Pitch black darkness. Whether his eyes were closed or open them it was the same. Until a single point shone in the darkness. Then another. And then a few others. A constellation of stars lit up the night. More and more stars continued to light up all around him until the edges of a galaxy showed itself streaking across the midnight blue sky.
Yarro watched as it rotated inch by inch across his vision. There were thousands upon thousands of stars that surrounded him. Night was no longer visible, and it felt more like day time due to the sheer amount of light emitting from the stars. The sight moved him to tears. He could stare at them forever. This must be the afterlife. The priest always said it was full of stars.
Then, a warmth. The same warmth from the moment before it went black. A single flame suspended before him. Was it himself, or maybe the boon? No. Yarro didn’t get that sort of vibe from it. It was different. This flame was something from within him. Something once dormant and impossible to activate. But it seemed alive. Pulsing. Flickering with life. Begging to be taken in.
Yarro was innately attracted to it, just as he was innately attracted to the ocean that was below him a moment ago. He wanted to touch it. He needed to touch it. He reached out. It mirrored his yearning and immediately expanded to completely enveloped Yarro. The burning heat he was expecting was actually non-existent.
It felt more like he was wrapped in a cozy blanket by the window on a rainy day. Like it was supposed to be this way. It shrunk from ever enveloping flames into a flame inside of him. Small, at first, then as it settled, something nagged in the back of his mind about it. Something he didn’t know that was missing. The flame joined with him in a spot he didn’t realize was empty. He felt whole, for some reason.
Yarro gasped for air. His body ached and his lungs felt like they had forgotten how to breathe. Then he realized that he had actually died. The smell of smoke wafted into his nose, causing him to cough. It was still dark, but he knew he was awake at least.
Yarro began to push away at whatever was on top of him. He was weak at first. Just the slightest push drained him of all energy. More debris fell on him the more he tried to free himself. It felt never ending and claustrophobia began to set in. Would he die a second time?
Eventually his arms became free and with a few more pushes he finally saw the night sky full of stars. It wasn’t as many as the ones he just saw. That view would never be comparable to the living life. He was somewhat disappointed he would never see that view as long as he lived. So for now, this sky will have to do.
Yarro closed his eyes as he inhaled the fresh cool air. A soft breeze came by to caress his face, bringing him clean air. There was a sense of relief and deep gratitude from it. A thank you, from the Air Deity. Yarro did the right thing. He nodded to himself and pushed the remaining debris off of him with a groan.
“Yarro!” He heard a familiar voice and looked to see Kael rushing up to him from below. They stood on a pile of debris and Yarro realized for the first time the entire building came down upon him. “You’re… you’re on fire. Are you OK?” Kael went to touch his arm, but yanked his hand back. Yarro looked down to see he really was on fire. Was he really that hot? He didn’t even know that fire surrounded him until just now. His own flames had cast a light all around him but he didn’t feel any sort of heat he should have been feeling.
“Kael, I died under there,” Yarro said, still in disbelief over the entire situation.
“I know.” Yarro finally looked up at the other, confused. “As soon as the building collapsed the wind had stopped. And I didn’t know if you were alive or dead, but then a phoenix made of fire rose from this pile.”
“A phoenix?” It isn’t always how it happens, but a Demideity of Fire is often awakened by death, with a phoenix that rises from the cold body. Which means…
“Yarro, I was so worried. I thought I lost you. I—”
Off in the distance, on the bridge they crossed to get to the now destroyed factory, a column of flame burst up into the sky. Slowly it simmered down into the shape of a person. It was such a contrast to the dark sky it nearly blinded him. It was the Fire Deity. They'll have answers. “Kael, look. It’s them. Help me down.”
The other was hesitant at first to grab him. The fire may have died down, but the heat seemed to linger still. Kael only managed to help him by surrounding his arms in rocks and dirt to keep the heat at bay. They cautiously climbed down the rubble and walked over to the bridge, shielding their eyes as they grew closer to the Fire Deity. They stood there, still as a post in the middle of the bridge, and waited for them to arrive. Once they were close enough, the fire dimmed to the form of the deity and the flames became a mere warm glow in the cold night. A familiar appearance before them.
The duo formally bowed to the Fire Deity. “There is no need for such formalities,” they said. Kael stood up straight and didn’t speak. They turned their head to Yarro, now with a smile. “Congratulations. The immediate threat of corruption is over, and the Master Elementals have been sent back into dormancy.” Their smile turned into a frown and they sighed. “However, we demand justice, and King Wen will not go quietly. Seila is the key, though she is not where she is suspected to be.”
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“Can’t you just tell us exactly where she is?” Kael asked.
“It is forbidden.”
Yarro clenched his fists. At the moment, he didn’t care about the king. He didn’t care about the elementals. He wanted answers on who he was. “That was no boon. I’m your son, aren’t I?”
There was a long pause, then a faint smile. “Yes, my son. You are a Demideity of Fire and Water. I merely helped speed up the awakening process. A Demideity of Fire doesn’t always awaken.” The smile widened, as if they were proud of themself.
“But why? Wh-why choose me, and give me a quest? Why the secrecy of it all?”
