Ashes to Power, Power to Power: Chapter 1.1

I was so close to calling it a night.

My apartment felt empty and not in the lonely sense as I rejoice in the times where I am left on my own.

No, it was more of like the kind of emptiness you feel when your entire life is just slipping through your fingers and there's nothing you can do about it.

You see, I just got off a call from my boss and while those were usually just about giving me more work or telling me about a bonus, it was nothing but bad news as all I got was a simple message.

We have to let you go.

Mind you, it wasn't even the fact that I lost my job of never-ending work that I felt this empty.

It was this feeling of stagnation and unease, a feeling I had found myself in years ago before I got the job and it felt as if I was spinning the wheel of fate, but fate itself did not want to even look at me.

The apartment itself was cold and small, the walls a dim gray that matched my mood after the hours of scanning through job listings.

Hell, my eyes burned from staring at the screen for too long and I was about to turn off the PC when something stopped me.

It wasn't the usual pop-up ad that never goes away or the usual link to foreign and dangerous sites that stopped me.

Well, it was a link, but it was one that was blunt and clear.

Click here to purchase a second life. Free of charge!

"...Yeah, that's bullshit." I muttered as I clicked off, turning off the game before leaning back against my chair while palming my face.

'This place is getting too cramped for me. A walk. Yeah, a walk sounds nice.' Walks always calmed me down whenever I was younger as I liked the feeling of the air brushing my body and the textures of different pathways on the bottom of my feet.

However, it was as I reached for my jacket and picked up my wallet that my phone vibrated, making me blink in confusion as I lifted it up and turned the screen towards me.

Mom: Are you okay, sweetie? You missed my call.

Mom always liked to worry about me, but as I kept staring at the message, I let out a soft sigh before shaking my head and typing a quick message back.

I'm okay, Mom.

'I don't want to deal with her nagging right n-Urgh!' A groan escaped my lips as I watched her picture coming up, taking a deep breath and pondering on whether or not to answer before I gave a mental curse when my phone automatically took the call.

'Right, forgot she was on the Always-Answer list.'

"Hi, sweetie. Where are you?" My mom's voice sounded concerned and a bit upset and I remembered that she did not like it when I ignored her calls, especially since she was adamant against me moving out in the first place.

"At home, Mom. I'm just...finishing up on some work."

"What was that pause? You sound like you're hiding something."

"I'm not hiding anything, Mom. Now would you stop trying to f-!" I felt it before I heard and saw it.

A wave of immense heat enveloped the apartment, the windows that led to the shopping district my apartment was in lighting up with an orange hue before I gagged as a shockwave tore through my walls and sent me flying through the air.

My vision turned a blinding white as I banged the back of my head against the wall and I let out a gasping groan as I fell to the floor, landing awkwardly on my side and gritting my teeth as I felt a stabbing pain in my side.

"Kevin! Kevin! Are you there?!" I heard Mom shouting, but I ignored her as I slowly pushed myself up, staring at the windows only to stare in shock at the gaping hole in my apartment wall while flames raged throughout the apartment.

Everywhere I looked, I saw nothing but bright orange and a shimmering red, the heat of my flames enough to make it hard to breathe even with the distance between us and I wanted to jump only before I stumbled back when the floor above me collapsed downwards.

Falling through the doorway and into the hallway, I forced myself to my feet as I heard the walls cracking, continuing to push on to the backdoor every apartment had that led to the outside.

Unfortunately, my luck was just as bad as always when I watched flames bursting through the door, another explosion rocking the apartment before my eyes widened as I looked up right as a large piece of rubble slowly fell towards me.