“C-can you put something else on, please.” The guy stammered, turning around.

I folded my arms.

“Everything’s wet. It’ll take longer to dry if I put it back on - I might even catch a cold,” I stated nonchalantly.

A noise of discomfort escaped from his throat. “You serious? I’m going to use some magic. A moment please.”

Everything around us heated up as the surrounding area was dried and cleaned up. Large floating discoloured water bubbles were extracted from the soaked books; slime washed away from the ceiling and the edge of the cave, and the uncomfortable, rotten old chair was burned to ashes.

(Good riddance.)

Old mediaeval robes and clothes for guys burst out from the cupboards I had yet to explore - loose trousers and shirt that could be tightened with a crudely made string, along with a luxurious thick cloak that even Little Red Riding Hood would have been jealous of; A deep rouge, embroidered with golden thread sewn in intricate patterns of holly and four leaf clovers.

Startled, I yelped as I was buried by the cloth.

I gave him a look as soon as my head could pop out of the opening.

He gasped as I stuck my hands out from under the cloak to pull my trapped hair out from underneath.

“What sort of heathen clothing is this? You can see everything!”

Oh goodie. I’ve got a prehistoric man more ancient than my mother’s lineage.

Great.

“It wouldn’t be see-through if it was dry. Though what I’ve got on is modest for today’s clothing - wait until you see the swimsuits of today.” I added.

He cringed.

I picked up my (now dry) jacket and slung it over my shoulder, before studying the amulet closer.

I could sense it pull something from me and the surroundings, but its effects? No clue.

“What exactly does this necklace do?” I held it up for him to see.

“It is nothing but a prison!” He spat, “I got betrayed and trapped in there for millennia, passed around like an unwanted heirloom until I was boxed up, stored and forgotten.” He seethed. I could feel his anger rising.

“Damn, that sucks man. Sounds like a guy had it out for you or something.” I sympathised.

Poor him, but the amulet sounds kind of useful.

The man began to observe the room more carefully, looking at the bits and bobs on the table, before the glowing from my pockets caught his eye.

“Is that a healing mushroom?”

“It’s not psychedelic?” I gasped. Disappointed, I pulled out the funky glowing mushroom from my pocket and rested it on the table.

He raised his brow incredulously.

“It’s an almost extinct mushroom. Eating it raw lets you heal any life threatening wound. It can cure most diseases within seconds. It’s worth almost as much as dragon’s blood because of its raw efficacy.

“But will it get me high?” I pressed on.

“...You’re a special one, aren’t you.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and frowned.

My charm was taking hold.

“Dude, answer my question. Will it give me some fun sensory effects?” I whined.

“...Yes?” He answered confusedly.

I fist-bumped the air and placed it back into my pocket.

“Dear lord, what have you brought me?” He muttered at the ceiling exasperatedly.

“Anyway, who are you?” I asked as I casually threaded my belt through my jeans again.”

“My name is Echo. Echo Garner.” He held his hand out.

“Ember Everett.”

I shook it. Or well, I tried to.

My hand met no resistance at all and passed straight through, vaporising his whole arm.

“What the fuck!” I shrieked. “What are you? A hologram or something?”

“This body you see is nothing but a misty illusion. I was removed from my body when I was trapped in here.” He awkwardly scratched his head with his remaining hand as the other one reformed.

This had to be ancient magic or something. I ran my hand through my hair anxiously.

Something wasn’t right.

“Why were you imprisoned here, Echo.” I got straight to the point.

“Many people were out to get me and my comrades, but I didn’t realise they planned this.” He motioned to his evaporative self.

I winced, “Family sucks, I would know.”

I could feel my nerves skyrocket triple-fold. My heart was vibrating.

Wait.

“Comrades? You sound as if you were at war or something.”

“We were,” He puffed his chest out proudly, “I was one of the reigning leaders of the humans participating in the war.

“What war?”

He said he was millennia old. If he’s that old, he must’ve been on about…

“The war in which the whole world was involved in. I was one of the five who split the world in two.”

His pale blue eyes were now electric as they pierced straight into me like hot needles.

“The Egregious Five,” I breathed out in terror, “You set off the war, killing more than half of the world’s population!”

From what Dad told Angelica and I, the Egregious Five were evil, bloodthirsty beings that wanted to conquer the world. They used a forbidden magic to suck the lives of everything around, bringing a never-ending destruction upon anyone that would cross their paths.

