Deep in a mine, the clacks of pickaxes against stone echoed. The miners had almost broken through what seemed like a hollow cave in the rock, so they were quite excited. Considering that the nearby city was built around ancient structures, they were likely to find buried ruins that contained possible treasure. Of course, most of the potential profits would go to their supervisor, but a discovery like this could mean a notable raise in their wages.

As the day was winding down and the sun was starting to set over the eastern sea, one of the miners struck a rock in just the right way and the entire wall crumbled. She stumbled back in surprise with a gasp. Stale air wafted through the newly-opened hole and hit her right in the face, causing her to cough. She could tell that she had found a chamber that hadn't been stepped in for centuries, maybe even millennia. Pushing her trepidation aside, she called to her fellow miners about her discovery and then crossed the threshold into the dark. She reached up to adjust the light on her helmet as she walked. Particles suspended in the air were illuminated by the beam, but she couldn't see the end of the cavern. She turned her head from left to right and back again to get a wider view of her surroundings. The cave was supported by regimented columns of stone that were obviously made by korine hands. Jackpot.

Before she got too far into the ruins, her fellow miners joined her. They started to chatter amongst themselves about the discovery. Words of wonder and caution echoed together in the large cave, but silence fell over the group when one of their beams shone upon a strange sight on a pedestal. A busted console was attached to it at the front, and on top of the pedestal was a large, clear crystal. Trapped inside the crystal, there appeared to be a man.

His appearance was quite foreign to the miners: darkened skin, long white hair, ears that extended at least four inches, and strangest of all, amethyst-colored crystalline wings that sprouted from his back. Even his serene countenance belonged to a foreigner with prominent cheekbones and strange eyelids. He was clothed, thankfully, but his clothes were strange to them as well.

Without hesitation, the miner who had broken into the chamber equipped her pickaxe again and climbed up onto the pedestal. The other miners tried to persuade her to stop, after all, shattering the crystal could kill the man, but she didn't listen. She raised the pickaxe above her head and struck the clear crystal. Despite its tough appearance, this single strike caused several cracks to form and spread in the crystal. Ridges became canyons in an instant and it shattered around the man. To the relief of the miners, his body was left completely intact but collapsed as soon as it was free.

Consciousness returned to Renso and his eyes fluttered open. He pushed himself up into a sitting position. His head felt like it was just barely submerged in water, and the stale air did nothing to help. As soon as the feeling faded, he looked up and blinked in the countless lights that shone in the darkness like muted suns. His eyes adjusted, and he saw the faces that were directly below the lights. Who were these strange people who looked so foreign to him?

He wrapped his wings around himself loosely as a form of protection when his thoughts suddenly turned to the fact that these people could be invaders. They didn't have any visible weapons, but that meant nothing in an age where someone could turn their own body into a weapon. Sure, his wings weren't meant for defense like other augments, but they could work in a pinch and were self-repairing.

The uneasy silence was finally broken when one of the miners decided to speak up. From the tone of her voice, she was asking a question, but the man didn't recognize any of the words she used. His dark eyes narrowed slightly.

"I do not know what you said. Who are you people? Where are you from?" he asked in return. From the confused looks he got from them, he realized that they spoke a completely different language from him. "Nevermind. You will not be able to answer," he muttered in exasperation as he stood up.

Despite what were probably protests from the miners, Renso folded his wings against his back and walked past them. As he did so, he wondered what the outside world would look like. After all, he had no idea how long he had been frozen. It could've been months, years, or even decades. Perhaps if he prayed to one of the gods, he could have his questions answered. If he remembered correctly, there was a shrine to Kione in this city. He was apprehensive about the idea of involving himself with her when his patron goddess was Ruzona, but he had little choice. His wings probably weren't ready for a long journey quite yet.

He lost track of time as he walked and thought at the same time. Before he knew it, he'd walked straight out of the mine's entrance and into the cool evening air. The sky was still dimly glowing in the faint light of the set sun, but he knew that he'd end up flying in the dark if he set off now. That was less than ideal. But if he waited for the morning, he would have to deal with the locals. The idea of it made him uncomfortable, and a strange shiver ran through his inorganic wings. Plus, he had nothing to protect his eyes at high altitudes. He brought his hand up to his chin as he debated on what to do, and he didn't even notice that another person had appeared.

Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

"Oi," the miner called. He then proceeded to ask a question in a demanding tone. Of course, Renso didn't recognize a word of what the man said. When he looked however, his eyes were caught by something. A pair of what looked like goggles rested on the miner's head. Perfect. In a swift motion, Renso took a step toward him and snatched the goggles.

