《Only Ashes Remain》 Chapter 1 Today was another regular day for Regius. It was the year 2999 AF, and the 14-year-old boy was heading to school. He had brown hair and brown eyes, though his eyes were a shade darker. The school¡¯s uniform consisted of dark gray trousers and a short sleeved white polo shirt, as well as an optional gray jacket. Regius slung his checkered teal and black backpack over one shoulder as he made his way onto the bus. ¡°Regius, over here!¡± The student noticed his friend, Kade, waving from one of the back seats. Kade had messy black hair, a similarly messy uniform, and a plain brown bag. The student patted the seat next to him. ¡°Thanks, Kade,¡± Regius nodded, placing his bag on his lap as he sat down. Kade had his phone out, and was playing the recent hot game, Minecraft 3rd Edition. ¡°I won¡¯t be catching this bus this afternoon, got detention for forgetting my PE uniform again.¡± Regius laughed. ¡°Sucks to suck.¡± ¡°I hate you.¡± The bus stopped at Ark Street, where Kade put away his phone and got off the bus with Regius. The school day was uneventful, just a huge dose of school-type suffering that made him want to bang his head on the concrete. After school, as expected, Kade was absent from their usual bus. Regius was unlucky enough that he needed a 10 minute walk after getting off the bus to reach his home. Once the bus stopped, he scanned his card and got off. ¡®What¡¯s that..?¡¯ The boy¡¯s gaze drifted to a small crack in the smooth white pavement. There was no badly funded place in the world, so it made no sense that there would be such a big crack. Regius let his curiosity get the better of him. He put his bag by the sidewalk and knelt down, inspecting the strange crack. It was a lot deeper than it seemed at first glance, and seemed to lead into a larger cavern. Still, Regius couldn¡¯t see the cavern clearly from outside and there was nowhere to get in. ¡®I¡¯d better get home now.¡¯ The brown-haired boy grabbed his bag and hopped over the crack. However, suddenly the pavement beneath him crumbled, and Regius tumbled down. He rubbed his eyes to get the dirt out of them. The cavern was surprisingly clean, with several stone pillars with white stone bracing supporting the ceiling. The stony terrain seemed to stretch on endlessly. ¡°Where the heck am I..?¡± he wondered out loud. He groaned as he tried to get up, noticing he twisted his ankle pretty bad and had a few scratches. Even if he could get up, the crack he fell through that had expanded into a hole was too high up to climb. ¡°I¡¯m screwed,¡± Regius sighed, searching his green backpack for his iPhone Fifth Edition 27. He wasn¡¯t sure why it was called Fifth Edition- the oldest model was the Second Edition. With a small ¡°aha¡±, the brown haired boy pulled out his phone. In the semitransparent blue case was a small sticker with a fire symbol. The boy went to the white emergency phone call screen and began dialling his parents. ¡°Stop it this instant!¡± Regius jumped, almost dropping his phone at the sudden voice. A girl was walking towards him, holding a huge blazing torch pointed at him. The girl had black hair tied in a messy ponytail. Her eyes were brown like Regius¡¯, but they had amber flecks in them. She wore a long-sleeved white polo shirt and gray jeans, along with a long hooded cape the exact same color as the surrounding cave. ¡°Uh- I just wanted to go back home. Leave me alone,¡± Regius groaned. The girl didn¡¯t seem too scary, since she appeared about a year younger than him. However, she seemed dead serious, pointing her torch at his face until the temperature was skyrocketing. ¡°You¡¯re invading God of Fire Lord Caleo¡¯s territory, upperworlder. You are not welcome.¡± Regius was confused, and honestly a bit scared now. He didn¡¯t want to fall into a hole in the sidewalk and get attacked by a short religious arsonist. ¡°Well, if I¡¯m not welcome, I¡¯ll just go,¡± he stated bravely. The girl narrowed her eyes. ¡°Come with me. Gran- the Elder will decide what to do with you.¡± Regius decided to prioritize his life, dusting his clothes a bit more and stumbling up. He almost fell as he tried to put his weight on the twisted ankle. The girl silently handed him a wooden stick, which the boy gratefully took and leaned on. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Without another word, the black-haired girl walked off. Regius stumbled after her with his walking stick, struggling to keep up. About ten minutes later, Regius spotted a village-like area in the distance. The black-haired girl was heading straight towards the largest house, her torch having extinguished itself. The house was brown, made of wood tiles. Its roof was made of red bricks. On the crimson wooden door was a symbol of a flame. ¡®What is it with these people and fire?¡¯ Regius wondered as he stumbled after the girl. As the two approached the door, the girl beckoned to Regius to stop as she knocked. ¡°I found an intruder from the Upper World!¡± There was the sound of an old man coughing, before the door swung open. Standing at the entrance was a very old man with a neat beard, a walking stick uncomfortably similar to Regius¡¯s own, and tied-up white hair with a few remaining strands of black. The man wore a long turquoise sweater, dark pants and a robe identical to the girl¡¯s. The old man set his brown eyes on Regius, observing carefully. The brown-haired student nervously fidgeted with his stick. ¡°My name is Laios,¡± the man stated. ¡®This is my granddaughter Deina. You have intruded upon our land, but I sense no malicious intent. Come inside.¡± Faced with a decision between a weird old man and a girl with a torch, Regius chose to go inside. Sadly, Deina followed right along with her torch still burning. How had she not burned the house down? The interior of the house was surprisingly comfy, with wooden walls painted chocolate brown and a red and gold carpet covering most of the rectangular room. In the center was a low glass table with a few beanbags and couches, as well as a potted red flower. At the back, there were two gateways on each side of the room leading to dark hallways. Beside each of the entrances sat a blazing torch. Regius once again wondered how the house hadn¡¯t been set on fire. ¡°Take a seat, boy,¡± Laios commanded. His tone was gentle and his posture relaxed, but Regius obeyed just in case he had some crazy powers. The brown-haired boy helped himself to a purple beanbag, almost dropping his stick at the pain of his ankle. ¡°Deina, heal him,¡± the old man ordered kindly. The strange girl held her torch and began holding it out towards Regius¡¯s ankle. The student yelled, jerking his leg away. ¡°Do you want to kill me?! Why would you do that?¡± Deina narrowed her brown eyes, the amber flecks in them dimming ominously. ¡°You upperworlders are odd indeed. Do your flames not heal?¡± Laios patted the girl¡¯s shoulder softly. ¡°Deina, do not frighten him.¡± With a mild pout, the black-haired girl stopped talking and sat down on an orange beanbag next to her grandfather, who took a seat on the couch. ¡°Lord Caleo is beneficial to those with no ill intent, so his flames shall heal you. Now, boy, why did you come here?¡± Regius didn¡¯t move as Deina once again touched his ankle with the still flaming torch. Miraculously, the fire only tickled him and the pain began fading. The boy turned to the old man. ¡°I-I didn¡¯t want to. I found this crack on the sidewalk so I checked it out, and then fell accidentally and broke my ankle. Then this girl showed up and dragged me away.¡± Deina glared at him, but thankfully didn¡¯t poke his now only dully aching ankle. ¡°Hm, I see,¡± Laios muttered thoughtfully. ¡°You cannot go back yet, as the Upper World must never know of our existence. They betrayed us, Lord Caleo¡¯s chosen- ah, I¡¯ve said too much.¡± Regius tilted his head curiously. ¡°What do you mean? ¡­who even are you guys? I know you¡¯re religious pyromaniacs with magic fire, but¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell him, Elder!¡± Deina shouted, before realising she overstepped and quieted. Laios only smiled kindly once more. ¡°I already said so much, I may as well tell you everything. Long ago, what we know as the year 0 AF, the world was about to end due to humans¡¯ pollution.¡± Honestly, it sounded like a story to Regius, but he listened carefully. He didn¡¯t know how to go back home, so he needed these people¡¯s help. ¡°Lord Caleo burned the planet Earth with beneficial fire, ending an era and ¡®resetting¡¯ the world for a chance for humans to get another chance,¡± Laios nodded proudly. Again, Regius didn¡¯t think burning the entire world was very ¡®beneficial¡¯, but he decided again to resist the urge to make a snarky comment. ¡°That was the year 3000 AD- Anno Domini, named after the reigning god of that era. Years after that were known as AF- After Flame,¡± the old man continued on. Regius had always been a troublemaker who never listened to things he didn¡¯t care about, but he suppressed his instincts and listened on. ¡°Half of the children born after that were chosen by him, born with a small patch of charred skin. These people were meant to watch over the new world and protect it.