To Ashes And Blood

Cinder

The pressure crushing Damien’s chest doubled. His back slammed harder against the wall, making him whine in pain.

“Damien….” Struggling, those words left Vera's lips.

The air around them became thick. It was dense enough to make anyone choke.

Corvin ground his teeth, his veins bulging along his neck as he struggled against the invisible force.

“Who the hell….”

“Quiet,” Vera hissed.

Damien’s pulse increased. “This can't be a Hollow. The pressure was precise enough not to crush us in one go.”

Across the lab, the dust still swirled in slow circles.

Heavy footsteps distorted the silence.

A tall figure with broad shoulders emerged from the dust.

He was wearing a black military coat hung loosely over one shoulder. The red phoenix insignia stitched across the collar glowed faintly under the flickering lights.

His silver hair was wild, sticking out in every direction.

Standing just under the lights, he filled the room with the uncouth sound of chewing.

The figure stopped a few feet from them, holding a packet of chips in one hand and a cup of freshly blended apple juice in the other.

With obvious disappointment across his face, he looked at the three of them still pinned against the wall.

“Pathetic.”

Crunch.

“If that had been a runner-class Hollow, you’d already be soup, or worse... dead.”

The pressure vanished, and the three collapsed to the floor.

Corvin immediately surged to his feet.

“What kind of psycho….”

The man casually flicked his finger.

Corvin flew backward and crashed into a steel workstation hard enough to dent it.

The station sparked violently.

The man glanced at it.

“Eh.”

He took another sip of the apple juice.

“Academy budget can cry about it later.”

Damien’s eyes narrowed.

Cinder Cole.

One of the Six Cinders.

Even in the old timeline, the man had been infamous. The people of Crimson City saw a soldier with a good heart and a smiling face, while everyone at the academy or on the field outside the protection of the Crimson Sky Dome saw a monster wrapped in laughter.

A military legend who once flattened an entire Hollow nest because the Ember interrupted his lunch.

And somehow… he managed to look even worse in person.

Cole scratched his stomach and chuckled.

“You lot are supposed to be this year’s Ashen Flames?”

Vera slowly stood, brushing dust from her uniform.

“With all due respect, Cinder…..”

“Uh-uh… wrong.”

Cole interrupted.

“There is no ‘with all due respect.’ There’s only respect around here.”

He pointed at her.

“You. Coin girl... you have better reflexes than Glasses over there.”

Then he pointed at Damien.

“And you.”

His sharp gray eyes narrowed.

“You moved first.”

Damien said nothing.

Cole stared for a moment longer.

Then his expression broke into a grin.

“Interesting.”

Without warning, he hurled the half-finished coffee cup across the lab.

It shattered against the wall beside Corvin’s head.

Corvin flinched.

Cole burst into booming laughter.

“HA! Good! At least your survival instincts aren’t completely dead!”

He walked toward the central terminal.

“Where is Director Shannon? Her lab isn't always this lifeless,” Vera asked as she adjusted her hair.

“Oh…. the old witch is out with her team at the crater, saying something about a thump she heard early this morning,” Cole replied without even sparing her a glance.

On the holographic screen, rows of academy data came to life.

As Damien’s gaze swept over the information on the screen, something froze him.

His eyes scanned the face thoroughly.

It was a girl with blonde hair and light blue eyes.

STATUS: MISSING

AGE: EIGHTEEN

LAST SEEN: TWO YEARS AGO, EASTERN PERIMETER.

His breath caught in his lungs.

Oma Edwards.

In the old timeline, she hadn’t surfaced until years later.

And when she did, she became one of the deadliest ability users Crimson City had ever produced. A vibration-echo user.

The Phantom Blade was her creation.

Damien’s fingers curled at his side.

This timeline really is changing, he thought.

“Oi.”

Cole’s voice snapped him back.

A holographic map of Crimson City came up above them as the Cinder slapped the terminal.

Red sectors glowed beneath the sprawling shadow of the Mother Ship above them.

“Last night, Nest Seventeen started spitting out runners.”

He jabbed the map.

“The Ember sent a message. He wants an immediate standard cleanup of the area.”

“But take a look at this.”

His finger moved lower.

“Except scouts reported this.”

A larger red pulse flickered inside the nest.

For a moment, the room was silent.

Corvin frowned.

“That reading’s too dense for runners.”

“Congratulations, Glasses. You can count.”

Cole grinned.

“That’s why you three are coming with me.”

Vera blinked.

“To a live operation?”

“Did I stutter?”

Cole barked.

“Or are you just stupid?”

No one answered.

He folded his arms.

“Listen carefully, little pigs.”

His tone became stern instantly.

“We put the Hollows in classes for a reason.”

A crawler appeared in the projection.

“Crawlers are slow, dumb, and weak. A very good representation of how you three are right now.”

