My foot swiped forward and kicked a pebble away. “Strange…they're so chaotic, who walks like this?!” These footprints are annoying. I continued to kick the pebble along the ashes, it was a silly little game, kept me entertained.. At least until I accidentally kicked it wrong and it strayed from my path.

“Tch.”

Everyone knows going back is forbidden.

I sighed. Fighting off madness and boredom was quite hard when you’re trying to tail someone. The ashes were trying very hard to consume me now. So much so, this monologue was starting to feel like another person was saying it to me.

A sense of terror convoluted all my doubts and complaints into a big mess, and even if I tried to distract myself from it…it wouldn’t be long before I would have to voice those struggles out. Whether that be through an action or something else. Worry added to the moshpit of emotions as I thought of the imminent and dangerous climax my mind was beginning to reach.

I continued to walk. The elusiveness of the ashes and their subtle changes in my psyche really added a layer of fear to the forest. I was barely holding up well against their effects as I was now, much less without the crown. The crown was able to suppress it, but at the cost of the insanity inducing pain it’s consumption caused. The ashes were also attempting to consume me. Whether they were doing their very best was unknown to me. One thing was for sure though.

They were unlucky enough to be targeting someone who was already being leeched on by a certain item.

I visualized a familiar growing band of thorns. A soft sigh escaped my throat, but it was quickly quieted by a wheeze. I was getting really tired. The crown would have me soon, or the ash would. Whoever won first.

“I've been sighing a lot recently haven’t I?”

Pfft.

Great observation Ludo! Really useful in our current situation.

I couldn’t help but make fun of myself for my stupid thoughts.

Funnily enough, I just had a miniscule monologue about these stupid thoughts, so I had a stupid thought within a stupid thought. Which makes this a stupid thought.

I yelped as I almost tripped.

Now don’t get me wrong, the ashes were still doing a number towards my psyche, however I am being forced to ignore it as best I can. This monologue alone sometimes broke off into other thoughts, and for some reason I felt myself slowly feel as if I was safe, yet that feeling instantly disappears when the crown’s leeching thorns pierce into me.

Then again, I'm too far gone from my peak state to care whether I'm there or not. Call it dumb, but it was ultimately true that I wouldn’t be in my best condition for a while.

Not while I was in this goddamn forest.

My treads were heavy. I was quite tired of walking. The balance the ashes gave wasn’t trustworthy in some places, and sinkholes were not uncommon in the forest. The air I felt coming from them was cool, as such I imagined there was water down there. I would drown or die of hypothermia if I fell down there. I had to watch my step. A constant reminder rang in my head.

I am not safe.

This reminder was crucial to me. Without it, I’ll fall victim to the curse the ashes subjected to the mangled corpses I had seen.

The slight crunch of the ashes gave me a feeling of sensory pleasure. I’d been walking for a while now, not enough time to be important to note, but these footprints really went farther than I thought they would. I solemnly looked towards the horizon. The sunset was blazing. Night was coming, however it would still take a while for it to truly be dark. Confusing, I know.

What I mean is that time moves slower in this region of the Vast for some reason, probably not due to time itself, but by the rotation of the planet. I assumed that because it was the most likely. There were however known regions of the Vast where there was no star, no tangible ‘space’, no celestial movement, instead its light seemed to just…be there. I noticed it when I had first arrived…the sun for some reason was not moving. I was afraid of it turning dark, yet it seemed like it would never come.

I had to worry though, as a night with no shelter would be the end of me, and taking a chance at night never coming is not something I could afford to do.

I’m sure it’s useless to explain all this to myself. Who cares though? Not me.

Am I crazy?

Psh…

What a cringe thing to ask.

I studied the Vast greatly over the time I was able to on Earth, however it was very hard to find information on the geography of it, or the different ways space worked. However I did find under the radar information about the metaphysics of it, even if little. It was mainly because I had been cared for by a strange fellow once..

My nails dug into my palms.

A Faded. One of the ones cursed by the mysterious world ending event, who I considered a mentor of sorts.

Ah.

I feel myself reminiscing, yet I don't really want to. My memories hurt, and they stir up emotions deep within me. I attempted to clear my head forcefully.

