Firebird

4.8

Simple Man

The darkness swallowed me whole, pulling me into its endless abyss. My breaths came shallow, each one stolen away before it could be heard. 

I turned in place, hands slicing through the air—searching, grasping, but there was nothing. Only myself. Only the void, a velvet nothingness that clung desperately. An infinite ocean of unknowns pressing in on every side.

I called into it. The sound vanished before it could echo, smothered by the hum of something vast and ancient lurking beyond sight.

Silent.

Still.

Then...

A whisper slid across the darkness like a blade on glass.
"The realm of the kwamis was dark..."

I spun toward the voice, heart clawing at my ribs. Nothing. Shadows curled tighter around me. The whisper came again, closer now, brushing the other side of my ear.
"Lonely lives did these creatures lead—unseen by humans, ignored by gods, shrouded forever in shadow... until her."

Light burst in my hands. It spilled across my skin in molten gold, the kind that clings to the horizon at the sun's last breath. Warmth flooded my palms, but the void around me hissed like something displeased.
"She gave light to the kwamis. She remade the world. A world where they could walk among men and be known."

Flames erupted, curling high and sudden, waves of fire crashing inward. I stumbled back, the heat clawing at my skin, my fear swallowed in the roar.
"The goddess created the miraculous for good, for peace between kwami and humankind. But humanity is a greedy thing."

Figures flickered in the blaze—silhouettes grasping, coveting, clutching a power not meant for them. The fire roared higher, each spark biting hotter, each ember whispering of ruin.

"You are the vessel," the voice thundered now, its warning coiling into my bones. "The bridge between gods and men. The light that must guide kwami kind."

The heat became unbearable. My skin screamed.
"Do not give in to greed."

The whisper twisted into a roar, the flames collapsing inward until they swallowed me whole.

I gasped, only to find my own breath shattering the silence of a darkened room.

My heart was pounding against my ribs, each beat an echo of the fire's heat. Sweat clung to my skin, chilling me despite the night air. The dream's voice still hummed in my ears, fading like a radio losing signal.

For a moment, I wasn't sure which reality I'd woken into.

That was until a gentle hum of my phone gave it away. Rubbing my eyes and shaking off the nightmare, I reached fo my phone, anwering the call without cheking the ID.

"Hello?" I let out with a groggy voice. "Hi! I'm sorry to bother you, but can I ask for a favor?" Yelling could be heard in the background, making me squint in curiosity, "Is everything okay?"

Marinette gasped, "Oh my gosh, I woke you up didn't I? I'm so sorry." More yelling was heard before she spoke again, "Yea everything is good, but I was hoping I could ask for your help."

I decided to turn my lights on and change out of my clothes, putting Marinette on speaker, "Yeah sure, what's up?"

A sigh of relief echoed from the other line, "Oh thank goodness. I may have took on two many babysitting  gigs at once and now I'm stuck with four children and not enough eyes to watch all of them."