“I suppose it can’t be helped. The original plan was to make a Demideity in this age of the world to combat the rising technological level of this world to prevent the same devastation as ages past. This was all planned, to make sure the people of this world listened."
"And my mother? Did she know?"
"She knew who I was. And I truly did love your mother. But she did not find out about your purpose until after she was a few month pregnant.”
Yarro's jaw dropped. To think they would have done something like that to his own mother. If she knew what their plan was, he doubted he would even be alive at this moment. “Then why didn’t you stay? For her? For… for me? She needed help.”
“I know she does. I wanted to send her all of the jewels and coins and food in the world. But she was angry with me. I offered to help raise you, but she thought I would corrupt you. Every time I would send her tangible help, she would dump it off at the nearest church.”
Yarro was stunned. All this time. He knew his mother was rather stubborn, but he had no idea she was this stubborn. She turned down the help of a Deity.
Hot anger flashed through his mind. He could have spend this entire time getting better at his element. But she was so stubborn that she didn't even want him to join the peacekeepers. He had to join behind her back and then ask for forgiveness. Lisa had to go and calm her down before she would even look at him. All because he was they Deity's son.
Yarro felt Kael’s hand clasp on top of his shoulder. It was supposed to be a comforting gesture but at the moment he couldn't placate his feelings with just a mere touch. He was pissed. “No wonder she never prayed. Did you at least apologize for putting her through all of this?”
The Fire Deity was silent, which was all the answer he needed. Yarro scoffed. “You, your mother, or your siblings, are always welcome to pray to me if you need any help.” The Fire Deity bowed their head slightly, then turned to Kael and said, “You, as well, are welcome to pray for help,” before they left in an eruption of flames. All that was left was a circular scorch mark ingrained in the bridge where they stood. The night sky darkened once again as their eyes adjusted to the moonlight.
“That was… A lot. They should have stood around longer to explain everything at least. Are you holding up alright?”
“My whole life is a lie, then." Yarro collapsed on the ground. Kael reached out to hold him. "Did Dawic really have to be sacrificed then? If it was all planned, was Governor Erica and her husband supposed to die? The blacksmiths? The healers? The children? All because I chose to be stationed there!” His hands covered his face as tears streamed down his face. “Right from the start, were their fates already sealed?”
Kael wrapped his arms around him in a hug. He leaned into his chest and continued to cry. It was comforting being wrapped in his arms. His thoughts led back to Dawic. It horrified him that his very existence had purposely led to the massacre of an entire, innocent town.
"My mother knew about it too. She knew about this whole thing and didn't tell me that innocent lives would be murdered. All for what? A lesson for humanity? The Deities are cruel."
They sat together for a few minutes of Kael simply holding him. Minutes turned to an hour. Yarro had stopped crying a while ago. His eyes glued to the sky. For comfort in the stars, but he still wanted to be held. By now their backs leaned against the railing of the bridge. Yarro with his head against Kael’s shoulder, and Kael, still holding tight.
“What do you think they meant by ‘Your travels are not over’?” Yarro asked, his voice hoarse. He had a headache from crying and wasn’t that keen on thinking for more than a moment.
‘I’m thinking King Wen is going to deny everything. We should have looked for proof of his dealings in making these extra tanks.”
“I’m not going back in the rubble, that’s for sure. If the Queen doesn’t like it, she can go stick her objections up her ass.”
“Someone’s coming.” Kael quickly stood up and helped Yarro up as well. Coming towards them from the western half of Keford was a little lantern, swaying to the person’s walking pace. A shadow slowly emerged from the shadows and appearing before them was an older gentleman with grey hair. He had an arm behind his back, and slightly hunched over. He dressed rather formally, and if it wasn’t for the dust and dirt smeared all over his suit, he would have looked quite dashing.
“I’m Governor Illeid Morga. And as I understand it, it was you two who collapsed that factory, correct?” He said, with a heavy and deep sounding voice.
“Yes, sir. The Master Air Elemental was going berserk over it. I’m sure you’re well aware of the damage it caused before the factory. We had to take it down or the Master Air Elemental would have destroyed your entire town,” Yarro said.
“Master Elementals? Well, I don’t know anything about that. But I do know that that factory was a menace with its pollution. Corrupting the very land it sat on and throwing out its waste into the ocean below. So I thank you for it, on behalf of Keford.” He nodded to himself, evidently quite pleased with the turn of events.
That confirmed it, then. This entire situation really was just the Deities protecting them in their own way. They had a shitty way of doing so though. A corruption of nature, not political, like Yarro originally thought. He and Kael will have to free the Lord of Commerce once they're done.
“You’re not upset?” Kael asked.
Governor Illeid chuckled. “No one liked that revolting factory. I’m just thankful everyone had evacuated when we did.”
“What will they do now?”
“Oh, they were only non-elementalist. They will find work elsewhere. Anyways, what I’ve actually come here to say, is that you two are welcome in my abode for the rest of the night. It’s quite late and I've got a spare bedroom. Don’t want to sleep out in the cold now, do you?”
Without waiting for a reply, the Governor turned back around and headed to his home. The duo shared a confused look, but decided through shared silence to take him up on the offer. It had been a long day.