I KNOW that these emotions will hinder me. I have to stop them.

It hurts to remember, as much as I know bottling up is no better…it took the pain away for a bit did it not?

However I won't act like I'm not self conscious. I know it's hard for me to accept that bottling up my emotions is worse so…

I sighed

I was addicted to miniscule and easy gain. So much so I gave up the opportunity to better myself for it. Call it laziness or simple ignorance…but

No one would get it either way.

This was fine…right?

Crunch. Crunch…Crunch

These sinking thoughts however were immediately and thankfully interrupted. It was strange, because although they were interrupted, at the same time my subconscious supplied this monologue.

I had stepped out of the forest, into a clearing. My throat seemed to tighten.

The roof of leaves that shielded the forest from the sky parted here as well, and could only be seen again farther into the distance. The beautiful sky stretched far above me.

Along with a pillar of black and ACTUALLY ashy looking smoke. Unlike this fake trash. I kicked the ashy floor…well it felt like ash. Not sure what it actually was.

I scanned my surroundings and was pleasantly surprised.

A camp. There's a camp in the middle of this clearing. The camp isn’t too big, and I didn't immediately see a person. The fire was huge. I felt my hair stand on end. “I don’t want to keep walking forward…” However there was no choice…I'll die, or go mad before I ever get another chance at shelter again.

Plus…the footprints lead me just there.

And so I took a step.

I walked silently and thoughtlessly towards the campsite, there was not even a tent. Just what seems like a sleeping bag and a backpack on the ground. I can barely make out those items from how far I am, however the most noticeable was the huge bonfire that’s surrounded by the campsite. It was quite big, and probably drew tons of attention to the small encampment.

I doubt there was anything sane enough in the forest to even recognize it though. Who knows though? Maybe these crowns are a commodity. I flicked the crown, only to hiss in pain as its phantasmal thorns pierced my finger, or should I say the intangible thing inside my finger. Soul, consciousness…who cares.

I took a step into the campsite. The warmth of the fire was nice. There was a drying rack, and a wooden stump. The stump was just a cut piece from a tree that was placed next to the fire, and seemed to act as a stool. Quite a big stool though. I patted the top of it.

On the drying rack a black object sprawled across it. I figure it's clothes so I didn’t pay too much attention to it. I was being extremely wary despite my calm nature. The surroundings however are strangely clean…as if no one's here.

However I can see some sort of porridge in this saucepan. Freshly made, a bowl to the side of it. It's steaming. Who eats porridge for dinner? Oh wait…I do. I sat on the stump, and looked around once again, I clutched the fragment of the stone altar tightly. My instincts are telling me something ain't right.

The fire crackled.

I rubbed my hands together. The warmth feels nice. “The cold…it's disappearing! It seems like fire counters these ashes’ influence even if not much.” It reminds me of when I was sitting near the chimney in the orphanage. A slightly pained smile spread across my face.

The fire crackled again, causing me to flinch.

What the. Is that…?

My body quaked as an invisible yet tangible force pierced through it.

“O’…Flame…”

The fire’s hue shifted from orange to blood red in color.

The slunset’s painting-like beauty seemed brighter than ever before. The cold of the ashes was gone. Now replaced by a frenzied heat.

A voice came from the fire!

The chant echoed in the forest. A second ripple-like shockwave exploded from the flames. It was not exactly impactful though. Instead it messed with the space around me. It felt weird. Something had changed about the surrounding area.

A fast moving object whistled towards me. My legs tensed as I shot backwards as fast I could. A dull noise followed by deep sizzling could be heard from where I had just been sitting. The stump was pierced. A knife made of pure red flame is burning a hole into it! My heartrate quickened. I have no time to react.

Out from the fire a large silhouette exploded outwards. Before I could even raise my arms to block whatever was barreling towards me, I saw the figure draw close.

Fuck!

I felt an intense pain pummel my stomach. It was a knee. The ground qas suddenly far away.

It's way too fast. With a loud thud I hit the ashy floor.

My diaphragm spasmed, low gasps escaped my throat.

