1
Pure white nothingness seemed to stretch on forever and ever. Adrift amongst that void of nothingness, like a splodge of ink on a sheet of infinitely stretching paper, a sparkling black something floated aimlessly. That's strange she thought to herself, nothing ever comes here…
As she grappled with such a quandary, she observed the nothingness around her. She looked upward toward the nothingness, she looked downward toward the nothingness, she looked either side of herself and, as she'd expected, she affirmed her suspicions of which she'd never had any doubts over in the first place. See? You can't look around in nothing, it's nothing. Nothing's ever gonna change in a world of nothing. There's nothing to look at, it's all just nothing.
In spite of that, she felt herself drawn toward that black something—connected to that black something. That's strange. I'm nothing. Why would I ever be something?
"⧬⧭⦽⧫⧭⧬…"
That's strange… another something—it… made a noise? How can you make noise in a world where nothing exists to make any noise?
Another something, an eerie something, shook the nothingness, a something that she couldn't see, but that she could hear and, as though the sound itself were the key, a door of memories she had forgotten that she'd ever had began to open. Inside, she saw many somethings: somethings that made her feel warm, somethings that made her feel cold, somethings that made her feel scared, somethings that made her feel pain, somethings that made her think that she would prefer it if she just remained as nothing.
Being something… is terrifying… If I become nothing… the pain… will go away…
"⧭⧬⧭⧫⧪⧬!!"
Once again, that eerie noise resonated throughout the very depths of her being as It rippled the fabrics of the void of nothingness. She realised then that whatever it was, it was crying. It could hear her, it could feel her pain, share her thoughts… it didn't want her to drift away, to let go of who she was and truly become nothing.
The somethings that she could see beyond the door were becoming clearer. She saw swaying auburn hair that was as beautiful as the foliage outside of The South Gate come The Season of The Serpent, kind brown eyes and a wonderful pink smile, she saw a pillar of blazing fire dragging itself towards her, its face scorched with scorn, a rotund red giant with a flaming forked tail and a thousand pitch black eyes that all darted in every direction like a swarm of insects, and contempt oozed from its wicked smile, a sheet of sparkling black drowning in a bath of thick red paint… she realised now what the feeling was that she had towards that sparkling black something: belonging.
No… I can't let go… I'm… Ruby Ember… I have to save my brother… I have to save my mother… I will protect Koria…
The black something began to fester, and colour began to seep into the void. Like lanterns scattered amongst the skyline, small spots of dim orange hues swelled, creeping into the very fabric of the colourless world. Now, she could see it; Ruby Ember could perceive that black something for what it truly was—it was her body. Her beaten, broken, bloodied body, laying amongst a pile of rubble.
She tried her best to reach out towards it, yet she couldn't feel a thing, so she willed it, she willed it with everything in her heart to return her wayward soul back to the body that it belonged to and suddenly, everything came back to her all at once: the twisted death match that her father had manufactured between her and her brother, the promise she'd made to Koria and the day the pair had first met, the strange boy named Fena that she'd been so nasty to, yet whose eyes seemed to burn brighter than even the sun, her own desperation to bear the burden of one born as a successor to the Ember clan and fix her family, and lastly… just what this place really was, and what it was that was happening to her.
2
The last time Ruby Ember had found herself in this place was just shy of a decade ago when she was only eight years old, and Fenrir was ten. Her father was fast growing impatient with her and her brother's inability to seize The Phoenix's Flames within them, as was the birthright of a child born of the Ember bloodline, and was ramping up the intensity of their training to a hellacious extent.