More than billions of each race died, many driven to extinction.

Their actions? Catastrophic!

And they still walked the Earth? He was one of them?

I felt sick.

I gripped the amulet, ready to fling it off me.

“Wait!” Echo waved his arms, panicking.

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My arms froze. Damnit! I tried to move my arms, wiggle my fingers.

They didn’t move an inch.

“Explain then!” I barked, “Now!”

My body shook.

“Ember, wait you need to-” He cut off.

My head was swirling, my heart hammering and my skin glistening in a cold sweat. Blood drained from my head.

I tried to gulp in the air and stabilise myself but my legs folded out underneath me.

“Ember!” His voice came out muddy.

Echo tried to grab my shoulders, but his hands passed right through them.

“Calm down, okay? You’re having- we’re having a panic attack.” His arms flew to his chest as he too, tried to breathe evenly.

Shakily, Echo knelt down to meet my eyes.

“I swear that - that I won’t hurt you, Ember, but we need to steady ourselves or we’re going to collapse.”

I coughed and shook, but I tried to do as he said.

“That’s it. In, and out, just like that.” Echo clenched his hands as we both sucked in the stale air.

It took some time for the sudden flash of anxiety to fade, but once it did, I drove my fist through his chest.

Echo dissipated for a moment before reforming again.

“What the fuck was that?” I croaked weakly, “What the fuck did you do?”

“I didn’t- I mean- I- Uh-” He stuttered sheepishly. Echo paused for a moment before clearing his throat.

“Sorry. It seems like both of our emotions bled into each other and both of our anxieties put together triggered your anxiety attack.” He blurted out.

“Fuck! Did any of your other owners get a similar thing?”

Hurt arose within me, and I rubbed it guiltily. Didn’t mean to use that wording.

“No one else has ever had the power to release me like this - I was just passed around everywhere,” He crossed his legs on the floor and sighed, “Look. I promise I can explain everything, but I’ll explain it once we’re out of here and you feel more comfortable with me. How does that sound?”

“No way José! Give me the CliffNotes.” I waved my hand.

“The what?”

“Give me a very, very short version of your past.”

I needed to know what I was dealing with.

“I…” He trailed off.

Echo opened his mouth, shut it again and bit his lip nervously.

He was clearly mulling things over in his head, so I gave him some time.

“There’s a lot to say, but the main points are that I was nothing but a warmonger who fought to protect the ones I loved and give the human race a chance to survive. I had to make decisions in a place where you didn’t have the time to choose, to sacrifice one over the other. There was no rest, no hope, no mercy. I killed, and killed and killed to hold onto fragments of what I had left, and the worst part was I don’t even know if it was worth it in the end,” His voice wavered.

His head dropped into his hands despairingly, “I don’t know if I regret it,” He whispered, “But, all I know is that you, and whatever’s left of the human race wouldn’t have survived if it wasn’t for that. There’s a lot of blood on my hands, Ember, but I was never bloodthirsty. I made those decisions with my heart weeping for the devastation to come.”

I couldn’t imagine being in a situation like that. Domestic wars with Angelica, Mum and Dad were more up my alley, not life and death.

And he did that for centuries?

He waded through blood for his family, and they betrayed him?

Exhaustion took hold of me, so I laid back and gazed at the candles on the wall, mulling over what he said.

I could feel his curiosity poke at me.

My view of the light was obscured by Echo peering at me, the light passing through his misty body, causing light to emanate from his body.

He looked almost angelic.

“...What about you? What’s your story?” He hugged his knees, peering down at me.

“Mine?”

“Of course.”

“It’s not as bad as yours.” I folded my arms under my head and settled.

“That doesn’t matter.” He tilted his head, as if to say ‘go on.’

“I don’t have the ability to use magic. I’ve long past the age a human can have any hope of unlocking it. I was meant to inherit my father’s position of Clan leader, but my little sister likes to lord it over me any chance she gets. She manipulated my parents out of their love for me after she unlocked her magic early, and in two weeks, I will be completely alone in a different city with no support.”

I used my arm to cover my pained face, “Today, I told them and myself that it would be better for me to move away, but I want them to treat me as an equal in their family. At this rate? I might never come back home to see their faces again. I shouldn’t even bother trying - it would just be a waste.”

Echo listened quietly and attentively, as if he was actually interested.

