"One minute ago, 20 per cent of Clover Kingdom's population… gone."
The silence that followed hit harder than anything before it.
"W—what did you say?" Julius, the Wizard King, stammered.
"One minute ago, 90 per cent of Ashveil, that is nearly 20 per cent of the Kingdom's population, somehow died."
Marx's flat voice cut like a hot blade.
"What are you saying, mushroom-head? Have you been taking some funny substance recently?" Yami said with an unreadable expression on his face.
"If this is some joke, then it's the perfect time to say it is a prank," Rill nervously said.
Painting didn't cross his mind.
"The array..." All eyes turned to a pale-faced Akeru.
"What kid?"
"The array Noel used... it expanded fast. Langris separated us with his mana zone."
"You're saying that array was a sacrifice? That's insane."
"Blood poured out. Then blue fire. Bodies charred beyond recognition." Marx confirmed it.
"Moreover, though we haven't confirmed it yet, it's highly likely that only worshippers of Ashveil were affected by that."
Then silence again—until Nozel shattered it.
"This is ridiculous. I won't believe it until I see it with my own eyes."
Mercury surged beside him, taking the shape of an eagle.
Nozel got on top of it and left for the nearest city.
His action made others also move as they followed him to confirm.
"Kid, are you not coming?" Yami asked Akeru, the latter looking intently at the book he held.
"I'd rather not know. Yet. This book... it has answers."
"Suit yourself. I am leaving the taxi to you. Come find me after." Yami vanished through the portal, ignoring Finral's mutter: "Not a taxi, dammit."
Only Finral and Akeru were left in the clearing.
"Feels like a bad dream." He appeared beside Akeru, looking at the cover of the book.
"Do you think the news is real?"
"I don't see any reason for Wizard King's confidant to lie, though there is a miniscule chance for something else to be at play." Finral shrugged.
It felt unreal. But like the others, he wouldn't believe it until he saw it.
He could've peeked through a portal and known. But he stayed.
He also wanted to know what pushed that madman over the edge.
"Let's open it." Akeru opened the book.
Several pages were stained in blood.
"A diary?" Finral raised his eyebrow, started reading the diary.
Day 1
They told Granny and Noel that I'd be learning under the Church. That my flame was "holy."
I felt proud. Scared, but proud.
Noel hugged me tight. He didn't believe them. I saw it in his eyes.
Still, I promised him I'd be okay. That I'd write.
I did. I've written three letters so far. They say they're sending them. I hope they do.
"Whose diary is this?"
"It must be Noel's brother, Leon's diary." Akeru flipped the page.
Day 14
The place they brought me to doesn't look like any temple I've ever seen. No stained glass, no songs. Just red stone halls and smoke. The air tastes like burnt flesh.
They call it "Ashspire's Heart."
I sleep underground now. No windows. They say it's closer to Malgeth's flame.
I still send letters. Noel must've gotten them by now.
Day 36
They put a metal cuff on my wrist. Said it helps "channel the sacred fire." It burns sometimes, even when I'm not using magic.
Modret—the high priest—visits me daily now. He's calm, too calm. His hands don't shake, even when he tightens the straps.
He says my blood is a gift. That I'll help bring Malgeth's flame to the world.
I said I don't understand.
He said I will.
Day 73
They've stopped letting me outside my chamber.
Today, they drew runes on my skin with hot iron. Said it was to "refine the vessel."
It hurt. It still hurts.
I cried. They told me not to waste "holy water."
I asked if Noel was writing back.
They said they'd check.
They won't.
Day 102
The first machine was hooked into my back today. It drains blood.
I watched the tube fill up slowly, spiralling red. They stored it in a glass vial etched with runes.
Modret smiled and said, "We're closer now."
I don't know what he means.
But my body is starting to feel wrong.
Day 134
The pain never fades.
New machine today. This one wraps around my chest. When it tightens, it pulls magic directly from me. I scream every time.
They told me the pain is proof that Malgeth is listening.
I screamed until my throat bled.
Noel, did you stop getting my letters?
Did you try?
Day 179
They said it's working. That the "essence" in my blood reacts to rituals like nothing else.
They don't even hide it anymore. They say it with joy. They're going to use me.
They feed me scraps now. Enough to keep me alive.
I've stopped asking questions. Every answer is worse than the last.
But I still write when I can.
Maybe someone will find this. Maybe Noel will.
Day 268
Another rune etched into my spine. They didn't use tools. Just fire and their hands.
