Dying Ember

I didn't know what happened to him, and I had no idea where he came from, but what I saw was a man sprawled in front of the door of our tiny home. His face was pale, and he was wearing a very nice-looking outfit, something called a two-piece, which meant that he was from a higher sector, or had some cause to be in one of them.

But if he really was from a higher sector, then why was he unconscious in front of our door with blood spilled all over his white shirt? The sight made me gag. He looked like he had really taken a beating, he was bruised all over, his hair was messy, parts of his clothes that weren't soaked in blood were dusty, and he had a broken finger or two. Three maybe? Who made him this way?

What was my reason to ignore this man that I had just met out of nowhere but hadn't met me? I had none. I could have shouted for help, but I wasn't a fan of spectacles. I could have assumed someone was after him, that helping him was only trouble, and just left him there, but my conscience didn't allow me to do that. If I didn't have that conscience, or maybe if I didn't haunt me then, maybe my life wouldn't have flipped over on its head, because after examining this man, I realized he was one of them.

Those stories that humanity fell, and some people rose with powers, I had read quite a number of them, and they made me think that this was just a way for people to cheer themselves up and look away from the harsh reality. Because in our world, this wasn't the case. When the Arch World came, humanity fell. But there were some among humans… who fell harder. There was a silver lining, but for them, that silver lining was nothing but a cloud of despair.

The Seekers, humans were cursed to roam the lands of the Arch World in search of something of which they had little to no knowledge. No one even knew what it looked like or had a clue where to look.

Why was it a curse? They were not tasked, they were not persuaded, they did not bargain but were forced to embark into that horror of a place in search of the Arch Tree. No one knew what this Arch tree was supposed to do but it didn't matter.

This man was one of the curse bearers, a Seeker, and not just any Seeker, an Ember at that.

I was surprised when I discovered that he was an Ember and now noticing the blood stains around, I realized that he had crawled there. That made me wonder what he was looking for. Was he being chased? Who could have done this to an Ember, an Ember for God's sake?

But he was an Ember I didn't recognize.

'Why is an Ember at my home, did he end up here by accident?' I thought. 'And he's injured too.'

I checked his wound first and saw a deep cut on the lower side of his torso spurting out blood. I knew how to administer first aid courtesy of my siblings, but a wound like this one was just beyond my capabilities.

I looked left and right, making sure no one saw what was going on, and when I was sure that all was fine, I dragged him into the house. I had to say, the man was heavier than he looked.

As soon as we got into the house, I placed him on my little sisters' makeshift wooden table and went to the two little rooms in search of clothes that I could use to take care of the bleeding. It would have helped a bit if he was awake, but now it just felt like I was about to perform surgery on a dying patient as I dashed back and forth and scattered the house I had so neatly arranged earlier.

When I found available clothes and got back to my patient, he was already half awake. I felt bad that he was going to have to witness the horrible thing I was about to do to him but if I didn't, he was going to die. With some effort, I ripped the expensive white shirt open and that seemed to have gotten a reaction out of him as he jerked a bit.

'It's not my fault, besides, the shirt was already torn where someone stabbed him.'

But when I looked at this man's body I realized that I was wrong in my thinking. Someone did not stab him, something did, and from the looks of it, that something was hell-bent on killing him.

The wound was stretched all the way to his back and it expanded the further it went.

'Did he just return from the Arch World? Why is he here then? Shouldn't he be at a Stronghold or something?'

But then I saw it. The moment I did, I knew that it was over for him. No, nurse or doctor, no medicine, no incantation or spell, could rescue this man from the clutches of fate. He was a dead man.

The wound was blood red at the surface but a bit further it was black, and that blackness had spread like veins throughout his torso, corroding his entire being. I wasn't sure what to do.

One of the greatest consequences of venturing into the Arch World was the vile Ashen Plague. In a few hours, this man before me was going to be nothing but ashes.

He was literally going to be an Ash.

I was confused as to what to do but the man suddenly held my wrist, jerking me out of my thoughts. I thought I was going to scream for a second there. He tried to speak to me but instead, coughed up blood. He hung his head down from the table which I placed him on and vomited some blood which splattered on my clothes.

"Hey you, where am I?" The dying man asked with ragged breaths.

