To Cinder

Adam almost toppled over as the ground shook again. If he did not know what was happening, one might of mistaken it for an all out war. For the walls shook with the sound of bullets, and a shockwave had flung open the double doors that Adam had walked through when he was late.

He hurried forward, his entire being forcing him to choke down the panic and keep himself moving toward his goal. As he did, for a split second he caught a glimpse of his brother depicted in a painting.

'Not now!' He screamed in his head as he burst into the Ceremonial Hall. To his surprise, everyone was still there, well mostly everyone.

Those who had worn the gown had completely vanished, and just in front of an altar was the oddest thing Adam had ever seen. It was a void of white, swirling with a mixture of chaotic energy.

Adam felt dizzy, and for some reason he wanted to turn and run away. He was not prepared, hell no one would be.

Was this it?

This was the portal between him and Rohan. His next life somewhere on the other side, accompanied by a new world not of Earth. Adam swallowed hard, but his eyes began to water.

'Don't cry idiot, go, you might miss it!' Adam lowered his head and took off with all his might.

The scene was quite something, as everyone turned to see him running with his head down. Time seemed to slow, and the portal flickered as he got closer. Even the priest was dumfounded, unsure of what to make of it.

But without fail, they watched Adam hit the vortex of white, his figure dissolving into the nothingness. But for a minute, the entire crowd sat silent. The priest had suddenly started to sweat, a thought staining the back of his mind.

He was on the brink of closing the portal, so the destination had not been set. It was the equivalent of opening a door, unsure of what might be on the other side. Adam had done something that had never bee done before.

He had not only gone into a portal without knowing where it led, but more than anything else...

He never said the oath.

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It hurt, a lot, and Adam could practically feel himself getting ripped apart molecule by molecule. Through such pain, it felt as if he was being rearranged, his senses going haywire as he was tugged back and forth. Adam's eyes had been glazed with strings of rainbow energy, his body moving forward with grueling speed. It was as if everything was moving toward a singular point in space, the world being pulled through something incredibly small. Then Adam felt a sensation, one that trumped everything.

He was falling.

Then, it had all disappeared, and the essence of life was returned to him once again. For a few moments, Adam only managed to breath, his rasp and dry exhale pushing a cloud of dust into the air.

It took minutes, no maybe hours for Adam to finally feel his lungs moving, and after he willed for it, his fingers twitched ever so slightly. His legs started to slide against the cold floor. And Adam flinched as he heard voices.

"Jesus look at the poor bastard, must of had a horrible soul to take this long."

"Leave it Blund, he is just going through what we all went through."

"Pffft, I got up in seconds, these legs as fine as tree trunks."

"Bullshit, if anything you looked like a deer born yesterday, if I didn't know you I might of taken you for a stripper."

"Quiet, all of you. He can hear us."

Adam could hear, but their words had just been a jumbled mess. It was like static was playing in loops, the only thing he could think of was how cold he was was.

"So cold" he said through parched lips.

"Did the bastard just talk?"

"Wait, how long has it been?! Shouldn't he still be Ascending?"

"I said quiet."

There was nothing, and Adam had finally started to accumulate his mind, as if it was an engine warming in winter. He gripped the floor beneath him and pushed upward, sitting up to see four unfamiliar faces.

"Yoo, what's up greenie."

"Blund, I swear I will kill you if you don't shut up."

A burley boy put his hands up, his palms the size of Adam's head, "Sorry Cap'n he just looks like a toothpick."

Adam blinked a few times, leaned over, and released all of his previous endeavors. Just unmistakably in the shape of bile.

He puked and coughed for an entire thirty seconds, the four figures before him watching in amusement. It was the atmosphere that had caught Adam off guard. It was dark, but light enough were he could make out shadows, but the smell, the smell sent pincers down his nostrils.

For the first time in all his life, Adam had been introduced to the smell of a rotting body.

"Where am I? Adam managed to say after gripping his stomach. His stomach convulsed, wanted to pump out anything it could but fortunately enough, Adam had eaten little that morning.

The figure closest to him patted his on the back, the movement surround by the swinging of metal. Adam glanced up, squinting to see who had done so.

