White clouds covered the milky sky, brimming with rows of light cotton that felt as if it were at their fingertips. Maybe, perhaps because they were. Looking down at everything below with an innocent smile of purity.
They broke when disturbed under touch, vanishing into thin air as if they were never there to begin with.
Someone's heavy breath came from the side, with a deep growl responding to it in the same manner.
It wasn't hot nor cold up there, but a pleasant wind blew across the colorless sky, forcing Valentine's eyes to fully open and brace against the cold sun.
With a groan, he pushed himself off sluggishly, just to wince and hold onto his stomach, with a hand riddled in faded black scars.
He looked down at himself, then up at the clouds that were just a hair's length away.
His heart was racing wildly at its presence, but something told him that no matter what happened to him from this point on, it wouldn't cause him any serious harm.
How long have I been out for...
He could barely count the number of times he had managed to pass out lately; it had been rather annoying to lose his consciousness in the middle of something, just to wake up for something new to slap him awake.
It took a heavy toll on his psyche, making him feel both dead and alive, sometimes even neither.
As he was looking at the clouds, a familiar voice called out to Val, making him tense up.
"You're awake, Valentine."
Turning to the side, a boy sat next to him on an obsidian floor, dressed in casual, light clothes with no proper footwear, let alone even socks. Only his dark grey shirt and baggy black pants were clinging to his pale skin.
With deep-blue hair that was carried weakly by the wind, similar to Valentine's now ebony hair glistening under the pale daylight, he put on an awkward smile that didn't quite reach Valentine.
Who is this guy...
Pursuing his lips, he looked at the boy's scarlet eyes that held nothing but calmness inside them, something he hadn't seen before.
Even Sunday's gaze was filled with nothing but blind fanaticism towards his so-called goddess.
Ah, wait.
He turned his gaze slightly, looking at the curious boy from a different angle.
Something clicked inside his mind.
With a trembling voice, he pointed at the small boy.
"Y-You're that knight!"
"Indeed."
Nodding his head, the boy sat in a cross-legged position, placing his hands across his legs.
He didn't act like the ruthless knight who had not an ounce of hesitation while beating him; his cold gaze was gone, with his face illuminated in the calm daylight that made him seem softer than he looked.
It was as if he were a different person entirely.
His eyes scanned Valentine.
Then, surprising the startled boy, he leaned down so low that his head almost touched the black floor.
"I am truly sorry for treating you like this." He slowly raised his head, looking down with half-closed eyelids. "I never once in my lifetime expected to see someone blessed by an ember."
"Uh..."
"It is truly an honour of mine to escort you."
Blessed by an ember?
Despite his clearly expressed bamboozlement, the knight kept on apologising to him over and over again as if he'd done a great sin. Weirdly, Valentine wanted to laugh at him for mistreating him earlier, but also couldn't quite bring himself to it after seeing the ruthless knight act like this.
Wait, didn't Sunday say I'm cursed now? What is this guy on about?
Also, didn't he beat the crap out of me moments ago? What's up with people changing their attitude so fast?
More questions arose in his raging mind, but he chose to keep them to himself for the time being so as not to raise any more conflicts with the monster.
"For me to treat a goddess's chosen one like that, please accept my humble apology."
Looking down at the knight, Valentine's mind froze for a moment, unable to come up with a proper response.
"Yeah... sure."
Feeling the boy's intense stare, the knight gave a light bow before returning to his position and turning his head somewhere away from them, somewhere to the front.
"In case you were wondering, we are currently heading north from the Black Forest."
He continued, pointing at the clouds, seemingly gesturing at something that could not be seen with the naked eye.
"You also must be quite confused about why an esteemed knight of Victoria's church would come to you by himself."
Esteemed my ass, you're the worst bastard I ever knew in my life-
Valentine straightened up when the knight looked at him suddenly, furrowing his brows and muttering under his nose something along the lines of 'Has he not spoken just now?'
"So, as I was saying."
He turned back to the clouds.
"This year's generation of fire is quite special, you see; people from all around the world have started to receive grace even without believing in the goddess."
"No matter who or what that person had done in the past, they would receive a grace eventually."
He turned to look at Valentine, who looked as if he had just eaten a lemon.
"People like you, however, are scarce."
"Those who have received a direct blessing rather than scattered embers."
"You have to meet certain circumstances in order to be blessed by her holy flames."
His eyes sparkled with a familiar glint once noticed in Sunday's gaze, forcing cold sweat to roll down his back.
Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.
"Knights of my caliber were sent to take hold of such individuals, bringing them to the closest cradle they could."
"We don't know what they look like or what they can do, but once one is found, it's easy to spot a difference."
A cradle...?
