RE:WRITE

54.0 Ignis_Chapter 9: Free

I woke up on an empty plain. My legs felt like lead and my head was a jumbled mess. My lungs groaned as I sucked in a breath of frighteningly cold air. I coughed out the frigid air but my next breath was just as cold.

It took a while to get used to the air. As the Goddess of Fire, I wasn't accustomed to feeling cold but something was different this time.

Where was I? What happened?

My sore muscles complained, sending jolts of pain through my body as I pulled myself upright. A particularly sharp pain arose when I put pressure on my right shoulder. Dislocated, most probably. I grit my teeth and popped it back in.

Blinding pain seared through my mind and I nearly blanked out. Hanging on to consciousness by a thread, I panicked and gasped for air, flooding my lungs with mouthfuls of frigid air.

However, the cold distracted me from the pain. The pain subsided, leaving me alone with the cold. Somehow, I'd ended up on my back again. I lay there for a while, watching my frosty breath dissolve into the darkness.

The moon had travelled far across the sky since I last saw it. It was nearing the end of its path through the stars and the first, golden rays of sunlight would break through the darkness any minute now.

But I didn't want the moon to go. Not yet.

Not yet.

I wanted to sail through the stars for a little longer.

Just a little longer.

We still had to jump from the Big Dipper onto Orion's belt. Then we'd swing across to Ursa Minor and go to another galaxy.

And then we'd dance around the North Star.

Or laugh at the bickering Gemini.

But most importantly, we'd share another night under the stars.

In retrospect, it was inevitable that our group would collapse. All we needed was a spark, and everything would go up in flames.

And I could still smell the smoke.

You knew it couldn't last, I told myself. And you know what to do know. You've planned for this.

I closed my eyes.

Yeah, I need to get my act together. Solaron told me to guide the Hero, that should be my priority for now. Besides, Lily and Zoe are the weakest of the bunch. I need to find them!

I forced myself up. Sunrise broke over the horizon, splashing the sky with hues of red. I checked my Status and my heart skipped a beat.

My health was in the red. I'd never been this injured in my life! For the first time, I tried to recall what had happened. Why was I in the middle of nowhere? All I remembered was Lunaris' laugh and... the smoke.

I shuddered. Why was that thing listening to Lunaris? It didn't seem like it could be tamed.

But what came after the smoke surrounded us? Someone must have done something or we'd be dead by now. But who...

Of course, I knew the answer to that. There was only one person who could've turned a situation like that around. However, now there was another question that demanded my attention.

Why is he here?

A cold breeze cut through the air and sent Kai's cloak fluttering behind him. His face was pale and the bags under his eyes were deeper than I'd ever seen them but it was unmistakably him. No one could fake that smile.