Chapter 1: A Kindling Flame (1)

The embrace was neither warm or comforting, it was just the empathetic arms of ash that would hug each other in an effort to mimic warmth in some capacity. They would squeeze each other tighter, hoping and wishing for the moment where a savior would come.

A savior that would answer their dreams with the ignition of their ashes, blazing their names and souls and faiths back into light.

They had dreamed for so long that those of ash could not tell the difference between reality and illusion, only waiting until that one single savior would come.

Until then, no one would step forward for the weight of savior was thought to be too much for their gray ash. There will be no one who would have the heart to bear the responsibility of all that ash.

All that they have now are their hands to pray an ashen prayer, but no hand of ash would want to pray, for they only seek to comfort each other.

All except the ash whose charred corpse remained standing since the beginning.

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As the sun began to rise, its light began to peak through the blinds of Theo's bedroom window, hitting his closed eyelids and easily waking him up from his light sleep.

Theo rose from his bed without much complaint or effort and made his way to a small bed that lie just a few feet from his own bed. Sleeping cozily inside that small bed was Missus, Theo's pet rabbit that was rather angelic compared to how a usual rabbit might be.

She was passive with her chewing, loved to cuddle, and generally didn't have that many needs. The list could go on with how much of an angel Missus was, with the only thing that she shared with her fellow rabbits was that she wanted the Theo's constant attention.

Keeping that in mind, Theo scooped the adorable fur ball into his arms and carried her downstairs to eat breakfast together. Waking up in the arms of her beloved owner, Missus jumped down onto the kitchen floor and hopped towards for food bowl as though it was routine to do so.

Theo filled her pink bowl with a fair amount of high quality rabbit's feed and moved to the kitchen stove to get his plastic-covered breakfast. Since his parents had to wake up earlier than him for work, they usually cooked his portion of breakfast and wrap it in plastic for Theo to eat later, thus leaving Theo alone to eat his breakfast with his pet rabbit, which he had no quarrels with.

"Still warm, so that's nice. A classic bagel sandwich with eggs, bacon, lettuce, and cream cheese. How's your food, Missus?" Theo spoke to the pet rabbit that was voraciously eating her breakfast, finishing it in record times before rushing over to nuzzle against his ankle.

Finishing his own breakfast, Theo went back upstairs to get himself dressed for school. Since it was a private high school, and a fairly prestigious one at that, he took a bit of time to put on his fancy school uniform before going downstairs.

"Alright, Missus, I'm heading out to class, so watch the house for me. Show no burglars any mercy, alright?" Theo softly spoke to the rabbit, giving Missus a small peck on her forehead as he turned towards the outside.

With that, Theo walked out the front door and locked it, hopping on his bike to go to school.

The trip there wasn't anything exciting, but nothing too boring either.

A couple greetings between the neighbors and, although it may not be some hero requesting for people to aid them in slaying the demon king, it was better than a world devoid of life.

No alien was bound to suddenly appear around the corner either, but instead, stray cats hopped here and there for food scraps left by food stand; in a sense, they could be aliens too.

There wasn't an adventure-calling wind that marked the start of a great expedition, but its breezy blow was fine enough.

Life for Theo was an unchanging reality; denying of man's wildest fantasies yet so giving of boundless wonder.

There was only mud and no magic; only blueprint and no art; only science and no saga...

...only everything and nothing beyond.

'Then what am I even after?' Theo thought to himself, a storm of questions infested his mind while crossing the road.

It wasn't for the 'fun' of it, Theo didn't think he was that shallow of a person to be unable to find joy in normal life.

Then for a sense of purpose? To become a sort of protagonist inside this newly founded world?

'Hell no! It's corny stuff like that that'll kill me. Wait, that that'll? That sounds weird. Wait no, this doesn't matter right now.'

A hero, then? No, that's essentially the same to being a protagonist.

'I wouldn't want that kind of responsibility weighing on my back.'

Then what? What was Theo complaining about if he didn't even know what he was complaining about? It's not as though life was unenjoyable, but it could also be said that life wasn't thrilling.

To be confided to a schedule that would only make Theo want free time, as well as having enough free time to want to do something, it felt as though there was a suffocation of sorts.

