"Sir, it happened again."

A skinny man with glasses looked up at a guy with black hair and tan skin, his eyes were hidden behind the black shades he always wear.

"How long did it take this time?"

"Well actually sir this run was our longest run yet!"

The skinny man was on the brink of bursting with excitement.

"That's good to hear, now at least I know your actually worth your pay."

With a few more words said both men went on their ways to do their jobs.

"Dr. Green, should we terminate this run and start over with the data we got from it?"

Another man in a white lab coat was asking the skinny man a question.

"...No, put it to the side and keep it in the background."

• • • • •

Why did it feel lonely, it should he happy about the death of the flame...right?

It focused its attention of the spot where the flame had been. Where the once golden flames of the flame burned now floated its core. The core sparkled with a golden color and inside a golden flame twist and turned.

As the darkness watched the core of the golden flame crumbled, floating in the darkness forming a pile of ash. And as the ash slowly drifted the last spark of the golden flame rested inside the pile of ash.

There was nothing it could do, so it just returned to its darkness and tried to forget, to be happy that it was gone. While it went on its way the wish of the golden flame entered the pile of ash.

• • • • •

Year after year the pile of ash floated in the darkness. The spark of the golden flame had long since burned out and now the pile of ash with the wisp of the golden flame was all that was left of the once great flame. It could no longer burn with the color of gold.

As time went by the ash slowly started to take shape, transforming into the shade of a man. Along his skin was burn marks that would glow a subtle red here and there. It had no features really just the general shape of a man.

More and more time went on, the darkness slept to pass time while the ash slowly built its body. When it finished its body has the color of ash but some line going along his skin that would glow a dark red now and then. His eyes were just eye sockets and his hair was just thin strands of ash.

When his body was finished to took its first step. With each step it took ash would be left behind before rejoining his body. His shape was barely kept together but has he continued to wander he started to gain greater control.

Unitl finally his body kept to its shape. With joy the lines along his skin glowed in bright red light that ate away at the darkness. As the darkness was absorbed by the man and slowly turned it into ash.

All around him a world of ash slowly formed, figures like him but less defined, less detailed...weak, slowly formed around him.

With each passing moment he grew in strength, he felt a connection to each of his creations that fed him strength. With the subtle glow of the burn lines along the skin of each ash walker an army was born.

As the King of Ash stared at his army he grinned a vicious grin.