It vanished.

A runner replaced it.

“Runners. As the name implies, speed is their strength.”

Then another image came up.

It was a long-limbed creature with bone-like appendages extending from its back.

“These are Soges. They are long-range specialists that send out bursts of poisonous darts.”

The projection shifted again.

This one looked almost like an ape but with more human features.

The room went still for a nanosecond.

“Sabios.”

Even Cole’s grin faded.

“These are Hollows that have gained intelligence over time.”

Corvin adjusted his glasses.

“There hasn’t been a confirmed Sabio sighting inside city limits for eleven years.”

“Exactly… but they can be so unpredictable.”

Cole’s smile returned.

“So if one shows up where runners should be…”

His eyes gleamed.

“…someone’s day gets very annoying.”

Damien’s stomach tightened.

In the original timeline, Nest Seventeen had only contained runners.

If there was already a Sabio in a runner’s nest, that meant the breach progression had accelerated.

This is bad, Damien thought as he stared intently at the projection of the Sabio.

Cole clapped his hands.

“Move out.”

….

….

….

The pod slammed through the lower-sector tunnels like a bullet.

Inside, Vera spun one of her coins across her knuckles.

Corvin checked the battery life on his gauntlets and his glasses.

Cole snored loudly in his seat.

Corvin stared at Vera before shifting his gaze to the Cinder. With a mischievous smile on his face, he took out a marker and approached him.

Damien stared out the reinforced window at Crimson City.

Steel towers stretched in connected rows. Smoke-choked alleys, patrol drones, and everyone’s favorite spot, Corridor Seven.

Above them was the Mother Ship.

It was like a black continent hanging in the sky.

It provided the dome that shielded Crimson City.

On it was the throne of the Ember.

An Ember who was always watching.

The transport halted.

Cole woke instantly.

“Field trip’s just getting started, little pigs.”

The nest entrance yawned before them as the pod door opened.

A rough tear in the earth, pulsing with red blood mist.

The putrid smell hit first.

It was a mix of rusted metal and burnt flesh.

Coming out of the navigator’s seat, a soldier walked up to Cole.

“Sir! Ashen Vale here, sir!”

“At ease, soldier,” Cole said casually without sparing him a glance.

“Sir, you might want to look at this,” he said as he handed him a mirror.

Corvin couldn't hold it anymore and burst into laughter. Vera chuckled lightly.

Cole let out a low growl as he crushed the mirror.

“Wait, what’s that?” Cole yelled.

“Where?”

Corvin turned, battle-ready.

“It’s not….”

Before he could complete his sentence, a punch landed on his face.

“Now we’re even,” Cole said amidst uncontrollable laughter.

“Cinder, we have runners on our twelve,” Ashen Vale’s voice came in through the mic. “About a dozen, sir.”

“Run wild, little pigs!” Cole said as he opened a pack of chips.

Vera moved first.

Three coins flashed through the air.

“Burst.”

The explosions ripped through the front line.

Corvin charged through the opening like a pissed-off buffalo, his gauntlets crackling as he crushed a runner’s skull.

“Light snack, baby!”

Damien zoned out, playing the field in his mind.

He moved left exactly when memory told him to.

Two seconds before the pillar collapsed, he dodged.

Out of the dust, a runner’s claws sliced over his head.

He drove his blade upward into its throat.

Another lunged.

Vera’s coin detonated against its spine.

“Behind you!” she shouted.

He shifted his stance and finished it.

Cole watched from atop a broken pillar, opening another pack of chips.

Damien knew exactly what he was doing.

Staring closely at Damien, he took a sip from the juice box he had brought.

Suddenly, the nest shook, bringing everything to a pause.

Every runner froze.

Dead silence filled the area.

Finally, Cole stood up, emptying the whole bag of chips into his mouth.

A slow clicking sound echoed from deeper within the darkness.

One heavy footstep led to another.

Out of the red mist, a tall, lean creature emerged.

Its skin was more ash than gray.

Its face was human, except for the black fissures running across it like cracked porcelain.

Its eyes fixed directly on them.

Sweat ran down Corvin's face.

“A Sabio.”

Damien’s expression twisted.

“This is far too early and too close to city limits.”

Cole’s expression darkened.

“Well, well….”

He emptied his juice box.

“That’s new.”

The creature tilted its head as though studying them.

The runners cowered in fear as they slowly crawled back behind it.

Seeing Vera on the ground, unable to move from fear, Damien ran toward her.

That fool, Cole thought before his angry voice rang out across the field.

“Damien C. Valdona.”

Damien’s blood ran cold as he managed to carry Vera before sprinting back to safety.

The Sabio’s head twisted toward him.

Its glowing lips slowly curled into a horrifying smile.

“...C.?....”