As soon as the shock faded, the miner shouted something at him in anger and reached for him. Renso fluttered his wings and sent himself out of the man's reach with a chuckle. Predictably, the miner froze in shock from seeing a person fly. It seemed like the augmentations that had been so commonplace in the past were now a lost art. This idea made Renso rather sad as he inspected the goggles for anything to adjust the strap length. There was a buckle that looked like it'd do the trick, so he put the goggles right on and tightened the strap so they'd stay snugly over his eyes.

With the goggles, he was ready to fly. He took to the air with a single flap of his wings and stayed hovering as he looked around for the pyramid that marked Kione's shrine. The purple crystals of his wings glowed dimly with the power of the wind. He caught the sight of it, framed on all sides by the lights of the city. Oh, good. It seemed like these people were advanced enough to illuminate their streets at night. He tucked his hands into his sleeves to protect them against the cold. Due to his wings being specialized for speed, he got to the top of the pyramid within minutes of flight. He circled the top for a few passes to find a safe place to land before he alighted in front of the shrine.

When he saw the state of the shrine, he froze in place. The stone was worn down and cracked, and some parts were even crumbled away. There were no signs of any offerings. He realized that people probably hadn't come up to even pray to Kione in a very long time. It was time to fix this. He dropped to his knees and intertwined his fingers, then turned his thoughts to the goddess. Within a few moments, the air around him began to heat up. He opened his eyes again and looked up to the shrine. His breath caught in his throat from the sight he was met with.

The woman sitting on the shrine glowed like a campfire, her skin itself flickering as if her body was hollow and a great fire raged within. Her hair was vibrantly red, flaming and lifted by the air currents that came off of her burning body. She was covered by a "dress" composed of fire and her facial features couldn't even be seen against the brightness of her skin. There was no doubt about it: this woman was Kione herself.

Renso brought his hand up to his eyes to shield them from her brightness. He opened his mouth to speak, but she beat him to it. "What's your name, boy? Nobody's prayed to me in an eternity," she remarked. "Wait, those ears and wings. You're a Kessho-hito! I thought you all died out. You barely even look like an adult for how old you must be." She tilted her head as she considered the possibilities of why he looked so young. "Oh, right. Your name?"

"It's Renso. Shiroken Renso," he answered.

"Shiroken? So you're a follower of Ruzona, most likely. Am I correct? Well, it doesn't matter. You're the only person now who truly knows who us gods are. Why not help to fix that?" she suggested.

Renso stared at her in shock. His suspicions were finally confirmed: every living person was a heretic. Anger rose to his throat and made it tight. "If they're heretics as you say they are, then they don't even deserve life. Their eyes are closed, and will likely stay that way even if I try to help them."

Kione's mouth fell open in surprise. "What a violent kid you seem to be. It's not like they had a choice. They can't open their eyes if they've been sewn shut. These people had nothing to do with worship of us stopping."

He frowned when she quickly pointed out the flaw in his thinking. "I couldn't help them if I wanted to. I don't know the language they speak, and I wouldn't know where to begin in learning it."

"That one's easy! You could just ask Vudona to give you her knowledge of their language. I'm sure that she knows it. I'll even let her know that you have my blessing!" Her tone changed to an excited one in the blink of an eye. It was almost like a switch was flicked. She hopped off of the shrine and took his hands in her own. They visibly dimmed as she cooled them down so as to not harm him. "You'll help, right? It's been so lonely with nobody praying to me. I haven't even been given a cake in millennia."

Faced with an eager goddess like this, all he could do was nod his head. "Fine, fine. I'll help. Does the shrine of Vudona to the west still stand?" He turned his head in the direction of the rising moon. Against the city lights, he could just barely see the silhouette of a pyramid.

Kione followed his gaze and nodded. "It's a bit crumbled like mine, but it's still there. I'm sure she'll be happy to talk to someone again." She let go of his hands. "I'll let her know that you're coming. See you later!" She took a step back and then her body then burst into flame and disappeared.

Renso released a breath and pushed his sleeves up. Being so close to the goddess of fire hadn't been the most comfortable for him when he was wearing such warm clothing already. His eyes rested on the patch of blue crystals that covered his left forearm. Might as well test that augment to make sure it was still working properly. He turned his arm so that his palm faced toward him, then expanded the crystalline growth. It formed into a rather small shield. The size made sense; Kione had likely burned away most of the water just by being there and the shield size depended on the humidity of the surrounding air. He shrunk the shield again, then walked to the west side of the platform. His wings glowed again when he took off toward Vudona's shrine.