It hurts. I can’t breathe. What is happening? I’m on the floor. I’m on the floor!

Get up.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

I felt my core tensen as I rushed to get up. However I was unable to find the strength to get on my feet. My legs were quivering.

I try to scream in pain, but instead a low and strange noise due to the lack of air came out of my throat. The crown tightened even more. The pain of the knee and crown reset my senses. I smashed my fist against the soft ground

Get up.

Get up!

I stood. Small white dots filled my vision. I gasped loudly. Air rushed into me and my gasps drowned out my thoughts of relief.

I saw my enemy. A tall and widely built figure. I had spent too long getting up. So it was close once again. A sleeved robe covered their body, making them unidentifiable except for the gloves that poked out of the sleeves. The robe was white in color. Gold-like embroideries were sprawled across it.

An ambush? Did I scare him? I need to try to communicate. Shut up! Focus on the person in front of you! Was I arguing with myself?!

A boom echoed in the forest.

Ah.

A blunt kick to the side sent me tumbling backwards. I had spent too long thinking. I rolled back and forth on the ground in pain. My groans and the rapidly approaching footsteps of whatever was attacking filled my hearing. Once again I found myself standing up, not without quivering and struggling to stay standing.

I tried to speak, but instead of words, a mix of coughing and cut off begs of mercy came out. My throat burned.

My voice was strained. Realistically I didn't expect a response. Not many otherworldly creatures know english. I mean it did chant in English, but it didn’t talk after that.

Instead of a response all I received was an airborne flaming dagger slide across my arm.

Oh.

“A-Aaargh!”

My flesh sizzled. It had a disgusting smell. However the smell was not my focal point. It was the horrible sound of my pained scream. It hurt. So much. I clenched my arm in pain.

Charred and blackened skin hung off my arm. It looks like leather. No blood escaped the wound horrifyingly. The blood vessels were completely destroyed. The creature leaned downwards. I hissed and tears welled up in my eyes. Why was the pain so horrible?!

Everything was happening too fast!

I could not even catch my breath as the creature barreled towards me. It was going to attack!

I took a chance.

My weight shifted to my right side. I took an aggressive turn that almost broke my balance. I let go of my injured arm and let it hang. A gloved fist flew by my face. I bent my knees in preparation. A huff of air escaped my throat as I stomped down and reached out with my uninjured limb and latched onto the arm. The arm was stiff, and it was clearly much much stronger than my two arms combined.

Clutched in my hand, was the semi-sharp stone I was carrying. I drove it into the arm of the creature. It was hard to pierce, but with all my strength I pulled down and a deep laceration was formed.. The sleeve of the robe was ripped. I saw red fur. Blood splattered on the ground. The creature yelled angrily and recoiled back as I held the bloodied fragment of stone.

I was boldly staying close to my enemy…however with each chance I could take to initiate an attack I felt a burden on my body. A weight on my shoulders prevented me from attacking.

I did not want to fight.

“I injured it.” My breathing was erratic, I wasn’t expending much energy fast, but the fight is too fast for me to keep up. I’m not getting a chance to catch my breath.

How did I do that? Was that fur? Is this…a dog?

I raised my guard. The furry creature conjured the flames once more, as I saw its body be coated by them. The robe’s hood still masked its face. Somehow it seemed to be doing it with a special method. As it was simply just a dark chasm instead of a face where the hood’s opening was.

I continued to analyze its body. It seemed to have a humanoid-like appearance. It was quite a big creature though. Maybe a man shaped animal? A werewolf? No. A mandog? Probably not. Just a humanoid alien animal thing? Most likely.

All I knew was that my arm was screaming in pain and I could tell the creature’s did too. Whatever this thing was, it was strong. I had managed to barely overpower it using the leverage of the ground, essentially meaning that if I was not careful, this thing could throw me around like a tennis ball.

The white robe was stained with the creature’s own blood, which caused a smug feeling to creep onto my face. Even though I did not want to fight, it was payback for the burn on my arm!

Ugh…

I felt my head throb. A grassy forest flickered in my sight. My sense of danger completely dissappeared as it did.

