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Chapter 5 - Episode VI: The Star, The Flame, The Shaman

It is said that the life of the Flame was filled with hardships; his father had treated him as a failure, and his mother, who was supposed to be his protector, chose to abandon him and leave him and the tribe behind. This act of a woman had made life harder for the young man, only until he reached an age when he could no longer be tested; that was when life became quite simple.

Though all the pain he had gone through, he never once believed the higher gods that the tribes served watched over him; his father made that possible. Instead of growing with love in his heart, only transgressions, the hatred of everyone that looked down on him had stained him to the point that he was no longer considered a human. Every time he passed by, the people of the tribe could feel a burning heat from him; hence, the true Flame was born.

Even with his hatred for the people, he still knew that there was one who was good. The shaman stood out as the one who trusted in this young man; she was old, but her body was young. Some of the tribesmen looked up to her, seeing that her power was overwhelming, but there were ones who glared at her with lust; her old age never mattered to them, but she looked as young as the maidens.

Sometimes the Flame sat and wondered, there was any supernatural power that enabled the shaman to retain her past beauty. This was the only mystery to him, as others thought of other things. The shaman knew his thoughts, seeing the young man wonder under the stars, she once mentioned to him when he was a little boy that the stars always told her things—the future, the past and every event that was to cause another fall of man but they had stopped ever since a strange child was born, within this chaos, the only ones allowed to live another life would be the young man and that child.

"Who is that child?" The Flame would ask, but the shaman only smiled.

"That is something that you must know yourself, and one day, you will save that child"

Though the shaman was very secretive when it came to sharing events from the future, she could at least share some things from the past; at least they had happened. But one day she had decided to share the things from the future, and once the Flame had reached his nineteenth year, he was the first to hear of this. The shaman mentioned that there would be a man, born from hatred such as his, but that hatred had consumed him, leading him to seek greater power. He may come at any time seeking the child he saved, so he must be ready.

This story always left the young man confused every time he sat up all night thinking of it. Even till this day, when his tribe had been wiped out by the volcanic eruption from the earth, he still thought of it.

——

Now lying in his arms, coughing up the blood that flowed through her veins, her heart punctured by a blade, she was ready to join the tribe, leaving the Flame as the only survivor.

Looking into the cautious eyes of the young man who demanded answers, she could finally speak without any emotional connection, "Flame, he is coming...the one born... from hatred, you and the Star child must flee now and pre.... prepare yourself for battle"

As the shaman stuttered, trying to get her words out, the Flame understood, and with the information finally passed unto him, he knew what he had to do; he always did. Everything that ever happened was as he planned. When he gazed at the young woman whose skin was as dark as mud, his eyes lingered on the star that was engraved on her skin.

The Star was the child that he would save from an inevitable death, and to keep her safe, he offered her a place in his solitude. He had always shown her a painful side of himself, but he had a soft side to himself, filled with goodness. Since the very beginning, from the cliff, the Star had thought that she had been the only one to see him as a husband, but he saw her as his child-bearer as well.

Though there was darkness in his heart, he was still allowed to love and multiply. Being given time, he buried the shaman at the far coast, miles away from his hut, where the predators could not feast on her flesh. While he made his way back to the hut where the Star lay vulnerable, he thought of the path that he could go through. Could he live in the mountains, away from the prehistoric beast? Maybe he could live in the swamp.

As he questioned his path, his legs aching from the desperate running, the Star had awakened. She indeed was the woman who was the point of attraction, the one who was chosen and targeted, death could no longer be her fate, and it knew that. Groaning, she glanced around the interior of the hut, still the same as always, though she felt a pang of dizziness; her body was still filled with strength, and soon enough, she was going to get her strength back in seconds.

Walking outside the hut, she gazed into the sky. The sun had begun to set on the horizon, and the trees were blackened by the shadows of the night that slowly approached. The cold was still inevitable as Star felt a strange chill, the pores of her skin covered with bumps as her hair rose from the back of her neck like plants growing on a farm. This feeling, she had felt it before when she fought against that prehistoric beast, but this was far more intense than before.

"Who or what could that be?" Star muttered, her lips quivering from the cold. This deep coldness was the same as when she first explored the white mountains, and now it was as though the mountains were brought down to her.

"Star? Is that you?" a voice cut through the darkness, her thoughts interrupted by this deep, cold tone that whispered.

The Star jolted, swiftly turning her back and facing whatever whispered. Now she faced the trees that stood meters away from the hut she stood in front of. Peeking into the deep abyss left by the shadows that were cast by the branches, Star could make out a silhouette. "Is that you, Flame?" she muttered, hoping for a response, but nothing came. Whatever this person was, she knew not, but her instincts told her that this was an opponent that should not be approached, and it was indeed true.

As the figure opened its eyes, Star was greeted with two red orbs for eyes and in that moment, she knew she was in danger. Whoever this creature was, it resembled a human, for it was able to take down the shaman who held great power; it was cursed with power that was not of this world.

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