Chapter 103 ‒ Ashes and Inheritance
Chapter 103 ‒ Ashes and Inheritance
A beam of pale morning light angled in through a narrow window, striking the rough wooden floor in a silent pool. The air inside the room felt stale yet oddly warm, like a place that hadn’t known guests in years.
Tyler’s eyes cracked open. His breath shuddered out in a raw gasp. A sharp ache pulsed at the back of his skull where the shovel had slammed him before.
As he adjusted to the light, he saw a girl — her presence so abrupt, he almost thought she was another hallucination.
She sat slouched on a narrow wooden chair by the door, her legs pulled up against her chest, one hand absently twirling a shovel like a bored cat with a mouse. Her hair, a soft grey-blonde, was tied haphazardly, a few stubborn strands falling across sharp, watchful eyes.
Frank’s voice drifted from somewhere behind her. “Ah, you’re awake at last. I see you’ve already met my daughter.”
The girl didn’t even bother to glance at Tyler. She just kept spinning the shovel’s handle, her eyes fixed on an invisible point on the floor.
Frank stepped forward, smoothing out his long white coat — so crisp it almost looked ceremonial. His tired eyes softened as he glanced at her. “This is Anne. She is my daughter. We’re… the only ones left here now.”
Tyler’s gaze flicked from Frank to Anne, then to the shovel — the same one he’d seen descending into darkness before he lost consciousness. His fingers curled instinctively at his sides.
Anne finally shifted her gaze to meet his. Her expression was pure, frosty contempt.
“So, you finally decided to wake up,” she drawled. Her voice was surprisingly steady, but the disgust underneath made every word feel like a slap.
Tyler hesitated. “That shovel… it was you, wasn’t it?”
Anne snorted, eyes narrowing. “Of course it was me. You waltz in here, torch blazing like an idiot, attracting every Blightspawn in the area — did you think you were on a festival parade?”
Tyler’s fingers tightened around the blanket draped over his lap. “I… I came here because Bongo Banana told me about this place. He gave me the supplies. I wasn’t—”
Anne’s mouth twisted. “Liar. You probably killed him and took his things. He was our only connection to the outside world! The only one who dared to bring us medicine and seeds!”
Tyler bristled, his voice rising despite the throbbing in his head. “I didn’t kill him! I saved him from Blightspawns and—”
Anne scoffed. “Idiot. That’s what all murderers say.”
Tyler’s vision flickered faintly as if echoing his irritation. “Would you stop calling me an idiot already?! I only came here to help! Frank, I—”
Anne leaned forward sharply, shovel handle clicking against the floor. “Oh? Do you come from a place where you don’t respect elders? You keep calling my father ‘Frank’ so casually. He is Doctor Frank to you.”
Tyler’s jaw clenched. He shot a sharp glare at Frank, who only raised an eyebrow, his lips twitching with amusement.
“Doctor Frank,” Tyler corrected, grinding the words between his teeth.
Frank raised his hands lightly, laughing. “Forgive her. She can be… blunt. But she did stay up all night watching over you.”
Anne scoffed again, shifting back into her chair, arms crossed. “Only so I could make sure you didn’t crawl out and try to kill anyone else.”
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Tyler exhaled sharply, pushing himself up to a sitting position. “Those things… those Blightspawns… they weren’t human anymore. They were beyond saving.”
Anne’s eyes flared, her voice slicing the air like a blade. “You think that makes it okay?! You just cut them down without hesitation! Those were once our neighbours, our friends — you think you can just waltz in and judge them?”
Tyler’s voice broke through the tension like a crack of ice. “They attacked me first. They would’ve killed me!”
Anne stabbed a finger at his chest. “Idiot! You carried a torch at night. Of course they came to you. Everyone here knows you don’t light flames after dusk — it’s like ringing a dinner bell for them!”
Frank interjected, chuckling under his breath. “She’s right, unfortunately. The Blightspawns are drawn to light. That’s why there are no lamps lit here.”
Anne tilted her head, her cold gaze unwavering. “You didn’t even know that? What are you, a feral idiot with a sword?”