I passed out from the pain. When I woke, my fingers wouldn't stop twitching. My flame kept igniting on its own.
It doesn't feel like my magic anymore.
It's like the fire wants to leave me.
And maybe I want it to.
Day 341
They dragged me into the ritual hall.
It's a black stone. Bone pillars. A pit in the middle filled with ash.
I saw the Ashen Guard bowing around it.
They called me "Seed of the Flame."
Modret told me I would be sacrificed during the Rebirth Festival. "You will burn, and from your ash, He will rise."
I bit him.
They broke my ribs.
Day 473
They call it progress.
I call it the end of my body.
I'm kept hooked to the machines almost constantly now. My blood burns inside me.
They take it by the pint, then give me just enough not to die.
I'm fifteen now.
Happy birthday to me, I guess.
Day 602
Modret's daughter came into my room today. Just stood there, looking at me.
I don't know if she pitied me or envied me.
She asked if it hurts.
I said yes.
She nodded. And left.
Didn't say a word to the guards. Just left.
Day 777
I tried to count the tubes today.
There are nine. Two in my arms, one in my neck, three in my back, and three unknown.
They hum now. Like the machines are alive. Like they're feeding on me too.
They say Malgeth is stirring. That the god is waking.
I can feel it.
He's watching me.
Waiting.
He ain't a god. If gods existed, I wouldn't have to suffer like this.
Day 1024
The Rebirth Festival begins in three days.
The Everpyre has been built. They've brought in corpses from Cinderhome to feed it.
They say the smoke is sacred. That my soul will fly with it.
I won't make it out of this.
I know that now.
But I want Noel to know—I waited.
I never stopped believing he'd come.
And I hope when he finds out what they did, he doesn't forgive a single one of them.
Day 1026
They cleaned me today. First time in over a year.
Said I must look "presentable for the Flame."
I'm so thin my bones poke through. My eyes feel hollow. But they painted me with ash and dressed me in red.
They said I should feel honored.
I didn't answer.
I'm too tired.
Day 1027
Tomorrow, they burn me.
Not just kill—burn. They said the blood has done its work. They've extracted enough for the ritual.
Now they need the body.
The "vessel" must be broken.
I'll scream. I know I will. I don't want to die.
But if Malgeth rises—
I hope Noel finds him.
And I hope he burns him worse than I ever could.
If you find this—
Tell my brother I believe in him.
Tell him I never blamed him.
Tell him he was right.
---
This was the final page, singed at the edge.
There are drops of dried blood. At the bottom, one line in shaky handwriting:
Noel—burn them all.
"What... was that?" Finral asked, his breathing rough.
"I don't know... don't know anymore," Akeru muttered, his eyes looking lost.
"I knew that the churches were involved in some shady things... but this is some insane shit."
Finral swallowed hard and whispered, "Do... do you think that what Noel did was right?"
He shuddered thinking about something like this happening to him, his brother getting kidnapped... though, he can't imagine Langris of all people getting kidnapped.
He would be more concerned for the kidnapper rather than his brother.
"I wonder too... Senpai, make a portal to Cinderhome... where we begin our mission... the start of everything."
Finral complied and both of them stepped through the portal.
Akeru's expression hardened as he took in the surroundings.
A few moments later, all emotion left his face as he indifferently stared at the environment.
"This is sickening."
What they could see was blood.
Lots of blood, dying everything around them.
Apart from the red, there were a lot of black lumps of mass scattered on the streets.
They were human bodies.
Akeru started moving in one direction, Finral following soon after.
"I wonder if it hurt." Finral stared at the corpses. Some faces are recognisable, others are unrecognisable.
Akeru didn't reply, walking in silence.
"Where are we going?"
"..."
Once again, met by silence.
Finral followed in silence.
They soon stood before a compound.
Finral's face paled, as realisation kicked in.
He walked quickly, his head turning left and right, before his body stopped.
"No... it can't be." Finral dropped to his knees beside the charred body.
Drip
Tears started flowing from his eyes. "She was just a kid… why?"
Akeru appeared beside him, looking at the figure in Finral's arms— Lily.
The girl they treated to food when they first arrived in this city.
Though they spent only a few hours with her, Finral had a soft spot for kids.
Akeru indifferently looked at the scene of Finral crying.
Drip.
He tilted his head as he noticed something flowing from his eyes.
He was crying.
Akeru stared up into the dark sky.
RUMBLE
Lightning rumbled. Then came the rain.
Akeru recalled the first words Noel had told him.
"In this world... there are no gods."
***
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