Dust: AET - From the Ashes - Chapter 8

From the Ashes

Chapter 8

Dust was relieved to see that Aurora Village hadn’t sustained any more damage since the golem attack. He saw Colleen walking with Corbin, the smile still on her face even though the bandage plastering her forehead remained. She gave him a bright smile and a wave as he passed before continuing on her way with her brother.

Dust found Ginger beside her house at the top of the hill. She was with Nix, which didn’t surprise him. However what did surprise him was the guilt he felt upon seeing him instead of the usual anger.

Fidget whipped towards the two, calling out happily. Dust sighed, merely following at his own pace as Ginger turned and waved at him. Nix just averted his gaze, making him feel even more horrible.

“How was the trip?” She asked.

“I’m sure it was very wet,” Fidget said, giggling.

“Fidget...” Dust sighed, running a hand down his face.

“What? I don’t trip.”

Ginger looked worried. “You tripped while you were down there?” She asked. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. I just fell into a river. It was dark. I didn’t even see it,” Dust explained, skipping over the part where he almost died falling into the underground lake filled with stalagmites.

“Do you want to come inside? I’m sure you could use the rest.” Ginger said, smiling slightly.

“I think I’m going to stay outside for a bit,” Dust replied. “I’m not ready to get out of the fresh air yet.”

Ginger giggled. “All right,”

Dust figured that now would be a good of time as ever. He looked over at Nix. He was looking away from him and Ginger, watching the clouds pass by.

“Nix,” he felt even worse when he started slightly, turning towards Dust with surprise.

“What is it?” he asked stiffly.

“Mind if I talk to you for a moment?”

He looked even more tense at that moment, but he nodded.

“I guess I’ll see you two later then,” Ginger said, smiling. “Come on, Fidget. Let’s go pick something out for dinner.”

“B-But,” Fidget protested.

Ginger grabbed her by the tail and led her away from the two of them. The Nimbat protested a little, but eventually went along with Ginger, taking one final glance back at Dust.

“So...what was it that you wanted to talk about?” Nix asked, sounding almost timid.

Dust turned back to him and gave him a weak smile. “I wanted to apologize.”

“Eh?” He blinked, confusion all over his face.

“It was out of place. I’m sorry I acted the way I did. I can only hope I didn’t cause you any harm.”

“No, I’m fine, I mean...” He glanced away, as though he didn’t expect this in the slightest. Then he sighed. “I guess you care about Ginger too.”

“Yeah. I do,” Dust said.

“Then why did you abandon her?”

Dust didn’t respond. He didn’t know how to explain that he hadn’t abandoned her at all.

“It hurt her. I’m sure you know that by now.”

“I know. But believe me when I say that I had no power over my disappearance. Ginger understands that.”

“...She didn’t tell me the full story, did she?” Nix asked, his brow furrowing.

Once again, Dust found himself at a loss for words. He was smarter than he looked, that was for sure.

“Dust, what happened?” He asked.

“It’s a long story.”

“I think we have time,” Nix said, crossing his arms. “If we don’t, make some.”

Dust sighed. “Fine. Let’s just go where we can’t be overheard.”

Nix merely nodded, following Dust as the two of them headed down the hill and out of the village.

...

“Dust and Nix are sure taking a long time,” Fidget said as she sat on the table inside Gingers house. They’d been there for at least half an hour now and they still hadn’t returned. “I hope they didn’t kill each other...”

“What makes you say that?” Ginger asked.

“Well...before Dust and I went into the Cirromon Caverns, Nix came to talk to Dust. They kind of...scrapped a bit.”

“S-Scrapped?!” Ginger cried, sounding shocked.

“Well...some words were exchanged and Dust got a little...aggressive...”

“Dust did?!” She sounded even more stunned. “But he seems so...gentle...”

“I know. But it’s easy to forget he has Cassius’s soul, and that man was a murderer. I think we all know that.”

Ginger twiddled her thumbs nervously. She knew Nix only wanted to take care of her. They weren’t dating or anything, but after all the time they spent together, it didn’t surprise her that he cared about her just as much as Dust and Jin had. It was understandable that he held a hatred for Dust since the moment he laid eyes on him. She’d never told him what actually happened to Dust and who he really was. For Nix, Dust was merely someone she cared about who disappeared in a volcanic eruption, was assumed dead, and never came back for a year. Knowing Nix, he would think he’d abandoned her.

No sooner than she finished those thoughts, the door opened. Dust and Nix walked in, their expressions neutral. Ginger was relieved to see that both of them looked uninjured.

“I told him what happened, Ginger.” Dust said suddenly.

“Eh?” Ginger blinked in confusion.

“He knows who...or what I am.”

“Oh...You told him that...” Ginger stared at her hands again.

“I understand why you never did,” Nix said. “It...was a lot to take in.” He sat at the table and ran a hand down his face. “I don’t even know if I believe it.”

“So you know that Dust saved the Moonbloods from General Gaius and died in the volcano?” Ginger asked.

Nix merely nodded. “That was all he told me. Along with the fact that he was the Sen-something or other.”

“Sen-Mithrarin,” Fidget said.

“Yeah,” Nix looked up. “What I don’t understand is why he’s alive again.”

“That I’m not sure of either,” Dust stated. “Ahrah told me that my soul was sleeping until it was needed again, and the earth and wind revived me.”

