The Beginning After The End novel Chapter 240

Chapter 240

Chapter 240: Reconciliation _{freēwebnovel.com}

The towering dark-brown bear fur, the tuft of white on the chest, along with two spots of white just above two intelligent eyes—it was unmistakable. This was Boo.

Boo must’ve been thinking the same thing I was, because the thousand-pound bear charged at me on all fours, letting out a happy grunt.

With unabated force, the gigantic mana beast tackled me, lifting me off my feet and tossing me to the ground. Looming over me, Boo revealed a toothy grin before slobbering me with his tongue that was actually larger than my face.

I struggled under the mana beast’s weight as he pinned me down to the ground and continued to show his affection. “Boo—Ack! Stop! Okay! Enough!”

“I think he’s had enough, Boo,” my bond said, her voice calming the excited beast enough for me to escape.

“I feel violated,” I groaned, wiping off the thick and slimy mask of saliva that had accumulated over my face. It wasn’t until halfway through that my brain clicked. If Boo was here...

I grabbed Boo’s large, furry head and turned him to face me.

“Boo! Is Ellie here? What about my mom?! How did you get here?” I asked, as if he could speak to me.

Fortunately, he didn’t have to. My questions were answered when I saw Virion rush past us in a blur.

“Tessia!” he called out, his voice brimming with emotion. My grip around Boo loosened at the mention of that name, and I immediately followed after Virion.

I didn’t have to go far before I was able to see four figures at the base of the stairs near the far wall of the building. It was my mom, sister, Tessia and... Elder Rinia.

My long and hurried strides slowed as my vision blurred. Tears struggled to break loose as I saw Tessia fall into Virion’s arms. The sight of Ellie running towards me was enough to break me and I found myself arm in arm with my baby sister, my face buried in her short brown hair.

My sister’s entire body shook as she bawled into my chest. Hitting me weakly with her tiny, trembling fists, she blubbered in between sobs about how scared she was and how I wasn’t there.

It felt like a cold hand was gripping down on my chest as I watched my sister in this state. I felt guilty for making my sister, who had grown up so bright and strong, cry this much.

“I’m so sorry, Ellie. I’m so sorry. I’m here now, everything is going to be okay,” I said, tightening my grip around her frail body and kissing her on the crown of her trembling head.

“W-We almost died and you weren’t there. Y-Y-You’re... never there! Not at the Castle, not at the Wall, not even when Dad died!” She wailed, her fists still pounding my body. “You’re my brother, you’re supposed to be there! You were supposed to comfort me when Dad died! I-I needed you... Mom needed you!”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Ellie,” I repeated, doing all I could to stay strong. “I’m so sorry...”

Ellie slowly calmed down as her head remained buried in my chest. Her trembling shoulders now only occasionally shook when she hiccupped. During this time, I didn’t look up. I kept my focus entirely on my sister until she pushed herself away. Staring at me with swollen red eyes, she jutted a finger behind her. “G-Go apologize to Mom now.”

I looked up to find our mother only a few steps away from us, her expression hollow and empty of any emotion. Her warm and tender smile that I found even in the hardest of times was nowhere to be found.

I walked up to her, unsure of what to do or where to begin.

“M-Mom...”

My mother’s cold eyes cut me off as she took a step forward. “Arthur, your sister and I almost died. If it wasn’t for Elder Rinia saving us, we wouldn’t be here right now.”

My gaze turned to Elder Rinia, who was talking with Tessia and Virion, before landing back on my mother. “I-I...”

“But throughout that entire situation, when I thought that surely we would die—soon, if not now—do you know what I was thinking?”

I shook my head.

“I was thinking...” My mother paused a moment, her mask of stone wavering. Tears welled in her eyes while she bit her lower lip in an effort to keep it from trembling. She turned away from me, quickly wiping away her tears, trying to compose herself before turning back. “I was thinking the entire time how sad and guilt-ridden your father must’ve been to leave this world without even getting the chance to make up with his only son.”

Her words weighed down on me like a thousand tons, making my knees buckle and my entire body falter. Just as I lost strength in my legs, my mother wrapped her arms around me and supported me against her chest.

Her trembling hands gripped me as she whispered. “It doesn’t matter who you were before. I raised you when you were little, I nursed you when you were sick, and I watched as you grew into the man you are today. Your father and I talked for a long time, and we can say with certainty that the Arthur now is so different from who he was when he was born, and that’s when we realized that you are our son.”

The strength left my feet, crumpling me to my knees. I gripped my chest as my breathing came out in strained gasps. I couldn’t breathe, I could only gag out the neverending sobs as my mother kept her arms around me.

“I’m so sorry that it took us so long to realize that. I’m so sorry that you couldn’t come to your own father’s funeral because of me. I’m so sorry, Arthur.”

***

It took a while for us to gather ourselves and get settled up on the second floor of the building. During this time, I noticed that the atmosphere was a bit tense between Tess and Elder Rinia.

The rest of us newcomers had picked up on this as well, exchanging wary glances at each other while Tess ignored any efforts by Elder Rinia to start a conversation.

Once we got upstairs, Elder Rinia pulled aside Virion with a grave expression and disappeared into another room. After some time spent talking with my mother and sister, I properly greeted Tess and the two of us embraced silently for a brief moment.

Tess, however, seemed to have something else on her mind and I didn’t blame her. While I didn’t have the courage to ask directly, just based on the hollow expression that Tess had, I suspected something had happened to her parents. As for why she was so angry at Elder Rinia, I could only speculate.

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