8 Chapter 5

Ash

A Week Later

Ash was currently having breakfast at a small establishment in the Public Square. In truth, it was considered a decent establishment by those who frequented it, but to Ash, it may as well have had the best food in the world.

Holy fucking shit, this is so good! It took everything she had not to moan as she ate. If the Lust characteristic the cube had gotten from her was referring to this, a lust for great meals, then it was definitely correct in its assessment as this taste was something Ash could only describe as orgasmic.

Others watched her devour her food with blatant disgust, but Ash didn't even spare them a glance. Licking her lips, she burped and waved at the place's cook.

"Can I get seconds?" She asked.

"Crowns?" The cook countered.

"Got more," Ash replied.

"Fine."

And just like that she was once more consuming half her body weight in bread, meat and salads all covered in the sweetest of sauces.

Fuck, this is so much better than garbage!

If she could, she would simply remain here and eat until her money ran out. But, she couldn't do that. After all, she'd gotten that coin as part of a trade.

Soon enough, some priests would likely show up behind her with grins on their faces as they tell her that it's time to go out and fight horrible monsters. But, for now, she was free to do as she wished. She finished her food and got up, walking out with an aura of satisfaction. Before, anytime she'd drawn eyes to herself it was for all the wrong reasons. However, clad in her peculiar armor, everyone who looked at her conveyed a small hint of awe. She was feeling proud of herself for the first time in a while.

She hadn't seen the monk throughout the entire week after Ash had invited him to go eat together.

Hm. She thought. Maybe he found some other half-demon to bother or something. Whatever. She shrugged. What he was doing was none of her business. Although, it did make her heart sting a little for some reason. So, what now? She asked herself. She'd done most of what she'd fantasized about. She ate some amazing food, slept on a real bed for six days straight, bought some clothes, and stored them in a leather bag she planned to take with her. She even went and bought some toothpaste, which she'd been using frequently and her teeth were already showing improvements.

She was just about to finish up everything she wanted to do, but still had a few things left. So, she stayed at the Public Square, just walking around.

She searched through the different stalls selling souvenirs from other cities and the curious remains of various creatures, when something caught her eye, approaching from the left.

A familiar figure was walking towards her. Kairo, with his head low, was there.

"Hey! Old man!" Ash excitedly raised a hand and ran up to him.

"Hm? Oh, Ash?" Kairo asked, but Ash could tell he didn't sound too excited to see her.

"Yeah, hey!" She said again. "Haven't seen you in a while. Don't like me when I'm not smelling like shit, huh? I didn't know you were only into me for that."

Kairo chuckled.

"It is good to see you are doing well, Ash."

Looking away with a smile, Ash scratched the back of her head.

"So... How about I take you out to eat again? My treat!" Ash couldn't help but want to do so. As annoying as Ash had found him to be, the monk had done a lot for her since they'd met. 

And, well, the money had Ash in a good mood lately.

"Ah, I am somewhat busy today, maybe another time."

"Busy?" Ash asked with a light-hearted smirk. "You're a monk, how is a monk ever busy?"

"Meditation takes effort too." He shrugged.

"Well, come on, would you rather meditate like you do every day, or eat some fine food for free?"

With that, the monk sighed.

"... Of course, you'd pay for the meal with the money you got from your... new position?"

"Uh, yeah." Ash nodded. "Why do you ask?"

"... Ash." His tone grew serious. "I do not think you fully comprehend your position."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Come. I will show you something."

The monk led her to a different part of the city. One Ash barely ever visited because she never really had a reason to. The Cemetery. Instead of having multiple cemeteries spread throughout Jade, the city had just one, which took up the space of an entire district. Countless white tombstones, standing upright like monoliths, marked the final resting places of many of Jade's citizens. Well, the wealthy ones at least.

"What are we doing here?" Ash asked.

"Around twenty years ago, this place held almost half of the number of tombstones it holds now." The monk said. "Because of the demons though, the cemetery has become far more occupied. And those are the creatures you've been chosen to fight."

"... Yeah, I know. What does this have to do with me though?" Ash asked.

"Ash, even though you are now a Savior, and have been granted immense power, understand that this power has come at a cost. A terrible cost. You will face more demons than most people could ever imagine seeing."

"Well, yeah... So?" Ash asked.

"... Let me just show you one more thing. I believe words do not do the topic justice." He said and led Ash deeper into the cemetery. "This place is called the Sacred Graves. Do you know who is kept here?"

"Uh, no."

They walked up to a garden-like area where rosaries and statues surrounded a series of golden tombstones.

"Saviors." The monk stated. "Dead Saviors. Your predecessors, I've counted them out many times. There are precisely 21 of them. Can you guess how many died of natural causes or old age?"

"Uh, 4?"

"None." He replied. "If any of them do soon, they'd be the first." He turned to her. "Those are the odds you're up against, Ash. Do you understand?"

"... Well, yeah." She replied. "But even if I die to some monster, it's probably a better ending than the one I'd have here." She gave him a sad smile. "Kairo, you saw me out there a lot but even then, I don't think you understand just how shitty everything's been for me. I can do a little count of my own, you know? Out of these Saviors, how many of them do you think had loving families. Husbands, wives, fuck-buddies. Whatever." She shrugged. "The answer? Probably all of them." She looked at a few of the graves, walking closer. "That's what sets me apart. I have nothing to lose. If I go down in the middle of a huge battlefield to a demon, then that's probably better than rotting here."