“You probably came back to stop Steam.” Ginger said.
Dust didn’t respond to that. He knew that’s exactly why he was back. There was no other explanation.

“Speaking of him, did you find out anything from the water spirit?” Ginger asked.

Dust nodded. “He’s like me; created using two souls. Except this time, those souls were taken right from the Life Thread and fused in steam to create him.”

“Oh my...” Ginger whispered. “That’s horrible...”

“The thing I’m wondering is whose souls were used.” Dust said. “Lady Tethys couldn’t tell me.”

“Lady Tethys?”

“She’s the water spirit. That’s her name.”

“Oh.”

Dust glanced at the wall. “She told us one thing though. She told us that both the souls in Steam want to destroy me.”

“Those souls must have a lot of hatred...” Ginger said nervously.

“I had a few enemies,” Dust said honestly. “And for all I know it could be people I’ve fought and defeated, or it could be someone I never met.”

“So...two souls...Dust told me he had two of them, but he didn’t actually tell me which ones,” Nix said, scratching the back of his head in confusion. “I’m sorry, but I’m just really confused right now.”

“I don’t blame you,” Ginger said. “I was too.”

“You believe him though, right?” Fidget asked.

Nix merely shrugged. “I don’t know what I believe. It goes against everything I know.”
Ginger nodded slowly. “I know it does. But I’ll tell you all I know about how Dust was created.”

Nix merely nodded.

“I used to live in Zeplich Village at the top of the Blackmoor Mountains,” Ginger began.

“General Gaius and his soldiers attacked the village because we were Moonblood Sympathizers. I thought I was the only one who escaped but my brother did too, pursuing the assassin who wiped out my entire village by himself.”

“Who was that?” Nix asked.

“Cassius,” Ginger said with a sigh.

Nix’s fists clenched.

“My brother, Jin, confronted Cassius when he finally caught up. Both of them were killed in the battle, and their souls formed Dust.”

“Lady Tethys told me that their souls never reached the Life Thread,” Dust said. “Instead
they merged together while their bodies turned to dust and formed me.”

“...I guess I owe another apology,” Nix said suddenly, turning towards Dust.

“Eh?” Ginger looked at him, completely baffled.

“There was something about you I hated the moment I saw you. Not just because I thought you’d abandoned Ginger either,” Nix looked up at Dust. “You look just like Cassius. He was my uncle.”

“WHAT?!” Fidget cried.

“He was the only one in my family who joined General Gaius’s campaign. Everyone hated him for it, and cast him out,” Nix said. “But I remember seeing him when I was little. He was sharp and intimidating. I can honestly say I was scared of him. My father always told me not to go anywhere near him and I listened to him. Cassius never approached me, nor did I approach him. I grew to hate him.”

“I hope you’re not holding it against Dust...” Fidget said timidly.

“Dust is different from Cassius.” Nix said. “Cassius would never do some of the things
Dust has done. Acknowledging mistakes is one of them.”

Dust smiled slightly.

“Dust isn’t Cassius. He might fight like him, but he’s not my uncle.”

Ginger smiled. “He’s not my brother either.”

“Eh?” Dust looked confused. “Then...who am I?”

Fidget gave him a look, smiling. “I thought you would’ve figured it out by now, silly.”

Dust knew he shouldn’t have had to think about it the way he was. If he wasn’t Cassius or Jin, then who was he? He was the Sen-Mithrarin, but that wasn’t an identity. Who was he?
And then he finally figured it out. The smile crept across his features quickly.

“Dust.” He said. “I’m Dust.”

“And that’s who you will always be,” Ahrah said.

...

Ginger made dinner that night. For the first time in a long time, Dust allowed himself to relax. His smiles came naturally, unburdened by thoughts of what happened and what was to come. He was too busy listening to Nix’s story about the time he and his sister Lia brought home a wild squirrel that tore the house to pieces before their parents managed to usher it back out the door with a broom to remember what it felt like to die. He was too busy listening to one of Fidget’s stories about a rotten peach she tricked her Nimbat friend Fenrei into eating once to even think about going off to fight Steam. Even Ginger had a story to tell. Jin had once stolen one of her favourite shirts that she refused to get rid of, even though it had a hole in it. He’d taunted her about it for days, and when he finally returned it, it had been turned into a teddy bear she still had to this day. Dust smiled internally at this story. Somehow, he remembered doing it. Jin was such a good kid.

“Hey Dust, by now you have to have a story to tell,” Ginger said, smiling.

“Yeah Dust!” Fidget said, munching on a piece of fruit. “We both had some great adventures. Why not tell a story about that?”

“I haven’t lived the life you guys had.” Dust said, smiling weakly. “I had no life before my creation, and the only life I’ve had was fulfilling my destiny.”

“Yeah but there has to have been something that happened.”

“A lot happened. Nothing as humorous as your stories.”

Fidget’s ears curled sadly. She knew what he was talking about. She’d been there the whole time. Fuse destroying the village, Lady Tethys corrupted by evil, Baron Kane and his demonic form, even General Gaius and the final battle that killed him. None of it was particularly amusing, and Dust had no intention of reliving it by telling the story.

“You’ll find your own story, Dust.” Nix said, smiling at him. “Everyone finds one eventually.”

Dust nodded. “Yeah. I suppose.” Although he wasn’t sure if he’d ever be able to live freely like his friends to be able to find a story like the ones they told.