“O Great Lord, rise from the ashes so you may bear witness.” The prayers sparked a flame, fire engulfed the golden tree as its flesh began to mold into the shape of a human.

  As the figure took the first step out of the husk of his former shell, he watched the break of dawn shining over a fraid of people who bow their heads in silence,chanting their prayers in front of the impaled Lord.

  He walked ahead and casted his gaze onto the figure nailed to the cross by an ominous blade, an aching feel began to emerge as he saw the face of the Lord.

  It was a young boy with light blue hair and a golden crown around his head, his body tilted to the left with an absent arm and blood pouring down the cross.

  “Avert thy gaze,Ashenkin. The grievance for the Lord is not a burden for thou to carry.” A voice came from behind the figure.

  It was a tall woman with long, silver ash hair and a metal visor embedded onto her face. She wore a long, flowing black robe covered by a marble gray shawl that had been worn out by time.

  She lightly clutches her twinkly hands scarred by burnt marks. The marks stretch furthermore,only being hidden by her long-sleeve gloves darkened by ashes.

  Taking a step forward, she stretched her arm out to feel the searing flame on the Ashenkin’s left cheek,gently caressing and snuffing out the fire.

  “Thy arm…Though i cannot recover what has been lost.” she stopped, going past him to pull out the sword inside the Lord’s chest. “I can offer a token of gratitude.”

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  She kneeled down with her head on low and raised the burning sword to him, it started to emit a blinding light.

  “Thy aspect, Let those witless gods be testaments to your order.” the blade gradually dissolves, transforming into a swirling mass of energy. The swirling energy begins to coalesce, reshaping itself into the form of an arm.

  The Ashenkin carefully lifted the arm from her grasp and adjusted it to the hole of his left shoulder, his body began to grow vines within the crevices of the arm. After some basic movements, it has become a part of his body.

  He slowly brought his new left arm to feel the hole in his eye socket and the burnt scar that ran from his cheek down to his left shoulder.

  “Thy body is fragile, a flickering light that was sparked by a miracle from the traces of a bonfire.” The maiden came by his side, holding tightly onto a dusted journal before handing it to The Ashenkin.

  “Thy journey is one of hardship.But,” she stopped,walking up to him and gently caressing his scar while he saw the entire world collapsing behind her. “May thou find resolve within.”

  The ground below him crumbled apart, causing him to fall into the abyss. As he instinctively tried to grapple onto land, he saw a soft smile blooming on the maiden’s face.

  ***

  A jolting cold struck him wide awake as he scouted around his surroundings, he was lying inside the husk of the now withered tree that grew roots within

  debris that has been buried by time.

  Climbing out of his shell, he felt the sensation of warm sand beneath his feet as he followed clicking noises behind the rubbles.

  He found someone who had striking similar looks to the maiden, wearing a dark business suit with a shining gold crown strapped to her right arm. She had a smirk on her face, discarding a piece of scrap that was causing the clicking sound and walking over to him.

  “Good,you’re awake. I was going to bore my skull out watching your little beauty nap just now.” she continued, taking a step closer and examined his metal arm.

  Seeing how dumbfounded his reaction is, she let go of it to declare. “The name’s Reiya.You may not understand the current state you are in but that is none of my concern.”

  She took off her sunglasses to reveal her breath-taking violet eyes as she stared deep into his soul. “Whatever fate may bring you, I will always stand atop, waiting. When time stops flowing, I shall claim your head.”

  A long,dreadful silence drags on as both of them exchange gazes, as if he was meeting his maker. Only when he quietly swallowed down his fear to give her a nod did she continue on.

  “Good,now that we’ve got that out of the way.What’s your name?” He searched far and wide for an answer only to emerge with a headshake. “Don’t have one huh?” She thought for a moment. “Alright,then I guess I'll name you…”