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Ash in his veins

Glass from the sky

He lay where no fire had burned

Eyes like oceans

Mirrored in stone

A shadow they could not discern

They brought him offerings of bone and bloom

He answered with silence and flame

A god amongst men

Reluctant to rule

From a world he could barely recall

The unknowing innocents

Being led by a fool

Evolving, securing their fall

Brought by a flame

Fingers trace lines

On the curve of a mirror

Their faces reflecting like ghosts

He watched them learn

What wonder could wound

Each spark a whisper too close

They knelt before him, a prayer in sign

He left them to ponder the flame

Questioning minds

Only answers to find

Spiralling endlessly

Steady decline

Clambering, lumbering

For a glimpse of the flame

His slow recognition

The start of the end

Not a god

Not a saviour

Just the echo

Of something worse

A traveller

Caught between moments

A match struck in reverse

They sketch his face

In soil and ash

Etched his sorrow

Into stone

He gave them dreams

They could not fulfil

And left them to evolve alone

Not a god

Not a saviour

Just an echo of the past