Many years ago there was a cruel king, he was at war with the rest of the nation who had not yet given their allegiance to him. Sadly for them the king had a strong army and that army was slowly taking over the land with the villages barely putting up a fight. Years into the war there was left only a small city, this city was nameless and only had a small number of people able to fight. Hope was running low and when it was all lost a man created a way to fight back. He found a way to tap into his soul and use its power to conjure up a devastating force. After mastering it he called it the soul art. He taught this art to all of the citizens and they fought a battle where the odds were stacked against them. Surprisingly with this new power, they won. The man who created the art became king, and the city was renamed Ember, as it was a beacon of their last ember of hope before becoming the raging flame it was then. Thousands of years later, Ember had lost every bit of its former glory. It was a city riddled with crime, the soul arts becoming only a forgotten legend there were only a few pure souls in Ember, and those should were in constant fear of mugging, rape, and death. In this time a boy is dropped on the side of the street by his mother and abandoned. This boy was then brought it by a man named Alron Solrus. Alron took the boy to his home where his daughter Aiya had been waiting. The boy who was brought home was named Skylo. From the time Skylo was brought in he was very quiet, never thinking of Aiya and Alron as a family, only as a means of survival. At least that's how he seemed. When Skylo was 6 and learned to read Alron took him to a small library, he told Skylo "you can read any book from here, just not that red one in the corner of the shelf" Skylo nodded and became an avid reader, reading of fairy tails to ancient legends. One night after reading past his bedtime, Skylo tried to sneak into his bed, but on the way there he sees Alron with a bag stuffed with his belongings at the door, he asked where Alron was going and Alron, sounding like he was choking back tears said to him "I'll be going out for a few nights. Promise me, until you see me again, that you will keep Aiya safe, do the one thing for me Skylo" Skylo nodded as Alron left, never to return. 13 years passed and Skylo was as cold as he was when he was brought in, only smiling for Aiya, even though they were in the most dangerous place in the universe, Aiya was smiling and hopeful. She always looked for a silver lining and kept Skylo at peace. One day Aiya wanted to have a day with Skylo where they had no curfew, where they can be free to do what they wanted no matter how late it'd be. So Skylo tells her "give me 2 weeks and I'll make sure it happens." So Skylo goes into the small library where dust covered everything. He has read every book in the room, except that red on in the corner. Her pulled it out and read it. Like some books he read before it talked of legends, one of which was about the mystical soul art. He read it cover to cover and found a way to link his mind to another plane of existence. There he met Estrea, who after giving Skylo a test agreed to teach him what he can learn. They learned that Skylo was a rare breed, as he can learn the elements of the planet. And had one more untapped art that only a select few could wield let alone master. That was the art of the shadow. Estrea was the only one who can teach him that as she also had that art in her soul. After 13 days of training she said that he should be ready, but she also told him "Don't on any circumstance try to use the shadow, for an unprepared soul can become corrupted, and could spell danger for everyone." Skylo agreed and after a night of rest finally had the day to spend with his dear friend Aiya. After the day had ended she got tired and they decided to head home, but Skylo went back to grab something Aiya left as she continued home. As she made it to the entrance a gang of thugs

(Cont.) corner her. Skylo comes back and is about to fight them off but two members catch him off guard and pin him to the ground. Seeing the torture they give to Aiya as they start beating her. Seeing what they were about to do next, Skylo snaps. He starts screaming as a purple aura starts emerging from him. He springs forward and gets the thugs off of Aiya, and after that he blacks out. When he comes to he sees the bodies of the thugs on the ground and blood on his hands. He panics as he had no idea what happened. He looks around and sees familiar pink hair on the floor. He sees Aiya, his only friend and only company for 18 years, with a hole in her chest emitting that same purple aura that Skylo created. He holds his dying friend in his arms and feels the world change around him. In front of him is Estrea, who scolds him for what he has done. She explains that because of what he did, his soul is corrupted. Which was shown by the black line he had in his hair. Skylo cares for none of her words as he only pleads to her how to save Aiya. Estrea hesitates as she sees the pain and hopelessness in Skylos eyes. And tells him, "what you did was tear at her soul. If you could patch it, she will live" she explained that like a simple patch job on a blanket he would need to use something to patch her soul. His first thought was his own, as his sign of repentance for what he did to her he used his knowledge to sever a part of his soul, only to have the empty space taken over by his corruption. Becoming a star like pattern in his hair. In return, some of Aiyas hair became green like Skylos. After he did that Skylo passed out and woke up the next morning in his house, where he sees Aiya, perfectly healthy but worried for Skylo. Skylo deduces that even with the power he has he can't protect her from the dangers in Ember. So he brings it upon himself to search for a peacful haven that Aiya can be happy on. So he uses the limited knowledge of his shadow power and makes a pearl like object for a sleeping Aiya, he wrote a note explaining that it'd be more dangerous for her to come with him than for her to stay in ember, and that the pearl he gave her is used for making shadow portals, it can take her back to the hidden library in their home if she is ever in a rough spot. As he's about to leave he sees Estrea one more time. She says that she can't teach him anything more than what he knows as he betrayed the trust of the elders of soul arts, and that all she can do is give him a weapon. She gave him eclipse, a katana with a purple gem inside the pommel to keep his corruption at bay, but it won't hold it forever. So it's up to Skylo to hold it back or else he will be fully corrupted. So now Skylo leaves the sleeping Aiya, with the small pearl he made her, and he starts his journey to find the haven she deserves, a new chance for happiness, a New Ember

After you read the story on the browser feel free to ask me any question, i'll answer any that you have

Woa
OK
Let's see
Would a total corruption of the heart result in the black streak in his hair to continue consuming the rest of his hair?
What was your inspiration of this story?

@Dragoon- Yes the hair shows how far you are into it. Full corruption would create Shadow Skylo, but a more beastly form. The inspration was fighting anime like DragonBall and i see this as just my go at a not as appreciated Anime genre nowadays. Thanks for reading all of that lol

Well dbz being as it is many animes try to copy it resulting in a unsavory response of the public

Huh, the 'ember' motif is surprisingly really nice. Most of the time people try that it seems really forced and pretentious. So good job on that.
(Ya' nerd.)
Alrighty, so I got a question. You said that the dude from Ember became King and such. So like, did the entire empire stay together or did it all split up 'once the head was cut off?'
It seems like Ember is a bit isolated, so I'm assuming that everyone kinda just went on their own after the old king's fall?

Oh, also, are any of your other characters from Ember too? Like, did any of them know Skylo before he left? Seems like he and Gyro are at least decently well acquainted.

@H0-Thanks xD as for the question, the answer is a little yes, and no. The other cities were branched off, but they all serve the same king. So one area will be more technologically advanced than another. like they use their own resources but they trade and stuff in the center of the landmass. As for Ember over time it just got too crazy that it basically became a prison state. like the crazy criminals would be taken to Ember as punishment. So it's not isolated, but it's not inhabited with good people (mostly)

@H0-One is from Ember but they don't know eachother yet. As for Gyro, they meet early on after Skylo goes on his quest

@Souler-No, far from it actually. He really couldn't care less about himself or Ember. Ember is too far gone to be saved. His goal is to find a new land for Aiya to live in peace. As for his corruption, it's possible to control it. While he tries to hold it back, it's not his main priority because he made the promise to her likely dead dad

Why is Skylo's hair green?

@Fates-Beause it's like an anime, everyon has crazy hair