¡± The old man shook his head sadly. ¡°Alas, those not chosen came to the impression that Lord Caleo¡¯s chosen were harbingers of disaster. We were all banished to a lightless underground land- this place.¡± Finally, Regius didn¡¯t want to listen to the old man ramble on. Yeah, he felt bad and all but it had nothing to do with him. ¡°What does that have to do with me? How do I get home?¡± ¡°Do not interrupt the Elder,¡± Deina scolded. Regius subtly rolled his eyes, then glanced at Laios to see the man¡¯s reply. ¡°However, recently, our god has gone silent. Shadeling appearances increased, fires weakened, and we fear for our god.¡± Regius was officially confused- what the heck were Shadelings? And how were the fires weak? Thankfully, he didn¡¯t have to voice his questions and get yelled at by Deina, because Laios continued. ¡°We sought out our prophet, Lady Logia, whose prayers were answered. Lord Caleo has been harmed by the Queen of Shadelings, Skia. He has chosen an Upper World mortal to reside in, and in order to return the mortal must be burned away as sacrifice. Hence, we have created many rifts to watch upperworlders from, so it is natural that some may fall in.¡± Regius fidgeted uncomfortably in his beanbag, only subconsciously noticing his ankle no longer hurt and Deina had taken a seat. ¡°Burnt away as sacrifice? Why would this Caleo want you to kill people?¡± ¡°Our Lord is very beneficial, he does not wish it,¡± Deina snapped angrily. ¡°He only wants to continue protecting the world, and has no choice. It has happened before in history, and results have always been beneficial for the planet.¡± ¡°So, uh, can I go back?¡± Regius asked Laios. The old man dipped his head in thought. ¡°It is too late to make a trip to Lady Logia, the prophet. I give you my apologies, we will visit her tomorrow to decide on your fate.¡± Regius nodded, hoping that didn¡¯t mean he might not go back. Laios gave him a kind smile. ¡°You can stay here for the night, boy. What is your name?¡± The brown-haired boy considered lying, but it probably wouldn¡¯t be a good idea considering that these people seemed to have ways of finding out things. ¡°Regius Adusta.¡± Deina had been preparing to walk away into one of the rooms, but she halted mid getting up, eyes wide. ¡°Adusta?¡± Regius tilted his head, glaring at her eyes, identical in color to his own. ¡°What, something wrong with my last name?¡± The black-haired girl took a deep breath, Laios giving her a small nod. ¡°Nowadays, the doctors in the Upper World responsible for birthing know about us, nobody else. If they find a child born with the char mark of Lord Caleo, they dispose of us in this cave world. We are chosen randomly, which often means families are separated.¡± The brown-haired boy nodded, mildly annoyed. What was it with these people and giving unnecessarily long stories with every explanation? ¡°Yeah, yeah, so what¡¯s wrong with my last name?¡± Deina fixed her eyes on him . Regius once again noticed how familiar those eyes were, completely identical to his own apart from the amber flecks. ¡°Because my name is Deina Adusta, the only chosen child of Angel and Kyle Adusta.¡± Chapter 2 Regius was related to the short pyromaniac with no sense of humor. Just great. The brown-haired boy was given a guest room in Laios¡¯s house- a small rectangular room with the same brown and red color scheme as the rest of the house, with an empty wardrobe, a small window and a clean but old bed. A lit torch sat by the doorway. Despite the comfortable room, Regius wanted to go home. Still, he didn''t have a choice- he didn''t even know how to go back up the crack. Sighing in defeat, he plopped down on the bed face down, not bothering to change as he flung his bag across the room. Why did he have to end up here? Not even eating dinner, Regius drifted off to sleep. In his dream, he was surrounded by fire. He could barely make out the surroundings- what seemed like an extra big offering altar. Considering what he had heard about the underground world, this made him uncomfortable. He squinted, looking around for an exit. The student¡¯s eyes stopped on a figure in the distance. ¡°Hey, you, do you know where I a-¡± Regius began asking, only for his voice to falter when he neared the figure. It was him. The person was almost identical to himself, with brown hair and eyes, but he was dressed in formal-looking white and brown robes with a fire symbol on his back. Back when Regius was younger, he too had amber flecks like Deina in his eyes. This ''him¡¯ had the same flecks, but much brighter, less like embers and more like a roaring flame. ¡°You know the truth, Regius,¡± the other him said coldly. Something about the other him felt different. The other Regius had an aura of power, and seemed unbothered by the smoke and embers that were starting to make the real Regius¡¯s skin itch. ¡°You know the truth.¡± Regius did not get any deep sleep that night. In the morning, he woke up exhausted and confused by his surroundings, until his memories of the previous day flooded back. Once he was properly awake, he smelled smoke. ¡®My brain must still be stuck in that dream,¡¯ the brown-haired student convinced himself. After all, the torches by the doorway were still controlled. There was no fire in sight. Then he looked down at his hand. About a millimeter of the tip of his right index finger was missing, leaving behind a smoking black stump. Although slow, Regius could notice his finger slowly burning further. ¡®What the hell?¡¯ He was tempted to scream and throw a tantrum until he wakes up and realizes that this was all a dream. What did he ever do to deserve this? The boy shook his head, deciding to tell Laios and Deina what happened. You know the truth, Regius. What did the dream even mean? Was it just a dream? But Regius¡¯s imagination has never been crazy enough to come up with something like that. Maybe something weird, like the one where his teachers turned into birds that began eating students¡¯ hair, but nothing so... heavy. ¡°You, are you awake?¡± Regius heard Deina¡¯s voice from outside his door, followed by knocking. The brown-haired boy nodded, before remembering Deina was still outside. ¡°Y-yeah, I¡¯m awake.¡± The wooden door swung open, nearing one of the torches. The embers hit it, but it did not burn. Why was the fire in this underground world so different?This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Deina was dressed in the same brown robes as yesterday. Regius noted that the dream him¡¯s robes seemed like a more fancy version of Deina and Laios¡¯s. ¡°It¡¯s 9 already, upperworlder. You can have some food, we¡¯re going to see Lady Logia in half an hour,¡± the black-haired girl informed him, before turning around and walking back down the hallway. Logia- the prophet. Laios had mentioned her the previous day, saying she would decide Regius¡¯s fate. The student shivered- he didn''t want his fate decided. He wanted to go home, and see his friends and relatives again. ¡®Kade is probably freaking out right now, since we have to do our Humanities powerpoint in a week.¡¯ Regius sighed at the thought, then giggled a bit. Maybe he was going insane. Finally, he dragged himself out of bed and, not bothering to change, stumbled like a zombie in daylight out into the main room. Laios and Deina were nowhere to be seen, but a bag of toast and some orange jam were lying out on the table. Regius¡¯s brown eyes flew to a clock he hadn''t noticed the day before. It read 9:08, meaning he had 22 more minutes to eat. He sighed again. Anyways, with luck, whoever Logia was would tell him to go back home, and then he¡¯d be free from this town of religious pyromaniacs. What kind of name was Caleo, anyways? Still, his burning hand worried him. ¡°I¡¯ll ask Laios about it later,¡± he said to himself out loud, before taking a seat at the table and grabbing a piece of toast. The orange jam was good. Regius wondered where the people got oranges underground for a solid five minutes, before realizing he was almost out of eating time and hurriedly devoured two slices. Just as he downed the last bite, he heard the sound of footsteps and walking stick-steps down the hallway. ¡°Good morning, Regius,¡± Laios greeted. This old man was definitely more polite than Deina. ¡®Come to think of it, Deina isn¡¯t really his granddaughter, right? Maybe he took her in after she was thrown down here?¡¯ ¡°We¡¯re going to consult Lady Logia, Regius,¡± Deina announced, making her way towards the door as Laios waited. Regius nodded, wiping the jam off his hands before getting up. ¡°Alright then. I¡¯ll be able to go back home afterwards, right?