A Quenched Flame [Gabranth]

[Axel]

Trickling Embers

It had grown dark, but Axel hadn't noticed. It had started to rain heavily, but even then, the drops hadn't fazed him. All he could do was sit, sit and stare at the fallen city in front of him. This particular site was something that he couldn't pull his eyes away. It was only a good 50 metres away, however it felt like he was right next to it. Darkness, so dark that the night sky was pale in comparison. It leaked out towards Axel, crawling through the rubble of old buildings. Slithering between empty cans of food and sweet wrappers. To him, it was home, it gave off the same feeling that his own home once felt like, not that he felt truly attached to it at all. But even without a heart, the memory of sentimentality seemed to keep cropping up whenever he spied one of them. They weren't hard to miss, pockets of nothingness, 'voids' breaking up neighbourhoods and frightening citizens. No one was allowed to go near them, no one knew if anyone caught in them was still alive. What was his opinion on it? That these 'voids' were part of the World of Darkness, and that all of those trapped within were at that sandy shore.

He leaned his head back, breathing in deeply as that memory surfaced in his mind. The sudden realisation of being alive, and the girl, the blue haired girl that he met down there. She never said her name but...Axel hasn't ever been able to stop thinking about her ever since. She wore armour, something he couldn't tell who would own it, but those eyes, pure and blue...kind of made him feel like he had a heart.

"Like Sora's....or Roxas's"

A passerby suddenly stopped and looked at Axel, confused on whether he was talking to him. Axel was sprawled across a bench, his arms resting upon the top, legs wide open, head dangling back as he breathed deeply. The rain was pelting his body, soaking his shorts, creating beads upon his naked torso. Axel noticed the sudden presence of someone, but didn't even bother lifting his head to look at them. Instead he just sluggishly waved his hand away from him muttering:

"Move along...nothing to see"

The passerby slowly walked away, muttering to themselves as to how rude Axel was. He didn't really care about it, rather all he felt like 'caring' about were his precious memories. And hell the caring part was also just a blasted memory. With an irritated look on his face Axel got up off the bench and began walking towards the void. He knew what it was, it had to be part of the World of Darkness. Screw the laws lain down by Calamity, screw the police force of the shitty city of Midgar. He was going home and that was final.

As he got closer to the void, the sound of footsteps behind caught his attention. He stopped but didn't bother to turn around to look at the person behind him. No doubt a policeman or that passerby from before coming to tell him off for going near the void. He didn't turn his head, just moved it slightly to the side, acknowledging the persons presence. His voice was tired, his body was cold, and his mind was...empty.

"Look...I appreciate the thought but...you’re not stopping me...that's my home over there"

A wry smile grew upon his face as he heard the last thing he said. And for once since he had reached Midgar, Axel finally felt that he could conjure up the memory of happiness.