"Uh… uh… you're in Hurricane City, Sector 1128, zone 4, flower district," I said, too afraid of what the man might do to me if I didn't answer. He may have been dying, but the man was still a Seeker, an Ember. He could dispose of me if he wanted, and easily at that. Judging by the strength with which he was holding me, I could tell he was no ordinary Ember.

"Shit!" He snapped. "I can't believe I passed out." He turned his head frantically and I could not tell what he was looking for until he finally lowered his head and looked at the watch on his wrist. He snarled and I guessed he must have been late for something.

"I'm too late." He said it.

He clenched his wound in pain and accidentally squeezed my wrist. With his strength, I thought he was going to break it but when I groaned, he noticed and let go with an apology. He looked down at his wound and his face clearly showed how dissatisfied he was.

"Ashen Plague, shit! This is all a disaster. I have to tell them, I have to…" He paused in the middle of his sentence and raised his head, looking at me.

With a lot of effort, he managed to get up and crouched on one knee.

"What's your name?"

"Uh... uh..." I was slow to my response, wondering whether or not I should give this Ember my name. It seemed my sluggishness only served to anger him and after a few seconds, he let out the anger.

"What's your name?!" He snapped. He regretted that the next moment as the excruciating pain from his wound tore through every cell in his body, forcing him to groan and writhe.

When it seemed like the pain had subsided, he faced me and spoke again.

"W-what's... your name?" He asked once again.

This time I replied in a shaky voice:

"I-I... Savin, my name is Savin."

As he lowered his head and rested back on the table, he said,

"Savin, good"

'Good? What do you mean by good?' I thought. I started to wonder what he wanted my name for, some Seekers' voodoo thingy of sorts.

Before my train of thought could continue, he interrupted me with his next words.

"Savin, that's a great name..."

The way the Ember spoke made me feel like something was about to happen, something unpleasant. It felt like those moments when a person dear to you was about to pass away, and then they said something that put you in a state of worry even after they were gone. Wait, where did this feeling come from?

Nevertheless, I was very scared of the dying Ember before me. Seekers were known to have mysterious abilities that could not be explained and even if there was a way to use them with science, the concepts behind them still remained unknown. What made me worried at the moment was the Ember's unknown ability, and various thoughts filled my head.

What if he had a kind that needed the life of another for him to heal? I was the closest 'Another' to him at the moment. Or what if he turned me into some kind of freak?

"Savin... I'm sorry." He said.

My heart jumped, almost tearing out of my chest. So he did want to do something to me. I wanted to back away but the Seeker was already holding me by my ankle. I couldn't escape.

'When did he move?'

That was an Ember for you. I instinctively knew it was over and I didn't even struggle. There was no way a weak human boy like me would escape the clutches of this Ember.

"Come closer."

I was reluctant to do as he asked but when it seemed like he was about to crush my ankle, I bent down and moved my face closer to his. As soon as I got close enough, he started to whisper something. Even as close as I was I couldn't hear what he was saying but when my hearing adjusted a bit I was shaken to my core. It wasn't my hearing that had adjusted, it was his voice... uh... voices?

It was like thousands of voices, millions maybe, saying a prayer together and I felt that voice reach for something within me.

Suddenly, his eyes were bloodshot, and a blue gas, was it energy(?) started leaving his body and heading for the nearest one, mine.

I couldn't escape it. The gas swirled around me, traveling slowly from my feet to my face, and as soon as it entered my nostrils, I felt like had just inhaled ammonia directly from its container. I didn't even have the chance to choke on it. It didn't stop there and went for my mouth and ears, and in my ears, I could hear those voices more clearly than before.

Before my consciousness faded, I heard the Seeker's voice again. He said:

"I'm sorry for forcing this on you but for all our sakes, you will have to join me in the dance of curses. I'm sorry Savin, I really hope you can forgive me."

Forgive you? He just grabbed me and did some nasty Seeker incantation on me and immediately after he was talking about forgiveness? And what did he mean by joining him in the dance of curses? That did not sound good to me in any way.

But there was nothing I could do anymore, it was too late. 

Slowly, the entirety of the gas entered my body and I found myself unable to move. I lost balance and fell and hit my head, but it didn't hurt, because then, I was already on the other side.

This was the day my life turned upside down.