It was a boy who looked to be his age. He had long dark black hair, a scarlet head band, and ominous green eyes. His cheekbones were strong, and a small scar had been etched over his left eyebrow. Adam shivered from his appearance, it seemed as if he was a cosplayer, because his clothes had not been something Adam thought he would see. He wore a black shawl hung around tight leather armor, a few plates of careful crafted metal placed around the corners of each piece.

Adam instinctively stood up, his previous exhaustion seemingly gone. He took a step back and put his hand up, "Who are you?"

The boy did not show any emotion, he just simply turned and walked away. Adam glanced to his left, the gaint of a man grinning ear to ear. He was almost seven feet tall with a buzz cut, and his muscles were easily thicker than most trees. Although, his face had soft features which oddly looked out of place when it came to everything else. Even his smile didn't quite fit his body.

"Don't worry about him, he only talks when he thinks it's necessary."

The man who walked away stopped, "Not true, just seems that he needs his space."

The giant rolled his eyes and stood upright, his sleeveless vest straining just from the small movement alone,

"I was trying to make you seem cool boss, now he thinks you are an asshole."

Adam still was gathering himself, unsure of what was happening. All he could remember was whiteness. No, he did remember something.

There was more white, but it was in the shape of stairs, then glass, then....

Avery.

He suddenly started coughing again, and the memories came crashing down on him. He had barley made it to the portal in time because he had gone to see her. Adam exhaled, wondering what would of happened if he hadn't ran. Would he still be on Earth, being scolded by Mr. Straight for the thousandth time.

"You know portals can only connect to a world twice, one to send you over and one to come back, now you can't save Rohan!"

Adam smiled through his coughing fit, remembering the aging man and his anger. It was amazing to think he wouldn't see him for a while. But now, he had to save the world of Rohan, and hopefully be back within the year. Most worlds like Rohan rarely took longer than that.

In his studies, usually there would be a blinding light, and the entire world would come to see what it was. It was a way to get their attention. Then they would have to believe Adam, especially since it was done on purpose.

Adam glanced at those before him, 'They must of seen the light and came to greet me.'

The boy cleared his throat and bowed, going as far as to step back and drop only one shoulder, "Hello citizens of Rohan, I have come vast distances to show you the path of light. My name is Adam, an Angel with the knowledge to show you the way."

The giant man cocked his head, "Why are you talking so funny?"

Adam flinched, 'Maybe the bow was to much, if I'm correct officials in Rohan are just place holders, etiquette it not their forte. I should just see where this place is, it looks to be a basement."

Adam frowned, wondering why his grand arrival was in such a dark place. Honestly it would be tough to pitch the whole Angel idea he had. Rohan was a place with no emotion, only the higher ups could relish in such a thing and religion was scarce. The Angel idea was to spark religion, as it usually led to easier times. But the look on their faces told Adam otherwise.

He retracted his bow and placed an open palm on his heart, "I take it you must be confused, but do not fret for I have come bringing guidance."

Adam grinned, knowing that the way he spoke was mirroring the accent of those on Rohan. It was the equivalent to a British tone with a hint of song strung in. It was like talking while breathing out, but very subtle. Adam had practiced it so much that at this point it was practically natural.

"Eh boss, I think he fried his brain on the way here."

"look at his clothes." A slender girl moved forward. She had crimson hair, one side long while the other cut to a buzz. Her gaze was fierce but her stature said otherwise. She was shorter than Adam, and seemed to wear the same armor of the man before. The girl was also younger than him, that much was clear.

"Why do you have the gown on, were is your armor?" She asked with a distrusted tone.

'Armor? Gown?.' Adam gritted his teeth, knowing full and well that he forgot to take it off. He honestly had no clue how they had come so quickly. No, now that he thought about it, the four before him looked nothing like Rohan people.

They were lengthy, skinny, and usually had the features of the Amish. They, looked...

Like normal people, except the fact they seemed to be dressed like video game characters. Adam suddenly felt the urge to panic, and his mouth moved on its own.

"W-where is this?"

The girl smiled and patted him on the shoulder, "The Dungeons of Dogmaorok. Where else would we be?"

'The what...' thought Adam.