Chapter Twenty-Three: The End of a Family Dynasty

Parts of the palace began to fall apart as the teleportation gate disintegrated. The wooden floors and walls begin to crack as the balcony falls into the city below.

Lei, Ponderrah, Okimi and her family flee to Sanas' bedroom. Okimi drags Sazan Jona on Sanas bed... The Daimyo remained emotionless as ever. Lei ties Jona's hands up with the curtain rope. Jona badly injured he looks up at his only living daughter. His wife pleads for mercy to Lei and Okimi.

"Why is there a Black Draconium General here!?" Okimi shouts over the breaking palace. They have a short amount of time.

"We are allies... They will have a representative to keep an eye on everything we do." Jona said. "Your soldiers must be having fun at this very moment."

Lei wondered what that meant... Having fun? How? This war. War is not meant to be fun. However, Okimi and Lei can feel the palace collapsing underneath them.

"TIME IS UP!" Okimi shouts as she faces her mother.

"Okimi... Darling, please! I have always loved you!" Her mother cries as she kneels and pleads. Clasping her hands together as if she is praying. This is the first time Okimi has ever seen her mother show her any emotion.

"You never showed it... You are only saying it because your life is ending..." Okimi says with tears streaming down her face. "This has to stop..."

Okimi's younger brother cries in complete fear. Rocking back and forth, covering his ears. Screaming for everything to stop. His calm and cocky behaviour is completely broken. He is now showing that he is a young boy.

Lei stares at Jona his own eyes glowing with Blue intensity. He thought of bringing Jona to his mother. He can imagine what she would do to him. Iron maiden? The rack? Rat torture? So many methods. Many of them are illegal... But his mother will make it legal for Jona.

The castle shakes again.

But what if he escapes? He still has many followers... I came here to kill him. So Lei's decision is sealed. He will kill Jona.

"Lei... May I please have a moment?" Okimi asks desperately. "Before you execute him?"

"We have no time Okimi!" Lei says as he unsheathes a katana that is displayed near Sana's bed. His spear is still inside Jona's shoulder. Removing it will be painful, but can kill him immediately. Lei looks at his reflection on the blade of the sword. It is specially made for the boy to use when he comes of age. He walks over breathing heavily. His revenge... For his father, his sister, his brothers, his home, and his honour. The ground shakes, as Lei loses his footing tripping with Ponderrah saving him with a mag stream.

But in that moment everything felt like it paused. Okimi unsheathes her wakizashi and stabs her father in the heart. He falls off the bed as his wife shrieks with grief. Jona looks up at his daughter as Lei screams at her and with a few breaths, Jona's breathing ceased. His eyes remained open as his blood spilled onto the wooden panels. Okimi looks behind. "Ponderrah... Hold him, please... He will fall..." She removed all of her emotions as she said those words.

"OKIMI!" Lei shouts with anger repeatedly. It was his REVENGE! "WHY OKIMI!? IT WAS MINE!"

But what happened next took Lei by surprise. Ponderrah held him with his mag stream walking backwards as he can feel the panels beginning to loosen from the palace crumbling. Lei fights against him, but the blind dragon knows the environment is too dangerous to stay.

Okimi grabs her mother's hair from the scalp and pulls her up. Looking into Okimi's glowing blue eyes, all the years of neglect her daughters can be seen. She never realised how beautiful they were... She slaps Okimi's face, revealing her anger to her daughter. Like her father, she easily overpowers her mother and stabs her in the heart like Jona. Whispering in her ear "This has to stop... And it ends with us..." Kissing her mother's cheek as Okimi begins to cry hysterically.

Parts of the roof fall around them. Okimi lets go of her mother as her body collapses lifeless next to Jona.

Lei managed to release himself from Ponderrahs mag grip. He charges right at Okimi, body-slamming her to the ground.

Okimi fights back, pushing Lei off her. The palace begins to shake even more as it felt like an earthquake. At this rate, there will be nothing of the palace left. A tower can be seen outside the window falling apart with dragons and humans screaming.

"LEI! LEAVE!" Okimi shouts. "I will not go further from here!" She turns around with her wakizashi and chases down her who tries to flee.

Lei catches both of them and pins them down. Using all his strength, he can hear Ponderrah screaming for him. But he ignored it.

"Why your family!? You are the next Daimyo!?" Lei tries his hardest not to cry. His anger and sadness could not be described. He felt sick to his stomach.

"It is the best way... Me being Daimyo will not bring peace." Okimi says softly but loud enough amongst the chaos. "Your mother and I agreed..." She said.

With sudden shock and a moment of weakness, she pushes Lei off as she quickly turns and murders her eleven-year-old brother. He tried to flee from his murderous sister, "It is for the best brother..." She yells and stabs him in the heart. Stabbing him quickly hoping she made a painless death.

The boy falls lifeless like his parents. Okimi then looks at Lei covered with blood and tears. "It really is..."

"OKIMI! NOOOOO!" Lei shouts hysterically. But it was too late she stabs herself in the stomach. She collapses as Lei grabs and cradles her. No longer hiding his tears...

"YOU'RE SO FUCKING STUPID!" Lei shouts.

"It is time for a new Dynasty... My family has no honour and neither do I..." Okimi gurgles blood out her mouth. Her body freezing with pain. "For peace." Her last words are as her glowing blue eyes closed.

The palace floor begins to tilt as the palace foundation collapses from underneath them. Ponderrah mags Lei back to him. Lei couldn't help but lose grip of Okimi. Her body slides next to her parents.

Ponderrah smashes through the door as Lei directs him to avoid the rubble obstacles.

"Jump!" He yells at Ponderrah as a large wooden beam collapses before him. Ponderrah jumps. Almost crushing Lei on the roof. Shouting directions, he couldn't help think of what just transpired in Sana's room. Okimi's direct family is gone... And his mother had a part of it?

The halls begin to collapse as Lei and Ponderrah had to fight against many others to escape humans or dragons.

Ponderrah loses his grip as he and Lei slide down the crumbled hall. Holding onto his saddle for dear life, Lei screams as the hall breaks free from the palace as they freefall to the ground. Lei closes his eyes waiting for the inevitable, hoping it will be painless...

Feeling forever as they fell a gold mag stream grabs both of them. Lei felt the sensation as he sees Mali floating next to them. Mali with a wave of his hands creates a floating gold mag orb. Saving a few other humans and dragons in the process.

Lei has wide eyes, surprised that Mali has come all this way.

"Don't mind me... I am just saving your life." Mali says smiling at the strangers behind him. They all float down to the ground away from the palace wreckage. Once Mali chose a safe place to land, he dissipates the orb causing everyone but him to crash to the ground.

"Ow..." Lei groans and then checks Ponderrah to see if he is okay. The small dragon nods yes.

Mali sighs as he looks at the destruction. He couldn't hide his sadness over it... Gives him flashbacks of when Loan (Dragon-City) is destroyed.

Mali then snaps out of it grabbing Lei's arm and dragging him away from the scene. Ponderrah following Lei's scent is close behind. The strangers remain behind trying to recollect what just happened.

"Mali... How? What?" That is all Lei can say.

"Never mind that..." He said sternly. "Come... The others are waiting..." Mali then leads Lei and Ponderrah to the gates from where their mission in Unmei began.