Chapter 69: Death
"My child has grown so much over the years," Evelyn sighed, "I pray for both of them to live well and healthy."
"Mom, eat up, or we will finish the entire meal soon." Ava's voice woke her up from her reverie with the giggles of Ava that filled the room.
"My brother is the only one who can match me in eating— hehehe." She said with a proud smile.
"Match you?" Aur smirked when he heard that if he really wanted, he could finish the entire meal in one go, so he was holding himself back to eat at her speed instead.
As they eat the food, the room becomes harmonious and peaceful.
"Brother, I will bring the utensils to my mother." Ava smirked with a proud expression as she carried the plates and brought them to the kitchen, where Evelyn was just washing the dishes.
Aur shook his head speechlessly.
"So Aur, did something happen inside the academy?" Adam asked in a concerned tone.
"Hmm," Aur looked up to see the troubling expression of Adam and just shook his head. "No, nothing has happened."
"Then-"
"It's because I took a leave from the academy," Aur said with a casual shrug.
"Oh," Adam sighed in a relieved expression.
"So what happened in the academy? Did you take my advice that I gave you?..." Adam said as he barraged Aur with questions upon questions.
"Yes, yes, I took your advice. Thank you, Father." Aur nodded his head with a smile on his face as he patiently answered all the questions for him.
"I won't ask you which spell you chose, as it is your own choice, but are you really suitable with the spell you chose?"
"Yes, I am, Father. Looks like I have very high comprehension, so I chose one of the complex spells." Aur said with a smile on his face.
"Good, as long as that suits you the best." Adam nodded his head. "But why did you come from the academy so soon? You should be training instead. Even if you can train here, the facilities there are way better than here, isn't it?"
"Oh, I forgot something important here, so I just came back to take it and nothing more," Aur replied.
Adam sighed upon hearing this. "Whatever it is, you must train hard right now. We two are getting very old and will die soon."
"Huh," Aur was stunned when he heard this.
"Yes, we have used magic that makes us look young even as we age. That is the reason we were able to maintain such a youthful appearance. We are actually seventy years old already," Adam said with a sigh.
"But-" Aur looked at Adam with a serious gaze.
"You see, when we were young, we made a lot of bad choices in life which led to our lifespan decreasing a lot due to the use of terrifying spells," Adam explained expressionlessly while his eyes were filled with regret.
The atmosphere became eerily silent; the chilling wind blew through the window. The happy giggles of Ava still resounded in the kitchen with the occasional voice of Evelyn.
A bitter expression with sadness slowly reflected in Aur's narrowed eyes. Suddenly, his entire aura changed as he became entirely expressionless.
"How many years can you two live?" Aur asked in a deep, hoarse voice.
"We will be able to live for at most five years," Adam said with a sigh on his face. "Your mother can live a little longer than me but will still die after a year or two."
"Why did you never tell us before?" Aur asked expressionlessly.
"You have to understand that you two were too young for this. I only told you this because you can finally stand on your own feet now," Adam replied in a simple tone.
From the left crimson pupil of Aur, a small tear droplet escaped from his eyes, which he immediately wiped away.
"I understand, father." Aur nodded his head expressionlessly.
Adam sighed.
"You have to take care of Ava from now on and be the man of the house also," Adam spoke while patting Aur on the shoulder. "Look at you, a six-feet giant already; it is embarrassing for you to cry like this."
"I am not crying," Aur replied, his voice hoarse.
"Yeah, yeah, sure, sure," Adam waved his hand in the air while laughing it off.
Just then, Ava came running from the kitchen.
"Brother, there are too many dishes in the kitchen. You have to help us," Ava said, giggling and tugging at his hands.
"Okay, I will come," Aur said, looking tenderly at Ava with a smile on his face as he spoke in a hoarse voice.
"What happened to you, brother?" Ava suddenly paused, hearing the hoarse voice of Aur.
"Nothing," Aur shook his head, and a forced smile appeared on his face.
"Tell me what happened?"
"It's really nothing," Aur shook his head, and his smile returned to his usual self.
"Okay, good. Then come help us," Ava tugged. "Was I dreaming previously?" she thought, with a strange expression on her face.
Either way, she happily forced her brother to work with her and their mother.
Adam sighed as he looked at Aur and Ava from outside, with a smile from Evelyn who was in the kitchen.
"Sigh, our selfishness has granted you a lot of pain," Adam sighed again. It was actually his stubbornness to have a child their age, knowing they will die soon.
"I hope you can live well," Adam rested on the sofa with a tentative expression.
After all things were settled, Evelyn, Aur, and Ava all went towards the living room where Adam was sitting on a corner sofa.
"You should look at the Imagebox for now," Aur beckoned, and Ava happily sat on the front sofa where there was a big black screen.
She touched a jade tablet, and instantly, the big screen was filled with images as she willed it, the pictures on the screen changed.
"My favourite show is gonna come soon, hehehe," Ava smiled in glee. The Imagebox was basically another name for the TV in Aur's previous world.
Evelyn was about to sit besides Ava too; however, Aur stopped her by putting his hands on her shoulder.
"Mother, why didn't you tell us?"
"What do you mean?" Evelyn asked with a frown on her face.
"That you and father were going to die," Aur asked with a deadpan expression in a whisper.
Evelyn's eyes widened, and her expression froze right there as if in shock.
She looked at Adam, who was emotionlessly looking at the two. Her eyes flashed with an understanding glint as Adam nodded his head.
Evelyn sighed, "you were really too young then."
"I understand. But what about life-prolonging spells? Couldn't you imprint them in your mental space to survive more?" Aur said in a whisper.
"We will talk about it later," Evelyn said as she pointed at Ava, who was smilingly watching the Imagebox.
Aur nodded his head expressionlessly and left.
"Where are you going, Aur?"
"I am going to my room," Aur's voice rang in the room.
Evelyn shook her head with a sigh while Adam also sighed.