It has been quite some time since brother disappeared.

No one stopped looking.

There have been many sleepless nights hoping there’d be the slightest clue on where to find him yet after all this time, it amounted to nothing.

My father wouldn’t allow my mother to work anymore since she was really depressed on brother’s disappearance so she was at home a lot.

I on the other hand searched everywhere; literally.

I went to different villages, forests, nearby mountains and today I’m descending from one of the mountains I’ve climbed… still no luck.

“Oh dear brother… please come home already” [Ember]

This mountain was a place where no one would come to since it was barren.

You’d mostly find dead trees and wild vines everywhere-

“Eh? Oh no… just my luck” [Ember]

All of a sudden, it started raining. I have to find shelter… maybe this place is good.

It was at a bottom of a cliff where many huge taro plants grew and the leaves were just right for shelter.

“… This just had to happen huh” [Ember]

I finally escaped the downpour.

There weren’t any signs of the rain stopping soon but night time is still a few hours away so I’ll probably be fine.

Ah… I just remembered.

One of the reasons why this land became barren is because of the irregular changes of the weather here.

This really sucks…

About an hour has passed and there still weren’t any signs of the weather calming down

“Haaa~ I want to go-“ [Ember]

I tried leaning to the wall; the bottom of the cliff and it was a big mistake

*thud*

“Ah! Ouch~” [Ember]

I fell to the empty space that I thought was a wall, it seems that the vines did a good job covering it up.

This would make a good hiding…place…!

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“Maybe… this time!” [Ember]

The adrenaline kicked in.

The chance that my brother could be here isn’t zero, I built up the courage and slowly walked in.

The cave was getting smaller as I progressed but there was only one passage so it wasn’t all that hard.

There weren’t any tracks or signs that any living being was here so far or maybe that’s just how good of a sneaker my brother was!

The cave is now back to the size it was as I came in.

There were a few blind curves… the suspense is killing me.

It’s like I’ve been here for hours!

Then-

“Woah… What is this place?” [Ember]

All so sudden, there were fireflies all over the place.

It was dark outside because of the rainclouds but in here it’s all illuminated.

There were jellyfish-like creatures which couldn’t be since this isn’t underwater…

The whole hollow room looked like it was built on a single swoop; like when you throw a rock in the river, the water forms a cover around the impact.

In the middle of the room, there was a stone…

No, more like a mineral.

I was restless but the beauty of this place kept me at ease.

I don’t have a strong arc but I could feel a power swelling up inside that rock… as if it was calling to me.

I don’t know what came to me but I approached it.

Slowly and being as alert as possible… I had clearly forgotten that the reason I came here was that maybe my brother was here…

Sorry bro…

Now, in front of me was the rock…

I tried touching it then-

crack

CRACK

CRACKKKK

*CRACKKKKK!

“!”

CRUMBLE

Hiiiiih!!!

I-I-I-I-It broke!!!!

What should I do… it was my fault!

It was just a light touch, why?!?!?!?!

After a few moments of shock because of the broken rock, I collected myself and examined it.

“…is that… a hammer?” [Ember]

So there broken rock was a mold to this thing that resembles a hammer.

The hammer had a feeling to it.

I don’t know how to describe it, it just felt…different.

Like before, it was as if the hammer was calling me but this time it felt stronger, like I couldn’t stop myself.

I reached out for the hammer and grabbed its’ handle.

As I did, I felt a jolt of electricity run through my entire body.

“Eeek! Oh wait… it’s gone” [Ember]

I let go of my grip and moments later, the hammer started glowing.

“W-What’s happening?!” [Ember]

The hammer floated in the air then became a liquid substance then-

VOOOM

“HEY! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!!!” [Ember]

The substance suddenly flew to my chest.

A web cocoon was forming around me whilst my chest was its’ center.

Instinctively, I knew that my body was being scanned; examined.

Soft needles that weren’t piercing me but was all over.

Moments later, the substance creeped down to my ankles then down to the bottom of my feet.

The substance took away my boots then it was molding itself to my feet’s form.

At his point, I didn’t struggle anymore. I was just confused but I accepted it.

As if gears of a watch, I could feel everything connecting.

It was alive but it wasn’t.

It finally took its’ shape… a majestic pair of boots that fit me perfectly. It felt like wearing a sock instead of a shoe.

Momentarily, frames appeared on the outmost part of each boot then a few floating tiles made of transparent scales that resembled wings followed.

After this, the substance retracted to the bottom of my feet.

“HAHAHA THAT TICKLES!” [Ember]

Why am I laughing out loud at a time like this…

If anyone was witnessing this, they’d probably think that it was dangerous but strangely, I was sure that it wasn’t.

As if nothing happened, I wore the boots that were taken off earlier and went outside.

When I left, all the lights illuminating the room were gone. The rock became unrecognizable and any traces of the hammer were gone.

Luckily the rain was already over when I was outside so I rushed home so that my parents wouldn’t worry any more than they already have.

I was confused and couldn't think straight but...

I have to go home