Tyler shot to his feet, bracing his arms on the bedframe, glaring at her. “I told you to stop calling me an idiot!”
Anne stood up too, shovel clutched tightly at her side, her face flushed with cold rage.
Frank’s laughter bubbled up fully now, echoing through the cramped room. “My, my. It’s been ages since this house had such life. You two… remind me of happier days.”
Anne clicked her tongue sharply. “I’m going out. I can’t stand breathing the same air as this monster.” She stormed toward the door, tossing her shovel into the corner at the last second.
Frank watched her go with a lingering, almost wistful sadness. Then he turned back to Tyler, his smile faint but warm. “Well. You certainly left an impression.”
Tyler sank back onto the bed with a heavy sigh. His shoulders trembled slightly under his armour plates.
Frank pulled up a wooden stool, sitting down with a soft creak. “You must have questions, yes? Go on. Ask. You’ve earned that much.”
Tyler stayed silent for a moment, his head lowered. Then, slowly, he looked up, visor shimmering faintly in the dim light. “What… happened to humans? Where are they now?”
Frank’s fingers steepled under his chin. His eyes, though soft, carried a shadow of old wounds.
“We once ruled this world,” Frank began. His voice was calm but carried a tremor, as if each word scraped along scars buried deep.
“We were weaker, at least in the eyes of the world’s beasts. No flames dancing from our palms. No poison coursing in our fangs. No monstrous muscles that could shatter stone. And yet — we rose. We used tools. We observed. We adapted. We turned iron, oil, and cunning into empires.”
He paused, watching Tyler closely.
“We pushed them all back — every elemental beast, every predator that called this continent home. Humans expanded, devouring land and air alike, building cities that touched the clouds.”
Tyler’s breath hitched slightly.
Frank’s gaze sharpened. “But the true enemy of man is not the monster beyond the wall — it is the man beside him. When we ran out of outside enemies, we turned on ourselves. War became our religion. Our greed, our rage… unstoppable.”
He leaned back, lips twisting in a thin, sardonic smile. “It wasn’t enough to fight with steel and bombs. No, we wanted gods of flesh. So we created hybrids — not simple monstrosities, but fusions of the world’s strongest creatures. Beasts with amplified abilities. Weapons. Some of them could be called living calamities.”
Tyler shifted forward, tense. “The Primordial Beasts… is that what you mean?”
Frank barked a hollow laugh. “Ah! So that’s what they call themselves now? What poetic nonsense. We never named them gods. We called them ‘units’ and ‘assets.’ Tools of war, nothing more.”
A silence spread between them, heavy as a coffin lid.
Tyler’s voice dropped low. “But… the Creator God. The hybrids… they believe—”
Frank’s eyes turned cold. “The Creator God? Don’t make me laugh.”
Frank’s eyes turned icy, each word carrying a crackling edge. He leaned forward, voice sharp as a blade.
“If there really is a god — why would a so-called ‘Creator’ give us minds sharp enough to dream, yet bodies too fragile to defend them? Why would he make us powerless and then watch us crawl and die, like insects pinned under glass? If such a god exists, he is no benevolent creator — just a sadistic spectator who revels in our pain. Tell me, is that really a god worth worshipping? Or even acknowledging?”
The words struck Tyler like an avalanche, burying his breath beneath a thousand sudden fears.
If there’s no Creator God… then all this time… have I been chasing a lie?
The thought clawed at his chest. If there’s no higher power… does that mean I’ll never see Milo again?
A cold tremor slid down his spine. Am I stuck here forever… fighting and surviving, with no chance of returning? No chance of ever being whole again?
His fists clenched tight on his knees, tremors running up his arms.
Tyler didn’t realize he was shaking until Frank rose and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Rest. You’ve seen enough of this world’s cruelty for one lifetime,” Frank said gently.
Tyler stared ahead blankly. His vision starting to blur.
Even if it was an illusion… I wanted to believe. I still want to.
Frank gave a small nod, almost as if reading his mind. Then he turned away, leaving Tyler alone with the rattling echo of ghosts.