Chisa

Jarathia | Ember Valley

The valley is as empty and broken as it's been for years—three huge houses stand unharmed, the rest are destroyed, with some shattered weapons still lodged into scorched earth. Behind Chisa rest three smoldering fire wyvern corpses. Their bones give off a faint glow—the only energy that remains after their endless flames have burned out.

Chisa’s shoulder is charred, her stomach badly bruised and turning purple. She stands before one of the few homes—it’s massive, three floors of solid blackwood. Once the pride of a family. Now only silence remains.

Chisa pushes open the door. The hall welcomes her like she never left. Shoes are neatly lined up, untouched by the passage of time. Her eyes are drawn to a picture hung on the wall.

A man in a scientist's uniform, grey hair, orange eyes—the same as hers. Beside him, a woman wearing a blindfold and a flowing black dress, her smile bright. In front of them, two children: a girl in the same dress as her mother—Chisa, but younger—and Jerome in a tiny, custom-made worker’s outfit, beaming. To the side stands Nine, much younger too, eyes cold but with the slightest smile on his lips.

Another photo next to it. Chisa, again smaller, with Jerome beside her. Sunthia is there too, her brown eyes full of innocence. Nine at the edge of their group, always apart. And looming behind him—Raven.

Chisa stares at it. For a long moment, she doesn’t move. Then she slips off her shoes and kneels, clapping her hands in prayer.

When she rises, she drifts toward the living room. Glass vitrines full of mementos: books about adventurers, a tiny crystal figurine of herself… A black leather couch, inviting but empty. She goes to the kitchen, opens a shelf. Bottles clink. She takes two out, sits down on the couch, and finishes the first off in one go.

“I’m alone now,” she whispers, voice breaking. “Mom and Dad. Jerome… you joined them, right?”

The empty bottle hits the floor. She stares out the window. Memories envelop her.

The valley was busy then. Homes crowded the hills, a playground full of laughter right behind. Chisa’s parents spoke quietly with Raven.

“So you’re going to fight a World Shard?” Her father asked.

“Yes,” Raven answered, calm as ever. “And I can’t take him with me. Please… watch Nine for me this month.”

Her mother nodded. “Of course, Raven.”

On the playground, Nine stiffly stood in front of the others, only staring. Chisa and Jerome, full of energy, tried to draw him in. Sunthia shyly peeked out from behind their shoulders.

Jerome grinned. “So, how is it? Being a Creator training under the strongest?”

Chisa chimed in. “It must be amazing.”

Nine shrugged. “It’s cool. She’s my master.”

Chisa frowned. “How’d you convince your mom and dad to even let you train under her?”

“I don’t have any.” Nine said flatly.

Jerome elbowed his sister, whispering. “Chisa—that wasn’t polite.”

But Nine only raised a hand to stop them both. “Nah, it’s fine. Better you say your thoughts. To be honest I don’t remember them either. I just see Raven when I think of my mother.”

Sunthia’s small voice protested. “Nine, you don’t have to tell us—”.

Chisa’s face warmed. “…You’re kinda cool.”

Jerome nodded. “Yeah. I think so too.”

A small grin passed across Nine’s face. “Thanks. You guys are… nice.”

Jerome laughed, standing tall. “Then from now on, you’re part of our family. You’ll be one of us.”

“Having a hero in the family does sound awesome!” Chisa cheered.

“Hero?” Sunthia tilted her head.

Nine’s eyes lit up for the first time. “I’m no hero. I just… I just want to be an adventurer someday. Like Raven. Or maybe all of us, together. Imagine it—a guild of our own. Wouldn’t that be cool?”

His excitement spread like wildfire, warming their small hearts as they kept talking about it.

Reality comes back to Chisa.

She grips the second bottle. Her hand trembles.

“I hoped…” she mutters, tilting her head back. “That girl—her kick was insane. She was holding back the whole damn time. That strength was unexpected…I lost control, why? Why, why. It's my fault. EVERYTHING! ”

She stumbles to the window. In the reflection, her own face stares back—tired, broken, and furious. She bites her lip until it bleeds, frustration boiling over.

“I HAD TO kill early!” she screams. “I never wanted to be in this mess! Never! But if I hadn’t… we’d be invaded now. Devoured. I HAVE TO seduce and kill. Every outsider, every potential informant. Every threat- kill them ALL!”

Her cry echoes through the empty rooms. She drains the second bottle with one last swallow, then hurls it aside.

Outside the window, movement catches her eye. Four guards march toward her house—silver armor gleaming, blue-tinged blades glowing faintly.

Her eyes narrow. “So. Cleaning up the loose ends by sending guards after me, huh? Mayor Rizario, that’s going to cost you some pawns.”

She grabs her axe, storming outside. Pain burns through her body, but her mind is sharp, more ruthless than ever.

“This is my house.” She says flatly. “Leave.”

One of the guards steps forward. “Chisa Carusu, by order of the Mayor, we’re here to detain you for your crimes.”

“Punish?” Her laugh bursts out of her, wild and broken. Purple lightning crackles across her veins, surging through her weapon. “So he fears me. But thinks YOU will be enough?”

The guards tighten their grips. Their blades flare brighter, arcs of blue light racing over steel. They rush her as one.

The first sword slams against her axe. Metal shrieks as sparks fly. Flames lick along her axe, but the weapon holds—her electric surges streak over it like angry snakes. She grins, pressing harder.

