There was once a quiet mountain town named Cardbill, a place known for two things:
love and justice.
Its people did not fear standing against their rulers. They argued fiercely against corruption, shouted against rigged elections, and exposed every dirty tactic the government used to hold power—
but even in anger, Cardbill never lost its kindness.
They fought the government, never each other.
What began as a small protest soon slipped across borders like wildfire.
One town. Then three. Then ten.
Cities, villages, entire districts rose up.
News channels reported marches everywhere.
People were demanding truth.
And far away in the capital, the government grew nervous… quietly preparing for something.
---
In Cardbill lived a small family of three.
Volow Arokin,
his mother Melon,
and his stepfather Thod Ash.
Volow had never known his real father. His mother said he died the year he was born. Still, their little family was peaceful… even happy.
But Volow often felt a quiet loneliness he couldn't explain.
He had friends, he laughed and played, but when he came home, something inside him felt empty—like a room with a door half-closed.
One day he asked his mother for a cat.
Melon refused instantly. She didn't want animals in the house.
So Volow let the idea fade.
But five months later, winter arrived, covering Cardbill in soft white dust.
One evening, Volow returned home, cheeks red from the cold—
and stopped.
A small creature lay curled beside the doorstep.
A cat.
Injured.
Shivering so hard it looked like its bones would break.
Volow lifted it without hesitation.
"Mother… please. Please help him." Volow begged.
Melon hated pets—
but she was from Cardbill, a town where compassion came before preferences.
She exhaled deeply, took the tiny thing inside, and treated its wounds and allowed the cat to stay until it heals.
They named him Suki.
Days passed.
Weeks.
Months.
And suddenly Suki wasn't a guest anymore.
He was family.
Melon, once reluctant, would panic if she couldn't find him.
Thod sneaked him food under the table.
And Suki would pounce onto Volow's shoulders every time he came home, meowing like he owned the boy.
Small. Innocent. Playful.
And somehow, he filled the emptiness in Volow's heart.
Two days before Thod's birthday, Volow decided to bring him a gift.
Thod had never treated him as a stepson; he had given more than a real father ever could.
When Volow was three, he had suffered a strange illness—one that nearly took his life.
To save him, Thod lost his right arm,
and even the thumb of his left foot.
Thod Ash was a real man.
A man worth honoring.
So Volow traveled to a neighboring town across the winding mountain roads.
He wanted to buy a watermelon and the ash of a rare flower—symbols of love and harmony. He didn't know their proper names, but wanted to show that melon and ash look perfect with each other.
The afternoon sun was slipping behind the mountains when he finished.
He stepped toward the town gates to begin his journey home—
—and something struck him.
Struck him very hard.
Black.
When he opened his eyes, the sky was night-dark, and chaos roared around him.
People ran, screamed, stumbled over each other.
Sirens wailed.
Ground trembled.
Voices merged into one long, terrible sound.
Volow reached for his microball, the tiny device that worked as a communicator.
Gone.
Lost in the darkness.
He turned and looked toward Cardbill—
and froze.
The sky above his home…
was red.
Not sunset red.
Not fire red.
A deep, sickening red—
like the heavens were bleeding.
Fear slammed into him.
Volow ran.
Faster than he had ever run in his life.
When he reached the hill overlooking Cardbill, his legs gave out.
The town…
was gone.
Not destroyed.
Not broken.
Gone.
Nothing remained but gray ash swirling through the air.
Houses. Streets. People.
All turned into dust and blood.
Volow staggered forward, choking on disbelief.
"No… no, no, no…"
He ran to where his home once stood.
Ash.
Broken wood.
Dark stains.
Nothing else.
His scream ripped the air, raw and desperate.
He fell to his knees.
And then—
A sound.
Small. Weak.
A trembling meow.
"…Suki?"
Volow turned.
There, struggling to lift his tiny head,
covered in blood and dust,
was Suki.
Still alive.
Barely.
Volow scooped him into his arms, terrified the little creature would disappear if he held too tightly.
"Where is Mother, Suki…? Where is Father…?"
His voice cracked into pieces.
"You're just a small, innocent thing… why did you have to go through this again? I saved you once… and now you're hurt even worse…"
Suki pressed his forehead against Volow's hand.
Comforting him.
Even now.
Volow sobbed.
Everyone he loved—
his mother, his father, his friends, his teachers—
all swallowed by the ashes.
He was the only survivor of Cardbill.
And the ruins whispered in the wind.