¡± ¡°Hopefully,¡± was all Laios said. Was Regius imagining it or did he and Deina exchange a worried glance? A few minutes later, he was out on the road following Deina and Laios. Other underworlders strolled the roads, some shooting Regius confused glances. Thankfully, Logia wasn¡¯t too far away- only a ten minute walk. Considering how both of the underworlders Regius had met held her in high regard, he expected some magic fortune-telling lady living in a cave. Instead, Laios stopped at a normal house. The old man knocked several times, before waiting patiently. The door opened, revealing a young woman, about twenty, give or take. She had neck-length red hair and emerald eyes, and wore a gray dress along with the cave world¡¯s signature brown cloak. These people needed a better sense of fashion. ¡°Hey, Laios,¡± the lady greeted lazily. The old man nodded in response. ¡°Good morning, Lady Logia. I request that you read into the fate of Regius here- he fell into our cave by accident from the Upper World, and I am unsure whether he should be allowed to return.¡± Logia¡¯s sharp green eyes landed on Regius. She was silent for a moment, observing the boy. Then she turned back to Laios and nodded, grabbing a torch from beside her house wall. ¡°Okay, follow me.¡± She led the three of them to an empty cavern a minute away from the village. There were several braziers forming a hexagonal shape around a larger one in the center. ¡°Stand there, kid,¡± she ordered Regius, pointing vaguely to somewhere in front of the center brazier. Regius decided Logia was his best chance of getting out of the cave world, so he obediently stood beside the unlit brazier. Logia held out her torch and shut her eyes, muttering prayers and spells under her breath before the wooden torch burst into flames. Regius couldn''t help but be amazed. This must be how Deina was strolling around with a lit torch yesterday. Logia walked around the hexagon, setting alight each brazier. Then she made her way to the center, pointing her torch to the brazier right in front of Regius and setting it on fire. Regius tried not to inch away from the roaring fire. Logia placed down her torch and stood on the opposite side of the brazier, once again closing her eyes and muttering some incantations once more. The flame on the brazier grew larger in size, and turned bright red. Logia opened her eyes and stared into the flame, its eerie red glow turning her emerald green eyes dark brown. Finally, Logia gasped and all the flames went out. ¡°What did you see, Lady Logia?¡± Laios asked worriedly, making his way over to her and Deina following behind. Regius took a step back from the prophet, worry seeping through him. ¡°This boy...¡± Logia panted, pointing at Regius. Deina tilted her head curiously. ¡°What about him? What did you see in his fate?¡± ¡°He is... the vessel of Lord Caleo¡¯s power.¡± Laios and Deina gasped, shock evident in their eyes. Regius took another step back, slowly understanding the situation. You know the truth, Regius. ¡°He is... Lord Caleo¡¯s chosen sacrifice. He must travel to the altar of sacrifice from centuries before and burn away his mortal form... to free our god.¡± Chapter 3 There were several thoughts in Regius¡¯s mind- ¡®I don¡¯t want to die,¡¯ ¡®Let me go,¡¯ and ¡®Please don¡¯t kill me.¡¯ He ended up whimpering something like ¡°I don¡¯t me go.¡± Laios seemed to understand, and gave Regius a kind smile. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Regius. As long as you haven¡¯t begun to burn, your time has not yet come. You can always return to your life and return here once you begin to burn, in time for the sacrifice.¡± Regius recalled his burning finger in the morning- he had forgotten to tell Laios about it. He lifted the hand and held it to Laios. ¡°Uh, is this supposed to happen?¡± Logia stumbled forwards, eyes wide. ¡°It¡¯s almost time- you have a week at most before you entirely burn away. You must reach the sacrificial altar in time for the ritual, or you will die for nothing!¡± Laios looked conflicted, his grip on his walking stick loosening. ¡°Regius, rest for the rest of the day. Make your choice tomorrow.¡± The brown-haired boy nodded, but he didn¡¯t really see what there was to choose. Some flick of fate brought him to the lands of fire, and now he was going to die. He blinked back the tears he didn¡¯t notice were starting to seep out, and put on a more confident expression. ¡°Fine then, I¡¯m going back to get some food.¡± The boy strode off towards the general direction of the village. Laios sighed, rubbing his forehead. ¡°Thank you, Lady Logia.¡± The woman nodded sadly, her emerald eyes glistening with pity. She glanced at the direction Regius ran off to. ¡°Of course, Laios. You should go see the boy. Heavy stuff, all of this.¡± Laios sighed again. ¡°Deina, go lead Regius back to the village. I¡¯ll be along soon.¡± ¡°Y-yes, Elder.¡± Deina quickly ran off after Regius. When the girl was gone, Laios turned back to the young prophet. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since the last sacrifice, right?¡± Logia nodded, sitting cross legged on the cavern floor. ¡°Indeed. From what I¡¯ve heard, first time it¡¯s been a child too.¡± The elder sighed, his sad eyes turning towards the cavern ceiling. ¡°Poor boy.¡± Deina didn¡¯t really do serious stuff, so she didn¡¯t know what to say in this situation. Plus, while Regius was still a brain-dead idiot excuse of her brother, she felt kind of bad for him. He accidentally fell into the dark cave world, and was suddenly told he was going to die. ¡°You! Regius!¡± Deina called out, spotting the brown-haired boy who had slowed down to a walk. While he had remembered the way decently well, he had taken a wrong turn and was headed towards a wild cavern. ¡°What?¡± he replied with a scowl. The expression was unusual on his face- Regius was almost always friendly, to everyone, and was rarely seen this upset. ¡°You¡¯re going the wrong way,¡± Deina declared bluntly, pointing a thumb towards the correct path. Regius stopped in his tracks, quickly turning around and walking back the way he came. Frowning in annoyance, Deina quickly hurried after him once more. ¡°Just follow me, you¡¯re going the wrong way again!¡± Finally, Regius gave in and followed the black-haired girl towards the correct way. ¡°Why is it so dark here?¡± he suddenly questioned. They were underground, so it made sense, but the cavern they were in at the moment was almost pitch dark. The land of fire was usually pretty bright for a giant cave system. Deina tilted her head, before noticing the lack of light. She tensed, lifting her torch. ¡°Get behind me.¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. The girl shut her eyes and muttered a quick prayer, and a flame ignited on the torch. Like expected, the dark cloud surrounding them in the air condensed into an orb of darkness, roughly half the size of a human. It appeared to be thick shadows- seemingly untouchable, like a trick of the light. ¡°Is this one of those Shadeling things you mentioned?¡± Regius asked, nervously taking a step back to hide behind Deina. The girl nodded, pointing her flaming torch towards the monster, which had begun to drift towards the two of them. ¡°Don¡¯t let it touch you. These things erode flesh and can kill easily.¡± ¡°Wow, so scary,¡± the brown-haired boy muttered sarcastically. The shadow monster didn¡¯t look very intimidating, but he didn¡¯t want to die any earlier than he already would. The Shadeling circled the two of them. As soon as it stopped moving, before it could attack, Deina raised her torch and jabbed the fire into the dark creature. It made a hissing noise, before dissipating into the air, as if it had never existed. Perhaps this was the nature of a shadow monster- untouchable, but deadly if it does touch you. Deina sighed in relief, and the fire on her torch flickered out. ¡°That didn¡¯t seem too hard,¡± Regius commented, staring at the place where the Shadeling had disappeared. Deina glared at him, her orange-speckled eyes fierce. ¡°You haven¡¯t seen the people who have been hurt by these creatures. Think of flesh, or even entire limbs being directly destroyed. It¡¯s a surprise anyone has ever survived a Shadeling attack.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah.¡± Regius rolled his eyes slightly at how serious the younger girl was. Sure, Shadelings were dangerous, but there wasn¡¯t really any point in scaring him out of his wits about something that died just from getting burned. ¡°Can we go back to your village now?¡± The black-haired girl nodded, observing the cavern a bit before heading towards a large tunnel. A few minutes later, they emerged at the village- the familiar, decently sized cluster of wooden houses. ¡°There you two are,¡± Laios called from beside his house- the largest in the village. ¡°Did something happen? I sent Deina to make sure you didn¡¯t get lost.