Then what? To what? For what? How what? Every single what in the world, and there isn't a single 'yes' or 'no' answer? For---

"---agh! Fucking shit!"

Ramming into the back of another person, Theo stumbled a bit on his bike before he could get himself upright, snapping himself out of whatever inner crisis he was about to have inside his head.

Theo attempted to set his foot back on the pedal, but the fact that she wore his uniform meant that he would be seeing her again, so it was probably better to apologize.

"Ah, sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

"No, it's fine."

Glancing over to his right, Theo saw a rather imposing girl wait beside him: she had silky brown hair, a well-structured face that was comparably better average, and a slender body fit enough to comply with health standards.

Nothing too exotic, nothing too extreme.

The only thing that Theo had to comment negatively about her was that she had dead, barren eyes that would offset anyone that came to her, though it seemed contradictory compared to her colorful language.

"No no, it's a family value of mine to right your wrongs. If you tell me what class you're in, I can get you a drink from the vending machine as an apology."

"Nah, really, it's fine. If you really want to help me out, I'm completely lost out here."

"Are you not around from here?" Theo questioned, getting off his bike for an eye-level conversation while they walked to school.

"Yea, I was transferred all the way from Russia, but my dumbass guardian can't tell me shit for anything."

A delinquent kind of aura leaked from her words, but Theo knew better than to judge a book by its cover . . . 

 . . .except that walking up to an ex-convict lookalike isn't exactly the smartest of choices, so Theo decided to humble himself on his family values. But, then again, she couldn't be some savage, bloodthirsty megalomaniac if she attended school, right?

'Wait, that's jinxing it; she is absolutely a savage, bloodthirsty megalomaniac.' Theo thought with caution, praying that jinxing something also works in the opposite direction as well.

" . . . wow, uh, far travels, huh. I've always heard that English was a hard second language to learn. What's your name?"

"Used to be called Lyubov, but I like the name of Carmina better. As for the English part, I've just been called a fast learner kind of person, ya know? I'm awesome like that."

'Oh God, please don't tell me this person has a superiority complex . . . ' Theo worryingly thought, taking all the red flags with him that the girl he was talking to meant every bit of trouble she gave him.

"Huh, mmhmm, yup, I'll trust you on that." Theo minded himself to humor Carmina.

"Yea, yup, you seem smart enough for that. Anyhow, I'm Theo, and you'll probably find me most active at the track club." Theo lied, knowing Carmina wouldn't find him there.

"And your name?"

" . . . Theo." A hesitant tone escaped his mouth, ultimately caving into the manners instilled inside him by his mother as it wasn't reasonable to judge someone on a fictional image forced upon them.

"Good to meet you, Theo. I trust that's Boulder High?"

"Just about. Can you take it from here or do you want---" Theo's eyes snapped in the direction of a familiar patch of hair, "---ah, never mind. I just thought of some business that needed attending to. You're fine on your own, right?"

"I'll just ask someone else for directions."

Without much else of a farewell, Theo excitedly hopped on his bike to disrupt a very good friend of his; the fact that he was walking without a disturbance in the world didn't sit right for Theo.

It was Colin, a middle school friend of Theo's that had stuck through hard times with him, and he was about to get the meanest slap on the back of his head in his life. Paired with the speed of his bike, Theo knew that he could give Colin a slap mark that could stay for an hour at the very least.

Not only that, it wasn't something that could be so easily predicted either, as both the oiled gears of his bike and the commotion of other bike riders made for no suspicion at all.

Adrenaline pumped harder and harder throughout Theo's veins, each meter he traveled giving a shot of excitement straight to his brain.

At last, the moment had come---Theo put his right hand out into the air, positioning it right behind Colin's head before his bike came to a wobble.

"Ack, woah---!"

As irony would have it, Theo's bike spiraled out of control before he could see his plan come into fruition, crashing into soft grass as stains of green scratched into his clothes.

Colin, who was retrieving his littered banana peel, threw it into a nearby trash can and said, "Two thousand years too young to catch me off guard, Theo. You won't beat this 'sixth sense' of mine you so readily excuse yourself of losing to."

Colin Desidia, a state-renown athlete capable of utilizing mixed martial arts to a terrifying degree thanks to his incredible response time and 'sixth sense.' He is known to be daring yet cautious, often provoking opponents with a keen mind.

