Endless Sky ~New Beginning~

Epilogue

Silent paw steps were padding through the darkness. It's been years since she was separated from her own body, thanks to her idiot parents. They waited for that moment, saying nothing, expecting a memory wipe to be the cure.
They were all gone now, fallen to the destruction beasts. Since then, she had made it her goal to learn about this magic and its residue. Maybe she could bring something back, maybe her old pet.
"Here," the feline stopped, tapping the ground with one of her paws. This was her old room inside the castle, or at least below it. Everything was leveled now.
"Little Embers. I would've brought you with me, but you were left here, forgotten," she shook her head. Little Embers was her pet phoenix, given by her grandfather when she was still a kit. He still looked like a normal bird, never having had a chance to be reborn. Now he never will...unless.
The faded cat sniffed the ground, pinpointing the exact location where her pet had died.
If she could take the residue from this location, maybe she could turn it into something! Something that could find her body and lead her back. She'd been searching for years, unable to find anything. Everyone usually ran away in fear when they saw her, thinking she was some kind of dark beast. What had her parents said during their last moments? A town? Which town? Every town she had been to, she had found nothing. No answers. Nobody wanted to talk to her. What was the name of that place that allowed anyone in? What was it called?
It infuriated her that she couldn't remember. She was fading, as time passed, more and more of herself was forgotten. If she didn't do anything soon, she'd vanish completely.
"What is my name? My parent's names?" All forgotten. Little Embers, Ian and Mila were the last names she remembers. But not for long. Soon, they will be forgotten as well.
Carefully, the cat placed down an object, having stolen it from Mila's place. Her old friend hadn't been there, in fact, she hadn't been there in a few days. Good, she didn't want to be seen like this, like a monster. She was an amalgamation of twisted memories and emotions that were tainted by negativity, anger preventing these frustrations from being forgotten until the end. She was left behind, tossed away.
They thought they could get rid of her just like that. No, they could not!
"It's not my fault I am like this, mom, dad. Everything would've been so much better if you had just told me everything sooner, I'm not a kit anymore." She spat, then watched as she collected the resulting rising smoke into the sphere, trapping it inside. Once it looked full, the strange creature took the sphere and headed back to Mila's hideout. It had taken her years to find out about portal keepers and where to find one, yet it does little to help if she doesn't have many places to go. People who are willing to talk to her, don't answer her questions because they think she's evil, up to no good.
"I am not evil. I just want my body back before I technically die," the odd cat told herself as she slipped into a portal, stepping through some tall grass and heading instantly to a hidden cave. If it hadn't been for Mila's familiar scent, she would've never found this place, or its hidden passage, concealed under hanging vines and plants.
At first glance it looked to be nothing more than a den, big enough for a grizzly bear. But Mila had left a little secret in the far corner of the place, a secret button.
It only took a few days for the lost cat to find it after waiting and keeping hidden for when Mila came back, revealing the location of the button. Now that her old friend had been gone for a while, she only had to worry about one cat, and he was always out searching for materials, leaving the hideout empty most of the time.
"Plenty of time,"
Despite missing large chunks of her memory, the feline could at least remember many of the lessons Mila had given her. She has enough knowledge to try out her plan.
Her body is still out there; she could feel it. It wasn't dead.
"How is my body living out there? As a husk? Mindless? Who is helping them or is there anyone?" So many questions. Finding her body would answer most of them. Sending her pet out into the world will find her body.
Little Embers should be able to find her, he'd always been able to find his owner. No matter how far apart they were.
The research she had made in the past few years had all led up to this point. She walked to the corner of the den and pressed the button.
The wall shifted and creaked, casting a shower of dirt and pebbles as it sank into the ground. Halfway down the faded cat leaped through into the hidden hole, using her tail to slap the button on the other side. The rock stopped, shaking, then began to rise back up, covering the entrance once more.
The walk was short and dark, covered in spider webs. She'd known to keep her head low whenever walking through this passage. The first time down this path, she almost had a spider crawl into her eye. Just because she has no real body, doesn't make her a spirit. There is still enough to classify as a fake body. Pain is still possible. Death is still possible.
Food luckily isn't needed, neither is sleep. The only thing that could possibly kill her, was aging and forced death such as poison, a slit throat, snapped neck, or drowning.
She'd managed to last this long, with only a few close calls.
There was a light up ahead. It was dull, but enough. Mila and Ian usually left a few lights on when the place was empty, just enough to keep one from getting lost in the dark upon returning.
Keeping silent, the feline reached the end of the path, switching on the other lights. A large room lit up with many glimmering machines, parts, and tools everywhere. She only knew how a few functioned, as well as how many of the gadgets were left unfinished. Ian wasn't that much of a builder; he never understood the blueprints. Mila was the builder, as well as the one who made the blueprints. Her issue was her lack of motivation.
During the times this fading cat had been stuck in this cave during their returns, she'd kept hidden in the shadows and listened. Mila was always the one complaining about how boring her project was, asking Ian to help. When he messed the project up, she got irritated and quit. The machine being abandoned. This scenario repeated, over and over.