¡± ¡°We were attacked by a Shadeling, but I took care of it,¡± Deina explained, pointing towards the tunnel they came from as she made her way towards her grandfather. The old man frowned in concern. ¡°That close to the village? Quite worrying, we need Lord Caleo to ret-¡± He quickly coughed, not wanting to mention the god in front of Regius. Said brown-haired boy sighed, rolling his eyes slightly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. No point in trying to sugarcoat anything.¡± The old man coughed again, smiling awkwardly. ¡°Yes, of course. You and Deina can go inside, breakfast should still be out. I need to discuss the Shadeling attack with some other villagers.¡± Deina nodded, beckoning to her older brother and heading towards the wooden door. ¡°Come on, Regius.¡± ¡°Have you made a choice?¡± Deina asked, sitting with her arms crossed on one of the chairs while Regius sat on the one across from her, inhaling several slices of bread. He glanced up, not stopping his chewing. ¡°What is there to choose? I¡¯m going to die anyway, not like he can change that.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± the black-haired girl nodded, not betraying any emotion on her face. ¡°But don¡¯t you want to go back and say goodbye to your friends and family from the upper world? Don¡¯t you miss them?¡± Regius stopped eating, sighing. ¡°Yeah, but... if I¡¯m going to die, I might as well help half the human population while I¡¯m at it. You¡¯re probably not the only one- so many people are thrown into this place without anyone there for them, that¡¯s already bad enough. I¡¯m not going to let you all die.¡± Deina tilted her head slightly. She herself had never bothered much to help people she didn¡¯t know too well. Maybe Regius was just a better person in general, willing to sacrifice his last week of life to help the people of the land of fire. ¡°What, don¡¯t you want me to help?¡± Regius asked, resuming his eating. Deina shook her head. ¡°No, no, thank you. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re willing to help us. I¡¯m just surprised you gave in so easily.¡± ¡°Hello, Regius, Deina.¡± The door of the house swung open, revealing Laios. The old man took a seat at the third seat of the village. ¡°Regius, boy, have you made a choice?¡± The boy sighed, slightly annoyed at being asked the same thing again. ¡°There was never anything to choose in the first place. I¡¯ll help you guys.¡± Laios smiled gratefully, leaning both his walking stick and the torch everyone down in the land of fire had against the table. ¡°I formally thank you for agreeing to travel to the sacrificial altar to free Lord Caleo, Regius Adusta.¡± The brown-haired boy shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t bother. I¡¯m going to die anyway, what¡¯s the point in being all dramatic?¡± ¡°Very well,¡± Laios nodded, looking between Regius and Deina. ¡°And Deina, would you care to travel with Regius to the altar for the sacrificial ceremony? Me and most of the others need to remain at the village to defend against the Shadelings.¡± The black-haired girl looked up, surprised. Still, her rule-following self simply couldn¡¯t refuse. ¡°Alright. I will go.¡± Chapter 4 Regius was conflicted. There was no going back. He had tried to act cool in front of Deina and Laios, but frankly he wanted nothing more than to go back home, no matter how much he hated school. He couldn¡¯t sleep that night- the possibility of more strange dreams scared him too much. Still, after flopping around for several hours, he drifted into uneasy sleep. Thank you, Regius. He had no dreams, just those words echoing in his head. ¡°Regius,¡± a girl¡¯s voice called, knocking softly on his door as he woke the next day. At first, he grumbled and tried to keep sleeping before recalling the events of the previous day. ¡®I¡¯m going to die,¡¯ he remembered. A sigh floating from his lips, the brown-haired boy sat up, quickly combing his messy hair with his hand. ¡°Give me a sec, Deina.¡± He quickly changed into some random old clothes he found lying around, tiredly walking out the door into the now familiar wooden hallway. Due to his lack of sleep, bags were visible under his eyes and the usually energetic boy could barely keep his eyes open. ¡°Are you alright, boy?¡± Laios asked from his chair as Regius stumbled into the main room of the house. The boy sighed, putting on a slightly more cheerful expression. ¡°Yep, just tired.¡± ¡°We are setting off today, there¡¯s no more time to rest,¡± Deina warned, a small bag slung over her shoulder as she sat at the table. ¡°There¡¯s a route that leads straight to the altar that takes only one day but it¡¯s been so overrun with shadelings it¡¯s physically impossible to pass through. We have to go the long way, which will take a few days.¡± Regius scowled, crossing his arms. ¡°You people really didn¡¯t design a backup route?¡± Laios smiled, surprisingly keeping calm. ¡°Unfortunately so. There is a closer way but it passes through one of the land of fire villages that is the most hostile, so you cannot go that way.¡± ¡°Are you ready? We¡¯re leaving,¡± Deina announced, standing up and beckoning to her older brother. ¡°I have everything we need, you just need to bring some water and clothes.¡± Laios helpfully handed the boy a clear wooden bottle of water with a cork, and one of the land of fire¡¯s boring brown capes. As much as Regius didn¡¯t really want them, he took them, throwing on the cape and pocketing the water bottle. ¡°Um, thanks.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing compared to your sacrifice,¡± the elder insisted, giving Regius a last warm smile. ¡°Deina, I assume you¡¯ve memorized the ritual incantations?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± For the start of a heroic quest, their exit was pretty boring. The two ran into some early waking residents- a messily-dressed boy poking a worm with a branch, a pink-haired girl dressed for school clutching a notebook, a teacher skipping class at a vending machine, and a tired blonde shopkeeper sipping at a can of coca cola. Interestingly, none of them seemed eager to approach Deina. Regius tried to keep up with Deina, before promptly tripping on a rock and crashing into the dusty earth. ¡®I hate my life,¡± he grumbled internally, then frowned when he realized how ironic that sounded in his current situation. The boy gingerly sat up, and then returned to a standing position only to realize Deina was nowhere to be seen. At this rate, he wouldn¡¯t even make it out of the village. ¡°Excuse me, are you okay?¡± Regius whipped around, seeing the pink-haired girl from earlier. He noticed the text on her notebook was now visible- ¡°Village Archaios¡±. Was that the name of this village? That meant there were others, right? ¡°I¡¯m alright,¡± he managed when he noticed the girl was still waiting for a reply. ¡°But, uh, did you see Deina? Brown eyes, black hair.¡±The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Everyone here knows her. She¡¯s the elder¡¯s granddaughter after all,¡± the girl replied softly with a nod. She took a step towards one way on the path. ¡°Are you Regius- Lord Caleo¡¯s sacrifice? You must be headed to the west gate.¡± Regius wasn¡¯t exactly sure, but since the pink-haired girl knew about the sacrifice situation, she must know the way. Finally, the brown haired boy nodded and followed her. ¡°What''s your name? Why do you know me?¡± Regius asked, trying to strike up casual conversation. The girl was silent for a moment, before responding. ¡°Memoria. Everyone knows about Lady Logia¡¯s prophecy.¡± She fell silent after that. She was probably another introvert, but at least she didn¡¯t seem Deina-type mean, just kind of shy. ¡°Regius, hurry up,¡± Deina called impatiently. Regius looked up, noticing Memoria had already led him to Deina. He hurried towards his sister, quickly turning back to thank the pink-haired girl. ¡°Thanks, Memoria.¡± The girl nodded, then turned and walked away. Regius followed Deina in silence after that, being extra careful to not trip and fall on his face again. What was with his luck, running into all these silent introverts? ¡°Uh, who was that Memoria girl?¡± ¡°12 years old, parents are from another village but she lives here to go to patrolling school,¡± Deina replied simply. Regius had no idea what patrolling school was or why Deina knew so many details, but he decided to accept it. Deina didn¡¯t look heavily armed- just her torch, and she wore only the usual plain white t-shirt and shorts under the land of fire¡¯s signature brown cape. Still, she was absolutely relaxed despite the risk of shadelings. Still, with her personality, it made sense the people in the village didn¡¯t really like her. Finally, the brown haired boy decided to ask. ¡°Do the people in your village not like you?¡± Deina halted in her tracks, turning around to give her older brother a cold stare. ¡°No, they don¡¯t.