The ashes! I was too focused on the fight. My emotions surged too much. I had no way to retain my sanity! We had moved quite far from the surrounding forest. I guess I could use the fire of the camp to reduce the insanity the ashes inflicted on me, but I had no time for that.

So I have no way to get rid of the influence of the ashes other than the crown. Which seems to be far too focused on keeping me from resting.

Each breath I took tightened its grip on what I consider my ‘soul’.

“Why the heck did he give this darned crown?”

The intangible thorns pierced through my head more and more, so much so that I had been able to ignore the pain of the burn on my arm, instead focusing on the horrid pain of my ‘soul’ being directly attacked.

I reached for my forehead to clutch it in pain but realized that would just let the crown pierce my hands as well.

I took steps back. The red flames that the robed figure produced began to sprawl over its body. They did not seem to burn it though. I observed its movements as I slowly made my way over to the edge of the forest. I would be clearly safer there. As much as I hated the idea of a night in the forest, I had to survive the day to even worry about the night.

I thought of trying to fully sprint towards the forest.

Yet…

As much as I want to, I absolutely cannot turn my back to this thing!

My mind fogged, trying to process what had just happened as best as it could. Unnecessary thoughts disappeared. My psyche, although affected by the ashes and the crown’s influence, was still sorta fine. Which I’m glad about.

My jaw hurts. I’ve been clenching my teeth way too much. Wait…isn’t this an unnecessary thought?! The pain of the crown is driving me insane

I ripped a piece off the hem of my robe. Hopefully the hole was not too big, and would be unnoticeable if not paid attention to. Why am I worrying about that right now?! I grabbed the cloth and prayed it would not be dirty, wrapping it around the wound. Hisses escaped my mouth as the fabric touched the open wound.

It was clear this thing can bleed, as such I have a chance. Its speed was mainly the heaviest thing turning the scale of the battle towards the monstrous creature. However if one thing was clear…it was that I could not afford to be hesitant.

The gradual tightening of the crown cleared my mind.

No more hesitation.

These words were simple, and so was my way of thinking. However flexibility was the only thing I could possibly rely on. Simplicity was the medium I would use to understand what was going on in the battle, even if it meant giving up the more tactical advantage of thinking ahead.

I paced to the right in sync with the creature. We circled each other. My eyes jolted around the surroundings. It was too open. I had to lead this battle elsewhere!

Preferably the forest of course.

We circled each other a bit more. Slowly uneasiness set within me. “We’re both injured…why don’t we stop fighting before we hurt each other more?!”

“We both know that’s not possible.” A low voice responded.

“The hell does that mean?! Cut it with the edgy remarks already!”

“Tch.”

Just as that conversation finished it's stay in my head, I heard cloth flutter. The furry monster was once again rushing at me, this time a bit more organized and firmer than before. A simple blade made of entirely solid flame was being held in its grasp, which it seemed to use its palm to push the back of it.

I prepared to dodge the blade to the best of my ability. However before I could demonstrate my incredibly good dodging skills…that I didn’t have, the blade disappeared!

The robed figure closed the distance between us almost instantly, and instead of a slash or a punch, his hand landed on the cold floor below. His arms twisted towards me, and so did his body. I raised my arms to guard the incoming kick, however they were swatted away by the kick.

“Capoeira?!”

I was sent flying back. My chest exploded with pain. Once again I was left begging for air as I tried my best to distance myself from whatever was attacking me. However as I got up he was executing another attack already. I had no window to react!

“Ugh…Fuck!” I had let my thoughts get ahead of my reaction time. A new wound had been created. My robe now had a charred hole near the chest, and a laceration quickly spread across it.

It hurt badly.

“You’re not going to win.” A hoarse voice called out to me. God this guy is so insufferable!

I yelped as I dodged the swipe of a fiery straight-sword. The sword was conjured from the fire surrounding him, probably when I was left gasping for air on the floor…and just looking at it gave a sense of danger.

I screamed in pain. Due to my excessive movement and fatigue the crown was encroaching my forehead even more. It was utterly consuming me.

But…I would not die here! “Absolutely not!” I charged forward as best as I could, I felt the weight of my body shift, the fragment of the stone altar laid in my hand. The robed figure slashed out towards me with the sword, however I quickly angled myself on the balls of my feet.