Nevertheless, in spite of his frustrations, Horace Ember's flames never so much as flickered in the direction of Ruby's mother, Elira. He used to cook for her, asking for her thoughts on recipes that he'd learned across the nation and from wherever else he'd travel to when he'd be away on business and on the occasion that her mother's face would light up in delight over a meal that she particularly enjoyed, her father's face would do just the same, wearing a smile that made it seem as though he'd not a care in the world outside of providing her mother with pure, unmitigated happiness. He'd dress her himself, handling her as if she were as delicate as a flower, ensuring not even so much as a petal of his most beloved rose would be damaged or lost and showed great interest in her fashion tastes, he'd even gone out of his way to rub shoulders with the flamboyant young leader of the Emberfield Clan, a clan descendant from the Ember Clan, who was an expert in fashion and knew seemingly where to procure any and every material desirable for the most exquisite of clothing. He never raised his voice towards her, never cursed her or reprimanded her for stepping between himself and his children, he even treated the servants like family so long as she was within earshot—he truly treated her like a princess… until one evening, everything changed.
Her father had been particularly irate that day, he'd made her and Fenrir spar barefoot over blistering hot coals, their heat controlled by her father himself, and the pair had beaten each other bloody. At first, they'd fought with kendo sticks, but when their arms grew too tired to swing them with any force, he'd incinerated them and made the pair fight bare handed. If ever her father had even an inclination that either of the pair were going to fall off the pace, he'd scorch their backs and their legs with his flames—Ruby always found herself on the receiving end about thrice as much as her brother did.
Like a dormant volcano erupting and bringing hellfire to her entire world, something happened that day that awoke the demon skulking behind that mask of compassion—for the first time in her life, Ruby defeated Fenrir.
He'd had her pinned down on the coals, beating her senseless, caving his knuckles into her cheeks and eyes and Ruby, as she often did when she'd be on the receiving end of a beating like this, pondered whether today would be the day that either of them would awaken to The Flame of Creation.
She'd pray to nobody in particular that she'd receive The Blessing, so that maybe she and her brother could stop fighting, she prayed that this fight be her last, and that her pitiful death could at least be the catalyst to awakening her brother to The Flames and everyone could be a family again… However, on this occasion, something other than bone was making contact with her skin. Her brother sat over her, pounding away at her face at the behest of their flame-fisted father, but… he was crying. Tears escaped from his cold black eyes and sunk into Ruby's battered face.
Ruby had never, ever seen her brother cry before.
No matter how fiercely their father burned him, or during the countless times he'd beaten her to a pulp during her father's twisted "training", Fenrir Ember had never, ever cried. In the moment, Ruby saw his weakness and, as she was so thoroughly trained to do so, capitalised instantly, scraping up the nearest coal that she could grab and swinging it towards her brother's face, its jagged edge slashing right across his left eye. He recoiled back, screaming in agony and before Ruby could even launch her counterattack, her father's thunderous voice had called an end to the match.
For one moment, just a solemn moment, Ruby Ember was jubilant. Finally, she'd shown to her father that she wasn't weak; all hope wasn't lost yet, it was still possible that she could find the flames within her, she knew that she could do it and make her father proud, relieve her brother of the burden of being the successor to the Ember Clan and show her mother that she could protect her from anyone, from anything.
Yet, it was right then, during that moment of internal celebration that "The Demon of Ember", a haunting appellation that Ruby had heard whispered behind closed doors and shut windows in Origin's Peak years later, first appeared before her.
Horace Ember had stormed out of the Ember dojo and incinerated the huge red double doors that served as the main mansion's entrance. Koria, as she usually did at this point, began cleaning both Ruby and Fenrir up, tending to their wounds. Screams would come rushing out from the mansion like gusts of wind, but just as quickly vanish and even from so far away, her father's belting voice filled her with dread. "YOU WILL BIRTH ME AN HEIR WORTHY OF THE PHOENIX'S FLAMES", he'd demanded with a bloodcurdling yell. Ruby realised that he was shouting at her mother and the fear set her body into motion. She escaped Koria's grasp and scampered into the mansion, her battered body tripping constantly over the steps during her ascent, but she refused to give in to her pain, she had to protect her mother, and then… she saw.
The flaming demon bore down over her mother. The black dress that she wore that evening was absolutely stunning; Ruby loved that color dearly, and it was solely because when her mother wore it, she was as beautiful as any of the princesses in the fairy tales. The demon's claws ripped into the fabrics, stripping her bare. Her arms flailed and her legs kicked at the wall of flames, but her efforts were in vain, as it descended upon her without mercy.