¡± She resumed walking, and Regius was too scared of her to ask any more. Strange how much presence a short, unarmed girl has. ¡°Shadeling here,¡± the black-haired girl suddenly announced as they walked into a small cavern. She gestured towards a dark clot on the ceiling, unslinging her torch and lighting it with a whisper. The shadow crept along the walls in silence, but vanished just like the one before as soon as Deina touched it with her fire. What they didn¡¯t anticipate, though, was the second one that leapt out of the shadow- did shadows have shadows?- of the first. ¡°What in the-?¡± Deina yelped as the shadeling latched onto her shoulder. Quickly, she jabbed her still lit torch at it, disintegrating it like the previous ones. However, a second later, blood began seeping through her cape. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Regius asked, now much more afraid of shadelings. The thing had only touched Deina for less than a second, surely it couldn¡¯t do this much damage. ¡°I¡¯m alright,¡± Deina muttered, though looking at the sweat trickling down her face she obviously wasn¡¯t. She took off the brown cape, revealing the blood-soaked sleeve of her white t-shirt. Her sharp brown and amber eyes looked around their possessions, before she uncorked her own water bottle and poured some water over the injury. ¡°Do you have any bandages?¡± she asked Regius. The brown-haired boy froze, quickly counting over the materials Laios provided him with. ¡°No, sorry.¡± Deina scowled. Finally, the black-haired girl searched through her small bag and retrieved a spare cape. She expertly tore off a piece, before wrapping it around her injured shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m okay now,¡± she announced, quickly stuffing away her supplies and getting up. Pain was still evident in her eyes and ginger movements, but Regius didn¡¯t know what else to do but get the mission over quickly. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s hurry.¡± Despite the underground nature of the cave world, it was possible to see small bits of the sky from miniature cracks in the ceiling that seemed too well-carved to be an accident. They were all in just the right places to see the upper world, but were probably invisible to a person from above. After an unknown while later, Regius noticed the sky stained orange through one of the cracks. Considering how tired he was, and how much Deina¡¯s shoulder seemed to hurt, he decided it was time to collapse and fall asleep. ¡°We should rest now,¡± he told his younger sister. The girl glared at him, but Regius didn¡¯t give in. ¡°Seriously, we¡¯re exhausted. We have plenty of time.¡± They probably didn¡¯t. Regius had checked his hand that morning- half of his finger was gone, meaning the burning was speeding up. Deina yelped as she accidentally bumped her shoulder against a stalagmite from the cave floor. Regius shot her a smug ¡®I told you so¡¯ look, and the girl sighed. ¡°Fine.¡± She threw off her bag and cape and retrieved a pillow from the former, creating a makeshift bed and helping herself. Regius blinked. ¡°Uh, what about me?¡± ¡°Figure it out.¡± The boy scowled, but part of him was happy his sister still had a sense of humor. Maybe she had a social life after all. His cheerful mood was quickly spoiled when he noticed almost his entire finger had burnt away, but he was still happier than all the days he had been in the land of fire. With a final sigh, Regius took off his cape and tried to arrange it like Deina¡¯s, poofing up one end to serve as a pillow. That night, he had no dreams. Chapter 5 The sky was barely tinted orange when Regius felt a soft kick on his shoulder. He turned around, trying to get comfortable on the weirdly hard bed only to hit his head against a rock. A rock? ¡°Ow,¡± he grumbled, sitting up and seeing the cave environment. With a pang, he remembered that he wasn¡¯t in the village anymore. It¡¯s annoying how he has to sleep somewhere new whenever he gets used to somewhere. ¡°I forgot we were here.¡± ¡°We have to keep going. We don¡¯t know how much longer until you burn up entirely,¡± Deina declared bluntly, arms crossed. She was already ready to go, her cape back on and her bag on her shoulder. Interestingly, the bag was on her left shoulder- not her injured one. ¡°Is your shoulder alright?¡± Regius asked. Deina grimaced, a brief look of pain flashing across her face before she shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m alright now. Hurry up, eat.¡± The girl tossed a ham and cheese sandwich wrapped in wood paper at him. Regius caught it without too much difficulty, unwrapping it and taking a bite. Despite his usual dislike for sandwiches, his hunger quickly overtook him and he gobbled the breakfast down. Once he was finished, he retrieved his cape from the surprisingly clean cave floor and threw it back on, not before taking a sip of water from his bottle. ¡°Good to go,¡± he announced to Deina, who had been standing leaning against a stalagmite with a blank face. The black-haired girl nodded, looking around to get a hint of direction before heading off. ¡°Geez, we have plenty of time,¡± the brown-haired boy grumbled, but he was dubious. The entirety of his right index finger, as well as the tip of his middle finger, had burnt away now. How much time did he really have left? ¡®Stay positive,¡¯ Regius scolded himself internally, before setting off into a run to catch up with Deina who had not waited for a moment. ¡°Careful!¡± Regius stumbled back at Deina¡¯s shout just as he reached her. In front of them stood (floated ? those things didn¡¯t have legs.) another shadeling. Deina lit her torch and tried to lift it, but flinched in pain as she put weight on her shoulder. Regius rushed forward, unsure what to do. ¡°Are you sure you can fight?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t exactly have a choice,¡± his sister grumbled, shifting the burning torch to her less stable left hand. At that moment, Regius turned his brain off, completely disregarding the fact that he had never fought before, and snatched it from her. ¡°Allow me!¡± Unfortunately, his smug pride faded a moment later when the shadeling attacked. Not used to fighting with a torch, or at all, he barely stumbled out of the way. ¡°Get out of the way, idiot! You¡¯re not even trained!¡± Deina shouted, running forwards to take back the torch. Regius was, however, too caught up in the excitement of a fight to acknowledge Deina. The shadow monster jumped towards Deina, who was trying to grab back the torch. Panicking, the brown-haired boy jumped back and tried to jab the torch at the shadeling. Unfortunately, due to his missing finger, the flaming tool slipped out of his hand. Deina, caught by surprise, fell over as well, her knee hitting right on a pebble on the cave floor. Muttering swear words the rule-following girl didn¡¯t usually say, the girl rolled out of the way just before the shadeling hit the rock beside her. Regius scrambled around, moving the torch so his left hand stabilized it and his dominant right hand could guide it. Standing up and lunging forward in one smooth motion, he jabbed the flame into the cluster of shadows. With a hiss, it disappeared just like its kin. With a sigh of relief, Regius turned back to the furiously scowling Deina who sat on the cave ground, clutching her newly wounded knee, and handed back her torch. ¡°See? Told you I could handle it.¡±The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. The black-haired girl stood up, wincing but not complaining, and snatched the wooden weapon back. ¡°You are not trained in Shadeling Combat. Leave the combat to me, even injured, I am still more skilled than an untrained person.¡± Regius rolled his eyes, taking a step towards the direction they were previously headed. ¡°Geez, calm down. It¡¯s gone now, isn¡¯t it?¡± His brown eyes softened when he noticed his younger sister¡¯s knee wound. ¡°Sorry, are you okay?¡± Deina bravely strode off, but pain was obvious in her step. Her shoulder hasn¡¯t even been treated, and now she¡¯s hurt again. ¡°I¡¯m alright.¡± Regius wanted to help, but what could he do? Is there any chance they can make it to the sacrificial altar at this rate, and with Deina¡¯s current injuries. Frankly, if it was Regius in her position, he wouldn¡¯t be able to walk. Just how tough was it, growing up in the land of fire? With a sad sigh, he hurried after Deina. About an hour of travelling later, Regius was certain his sister couldn''t keep going. The younger girl¡¯s right arm stuck rigidly to her side, and whenever she moved that arm slightly she flinched. It was clear she was trying to hide her pain, but she wasn¡¯t very good at it. Also, Regius had no idea where to go so he had no choice but to keep his eyes on Deina. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s it,¡± he announced, stopping dead in his tracks. Deina stopped as well, turning back with an annoyed look. ¡°Ugh, what do you want now, idiot?