As Osiris slowly opened his eyes, he found himself in a dark room. "How did I end up here? Did Master bring me here?" he wondered, feeling confused and disoriented. It seemed like he had fainted, but he couldn't remember what had happened after that. He tried to move but realized that his hands and feet were bound to whatever he was resting on.
The sudden realization hit him, sending him into a state of panic. "What could I have done for Master to bind me like this? Oh no, have I done something to anger the goddess?" His thoughts raced with wild scenarios, each more alarming than the last.
Osiris’s mind was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of jingling keys from the other side of the door, or so he assumed, as the pitch-black room made it impossible to know for sure.
As the door opened, Osiris began to scream, “MA…” only to see a man he had never seen before walk in.
“Oh! Finally awake!” Osiris couldn't help but feel unnerved as he noticed the other man's lack of clothing or any means to cover himself. Despite the clear excitement in the man's green eyes, Osiris couldn't shake the feeling of unease.
The man gazed at Osiris with a puzzled expression until he suddenly understood and chuckled, "Hahaha! Sorry! Sorry! This happens every now and then. But you understand, being of the same race? Right?"
Osiris looked at the man, more confused now than before, “Same Race?” he asked.
“Right,” The man said, walking to a cupboard in the corner of the room and opening it. They clicked their tongue and gave an annoyed grunt, “That was the last one, sigh; I knew I should have gotten more while I was out. Oh well, nothing that I can do about it now.”
The man whirled around, facing Osiris with a wide smile, “Hi, son! I’m your Father!” he said with absolute excitement.
“Huh!” Osiris screamed and tried to move only to remember the binding, “Wait…” Osiris looked at the man in even more confusion.
“Yes?”
“You! You’re that voice!”
“Oh, yeah,” the man spoke as if it was obvious that it was him and Osiris was a fool not to realize it sooner.
“Y-You! What have you done with me? Where is my Master? Why…”
“Shush,” the man spoke in a whispering tone, his finger over his mouth, “You're so excitable; my student is fine, same as you…”
“STUDENT!”
The man stared with a raised eyebrow, “Did he not tell you? If it were me, I would have been bragging about being my student. I am very famous, even the gods know about me! So, therefore, you must have heard a lot about your old man. Right?”
“No, and how could you be my father? Mother told me he vanished immediately after the ritual of dancing fire.”
“The ritual of dancing fire…” The man gave a long sigh as he stared at Osiris, “How much do you know about yourself, son?”
Osiris gave the man an anxious stare. He could feel his whole body instantly drench in a cold sweat at hearing this man’s question.
Osiris’s lip began to quiver as he thought more and more about his life, “I-I…” his eyes grew unfocused as he took deep and panicked breaths, “Wh-Wh… I…”
The man sighed briefly before a warm smile stretched across his face, “It’s fine, son, do not worry yourself. Let me explain everything to you.”
As the man walked out of the light cast from the open door, Osiris saw the man reach down and pull a small chair from the shadows of the room. The man pulled the chair and placed it close to where Osiris was bound, lying motionless on the dark stone slab. The man's movements were calm and deliberate, and his expression remained unreadable as he settled into the chair.
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“Where do I even begin,” The man said, his eyes distant as he bit his lips in thought, “Well, first, I am Orion, and I am the first of the Burning Ash Race.”
Osiris looked at the man Orion, confused by everything that had been said, “Burning Ash Race, but you said we were from the same race. I am from the Burning Light Race?”
“Yes, same as I, Do you know how the Burning Light Race came to exist?”
“They were born from the Blaze Race, just like all the other flame essence races,” Osiris said in an obvious manner as if it was common knowledge.
“Right, and who said those races can not have mutations and offshoots either?” Orion smirked at Osiris before continuing, “Anyway, the Burning Ash Race is a weird mutation as it only happens if a member of the Burning Light Race can use and master life essence; until then, it lies dormant in their body.”
“So am I part of the Burning Ash Race then?”
“Nope… Well, not yet.” Orion gave a sinister smile as he looked at Osiris.
Osiris couldn't help but feel uncomfortable as he caught sight of the man's smile. It sent shivers down his spine and left him with an uneasy feeling in his gut. He couldn't shake the sense that whatever was about to happen wouldn't be good.
“But don’t worry, son, I will make sure that you can be part of your old man’s race, just like your older brothers and sisters…”
“There are others like me?” Osiris asked with a small gasp, scared of what would be said next.
The man didn’t answer; he only giggled like a child that was trying to keep a secret.
As Orion's fingers lit up with pure white flames, Osiris couldn't help but be mesmerized by the dancing sways of the fire. The flames slowly illuminated the previously dark room, bringing a sense of warmth and comfort to the space. It was a beautiful sight to behold.
Osiris felt his heart race and his palms start to sweat as the flames began to reveal unsettling images. His once peaceful state was replaced with abject terror, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of dread wash over him. The beautiful sight that had captivated him moments before quickly turned into a nightmare.
“Wh-What is this…” Osiris pleaded desperately, his heart pounding with fear as he tried to make sense of the disturbing view flickering before his eyes. "Please, tell me, wha-what am I seeing?"
Bodies in various states and positions dangled by different metals decorated the rafters, and the bodies bolted to the walls of the room seemed almost lifeless as drool dribbled out of their mouths. Osiris knew that all of them were alive if this could be called living, as when a Seedling life seed was destroyed, they slowly dissipated into life essence, so the fact that there were bodies.
Orion smiled wide and excitedly as he looked at his work that hung and swayed around the room, “These? Oh, they are your brothers and sisters!” He screamed in excitement, but quickly it disappeared, replaced with a sad shake of his head, “But all of them were failures. They could not live up to my expectations, which are very high, by the way, so I really hope that you will be better than them…”
Osiris looked at the bodies that littered the room, “There must be hundreds of bodies here,” he thought to himself.
Osiris had not often interacted with other Seedlings, but he knew what he was seeing was not something that was by any stretch of the imagination normal.
Orion flashed a sinister and deranged smile at his son, "I have such high hopes for you, son," he said with a caring tone. However, his words only made the atmosphere in the room more chilling.
“Here, let me introduce you to your family,” Orion shouted in anticipation as he pointed at a body that hung above the doorway.
“This is my first child... Sorry, I forgot his name,” Orion gave an awkward chuckle as he continued, “It has been six thousand years since I started to care for him, so it only makes sense that I would forget at some point, right?”
Osiris looked at his brother; there was a hole in his stomach where you could see his life seed floating inside a thin crystal ball with different metal tubes piercing into the ball. His arms were gone, and only his left leg remained, but it was charred black, from what Osiris had some idea. The brother’s face had pure white specks and seemed to be peeling, and his black hair was tainted with white specks; it was also thin and falling out. His one eye seemed lifeless as if his mind had long since died. The drool kept falling from his mouth like a never-ending stream.
“Is this going to happen to me?” Osiris tried to hold back his terrified tears.
“Now, son, let us begin…Your training!”