Ashes of Decoding

Prologue

Abandoned in a sea of flames and ashes, a lone boy stood, watching as his once admirable heroes crushed his house to splinters. The charred, rotting corpses of his parents lay sprawled out in front of the boy, dismembered limbs laying still in the ashes of the wood, fire licking at the decaying flesh. The boy watched on, his meek body frozen in place as the roaring fires swept around his feet. An audible 'crack' resounded as the heroes pummelled the burnt and scarred body of the villain into the ground. Finally urging his body to move, the boy ran from the house, from the heroes who cared only for beating the villain. As ran as fast as his weak limbed legs could go, wiping the tears that threatened to fall. He ran till he collapsed, grazing his skin as he skidded across the pavement.

He pushed himself to his knees, not caring about the blood that flowed out through the cuts on his legs. He kept on running, stumbling on his meek legs, the swirling feelings of anguish, disgust and rage clouding his mind. He grit his teeth, viridian green eyes narrowed down, clenching his fists as he continued to run forwards, not looking back once. He couldn't bare it. He has known about the heroes that cared only for themselves, heroes who didn't bother to protect the community. He knew it all, he had seen it all live on TV. But, he didn't want to experience it first hand. His faith in those heroes dwindled down with each villain they caught, with each house they crushed to the ground, with each human life they didn't spare so much of a a glance.

Pain filled his chest, his beating heart aching as he felt each thump against his rib cage. The pounding in his ears blocking out all other sounds around him. The rush of pain he felt shooting through his legs. Roaring flames that burnt his veins, searing his muscles and bones. He felt it all. He felt the fires burn from inside, the bruises the pounding of his heart and mind caused, the rattling of his bone. He felt every last pinch along his skin, the pins and needles in his feet as he slammed them upon the concrete pavement, no protection covering them from the cold, rough stone. The harsh squeeze of his lungs, suffocating the boy as he urged his weak willed body to move. Tears that threatened to fall now gone, clearing his vision as it turned red. From rage, from pain, he couldn't tell what.

His legs started to give out, his raged breathing coming out in short huffs of air. He felt sick to his stomach. The aching lingered, not leaving for a second as he halted, the bright midnight moon shining down upon the small boy. He glanced to his side, eying a tall building covered in police tape. Walls were stained with graffiti, slurs and other such words sprawled out across the dusty grey building. The boy stood straight, glancing at the police tape once more before ripping it off. His frustration seeped away, a state of calmness falling upon him as he entered the run-down building. A crow's calling rung out loud and clear within the empty space, echoing off the walls. A set of rusty stairs seemed to stare at the boy who glanced round the spacious room.

He climbed up the creaking stairs, his nerves that screamed at him to leave fading in the background. He felt as if the building was calling him, pulling him further into the depths of despair and anguish. Shaking his head, the boy stilled his frantically shaking body. He took in a deep breath, exhaling in a slow puff of air. A fire flared within his soul, flickering violently, trying to release the beast within. Clenching his fists and gritting his teeth, the boy rushed up the remaining flight of stairs that lead to the top of the building. He burst open the rusty metallic door, ignoring the nerve-wracking squeak of metal against metal and tumbled to the edge. He stared over the city filled with artificial lights and colours, the crisp breeze ruffling his messy bush-green hair.

Viridian met a deep, dark navy city dotted with bright lights, the crystalline moon glinting with the stars. The boy narrowed his eyes, forgetting the aching pain pounding within his being, the drumming of his heart upon his ribs, the suffocating feeling of his lungs being squeezed. He ignored it all, digging his nails into his palms, hard enough to draw blood. He made a vow that night, standing tall in the cool wind of the night, the moon shining down upon him.

"Emotions are just a feeling. They don't mean anything. Abandoning them, like those heroes abandoned my family in those flames. Changing the world doesn't come from sympathy or relation. It comes from the person's soul. I vow to change this world in another light, different from the path of those fake heroes. Different from the path of the villains. A path that walks the borderline of both worlds. Standing back and watching the world turn doesn't achieve anything. Standing in the shadows of those who're arrogant and believes the world revolves around them won't amount to anything. I will make a better world, no matter how I have to do it. And it's time I start now."