¡± The brown-haired boy was mildly surprised by her rude attitude, since Deina was usually a blank slate. Regardless, he wasn¡¯t focused on that. ¡°You can¡¯t keep travelling with two injuries. We need to find a way to treat your injuries.¡± Deina frowned, not convinced. ¡°If I could, I would have. I don¡¯t have anything, and neither do you. What are you suggesting?¡± That was as far as Regius had planned, so he needed to think fast before Deina disregarded her own safety and kept walking again. Back in the village, Laios had said something... ¡°Didn¡¯t Laios say something about a village on the way?¡± he pointed out smugly. ¡°He said they were hostile or something, but they can¡¯t throw out an injured fellow land of fire resident.¡± Deina narrowed her eyes, and shook her head a moment later. ¡°You were lucky to have fallen into Village Archaois, we are one of the most friendly. The one elder mention- Village Polemos- they are known to sacrifice limbs of their own people for Lord Caleo. I will not comment on their choice, but I refuse to leave my fate to them.¡± Once more Regius¡¯s smugness faded. And to think the Archaois people had seemed freaky. Deina sighed at her older but more childish brother¡¯s sad look. ¡°There are always some people who don¡¯t live in a village. If we run into one of them, I¡¯ll stop there, alright? So just shut up now.¡± ¡°Yep,¡± the brown-haired boy replied without a beat, his earlier sadness immediately gone. Deina couldn''t help but smile at his ridiculously fast mood change, so she turned around to keep walking. ¡°Hurry up.¡± Regius hurried after Deina, once more finding difficulty in catching up with her quick footsteps. Despite the compromise, about an hour or two later, Deina didn¡¯t look fine enough to walk another step. Since they had an agreement, Regius couldn¡¯t complain. Frankly, his younger sister looked like she was about to collapse on the spot. Just then, by some miraculous spin of fate, the two exited the tunnel they were in and spotted a decently sized house with a wooden roof and walls made of what seemed like rock mined locally from the cave. ¡°You promised, Deina. We¡¯re taking a break!¡± the brown-haired boy announced, taking a few steps towards the house and then turning back to beckon to Deina. His younger sister sighed, clearly not expecting to actually find someone, but did not complain. However, a second later, the footsteps behind Regius faded. Worried, he turned around, just in time to witness the black-haired girl doubling over in pain and collapsing. ¡°Huh- Deina!¡± he yelped, rushing back to his younger sister. Unfortunately, he had no idea how to get her to the house, which was about a hundred meters away. Should he drag her by the ankle? In the end, he carried Deina with her arms like he would a cat. Panicked sweat dripped down the side of his head as he ran towards the house. Thankfully, a man walked out when he was about halfway there. The man had orange eyes and dark hair, with a stripe of pink at the back. His eyes widened as he spotted Regius and Deina, before running over to meet the two midway. ¡°Are you alright? Who are you two?¡± ¡°Going to Caleo¡¯s sacrificial altar,¡± Regius managed to gasp, starting to fail under Deina¡¯s weight despite the girl being shorter than him. ¡°Shadeling attack. Need help.¡± Tha man nodded, understanding the situation. He took the unconscious Deina from Regius¡¯s grip and beckoned to the boy to head towards the house. ¡°Come on. You need to treat her quickly.¡± Chapter 6 ¡°Anyways, we came across your house and then Deina collapsed, so that¡¯s basically what happened,¡± Regius explained to the man, ending his explanation of his and Deina¡¯s quest. The strange man nodded. ¡°I see. My name is Amni, I come from Village Louloudi but I prefer to live by myself ever since my daughter left to study. You say you came from Archaios? Did you see a girl with orange eyes and pink hair by any chance?¡± Regius pondered for a moment, recalling the time he was in the village. An imaginary lightbulb lit on his head. ¡°Memoria, is your daughter Memoria?¡± Amni beamed, pausing his disinfecting of Deina¡¯s wounds for a moment. ¡°You have seen her! How is she?¡± ¡°She¡¯s great,¡± Regius managed to smile, but he was still somewhat worried about his younger sister¡¯s health. She had been unconscious for a little over half an hour now, just how much pain had she been hiding? Amni resumed spraying some disinfecting medicine on Deina¡¯s shoulder wound, before grabbing some bandages from a desk beside him. While the medical stuff went on, Regius¡¯s attention drifted to the house he was in. The walls were made of gray bricks with a tint of orange, the same material as the cave world itself. The wooden floor was bare, but the center of the room had a red carpet. The small group was sitting around a table at the center of the table, and Deina lay on two chairs next to each other. The wall was dotted with small windows, and the triangular room had a few steel fire lanterns dangling from it. ¡°She should be mostly alright now, she just needs rest,¡± Amni¡¯s voice jerked Regius back to reality. The black and pink haired man smiled. Regius, however, frowned. ¡°Mostly? What¡¯s missing?¡± ¡°Her wounds are good now, but to enhance the quality of rest, I¡¯d give her some Flammeus pasificus, or Drowssom- a flower native to the land of fire that increases healing speed and restfulness,¡± Amni explained patiently. ¡°I grow some in my no-sunlight garden just outside the house, but I want to keep an eye on your sister for a while. I¡¯ll get them later.¡± Regius wanted to get to the altar as soon as possible, and even more, he wanted reassurement Deina was alright. Surprising even himself, Regius stood up from his chair. ¡°I¡¯ll get it. What does it look like?¡± Amni looked shocked as well, but chuckled at his eagerness to help. ¡°I should have harvested some earlier, they¡¯re in a bag by the fence of the garden. It¡¯s labelled Flammeus pasificus, the flower itself is light purple. Get me about five.¡± Regius nodded, using all three of his braincells to remember the details before walking to the door and pushing it open. Some part of him was surprised not to see sunlight beaming upon the plants he hadn¡¯t noticed earlier. How could plants grow without sunlight? He noticed that the gardens were dotted with flaming braziers- could land of fire plants grow with flame light? Shaking his head and returning to his original goal, the boy looked around and spotted a ray of bags against one fence. He walked over, skimming through the labels. ¡®Flammeus navitas, Flammeus fascia...¡¯ He recognized some of the words from a bit of latin learning in Humanities at some point. Did upper world people know about these species? ¡°Aha, Flammeus pasificus!¡± he grinned, spotting one of the sacks. Inside, purple flowers were carefully arranged to not damage their petals. He tugged at the string locking the bag, and gently retrieved a handful of the flowers. The Drowssoms in his hand, Regius turned back to the house. ¡°Here, Amni,¡± Regius announced his return, placing the flowers on the table. The man smiled kindly. ¡°Thank you, boy. What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Regius,¡± the boy replied plainly. Amni nodded, before taking the flowers to a stove and sink combo at the side of the house to turn it into a drink. The boy watched with interested brown eyes as Amni boiled some water and squeezed juice from the petals.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°Are you a doctor? Or are you just good at this?¡± the brown-haired boy questioned as Amni worked. The man didn¡¯t look up, keeping his eyes on the medicine he was making. ¡°No, I¡¯m a gardener. I just know about all my healing herbs.¡± ¡°Cool.¡± It took an hour for Deina to wake up. Even though it¡¯s only been a few days since her first injury, seeing her unwounded and not pale seemed beyond unusual. ¡°Are you alright?¡± he asked. The girl blinked, struggling to sit up but surprisingly not flinching in pain at all. ¡°Where am I? What happened?¡± ¡°You collapsed, and your brother brought you over to mine, where I treated your injuries,¡± Amni explained. ¡°You should be healed by now, but you need rest.¡± Not unexpectedly, the black-haired girl finally managed to sit up and dropped her legs to the ground, standing up at last. ¡°We need to keep going. There¡¯s not much time.¡± Regius¡¯s eyes drifted uncomfortably to his half-burnt hand. In the earlier panic, he had barely noticed how he was burning away faster and faster. Amni noticed the boy¡¯s doubt, and shook his head. He grabbed the rest of the pot of medicine and poured it into one of the Land of Fire¡¯s wooden bottles. ¡°Take this. If your injuries start acting up again, just drink some and have a nap.¡± Deina accepted the bottle, though clearly not planning to rest. ¡°Thank you, sir.¡± With that, she strolled right out the door, stopping briefly to beckon to Regius. ¡°C¡¯mon.