I pulled my face into a watery grin, “Family can suck, huh?”

He mirrored my smile.

Turmoil swirled in my chest, and I didn’t know if it was from him or me.

I was still fearful of Echo - His story wasn’t going to erase the fear of the unmaker instilled into me from the history books.

But it’s clear that he doesn’t seem as bad as history made him out to be (so far).

He’s the first person in a while that I didn’t have the desire to murder.

“Maybe I can help you with that magic problem of yours. We had a technique that could let you use magic without needing to unlock it.”

I snapped upright.

“You serious? Because that would be a shit move if you were ly-”

“Of course I am.” He huffed.

“Quick, ask me if I trust you.”

“Huh?”

“Ask me if I trust you.”

“Um, do you trust me?” He asked cluelessly.

“Hell no. We don’t know each other well enough yet, Echo. For all I know, you could be plotting mass destruction and use me against everyone, and for all you know, I could be using your knowledge to do things worse than you did.”

I paused.

“I’m tired of being hurt by the people who were meant to protect me. Humans can be disgusting, selfish and unnecessarily cruel. I just want peace, just as much as you.”

Those words sunk in deep. I could feel them settle inside of myself, and Echo simultaneously.

Determinedly, I met his eyes, “One sided agreements, in my experience, have the most potential of manipulation. Therefore, I propose we make a deal. For you to unlock my magic and train me, what would you like from me in return?”

“I don’t want anything in return.”

“Don’t be silly. For the eternity you’ve been trapped in this thing, you’ve not wanted a single thing?”

“I just wanted to walk through the world again.” He whispered, “I wanted to feel things for myself.”

“Hm. Do you think a body can be crafted with magic?”

It felt like a spark of hope was lit within him.

“I don’t know. It’s been years since I was hidden from the world.”

“We can give it a go!”

“If I do train you, I want you to try again. Try with your parents I mean. I didn’t get much of a chance with mine, and before I had the opportunity to give back to them, they passed. What I’m saying is that I don’t want you to regret not trying after getting this opportunity.”

A lightning bolt shot through me. I hadn’t thought about whether or not I would regret leaving Mum and Dad behind, not really.

Had I ever thought about what being alone really meant? Or never seeing them again?

It hurt more than I realised.

“I’ll think about it.”

“Good enough for me. I can make a soul contract, using a little bit of your magic. If any of us violate the contract, a punishment would be in order, which can include destroying our souls. Would you like to use it?”

I held the amulet up to the light, observing the twisting black, similar to the little fishes that Dad and I would wash in the stream when I was little, when I thought I would make my father proud.

I miss those times so much.

I breathed in a shaky breath.

“Yes. I’ll do it.”

My power drained, and my body glowed.

“I, Echo Garner, promise to teach Ember Everett to use magic. I shall be her friend, confidant and her strength for as long as Ember desires. I will keep her life safe to the best of my ability.”

Woah. My heart warmed for the first time in years, and it felt like he actually cared or something.

His resolve had me in awe.

“I, Ember Everett, promise to find a way for Echo to have a body. I will be his friend, confidant and strength, for as long as Echo desires! I will keep him safe to the best of my ability!” I shouted out confidently.

Echo’s eyes widened.

“You didn’t have to add the last part.”

The glowing of our bodies died down.

“Why the hell not? What you promised me was precious and I felt like I needed to meet that with sincerity. It was only right that I did the same.”

I got to my feet and shoved my hands in my pocket with a grin.

“And besides, you need a friend to navigate the shit-hole the world has become now. Who else is better than me?”

He stared at me, “You’re weird.”

I folded my arms in mock offence, “Hey! Normal is boring.”

He laughed in a deep, rich baritone, “Sure.”

“Friend?” I held my hand out with a smile.

Wait for it.

“Friend,” He took it.

His arm dissolved again.

“Oh right, forgot about that,” He blushed in embarrassment.

I snorted with a giggle, which transformed into a full blown guffaw.

“Oh my god, how could you forget? Even I remembered!”

Echo pouted and stuck his tongue out. I fell back and laughed harder.

“Jeez, I can’t believe you were an overlord. Thanks for that - took a lot of fear right out of me.” I wiped the imaginary tear from my eye.

I yawned, glancing around at the room.

“Now… How do we leave this place?”

Echo scratched his head, “Uh right. I don’t know.”

The sound of my head slapping my forehead filled the cave.