I died upon your breath
Post game. Several things are different.
The future is bright. Perhaps it is even greater than the peaceful present.
Seeing as Solaris never existed, Blaze never came to Soleana, and therefore never met Silver.
Solaris never existed.
Solaris never existed.
But what of its pieces? A shadowy form unable to settle, unable to be seen, for most, never heard. It flowed through the earth, through its trees and buildings and waters and mountains.
Silver loved the earth more than anything.
To Silver, the world belonged to him, like a child he must protect. It was old, it was eternal. It was beautiful and perfect. Silver loved the earth.
This being the case, the hedgehog often found himself near it. He longed more to be in the forest, surrounded by nature, where he could grasp on to every breath and truly love this planet. Often he would talk to the trees, and rocks, and the wind, and sometimes, he would swear, they answered.
Today was a day as such. Silver wandered a murky wood, seeming not to have any particular path. Many trees were fallen, which would be sad to Silver, but he knew these had fallen naturally- by animals, or by storm.
However, today there was something particular in the air, a smell, harsh and muggy. An indisputable smell of smoke.
What was the saying? Where there is smoke, there is fire. And with that thought in mind, Silver flew as quickly as he could to the fiery source.
A flame spread across about 3 small trees, nothing big. But big enough to upset Silver greatly. The smoke choked him, and the light blinded him. He turned away quickly and set his mind at rest. Relaxing everything within his conscious mind, he allowed himself to let the unconscious mind take over. Water from deep within the earth struggled at hardened ground, then broke through. The water flourished and pooled in the air above his head, was lifted, and then dropped, upon the trees, dousing them instantly.
There was barely a moment of relief until he sensed the sizzling of a fire douse change into a muffled scream.
Have you ever heard the wind blow so harshly against the door it frightened you? The initial sound terrifies, but there is something that seems to haunt and chill you to the core for long after.
Silver felt the very wind speak into him and chill him and grip him with rage and pain. It was not words, just a scream, a moan. So low, he could barely hear, yet he was ringing deaf in his ears.
The voice formed more clearly, forced, and aching.
"Please…"
The word was a whisper and a scream, sending silvers heart racing again.
"Help… please…"
A trillion thoughts raced through Silvers mind. Oh god, I killed the fire, it was alive and I killed it. I killed it.
"Form… help..."
Silver looked up from the ground, to the charred remains of the trees. "U-um, hello? Voice? Can you hear me…?" He called out, quiet at first, then becoming firmer and louder towards the end.
"form… ashes… fire… help…"
"But... I don't know what you mean…? Ashes?" Silver frowned, looking down at the ashes of the burned trees. He walked over, hesitated briefly, then took up a handful of damp ash. "Okay, I have some ash… what do I do now?" He asked into the air, unsure if he were insane.
"Burn… it… fire…"
Silver looked down at the mushy pile in his hand and wondered if it could even burn. Something not only wet, but burnt to coal as well.
However, Silver felt responsible for this voice. He must have hurt it by putting out the fire. Or perhaps the voice was the fire. Nevertheless, he must help anything of nature. And he would.
The hedgehog found his way to a small clearing and dug a firepit, lining it with rocks and dried wood. After much effort and frustration, he managed to light the logs.
"Burn… ashes…reform…"
This voice had been following him for an hour since Silver put out the fire, repeating the same few words. 'Burn, fire, form, reform.' Honestly, he wasn't even sure he wanted to help this voice anymore. If he didn't have this overwhelming sense of obligation to this consciousness, he would have just went back into town.
He lets out a hefty sigh and after lets the fire heat up. The sun is beginning to set now, and it was getting chilly, so the fire truly was a blessing.
He looked down onto the pile of ashes, which he was keeping on a large leaf. He had once heard that ashes were very good for growing some plants and flowers. Maybe burning these ashes could help the trees?
Now smiling, the hedgehog picks up the leaf and gently pours the ashes into the hungry flame.
End chapter 1