The guard falters, surprised. In that instant, she pivots. With monstrous force, she moves the axe closer to the second guard, dragging along the first guard’s blade, until she moves her axe and the sword falls—slicing straight into his ally, before he even realizes what’s happened.

Steel breaks. Blood sprays. The axe comes down again.

With a harsh pull, Chisa tears her axe free, the momentum enough to decapitate the third guard right after.

The last man freezes. His sword trembles, eyes wide as the bodies of his comrades fall lifelessly around him.

Chisa stalks forward, each step deliberate, her smile twisted with madness. “Comfortable, aren’t you? You don’t even know the threat of death anymore. That’s because we do the dirty work. We bleed, while your precious mayor gets fat and rich off it.”

Her laughter is low, electric sparks racing over her figure. “But if he gets his way, if the mines are run even harder and deeper—then the fire wyverns will be the least of your problems. Something more devastating will arise! Even now, the volcano is at its limit.”

The lone guard drops his weapon. His knees hit the dirt. His fear stinks up the air.

Chisa crouches down, her face inches from his, eyes burning orange-red.

“You crumble so easily.” She whispers.

Chisa’s laughter echoes hollow through.

Flames slowly form around them.

“You know how those wyverns come to be?” She spits out, glaring at the trembling guard. “It’s because everything comes at a damn price. That’s why we’re infested. A hundred Rupees for a stone that makes us sick- Mana bursting out into nature. I DON’T KNOW HOW DUMB EVERY ONE OF YOU IDIOTS MUST BE!”

Her voice rises higher, cracking.
“DID HE PAY YOU ENOUGH?!”

The guard flinches under her yells. Chisa laughs again, broken and furious.

“If he leads the mines,” her voice sharpens, “I can promise you—Jarathia will burn. This island will be hell. The clean water resources will perish. The reason I’m telling you all this right now, well… I think you'll see in just a second.”

The air thickens. Thicker flames erupt across Ember Valley, licking along the scorched streets. The ground trembles as mana veins stir up beneath the surface. The fire twists, reshaping—until wings spread from molten smoke. Wyverns, born of flame, rise into the sky.

Chisa doesn’t look back. She walks forward, axe dragged along beside her, sparks lighting up the dirt.

“Help… hot… help…” A voice cries behind her.

She doesn’t answer. “Everything’s messed up. I’m messed up. I feel nothing.”

Her eyes lift to the sky. The bright flames remind her of that day.

The Ember Valley. Corpses scattered across the ground. She was a child, knees weak, blood staining her hands. Jerome stood in front of her, face pale, sword clutched tight.

“We’re killers, Chisa.” Jerome muttered. “We can’t go back.”

“Why now?” She whispered. “Why, after Raven’s death?”

A roar split the air. A phoenix-like wyvern, vast and blazing, descended upon them. Jerome lifted his arms, blade trembling as he lengthened it into a greatsword.

“Enigma—Silver!”

He struck, but the creature’s flames absorbed the attack. It surged toward them.

Then crystals erupted across the ground. A barrier of jagged blue, bursting upward and caging the phoenix mid-flight. Its wings slammed against the walls of crystal, squealing from the contact, sparks building. A black silhouette made a crushing motion with his fist and the cage collapsed inward. A crack, loud as thunder. The beast shattered into fragments—leaving only a glowing shard of crystal behind.

Nine stood before them.

“Why did you kill them?” Nine’s voice was quiet, dangerous. “Was there no other way?”

Jerome trembled. “They—”

“I know.” Nine cut him off. His gaze slid to Chisa, sobbing on the ground.

“I didn’t want this.” she cried. “But they killed Mom and Dad because—”

“I know.” Nine said again, softer this time. He bent down, gathering her trembling form into his arms.

Chisa clung to him, sobbing into his chest. “I’m dirty, Nine. I can’t ever go back.”

Nine stroked her hair, steady. “I have to leave soon.”

“Then why come back at all?” Jerome asked hoarsely.

“Because…” Nine looked at them both, his young face unshaken, a light in his cobalt eyes. “I wanted to protect my family.”

His words silenced them.

“Please,” he said, “join my guild. If we train, if we get stronger, we can free this island. We can stand against them.”

Jerome shook his head. “I can’t. If I leave, all our independence will leave with me.”

“Jerome—please! Together we could—”

Chisa loosened her grip, though her tears didn’t stop falling. “I’ll stay with Jerome. But Nine… you have to come back. Once you reach your goal, you come back to us. And then you’ll be our Guardian like Raven!”

Nine clenched his fists. “I will. I’ll get stronger. But never forget—you three are all I have left. Everyone else has died now. You two… you’re my family. I will come back with a strong guild and after this is all over, you’ll join me!”

For a moment, even in the midst of blood and fire, his soul shone pure.

“Always!” Jerome whispered.
“I promise!” Chisa echoed.

The memory fades back out.

“Arghhh!” Her scream tears out of her throat. She yanks her hair, sinking to her knees, shaking. “I never really grew up. I still feel like that child. I can’t find a solution. What if I should have chosen differently? What if—and Jerome—what if—we joined you!”

Her cries shatter the silence.

“Arghhh!”

She sinks to the ground, screaming on and on, but only the crackle of flames answers her.