¡± ¡°Thanks, Amni,¡± Regius said to the gardener, before turning around and running after Deina. Amni sighed, glancing after the two children running off. ¡°Sacrifices, so sad. Why do good children have to die?¡± The two children from Archaios took a moment to check the direction they were travelling with a glimpse of sunlight from the outside. Letting the ever resourceful Deina lead, the two walked on. The sun was actually already starting to set within an hour after they left Amni¡¯s. Casting his eyes away from the hole to the outside, Regius alerted Deina of the time. ¡°We should stop soon.¡± ¡°How fast is your hand burning?¡± the black-haired girl questioned coldly. Uncomfortably, Regius glanced at his hand. In the hour they had travelled, over another quarter of his hand had vanished. ¡°Very fast,¡± he responded honestly, forcing himself to look away from the char-fringed flesh. ¡°But still, we can¡¯t let ourselves drop from exhaustion.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll rest once the sky is completely dark,¡± Deina decided. Regius nodded, satisfied, and the two resumed their walking. It got dark way sooner than it should. Regius knew nothing about science and the sky, but he knew it shouldn¡¯t go from entirely bright to pitch black in only one second. ¡°Is it a shadeling?¡± he asked, raising his voice and keeping his brown eyes on his sister¡¯s faint silhouette. In return, he was quickly shushed. ¡°Shut up! A normal shadeling shouldn¡¯t have this much impact, this might be a big one.¡± The two located the lightest place in their current cavern, crouching beside the rock and using the lighting from the crack behind them to see. Simultaneously, both their eyes landed on a huge clump of concentrated shadows. ¡°Will you fight it?¡± Regius whisper-shouted. Deina shushed him again, pointing to her ears to tell him to listen. The brown haired boy furrowed his eyebrows, straining to listen. He was about to talk again when he heard what Deina was talking about- a quiet, fury-filled female voice. ¡°That damned Caleo, he thinks he can go around using those humans outside of his territory to heal himself when I just managed to drive him into a corner!¡± The words were followed by an angered yell. Shooting Deina a panicked expression, the two had a quick facial expression argument. ¡®Fight her!¡¯ ¡®No, wait!¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s just a Shadeling!¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s obviously more!¡¯ ¡®Then what is it?¡¯ Before Deina could respond with a scarily expressive face, the shadeling turned around to face them. ¡°Who¡¯s there!¡± The two froze, surprised by how intelligent this shadeling was. Aren¡¯t they just brainless clumps of darkness? ¡°I am the Queen of Shadelings, I can see you two!¡± Deina¡¯s eyes widened in genuine fear. ¡°It¡¯s Skia? Regius, we have to run!¡± The young girl had rarely ever been stunned before, so Regius chose to listen. The dark aura coming from the Shadeling- no, Skia- began moving towards the two. Muttering swear words inappropriate for someone so young, Deina lit her torch to ward off the shadows and ran off, Regius following closely. The shadows lapped at the two¡¯s heels, and they were both thinking the same thing. ¡®How can we outrun a god?¡¯ Chapter 7 ¡°Hey, Deina, do I have to die at the altar for the whole thing to work?¡± Regius didn¡¯t even know why he asked that. He wanted to live, even if only for a few more days. But was his subconscious really willing to let Skia kill him, if it meant victory? ¡°Yes, you must not die now, or Lord Caleo¡¯s powers will die with you,¡± Deina responded swiftly, swerving out of the way of a barrage of darkness that didn¡¯t look intimidating, but probably had the same effect as touching a shadeling. ¡°We¡¯re going against the shadeling god here, how would we be able to escape?¡± Regius argued. Instead of Deina, he received a response from Skia who was on their tails. ¡°You can¡¯t escape me! Be grateful I¡¯m also weakened right now, or you¡¯d both be gone!¡± Regius was seriously losing hope, first Deina gets injured multiple times, then they run into the literal boss of all shadelings. To the boy¡¯s surprise, his sister slung her torch from over her shoulder and whipped around, as if preparing to fight. She whispered to him, ¡°Distract her.¡± ¡°What do you mean, dis-¡± Regius began asking, but was shut up by a sharp glare. Skia seemed as surprised as he was at Deina¡¯s supposed attack, so her focus was entirely on the young girl. The brown-haired boy snatched a rock from the cave floor, before chucking it directly at what seemed to be the face-area of the clump of darkness called Skia. Since Skia had the form of a shadeling, the rock could not make contact with her. Still, the goddess hissed in anger, lunging towards Regius. He let out a small shout, ducking and rolling away. He took a moment to glance at Deina, who seemed to be speaking another incantation like the one most land of fire residents needed to say in order to light their torches with Caleo¡¯s fire. Could she have some other secret move up her giant cape sleeves? ¡°Regius, out of the way!¡± she shouted, moving her torch to point directly at Skia. A large flame had materialized on her torch, though she didn¡¯t seem to be moving towards her foe. Regardless, the brown-haired boy chose to obey and lunged out of the way just as a giant pillar of flame blasted Skia right in the general area of her face. ¡°Blazing Lance!¡± The darkness lightened. Since Skia was the goddess of shadelings, she didn¡¯t disappear like normal ones. Surely she would return in a minute or two. ¡°Come on, run while she¡¯s incapacitated,¡± Deina ordered. Regius nodded, following her as they ran out of the cavern. ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me twice.¡± The two children ran for a solid five minutes until there was no chance Skia could find them again. Exhausted, Regius plopped down on a large rock and took a sip of water. ¡°So, what was that move just now? Burning Lance or something?¡± ¡°Blazing Lance,¡± Deina corrected. She took her time taking a seat on another rock, and gulping down some of her own water. ¡°Powerful Land of Fire residents can access their own unique technique, a special blessing of Lord Caleo upon everyone once they reach a certain level of strength, different for everyone. They require an extensive incantation unique to the person.¡±The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Regius was somewhat miffed that nobody bothered to mention that everyone had special moves to him before, but it sounds cool, so he decided it¡¯s alright. Come to think of it... ¡°The way Logia could do that prophecy thing... was that her technique?¡± ¡°Yes, certain people have what we call a Prophet¡¯s Technique, which involves slightly varying ways of gaining prophecies from Caleo.¡± The black-haired girl stood up, placing her torch back across her back with her bag and tying her bottle to her waist. ¡°We have to keep going. Our direction is slightly off from all that running.¡± ¡°Do we have to?¡± Sighing, the boy tried to wipe the sweat off his forehead with his hand, only to realize the entirety of his right hand had burnt away, leaving only a scorching stump. Deina glanced at his burning hand, a slightly smug look on her face. ¡°See? The burning will only get faster. We have to hurry. If we go now, we should be able to get there tomorrow.¡± Some part of him refused to accept that once he reached the altar, he would die. But then again, he would die anyway, so he should help these people when he does. ¡°...fine, let¡¯s keep going.¡± Deina whipped around and took a second to find her direction, before walking off. Heaving another sigh, Regius followed after his sister. Their travels were, thankfully, uneventful, with no shadeling attacks and no literal gods chasing them. Pretty soon, the sunlight seeping from the long crack in the cave roof began to fade. ¡°Has it been that long already?¡± Regius questioned, glancing at moonlight starting to appear in the sunlight¡¯s place. Deina shrugged, then nodded, fanning herself with her hand a bit as she took a seat beside a large stalagmite. ¡°Apparently so. Let¡¯s rest here tonight, we should get to the altar in an hour tomorrow.