"You won't look away, woman… You must see it all. Look into my eyes—I shall have my heir, you will grant that to me, I have endured you enough,"
Soon her mother's screams became whimpers, whimpers masked by grunts and the clanking of chains and smacking of skin, and soon after that, catching glimpses of her face past her father's body, Ruby saw her mother's eyes—they were lifeless, devoid of the bright blue beauty that always shined so brightly within them. There were no tears, she never even so much as blinked, she just lay there, still.
It was right then, as the very foundations of her world crumbled right before her eyes, that she suddenly found herself in a world full of nothing, drifting away and convincing herself that she was just the same as all that she was surrounded by—nothing.
"..se Ru—... control—..." It occurred to Ruby that the first time she found herself stranded in this place, almost instantly, she heard a voice calling out to her. Koria's voice was her salvation that day, it had saved her spirit from drifting away… though before Ruby returned to the world that she knew… he appeared before her.
Bound by fiery chains that stretched out far into the neverending nothingness, Ramus, The Eternal Flame, peered into her eyes. Incomprehensible in size, The Phoenix lowered his head, he'd made an eerie noise, much like the one that she'd heard just now, yet before she'd any time to even try and understand him, she'd awoken from her stasis, wrapped in Koria's arms.
Whilst she didn't understand it at that moment, right there, when Ruby's heart descended to the depths of despair, white flames engulfed the ocean blue within her eyes—she had awoken to The Phoenix's Flames. It had been a secret that only she and Koria had known for all these years, for Koria feared what Ruby's father would do to her if he were to find out. Koria knew a ton about Essence suppression and "Aura's", so she taught Ruby how to control her Essence, limiting the way her body processed it internally so that, even under strain, she could prevent herself from channeling so much of it that the first ability that a child of Ember obtains upon awakening to The Flame, "Total Resonance", wouldn't activate—Horace Ember would only need to catch a glimpse of the white in her eyes and he'd know for certain that she had been chosen.
Suddenly, the black something that was her drifting body began to change again. No! I won't let go, Ruby screamed in vain, as her body became engulfed by the darkness once again. Thick strands of pitch black that looked like vines interweaved amongst each other rapidly, almost violently, as though they themselves were fighting over the form they wished to take. Gradually, the blackness assumed another form and the form it had chosen to take was Ruby from the day she awoke to The Phoenix's Blessing.
A feeling of deep sorrow assailed her wayward soul, yet at the same time, immense pride and gratitude. Though her expression was disturbingly blank, Ruby saw through her younger self, knowing the pain that was in her heart right at that moment, pain that would take years to truly understand, and many, many more to recover from. You… were so strong. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have this chance today. I wouldn't be blessed to have Koria by my side—
Ruby's younger self burst into flames, a fierce, translucent red blaze, yet still she remained there, her expression unwavering. It's okay, you've done enough, you don't have to hold it back anymore, you don't have to hide your pain anymore. Let me share that pain with you. You can cry now, it's safe, I will protect you. Ruby willed for her spirit to be able to embrace her younger self. Her soul still hadn't returned to her body, yet even still, she could feel the scintillating heat from The Phoenix's Flames and as the excruciating pain became more and more unbearable, her body began to materialize before her, as if The Flame of Creation itself were birthing her anew. She could perceive her ripped sleeves and her bloody hands against the face of her younger self, she could feel their foreheads pressed gently against each other and still, she could feel The Flames of Creation scorching her very being.
Out of nowhere, thunder struck, "THE PHOENIX SEES ALL…"
"FLICKERING FLAMES DISAPPEAR IN THE DARK…"
"FIND THAT FLAME, DO NOT SHAME THE EMBER NAME…"
The flames engulfing Ruby and her younger self grew even hotter, it felt as if they were burning away at the very fabric of her existence, nonetheless, she refused to let go. Koria… I'm so sorry… I'm a liar, I promised you that I'd win, I promised you that I'd come back to you… I'm… going to die…
"⧭⧪⧫⧭se…⧭⧫⧪lp m⧫⧬…"
W-what…? That voice shook the world again—the voice of Ramus, yet this time, something was noticeably different. Though she wasn't certain, Ruby thought that she'd heard some semblance of the language that she herself spoke, not a noise that rippled the void and shook the world, one that she'd have difficulty even describing let alone comprehending, but a voice speaking to her like any normal person would.