It was because of him that Theo was resolved enough to join the track club, even if his stamina didn't quite fit his determination.

But, because of Colin's deep rooting inside his sport, it often packs his schedule with enough training to miss school days.

"I don't think yah know that yur never gonna get a good hit on him, Theo. I can not, nor should I dare to, understand what kinda determination ya got against Colin." A girl spoke from behind Theo, resting her left hand on a kendo sword strapped to her waist.

"A man must never falter in the trolling of their dearest friends, Yuki."

Akayuki Muryokuna, or otherwise nicknamed to Yuki by her friends, is also a state-renown athlete. She is known to be both physically fierce and mentally naive, unfaltering on an offensive push against enemies yet incredibly easy to ask favor from.

Often found close to Colin for their similar situations, Akayuki can train herself from morning to night if the conditions were right, usually sparring against Colin for competitive fun and practice.

"Ya could go a thousand days doing this kinda thing, but snap like twigs when trying to actually fight."

"You guys are monsters compared to a civil man like me."

The bell rang, and the three walled their ways together.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

"...and that will be all for today. Please be sure to note the upcoming winter group project and to decide your four group members by next Wednesday. Other than that, have a nice weekend everybody!"

'Oh, what the hell? That ended way faster than I thought would be.' Theo suddenly came into consciousness as though he had just went through a blackout.

With that, the school day had ended without a trouble; in fact, it became busier than before with the surprising addition of Carmina to his classroom. It was especially because she was from Russia that made her all the more popular.

But, in contrast to her popular introduction, with some even inviting Carmina into their friend group, all the buzz around her quickly died and the idea of talking to the new transfer student quickly died done.

Yes, Carmina was sociable, but there was some sort of distance set between her and her classmates, no matter what kind of understanding was reached about her.

If there had to be something said about her, then Carmina had absolutely acted the way that she looked: sociable but quiet, new but efficient, and an all-around normal person.

Either way, it didn't seem like Theo was going to stick himself into Carmina's life all that much, so he decided to just leave it at that.

Stuffing his school supplies into his backpack for the day, Theo zipped it up and took his steps outside the classroom. As he had expected, neither Colin or Akayuki could be found, running off to their busy lives and leaving Theo another day to walk home alone, even if they were there at school to begin with.

Despite the fact that he was friends with two of the more popular kids of his high school, Theo had found a certain distance was taken for granted with the people around him, his connections with both Colin and Akayuki being that they too had a distance from other people, though Theo's was different.

How was it different?

Theo didn't know, sticking to his years-long pattern of going home: walk to the bike rack, take out his greenish bike, possibly ride towards the nearby bakery shop to check out the buns that he never had the patience to wait for in line, then riding home.

But today seemed a bit different than usual.

"Woah, what the hell is up with all this traffic?" Theo's voice rang out in both confusion and annoyance, the long line of cars blaring their horns to an ear-aching degree.

Riding his bike closer to the source of the traffic, Theo saw a blockade of rubbish concrete having collapsed onto the road.

'Did it just now collapse?' Theo observed, seeing how there hadn't been any officers or construction worked around.

Changing his view to the buildings beside the mess showed that the building walls that enclosed the street had collapsed on itself, leaving a mess of rubble on the city streets.

Since he didn't have any intention of climbing over that mound of rubbish, and clearly no intention of waiting, Theo decided to take a detour to the left. By the coincidence of thought, Theo had also remembered that an uncountable amount of fluffy bunnies would be present at a park far down this street, but that wouldn't be until a mile or two away.

And so, in an attempt to pass the time, Theo played the game of recognizing buildings as he slowed his bike for more room to play his little game.

There was your usual barber shop squeezed between two other buildings, the Japanese bakery that was too popular for Theo to wait in line for, a McDonald's restaurant known for their squashed burger buns---it was only a matter of time before he reached the bunny park.

But, without much notice at all, Theo's suddenly-rusted bike chain broke apart just five minutes after taking his detour, stopping in front of a rundown church's slightly ajar doors with a sign reading 'free bike repairs' as though it were a bad joke played by fate.