¡± The two set up in a few minutes, their capes forming two semi-sleeping bags and rolled up segments forming pillows. Deina placed her bag and torch by the stalagmite, before returning her water bottle to the bag. Regius, who didn¡¯t have nearly as much luggage, just dropped his half-finished wooden bottle beside his cape-bed, before hitting the sheets and going straight to sleep. Deina couldn¡¯t sleep as easily. Sure, she was tired, but it still felt unrealistic that Regius was going to die. While she had only known her older brother for a few days, it was rare for anyone to be willing to befriend her. Plus, they had run into Skia herself that day. Like how Lord Caleo was never seen, and the closest mortals could get to him was his fire, Skia was just as mysterious as Caleo. Shadelings were nothing new to Land of Fire residents, but Skia herself had never been seen by a human, at least in centuries. Was Deina really that special? Did she deserve to be that special? Blazing Lance, her technique. She had first unlocked her unique technique at the age of 8, being one of the youngest. In fact, her powerful adoptive grandfather Laios himself only gained his at age 6. Blazing Lance had the special property of being unable to be blown or extinguished, hence making it great defensively on top of its great offensive properties. Still, the fact that it managed to temporarily dissipate Skia herself, while Caleo was weakened no less... ¡°Stop overthinking!¡± Deina shouted to herself internally, not even realizing she was spoken out loud. She curled up in her cape-bed for almost an hour, before sleep finally grasped her. ¡°Hey, Deina, wake up.¡± Deina¡¯s brown eyes flew open. The girl was surprised that for once Regius had woken up before her, especially since it still seemed quite early. The brown-haired boy in question actually woke up quite a few times in the night, his imminent death doing nothing good for his sleep. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± The black-haired girl quickly packed her things, and set off towards the altar without waiting for Regius. He followed his sister without complaint, heart too heavy to argue. That day, he would be sacrificed. That day, Regius Adusta would die. Chapter 8 The altar. It was a large square, roughly fifty meters both length and width wise, and made of light brown stone. It was encircled with stone fences, leaving only a staircase and path of the same material to ascend it. On top of it was a large bowl-like stone offering altar, the perfect size for a teenager slightly older than him, Regius noticed. Around it were several unlit braziers. Several more braziers dotted the path from the stair to the altar itself. ¡°Do I just... go?¡± Regius questioned slowly after Deina stood in silence for almost a minute. The young girl shook her head, but thankfully she didn¡¯t stay silent. ¡°I have my own responsibility in this ritual as well. I¡¯m supposed to light the braziers along the way and recite an ancient spell, to light your path to the altar where the speed of burning will increase and you will... combust.¡± Combust. What a nice way of saying ¡®you¡¯re going to burn into nothingness¡¯. ¡°Lead the way, sis,¡± Regius replied, trying to keep his tone upbeat for the last minutes of his life. Deina wasn¡¯t trying to keep positive at all, just giving the brown-haired boy a grim nod, before lighting her torch with a few words and walking towards the altar. Unfortunately, things simply couldn¡¯t be easy. Nooo, Regius might be sacrificing his life, but he has to be miserable while doing that. A familiar cackle echoed through the giant cavern, and a giant concentration of shadows seeped in through the entrance. ¡°Already?!¡± Deina complained, the flame on her torch blazing to larger sizes as she faced Skia. However, what seemed to be Skia split into the Queen of Shadelings herself as well as an entire army of weaker Shadelings. Deina¡¯s scowl deepened. ¡°More of them? Is this a... joke?¡± Regius sighed, as annoyed as his sister was at the situation. ¡°We can¡¯t leave now, can we? Let¡¯s hurry and get to the altar.¡± ¡°I will light the way,¡± Deina agreed with a nod, stepping in front of her older brother and burning away several Shadelings. The two walked forward slowly, Deina clearing the path while Regius followed. The black-haired girl halted, turning left to light one of the braziers by reaching her arm over the crowd of shadow monsters. However, a shadeling attached itself to her shoulder, the same one that was injured by another a few days ago. ¡°Agh!¡± She winced in pain, blood starting to seep through her brown cape. Regius looked around for something, anything to free them from certain doom. Now that they were closer to the altar, Regius was burning faster than ever. He could see his flesh crumbling away bit by bit. In just the few minutes since the ritual had begun, he had lost five centimeters of his arm. Regius was feeling desperate. Deina had shaken off the first shadeling, but they were literally in a sea of shadow monsters. What could he do? He could burn. Some part of his mind must have been fried, because he felt like he knew exactly what to do. Deina had to light the braziers, but Regius had to blaze his own path, he had to be his own kindling.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. A bright flame seared through the elevated area, scorching away a circle of the shadelings surrounding Regius and Deina. The girl whipped around, evidently shocked. ¡°Regius? How did you do that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± he replied. His awe faded when he noticed his arm now burnt away up to the elbow. ¡°...but I don¡¯t want to do it again.¡± Why was he so afraid? He¡¯d die from the very same reason soon anyways. ¡°Wise choice, be careful,¡± Deina decided, raising her torch again and waving it at several Shadelings leaping forward to attack. For a moment, things seemed to be going well, before Skia summoned more of her shadowy servants, while lunging in for her own attacks. Regius was grazed by an attack, blood beginning to seep out from his shoulder. ¡°Blazing Lance!¡± Deina cleared a circle around them with her technique, but the shadelings were crowding in quickly. No way she would be able to handle the enemies herself. ¡°Deina, focus on lighting the braziers,¡± the brown-haired boy commanded, igniting a flame on his remaining hand. He stared down the shadelings, if only just to avert his gaze from his rapidly disintegrating shoulder. The fire grew until it engulfed his remaining arm. Somehow, his wound seemed to close on its own as well. ¡°Go forth,¡± Deina said with a nod, using Blazing Lance to clear a path to the next brazier. Regius fought to defend himself by chucking fireballs at any shadelings approaching him. He had even developed a quick scoring system to see how many he could destroy. Hey, if he was going to die, might as well go having fun. ¡°It¡¯s ready!¡± Deina¡¯s voice interrupted his fireball-throwing spree. The boy glanced at his other shoulder, or rather where it should have been. From fighting for a few minutes, the burning had advanced past his armpit and was reaching his neck. The two siblings reconverged at the center of the crowd, Deina releasing multiple Blazing Lances and Regius continuing his fireball throwing. This time they aimed to get to the altar. ¡°Stay back, humans! You will not heal Caleo!¡± Skia screeched, lunging down and covering the room in a veil of darkness. Regius found the fire on his arm glowing- that seemed normal, except the darkness seemed to tone down the other fires. ¡°Lord Caleo¡¯s own flame shines brightest,¡± Deina declared, waving her now dim torch around. The altar couldn¡¯t be more than a few meters away. The stone altar stood still, two more braziers beside it. Regius fought his way towards the stone altar, as Deina retrieved a piece of paper from her pocket- did the unfashionable brown capes have pockets? ¡°I¡¯m ready,¡± the boy announced, desperation in his voice as he pressed himself against the base of the altar, waving away shadelings. Deina ignored several shadelings latching onto her arms and legs, lighting the final two braziers. Her amber eyes were glued to the paper in her other hand, desperate to not look at Regius. The black-haired girl took a deep breath, as she spoke the ritual incantation. Screeching in fury, Skia lunged down, and the room grew darker. Still, the braziers glowed brighter, the orange flames growing larger and the shadelings shrinking away. Blood could be seen seeping through several parts of Deina¡¯s cape, and her legs were trembling from the injuries, but she had to stay standing for a bit longer. ¡°As darkness encroaches, the flames shall fade. As divine blaze returns, the shades shall falter. Free from the chains of wounded divinity, burn away a mortal shell. O, we offer, in sacred blaze, the life and spirit and form of insert name he- R-regius Adusta.¡± Deina took a breath, her brown eyes clouded with pain and sadness. Regius refused to look at himself- he could no longer feel his right leg, and he was pretty sure he only had one lung left. How he was still alive, he didn¡¯t know. By this point, fire from the braziers were surrounding him, eerie and gentle orange embers in the pitch dark room. Regius was about to die. But at least he was dying for a good reason. ¡°Hear our prayers, hear our summons. Rise from ashes and scorch at the darkness. Illuminate our world and our hearts and souls. O, Lord Caleo, accept our sacrifice.¡± Deina¡¯s eyes flickered upwards at Regius one more time. ¡°O, Lord Caleo, return in a blaze of fire!¡±