I lashed my injured arm outwards, and grabbed hold of the fiery arm. The sleeves of the robe were covered by fire, and it hurt to simply be close.

Much less grab onto them!

I growled in pain as my skin sizzled due to the fire…however I had priorities!

I clenched my teeth. The sharp stone in my right hand flew towards the body of the robed figure. I stabbed it several times, aiming at the vital spots I at least thought were vital. It did not pierce very deep.

Yet I still heard a pained yell come out from the hood of the robe. I attempted to peer into its darkness…only to be met with nothing, except the feeling of my feet being swiped off the floor. I was caught off guard. His legs were way too long.

He was also much…much stronger than me.

My balance collapsed, my head hit the ashy floor of the forest. The accursed tip of the fiery sword plummeted towards my head. I felt that feeling. An inconceivable feeling of deep anguish.

The feeling that this moment would be one that I would never forget for the rest of my life.

“Die!”

My very instincts screamed, the crown’s pain intensified. Under the sunset of the ashen wasteland, and under approaching death…I felt clarity.

Truly there was nothing for me to continue fighting for. I acted determined, and motivated. As if I truly have the will to continue living simply because of a promise I made towards a stranger I met in the heat of what I considered imminent death.

However, that wasn’t simply enough. A promise…although it holds value in my heart…was not going to solve my self-doubt.

I was afraid of the Vast. I was angry I couldn't be stronger. I was saddened by the abandonment of my home town. I was confused due to my surroundings. I wanted to cry out in complain. I wanted to go back to the comfort of the orphanage. To never have to deal with any more accursed fighting ever again. I just wanted to go back to that comfortable feeling.

Yet!

I could not! Humans don’t develop so simply! A promise wouldn’t give me the will to fight on. As simple as it might be to others…it was hard for me to not give up! I wanted to let this thing kill me deep down…but I knew I also didn't. I was afraid of pain. I just wanted to escape. So I would never have to fight again!

But…

Was that what I really wanted?!

No!

I want to live! Not because of a promise I made to someone else…Not because I was afraid of death! Not because I was afraid of pain!

It was out of pure will!

“Shut up!”

I yelled out in anger as I used my legs to shift my body to the left. My injured arm was useless either way!

A blood-curdling scream escaped my throat. The sound of pure pain!

But I was alive!

A crazed grin sprawled across my face.

The short-sword pierced entirely through my left shoulder. The sizzling of my skin was disgusting…and the smell was not any better. I had made it up to this point…but really I don’t know how I’m gonna get out of this one.

I grabbed onto the blade with my hand. Small drips of blood sizzled on the blade as they trickled down it.

I held on for dear life. This was my only chance!

Only one way was left…up!

My leg muscles tensed. They were overworked, and in pain…but they would do anything to continue living!

The sizzling intensified as a disgusting sound came from the hole in my shoulder…which the blade was still lodged to. However along with this noise came a new one. The sound of my shoulder moving up the blade of the sword.

Bit by bit…I made my way to the top of the blade!

Pieces of my shoulder fell down to the ashy ground!!

My screams were loud and chaotic!

Yet!

An ear to ear smile was all I could muster! For once I saw a change in the hood of the robe. I could see through its no longer impenetrable veil now…and in it a set of amber eyes were widened in shock. Pin-sized pupils stared back at me.

“You’re…insane.”

Indeed. Maybe in the eyes of whoever this was…I was a maniacal psychopath. However I had no time to worry did I not? No voice to negotiate? No strength to change anything? My weakness was apparent…yet I still felt the will to fight. I was right to attack…was I not?

As I prepared to use every last ounce of strength…my heart was filled with nothing but…doubts.

My shoulder hit the hilt of the sword.

“Insane…”

My right arm shot outwards. The pointy tip of the sharp stone faced my enemy. I aimed towards the eye.

A disgusting slimy noise was heard. Blood splashed over my hand and face.

The sword dissipated. My back hit the floor. However I did not care. I was too fixated on watching the figure fall to the ground with a thud. After that…it was quiet.

I had won!