It was such a bad joke that Theo had to evaluate on whether he should just walk to the park or just trust that the church wasn't into human trafficking.

'What kind of coincidence is this? Am I about to see shady shit go down in there or something? This kind of convenience is only a big...' Theo concluded before a familiar face had changed his mind, '...that's Carmina, isn't it?'

For Theo, although he had the common sense to keep his nose outside shady business, a sense of mystery invoked itself inside him.

After all, what would the Russian transfer student be doing at such an old church like this one?

Theo's life felt far too deprived of that special 'something' that the urge to do so was irresistible, sneaking between the doors' slight opening like it was just perfect for his body, entering the church with the full intention to eavesdrop.

"...isn't something to be taken alone. I told you that the likelihood of success would be next to impossible if you didn't find someone to take with you."

"Well, Alex, it would be one hell of an achievement if I could somehow pull the charisma to drag someone I would have known for six hours into the most shady church known to man. It looks like it's a meeting place for cultists, your robes being all-the-more convincing."

"Haha, well, it's the only one with enough pizazz to really capture my eye. Plus, a basement? Who wouldn't want a church with a basement? Perfect for every man's needs!" Alex spoke with a joy in her tone, but Carmina didn't give any kind of humor to it.

"Pizazz? This thing looks more broken than broke and more dirty than, well, dirt."

"No need for bashing, alright? Anyways, you show the showbizz, so say your prayers and think about the Romans."

Without any response, Carmina sighed and lowered herself to the floor, clasping her hands together in prayer before she bowed her head beneath Theo's line of view. In an attempt to see what was going on, Theo raised his head higher and higher before---

"Ah, I'm done here, so you can come out now. You're here for your bike chain, right? It was awfully audible from outside, so it might take a bit to repair."

"H-Huh? Oh, yes! Of course! That's why I'm here!"

Theo jumped out of his hiding spot.

"Although I don't exactly know why you were hiding, but assuming that you're wearing the same school uniform as Carmina, do you have a little crush on her?"

Theo could only stare at Alex with a straight face before a little cackle came from Alex's mouth, "It's just a joke, just a joke! You're too serious man, you need a lighter heart if you want to face the difficulties in life. Come on over and we can discuss about your bike."

'Weird guy... but somehow enjoyable.'

Walking down the middle section of the poorly-kept church, a beat of Theo's heart skipped as each step he took grew more sluggish. Although the man hadn't shown any sort of hostility, Theo couldn't shake off this unsettling feeling about Alex.

Whether it was his mysterious religion, his unchanging slight smile, or the utter responsiveness from Carmina---Theo felt that at least one of those unsettling details would be known to him very soon, but 'soon' was an understatement.

The decapitated corpse of Carmina was kneeling upright as her head rolled around on the floor without an ounce of blood leaking onto the floor or spraying to the roof.

"Oh nooo~~~! I forgot to hide the corpse~~~! I guess I can't let you live after seeing my little mistake, now can you? So say your prayers and get on your knees!" Alex jokingly spoke, rendering Theo to be utterly speechless at the sheer divergence from normal life just a minute ago.

With a sickle of white, unmistakable to an eye, Alex swung it at speeds that could only be described as seeable, but not quite comprehensible. It was like seeing a slow motion video of utter chaos spewing all sorts of gorilla babies and troubled apples across the screen.

And so, with a mixture of shock, confusion, and fear, Theo was executed on the spot, bringing him to the floor and somehow positioning himself kneeling upright.

They say that your life flashes before your eyes, but all Theo could think at the moment was a need to buy carrots for Missus to eat.

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And so, their "savior" had arrived; rather, it wasn't that the savior had "arrived," but had only now decided to stand above the lands of hugging ash.

The savior had foretold a dream far brighter than what their ashen hands could make, one that had preached that they must retrieve the blaze they had lost in the first place. But where might they retrieve that heat if not from their ashen cold hearts?

With his hollowed eyes of black, the savior saw a world of beauty that held enough warmth to blaze each and every molecule of ash back into life.

With his dry and cracked mouth, the savior proclaimed that this was the flame that they would take back, igniting their ashes back into being.

With his scorched-gone faith, the savior promised that very dream to be realized as the belief that came true, as the ashen prayers that were answered.