So many things have been forgotten; the little sphere was one of those. The cat had found its blueprint and learned about its use, then completed that job, as well as a few other machines. Keeping each project in the far back, making sure the other two wouldn't see it. They didn't need to find out their abandoned machines were magically being finished.
That was unlikely, however. The siblings never fully looked through their creations.
There was only one machine she cared about though, the one she had spent the most time completing. She had no idea why Mila gave up on this one, it was an extraordinary idea! It may be dangerous and crazy also, but still amazing!
Using all her spare time, she'd managed to finish it. All that was left was to test it out to see if it worked.
"It has to work. Mila's blueprints never fail and I'm certain I followed them correctly," she thought, turning the machine on.
The tube lit up in many places, flashing and glowing, a screen popping out next to it. After pressing a few buttons on it, the machine slightly shook before letting a glass door open. She tossed the small orb into it, making sure it was open so the odd residue could escape.
More buttons were pushed and the door closed. Now, all that remained was to start it. A large red button waited to be pressed.
Anything could happen when she pressed it. It could work or explode...hopefully not explode.
"Everything will be fine," the faded cat chucked, pressing down on the red circle before backing away to watch.
Rings started to lower from the top of the machine, spinning and glowing around the small device. It didn't look like it was going to explode, yet.
Another light, on top in the center. Sending a laser down on the sphere.
The smoke jerked and spun around, creating a miniature tornado.
The machine was scanning the essence, analyzing it. If she wasn't mistaken, it was copying any DNA that was there, rebuilding it. This machine brought people back to life. Like how a starfish could regenerate a severed arm to regrow into a brand-new starfish, this machine regrew creatures from whatever DNA it has acquired. Anything should work, even from a material the fallen had worn frequently.
It made her wonder if it still worked if the DNA was from someone who was still alive.
"Maybe I can try to remake my body instead..." she realized, watching the smoke tornado grow bigger and bigger. "But only if this one works first..."
She didn't want to have missed a step, try to use herself to bring back her body, and have a malfunction kill her.
That thought made her back away and hide behind another machine.
More lights, noises, and shaking. No fire smoke just yet, hopefully it stayed that way.
The smoke tornado was now filling up the entire tube, making it shake more.
"Oh no," red lights have started flashing, alarms sounding an added bonus.
The black smoke was still smoke, just bigger, no bird. No Little Embers.
Glass cracking. It has failed.
The smoke started leaking out quickly though the new cracks, emptying the tube. The lost feline did nothing to stop it, she had no idea how. The first test had failed, she'll have to try again another day, with another specimen. Maybe Little Embers again.
The smoke was all gone now, floating away as a cloud out of the room. Without any sign of life, or what used to be life, the machine aborted its task, slowing down and stopping before falling silent.
She'll have to thoroughly check the machine and repair anything damaged. If nothing seems out of place, then she'll have to try for something else. Little Embers wasn't going to work. The strange magic used on him many years ago must've destroyed him for good. Hopefully, that didn't mean the same for her since that magic wasn't what had split her. It was her parents. They used something else entirely.
She sighed, getting out of her hiding place to examine the machine. She'll have to repair the glass before it shatters and makes a mess, then work on the internal structure to make sure nothing was shaken loose or blown.
It might take days, weeks, or even months. It may even take more years, but she didn't have years to spare anymore. Perhaps it was time to ask Mila for help, no matter how much she wanted to stay hidden to keep her close friend from seeing what she had become. What if Mila was also afraid of her? Or thought she was trying to wreak havoc on innocent people? What if she didn't even recognize her? The cat had lost her original image; her once bright orange silky pelt was now blackened and spiked. Her green eyes had faded into pitch black voids, darker than her very pelt. A single white mark was across her shoulder and neck, the place where she was hit that knocked her back into the portal. The portal that she only made halfway through before splitting. That would be the last thing she'd forget, it always repeated in her mind, searing itself into her brain and leaving its mark. Even without sleep, it always felt like a living nightmare.
She'll have to put that behind herself now. If she cannot find out what is wrong with this machine, she is going to need help.

Where was he going? What was he? Everything felt twisted and strange to the old cloud, he felt scattered, maybe even shattered, into a million pieces. In fact, he was. What was once a phoenix, is now a cloud. A cloud of an old essence clinging onto the remains of what it destroyed. An essence from magic that existed long before the Celestial Beasts ever came to be. He had no idea what he had become, nor what he once was besides a phoenix of some kind. His current goal was to find out what was pulling him. Guiding him to some unknown location. Maybe his home? Family?
Another side of him felt anger, the need to get revenge for someone. But... He was weak. Nothing more than a residue of something that was once so much stronger. It didn't matter. He just wanted to reach his destination and see what happens then.
As time passes, his mind would slowly build itself back together. After that, his choices and actions would determine if he keeps his former, kind self, or falls victim to the very magic that is holding him together, driving him into insanity. The need to destroy.