Gun of Ashes

”We are born with sin, darkness hidden deep within our souls. Our survival only exacerbates the spread of darkness, and only death can put an end to it all.”

In the dim longhouse, a man stood before the fire pit, chanting in a somber voice. Accompanied by his hoarse sounds, the others in the longhouse kneeled down together, whispering something in low tones, their voices converging into chaotic murmurs.

Everyone present was a member of the Apocalypse Society. As a heretical group, their ideology was quite simple: absolute death, the end of all things. The final outcome for every small faction within the society was a collective death, which made it difficult for outsiders to study their existence. Usually, all that remained were corpses scattered around.

By all accounts, such an ideology would lead the Apocalypse Society to complete extinction. Yet, strangely, no matter how many times they died, even a fraction of their belief managed to persist. Even more bizarre was that some actually embraced such a mad belief, willing to die together.

”Die! End the darkness! Souls return to Heroic Spirit Hall!”

Some believers shouted loudly, the first to draw a dagger and stab at the believer beside him. Without a shred of hesitation, the two wrestled, blades crossed, carving one wound after another until both died in a crimson bloodbath.

”Valhalla!”

The believers shouted loudly; they were Vikings. Even without the existence of the Apocalypse Society, they held a stubborn fervor for dying in battle and returning to Heroic Spirit Hall.

”Valhalla!”

The man shouted back loudly.

”Yes! Death, absolute death. Only this can eradicate the darkness!”

The man threw the book he held into the fire pit. Burning pages fluttered and landed on furs, sparks igniting and expanding towards the house.

Nobody cared about this. Some lunatics even thought the fire wasn’t spreading fast enough. They poured strong liquor on it to accelerate the burning.

”Without light, even darkness loses its meaning!”

The man drew his own dagger. The sharp gleam illuminated his eyes, now full of blood-red, yet he retained a sliver of reason throughout.

Blood and flames, the atmosphere grew intense. Some impatient believers already began mutual slaughter. Nobody stopped them; instead, everyone cheered for their deaths, shouting their names loudly.

In this frenetic mood, no one noticed the arrival of another person. Clad in a black robe, he leaned on an ancient spear, a leather round shield strapped to his back. He pushed open the door, wind and snow bringing cold from behind him.

He seemed like someone walking out of a story.

”Oh, Pioneer, have you come to witness us?”

Upon seeing the Pioneer’s arrival, the man was immensely excited. It seemed even more gratifying than his forthcoming sacred death.

”Yes, and I will give your deaths more meaning.”

The Pioneer’s face was shrouded in the hood’s shadow. The man glimpsed silver beneath the hood, appearing to be a silver helmet. Looking down the neck, the silver armor continued. It seemed beneath the black robe was a delicate set of armor.

The man did not think further; no one had ever seen the true appearance of the Pioneer, not even himself. And he had no time to learn more; after all, he was about to die, undergoing that sacred death, escaping burdensome guilt.

”By the way, that bastard Froki still escaped; I should have realized earlier. He doesn’t care about the apocalypse; all he wants is benefit.”

The man recalled the fleeing elder, meant to occupy a place at today’s death.

”He won’t escape. This curse belongs to humanity, only a matter of timing.”

The Pioneer spoke slowly, his voice carrying a metallic tone, somewhat hoarse, like a wounded beast.

”Some folks have awoken, a bunch of compromising fools... Even as fools, they still serve some purpose. I need you to attract their attention. Ideally, let them exhaust themselves, believing they’ve solved an error, then continue back to slumber.”

The Pioneer spoke words the man didn’t understand. The man didn’t think further; he only needed to obey the Pioneer.

”What should we do?”

The man asked.

”First, stop the slaughter.”

”Stop!”

The man commanded, and the frenzied believers halted instantly. Some had just thrust a knife into another’s stomach and hearing the man’s order, they stopped directly, holding onto the knife lodged in the stomach, looking over here.

”And then?”

”You’ll find out soon, but before that, I need to leave. If I’m too close, they’ll discover me.”

The Pioneer said these words and prepared to leave, devoid of emotion, handling these madmen like cleaning up tools.

”Wait, Pioneer, I’m about to die; I’ll never see you again.”

The man called out to the Pioneer, who slowly turned around, curious about what the man had to say.

The man tidied his collar, trying to appear somewhat dignified, then showed a sincere smile.

”Thank you for revealing the truth of this world to me... and thank you for our days of sailing together. Being your Chief Mate is the highest honor of my life.”