𝕄 𝕖 𝕝 𝕥 𝕕 𝕠 𝕨 𝕟

      For one borne of the world, it was his duty to return unto it. In his flame-licked state, it wasn’t enough to take his eventual end lightly. No, there was something that had to be destroyed, an ancient force that threatened the very earth and all he knew and held dear; time. It ate at every surface, this invisible plague, and drowned out any hope of continuing as things were. He was never vain, but he could not let go of how great he was. The regard the Warriors held in those that believed in them, that cheered them on as they worked up from being less than dirt. Those moments, they were in the distant past. They will never happen again. The Warriors would not be needed-- yet they could do something about time itself, should they unite.

      Unite.....                  Once more, for the first time in       eons............. against a common foe.

      It was an idea too good to be true! Of course, he could go to the next land over, begin his recruiting with his companion, erase time  itself! 

      The pillars surrounding him hummed, their ancient energy stirring for the first time in a millennia-- or was it eerily silent, the natural cadence of the desert ringing in his ears. Everything, everything began melting together-- the sky, the earth, time itself wove up and over, winding in its own circle as the ancient beast sought to simply exist. Maybe it would have been a better idea, to have taken to the skies and prevented this from happening.

      Should it have been inevitable though, this would have been the outcome either way. It almost felt like the way things should go, despite the confusion he was undergoing. 

      Everything was on fire. Everything in his being was consumed by flame, licking his ribs and cascading over his spine. He was burning up, he could understand, but there was not much he could do for the smoke gently kindling at his maw, a gentle flame at the back of his throat that threatened to overtake him.

⋗         The sudden appearance was unexpected, but not unwanted. Even when addressing the other, he still had to arch his neck far enough to look down at the other.

      Why would that be so important as to take over his normal thoughts?

      Flying, feeling the wind caress his wings, he gently turned course to his own home; the heart of the desert. The Continent of Flame will always be his home, no matter how far he travels or how long he stays elsewhere. The long spans where he’d be in the company of his partner, or when he’d leave to exist in other lands; a nomadic soul at heart, yet the call to return home pulled strong. 

      With a less-than-stellar landing, he decides to walk the rest of the way. Another day’s walk and he should be at the entrance to the ruins he called home. Well, home away from Flame Town and his abode there. A home a world away from what many would call ‘home’ these days.

      Simply rest. That would do for now. Sitting at the precipice of a mountain that overlooked the great field surrounding the magnificent castle of Ophanimon’s choir, AncientGreymon found himself feeling infinitesimally small under the night sky. He drew his wings closer, to the protest of his shoulders and back. 

      The unrest in his body, though, burned. His joints went from the dull ache of the previous day to a gentle burn, not unlike being burned by his own flame. Fascinating, he found himself thinking. Could quenching his own fire become a hassle, should he not calm down further? Practically melting into his resting spot, he took a deep breath, letting it all flow out.

⋗         “You have had the privilege of being brought into this world of your own way, not to serve as a weapon” he rumbles. “The world was kind to you in that regard. I know not if a creature such as myself could even age normally, given the circumstances. Being borne of the world’s will, shaped by it, brought to fruition-- is ‘getting old’ something that can simply happen to one such as us Warriors? Or have I simply not moved my body in so long that I have turned to stone in my own absence.” His chuckle was low, pitched to the earth itself. 

⋗       “That is... an interesting question. Although, you would not be the first to ask, as surprising as that may sound.”

⋗       “A-ah?”

⋗      He doesn’t know how to react to all the contact today; much more than he’s used to. Still, that ‘goofy’, terrifying smile remains, leaning in ever so slightly to the touch of the other’s hand.