Kar spun around, looking for the source of the voice he'd heard.
There was no one. "Who's there?" He called out, breathing erratically. He had to be going crazy, breaking down from the stress of everything he'd gone through. The pace of his breathing escalated and he leaned against the wall.
"How are you here?" The voice said.
"I—I don't want to be."
"You should not be." It insisted.
"I know that!" Kar cried, "But I can't go back outside, there's something out there."
Silence. And then, "There are dark ones outside that I can't sense. They want to come in. They want to hurt me. Are you here to hurt me?"
Kar took a steadying breath and answered truthfully, "I am scared, and alone, and I just want to go home."
There was silence, and then the voice said softly, "I am alone too." After another moment it continued, "Do you know what I am? I am not sure, but I would like to know."
Kar didn't know how to respond to that. Who was he talking to? "Where are you?" He finally asked.
"Follow the lights." The voice said.
Along the walls, the inset lines of encryst lit up ahead of Kar and pulsed in a steady rhythm. As he walked forward the lights moved ahead, guiding him through the ship.
He was led through section after section of the vessel until he finally came to an open room with various benches amidst sleek, coffin shaped containers. One of those containers glowed dimly. Kar went up to it and saw that the top panel was transparent. He peered inside. A woman lay there, her dark hair tangled and eyes closed. Bruises marred her face and she appeared to have suffered a grotesque wound to her abdomen. He staggered away, feeling sick. She had to be dead. But how long had the body been down here? There was no one else in the room however… there was something else there. An object. An almost orb, with so many perfectly and subtly oriented facets that it appeared spherical. "What is this?" Kar whispered. He sensed an immense power radiating from it in calm, even pulses.
"That is me." The voice from before whispered in Kar's mind.
He stood transfixed, hypnotized by the elegant swirling pattern of lights radiating from within its depths.
It was beautiful.
Kar felt an aura of calm and peace settle over him, and released a deep sigh as he let go the tension he didn't realize he had held so tightly throughout his body. Unconsciously he stepped forward, reaching out and laying a hand atop the object.
An icy, wave-like sensation washed over Kar, leaving him breathless. His eyes widened and each of his senses intensified as power flooded through him.
"I think- she is my friend."
The sudden statement jarred Kar from his trance, and he lifted his hand away, "Who? The dead woman?"
"She is not dead."
"She looks pretty dead to me."
"She is, and she is not. She is outside of time."
What did that mean?
"I think I felt you. Did I bring you here?"
Kar rocked back on his heels, not grasping what it was saying. He felt more and more out of place the longer this experience dragged on.
"Listen, I don't know the answers to your questions, I have no idea what you are. Do you not remember anything?"
"I know I am old. But I feel young. I have only recently awakened I think,"
Kar paced the room. Whatever this thing was, it was speaking riddles as far as he was concerned. He couldn't stay here on the ship, he knew that. But he was afraid to leave. What was Set? And what would he try to do to Kar when he left? There had to be things he could use here, supplies maybe?
"What is this ship for?" Kar asked, interrupting the voice.
"I do not remember." It answered.
Very helpful.
"Are there any supplies on board? Weapons?" Maybe he could find something to protect himself from the old man.
"There are. Most of the food has spoiled, but I can show you to the armory."
Kar raised his eyebrows at that, "Lead the way; actually wait," He looked down at his tattered shirt, "Where can I find some new clothes?"
----
Some time later Kar stood in front of a mirror, admiring the white outfit he now wore. He had no idea what kind of cloth it was made of, but it was luxuriously soft and pliable. He hoped it wouldn't tear up as easily as he feared, but it was better by far than the rags he'd had. He'd searched through many of the ship's crew quarters—all of them empty—for items he could utilize. He stepped away from the mirror and over to the bed where his new gear was laid out.
"Do you have a name, by chance?" He spoke aloud while he started packing things away into a shoulder pack he'd found. It was odd talking to the voice the way he had been, like talking out loud to yourself. He felt crazy. Maybe he was.
"I do not have a name. Do you?
"Yeah, it's Kar." he said while stowing a few extra sets of clothing.
"How did you get your name?" It asked.
"My parents gave it to me I suppose."
"I do not know if I have parents."
"You could always choose your own name." Kar replied, "Hey, by the way, how are you able to talk to me?"
The thing paused, then said, "I am not sure. I have tried to speak to the people of the city before but they do not listen to me. It has been very lonely."
"Huh."
"Will you talk to me, after you have left?" It asked with a hopeful, almost desperate tone.
"If it's possible, sure, why not. You're gonna need to pick a name for me to call you though." He bent over to remove his old boots and tried on a new pair of shoes that shrugged onto his feet like a second skin. Those were comfy.
"I do not think I would pick a good name. Will you choose one for me?"
Kar hesitated, mulling it over. What did you name the voice inside your head? "Let me think on it," He said, slinging his pack over his shoulder then stepping into the hallway, "Where's that armory you were telling me about?"
The lights blinked on, leading him along.
The armory was a circular room with many stalls crowded together along the walls; most of them conspicuously empty. He did find one cubby though that held a stack of crystal rings inside.
He wondered what these did?
Kar threw several in the bag then kept searching. In the corner he found and picked up what looked to be a crystal staff, ornate patterns running along its length. It might be useful.
He swung it around a few times, jabbing the air with it. On a whim he imagined he was a Pyro like Kiya and pictured a stream of flame jetting from the butt of it toward his enemies. He yelped and dropped the staff when an actual jet of flame erupted from its tip. It seared across the room and burned a black trail from the ceiling on down across the face of several stalls.
He stared in bewilderment. Had he done that? With a stupid grin on his face he picked the staff up and tried again. He pictured a tamer flare this time, and a much smaller fount of fire burst from whatever this weapon was.
He set the staff aside and tried to create a Focusing without it. Nothing happened. What was the deal with that? His last conversation with Morrow played back through his mind. He'd been very adamant that Adepts could only create one type of Focusing. So why had Kar just been able to make fire? Was he actually a pyro? But no, even if he'd done poorly, he knew he'd been able to Imbue those objects back at the workshop. And he'd been able to heal himself in the basement. If he could make multiple types of Focusings with this crystal staff thing, did that mean he use it to blast stuff like Aldwin did? He would have to test it out later. For now there was something else he needed to know.
"Would you be able to tell me how I could get from this cavern back to the surface of the city?"
"I could guide you. There is a tunnel not far from here that leads out to the rift."
Was that by chance the tunnel Kar had come from? It seemed likely.
He took a deep breath and prepared himself mentally to leave the ship. He was probably as ready as he could be to face what awaited him out there.
"Did you think of a name for me?"
Kar looked at the staff thing. Then over to the stall where small embers still smoldered from his impromptu fire attack.
Yeah… he liked that, "How about Ember?"
"Em-ber." It tested out the sound of it, "I think that is a good name. Thank you."
"Nice meeting you, Ember. Let's talk soon, ok?" Kar headed back to the main hallway, intending to return to the exit.
"Please, I don't want to be alone anymore." Ember pleaded.
Kar winced, feeling sorry for it, but what could he do? Unless… he was supposed to be out here in the Ruins scavenging things, right? So what if he did a little scavenging.
He returned to the coffin room and stood transfixed in front of the table where Ember rested.
"What are you doing?" Ember asked.
"You want to come with me?"
Ember was silent for a long while, then it whispered in Kar's head, "Yes."