Valentine rubbed his tired eyes, thinking how stupid it sounded to his ears.
It was his turn to speak now as he leaned down carefully.
"So, what you're saying is, I had to go there no matter what happened?"
The knight nodded eagerly.
"That is correct."
"Then why did you almost kill me?"
At that question, his head dropped down instantly, an apologetic tone leaving his lips.
"Because I was not sure of your identity; it was only after I heard your flawed prayer that I understood who and what you were."
So my guess was right after all; that's good to know for now.
Nodding to himself, he asked again.
"And the place called thecradle... Is this a facility to nurture the ones who have received such blessings?"
"Indeed, how did you know?"
"Just a guess..."
With a long yawn, Valentine turned his head in the direction of the wind where the dark platform ended. To him, it looked as if the whole thing was made of tiny scales, but it was too smooth, way too smooth.
There's just no way it's a dragon.
Remembering the giant maw and two amber eyes that looked at him as if at prey, the monstrous creature reminded him of a dragon, which would fit quite well considering everything was revolving around flames, which they were quite well known for.
The area was around ten square meters, with them sitting right in the middle of it; he could not see anything below it, nor did he try to after imagining what this platform could be.
He chose to keep his mouth shut about it and instead brought up another topic that was bothering him as of late.
"By the way, what is that generation of fire? I only know it from that letter you burned before..."
"Ah, yes. I've heard that those who were blessed may have suffered some side effects; it seems your memory is flawed because of it."
Nodding in understanding, he pulled a scrap of paper from his back pocket.
"You see, it's a tradition of sorts to gather gifted children every few years." He placed it on the obsidian floor, spreading it under his palm. "This is something I've known ever since I was born."
"The sun goddess that came down from the skies to grant us her sacred flames, Victoria, is the reason why we do this."
A tiny azure flame lit up atop the paper, not burning it, but getting swallowed weakly.
"When she granted them her blessings, everything across the world changed. Small at first, but like a wild flame, it spread across everyone who was present."
"They learned how to live. The deadly winter was not as imminent as before thanks to the flame's blessing, and there was no need to fear anything or anyone."
"People started to praise the goddess out of desire for her flames, begging for more love and warmth to be given to them."
I think I see where this is going...
The knight's azure flame was almost swallowed by the tiny paper scrap, barely a spark.
Like the very people who kept taking without giving anything in return.
"But when the goddess refused." He placed his hand over the spark gently. "She disappeared back into the sky, returning to her life as a sun, looking down at us with her translucent eyes."
Holding the scrap of paper for a brief moment, a low thump came from inside it until he lifted his palm.
"Yet the blessings stayed with us, not as flames but embers that were scattered all around the world, hidden from us but kept close enough to eventually reach them."
"People took possession of them, regaining the power of flames that they always longed to have."
"And even then, it was still not enough."
"The generation of fire is what we chose to call those people, the new lives that have inherited her blessing through flesh and blood."
The scrap of paper was gone, replaced by a tiny trail of dark smoke.
The knight looked at the rising ash, his lips closed for a brief moment of silence.
He closed his eyes slowly, looking down.
His voice turned hollow.
"The end of the story was left blank; I myself don't know if it was just a joke or a way for children to imagine what would happen when you live a life full of greed."
"I think it was stupid of them to beg for more. What would one do with flames of a goddess? Would they give them to someone else? If so, then why not pray for her to share it with others?"
Noticing Valentine staring, he coughed awkwardly and looked away as if embarrassed, a weak smile forming on his lips.
"I'm sorry, I got a little carried away. I rarely have a chance to engage in a conversation with someone else, and I just thought that the little story I shared would be able to help you view us in a greater light, so I apologise for speaking too much."
"It's fine."
People sure love telling stories.
Valentine lay down on the hard floor, looking absentmindedly at the empty clouds.
"I don't know anything about history, blessings, or whoever that goddess is."
Listening to that story, his mind, which craved knowledge, felt somewhat at ease.
He didn't know anything at all except for flames. The feeling of being burned and healed by them, the sensation of his insides boiling from within and slowly making his skin melt into nothing. That was the only thing he had learnt so far, and he hoped that it would not be the last one.
Maybe I can learn magic; that would be cool...
Comforting himself, he looked back at the knight getting back on his feet, looking forward.
"By the way," Valentine asked. "When are we going to get to that cradle? If I'm not wrong, I was unconscious for around twelve hours at least."
"Actually, it was three hours."
"Uh-huh..."
"And about your other question, I think we will be there soon."
"Really?"
"Yes, actually, we're going to be entering it in just a moment. If you can, brace yourself."
"Wha-"
Before he could finish, a steel-grinding roar came from the front, revealing a reptile-like head with a pair of dark, crooked horns.