a peaceful white landscape.

Ahead of him stood Maria, holding Selene’s hand. He stopped. Maria smiled and reached for his hand, and Selene took his other. The three of them began walking forward together, side by side, slowly disappearing into the distant light.

They never looked back.

Emily watched until the final trace of the image faded. Reinhard stood beside her without saying anything. For a long time, neither of them moved.

Emily eventually leaned against him, and Reinhard quietly wrapped an arm around her. The Garden remained silent, but for the first time since she had returned, Emily no longer felt as though something was waiting for her there.

Her father had finally gone home.