After listening to her, the monk sighed.

"Maybe. Maybe." He replied. "Well, I just wanted to say that."

"Well, it's been said," Ash told him.

"Yes. I'll take that meal now if you're still offering."

They left the cemetery after that and went to go eat. About two hours later, Ash was walking the streets of Jade, alone, and with her eyes kept low.

She hadn't noticed it, but she ended up exactly back where she'd been a week ago, on that fateful day when Kairo went to speak with her. She stood here now, almost an entirely different person, but still feeling the same resentment that kept itself so close to her heart. A resentment of everything around her.

Memories came back to her, ones she thought she'd locked up in her mental vault ages ago. They flooded her so intensely that no matter how she tried to distract herself, whether through looking at the golden banners that certain important buildings around her hung up proudly or by focusing on her own breathing, nothing kept them out.

A ten-year-old Ash walked down her home's stairs. She could hear someone crying from one of the other rooms. Holding her pillow to her chest, her little feet tapped against the wooden floor as she searched for the source. She found it soon enough. Her mother, sat by the edge of her bed, crying with Ash's father consoling her. She stood outside, wondering what was wrong when her father noticed her.

"Uh…" She couldn't think to say anything. Her father rose from where he was and walked up to her. She looked up, expecting him to say something. Instead, he simply closed the door and Ash was left standing in the hall, alone.

---

At eleven years old, Ash was sitting at the back of her classroom, writing down what she heard the teacher say. She hummed a small song to herself, diligently going about her work when a ball of paper bounced off the side of her head.

"Agh." She recoiled, looking for whoever threw it. A few kids were laughing, holding up their fingers to their heads, imitating the horns she had. Ash looked away, taking a deep breath. It was always like this.

---

Ash was standing in the middle of the street at twelve years old, while the rain fell from a grey sky. People passed her by carelessly. Ash banged on her home's door with her small fists, tears mingling with the raindrops streaming down her face. She never got an answer.

Ash felt a drop of liquid fall on her hands. Huh? She reached up and touched her cheeks, finding that she was crying.

"Fucking pathetic." She told herself. "Get over it."

Standing up, she stretched and tried to think of something to do.

Maybe I'll go get some more food, she proposed, even though she was far from hungry now.

However, she wouldn't have to. There was a small rumbling, not an unusual sound in the city where carts and carriages were so common. However, this time, the cart stopped in front of her, just as one had a week ago. Ash raised a brow as she saw two priests lean their heads out.

"Ah, there you are," one said, looking almost disappointed in the fact that he found her.

"You actually found me." She stated. "Wow."

"Get in," he instructed. "It's time to go."

"Hm… Nah." Ash shook her head, wiping her eyes. "I think I'll walk. Where do I have to go?"

"Just get in, half-demon," the priest said. Ash raised a brow.

She scanned the man.

Level 1

MP: 10/10

Ash nodded to herself and pulled out Lust.

"Sword." 

With a spark of gold, the cube transformed into a brilliant weapon and Ash aimed it at the man.

"What!?" He pulled back. "What is the meaning of this?"

"I want to walk," Ash said, calmly. "I'm going to walk. Just tell me where I have to go and I might feel less compelled to stick this sword up your ass."

The priest scowled so hard, that Ash found it funny. However, he acquiesced.

"The Valley of Lanterns."

"Okay," she let the weapon transform back into the cube. "That was all you had to say. Honestly," she turned her back to him, "I like you priests better when you're scared shitless."

She knew where the Valley of Lanterns was as she'd walked around the area a few times. As she made her way there, the cart that she would have been in passed her by. She saw one of the priests glaring at her and flipped him off, causing his skin to go a boiling red.

As she got closer to her destination she started to see a small crowd gathering. Hm? She raised a brow. Then, she found a pristine carriage along with some people standing by it, with the crowd circling them. The carriage itself was one of the most beautiful things Ash had ever seen. A dark brown vehicle with gold plating and state-of-the-art wheels and with two horses at the front, both of them highly decorated in white and gold.

The people standing by it were regular though. Or, at least, most of them were. Ash saw Varco and another priest talking to the one Ash had spoken to a moment ago. They saw her approach and stopped talking. However, standing just a bit of distance away from them was a strange-looking girl. She had a black blindfold on, black hair with gold tips, and was wearing a black and gold ka. Ash hadn't seen many ka's, but none of the ones she had seen looked like hers. Hers was cut at the waists, showing some skin, and short at the ankles, letting Ash see her black boots in full view.

Who is this? She wondered as she went to check her stats.

Level 1

MP: 100/100

Whoa. She was surprised. 

"Ah, you've arrived," Varcon said and Ash stopped in front of him, putting a hand on her hip. "I'd appreciate it if you refrained from bothering my priests in the future."

"And I'd appreciate it if your little cocksuckers didn't try to treat me like some sort of dog." She quickly countered. "All I said was that I wanted to walk and that one started spitting at me. Maybe just let me do what I want to and that won't happen."

Varcon glared at her but nodded. He turned at the other priest and said:

"Thank you. I'll handle things from here."

"Of course, your holiness."

With that, it was just the blindfolded girl, Varcon, one other priest, and Ash, as the cart the other priest was in moved away.

"So, what now?"

"Now you go to begin your training."

And, with those words, Ash hopped into the carriage with the others and her journey officially began.