A-are you… there, Ramus? Can you hear me? Where are you?
"Help… me…"
Help…? H-how can I…?
"I killed them… I killed them… I killed them…"
Ruby found herself perplexed, she could finally understand what Ramus was saying, but she couldn't understand whatever it was he was trying to say. She could hear the lament in his voice, he was crying, just as she'd felt before when she couldn't understand him at all.
Ruby summoned up her courage and spoke up. I'll help you, I promise, but I need you to help me, I need to get out of here, I can't die—
"BRING ME—bring… me… a witch… I beg of you… kill me… please… I must be put to death… I killed them… I killed so many of them…" Ramus finally appeared before her, but this time, his form was different. Instead of manifesting within this place as The Phoenix, he appeared somewhat similarly to a regular human. His body burned with the same translucent flames that were surrounding Ruby and her younger self as he crawled across the floor, digging his talons into the nothingness, the chains that bound him clinking and clanking heavily as they lagged behind. Seeing them again, Ruby realised what those chains were and such a realisation gave her an awful sense of foreboding: The Chains of Penitence. It was a sacred technique passed down within the Ember Clan; one of the myriad of sealing and restriction type techniques that those who possess The Phoenix's Blessing can execute, and the chains were said to be unbreakable… though, that was strictly under one condition: the individual that was bound had to truly feel within their heart the need to repent for their sins. Ruby had banked her entire victory on the fact that she'd saw Fenrir cry that day, and hoped that it was a sign that deep within his heart, he truly did love his sister and was only doing his best to impress their father, just as Ruby herself was also guilty of doing for so long.
What in the world could Ramus have possibly done to be confined by such restraints? Who could've possibly bound him with a technique that it was said that he himself had created? He'd asked Ruby to bring him a "witch", he'd asked her, no, he'd begged her to kill him, but how do you kill what is supposed to be eternal?
"Take… my power… please… bring me… witch… and punish me… PUNISH ME! You must deliver justice unto me! You must grant me death!" Ramus sank his talons into Ruby's ankle and she felt the pain of her skin being pierced, yet when she looked down towards her leg, no blood had been spilled. Ramus was utterly beside himself, totally delirious, whimpering incessantly as he clawed at Ruby's leg and flailed about like a fish out of water, his words quickly becoming more and more unintelligible, closer to groans and moans than speech.
Ruby took in his ethereal visage, The Ember's kept their history, or at least the history that they didn't want people to hear, close to their chests and even then, information about The Phoenix's life was sparse, Ruby had never heard of any such event that she could infer was linked to the guilt and sorrow that he was expressing now. She thought hard about what he'd asked of her, what he'd told her to do and though still none of it was making any sense at all, she found her eyes drawn to the divine wings that spread out from his back. "Take my power", he'd told her, and so she reached out towards his wings, isolating a single feather as she wrapped her hand around it.
I'll take your power, and I'll try to help you… but first, I have to show my brother that he doesn't have to worry about me anymore.
After taking a moment to gather her poise, Ruby Ember ripped the feather away from Ramus's wing and with it came an excruciating cry. In a split second, the visage of her younger self, the world of nothingness and Ramus, The Eternal Flame vanished, as if she'd never even laid eyes on them in the first place, and the wracking pain that her body was in assailed her all at once. For some reason, she wasn't on the ground anymore, like she had seen in the world of nothing, she was suspended in the air, held up by something, and as she forced her swollen eyes open… she saw a scrunch of her black dress wrapped around a fist, and at the end of the arm it belonged to was the pillar of raging fire that she saw earlier—her brother, Fenrir Ember.