I couldn't run away fast enough. I head-crawled away harder. Nope. No way could a flame of power be good for me. The race was intense. I gained inches per minute. I couldn't see the hungry spark but knew it was out there. The absence of water mana should've been the first giveaway. I looked through squinted eyes, trying to gauge the distance between us. I still couldn't see the ember.

Yes, come to me. We belong together. Our passion and fury will devour stars. Your soul and mine belong.

My head dropped. I was crawling toward the mana spark. My face paled in terror. I rolled my eyes back, trying to see over my head. Sweat accumulated on my brow and palm. I thought I burned through all of my liquids.

My love, wait for me. I will come to you.

My instincts bolted, urging me to flee as far as I could. I was a fish with no fins; worse than that, the earth didn't let me sink away into obscurity. I was a damned, legless crab with one claw. I tried to force a swallow to temper my dry mouth and stirred up another coughing fit. When I no longer winced from pain, I got a good look at the fiery spark.

Sparky, formerly known as the heart of the wildfire, was a blue flame that hovered inches above the ground. It had no human features or anything that signified it could talk or think. It was just a blue floating thick flame—almost like an inverted drop of water. In fact, it gave the impression that if I reached out and touched it, I'd feel corporeal resistance. I wasn't going to test that theory. My head reached back, trying to create distance. Proximity proved to increase my aversion.

You waited for me! My heart is brimming. The flame flickered. It moved inches away, the sweat on my brow evaporated, and the paste below my eyes dried and cracked. Open up. I'd never closed my mouth so hard. My teeth nearly cracked from my clenched jaw. For good measure, I closed my eyes.

Sparky rested against my brow. My heart pounded, begging me to leave, sending all the wrong impressions to the love-deficient flame.

My well of mana had dried up. I no longer had the power to end this loop, and somehow, my life anchor remained alive. A new panic burned in my head. What if Sparky finds my old body. The thought simmers before it can grow. Surely, it can't be worse than this.

The heat pressing against my forehead relented.

I wanted to open my eyes but was too afraid of Sparks touching them. Heat was no longer present. I should be relieved. However, Sparky's absence terrified me. I gambled, opening one eye and using all my expert years as a ranger, guide, and map maker to survey the ground.

Sparks hovered ten feet away; its blue flame reached upward as if it were reaching toward something.

A meteor of fire shot down from the sky. I heard the whistling before I sensed an overwhelming source of heat. It wasn't as overwhelming as the forest fire, but it was still potent and dangerous. The blazing aura around the meteor grew in size as it got nearer.

The fireball crashed into the ground twenty feet away from Sparky. Dirt, ash, and debris exploded outward. As smoldering heat and debris washed over me, I clenched my eyes for protection. A log stabbed me in the side. I couldn't open my mouth to complain because dirt and ash pelted my face.

When the dust settled, I cracked my eyes open. A pair of olive hands cupped Sparky. I couldn't see the face behind the thick white hair, but I could see long, sharp ears sticking out. Warmth radiated from the crouched elf. The well of power I felt in the cultivator's aura starkly contrasted with the small figure possessing it.

Whether the fire cultivator noticed me or not, they showed no signs of caring, and for that, I was grateful. I knew I was leagues away from their level. Mustering the courage of a possum, I kept my body on the ground, my breathing low, and avoided directly staring at the powerful cultivator.

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A secret conversation was happening between the cultivator and Sparky. I heard faint murmurings and laughter, with the occasional word carrying further than the elf intended. "Power... Please join."

"Partners?

"Raise... Glory."

To be honest, I was afraid I heard too much.

The elf held Sparky in one hand as she stood. She brushed her hair away from her face and smiled, flashing her perfect white teeth. She brought Sparky to her chest with one hand, holding the ember tightly to her bosom. With her other hand, she smoothed out her loose-fitting robe. The elf's large almond eyes, nestled under white, bushy brows, looked up for the first time since arriving.

I felt the weight of her gaze before averting my eyes. The once comfortable warmth projecting from her aura turned infernal.

"Booo." I was at a loss for words, mainly because my throat ached, and it hurt to speak due to a log in my lower diaphragm—and, well... I was intimidated. Booing was the worst thing I could've done, but at this point, I was done with fire.

"You dare tarnish my air with your foul tongue? Your presence is a stain that I will not permit to exist. Fear not, lowly grass, I will purify you with my radiance.

"Booo."

Purity, named, not so much after a life commitment but more so after her purifying threat, stepped closer. The step that was more of a stomp caused the top of her robe to dislodge, revealing a silver tattoo of a jester's crown. "Insolent cur!" Her eyes sharpened, and the ground beneath me ignited. Purity smiled wide. She took a deep breath, releasing it in an exaggerated sigh, and nuzzled Sparky.

Sparky nuzzled her back. Betrayal burned bright.

I gagged on my putrid scent and counted down the agonizing seconds til reset. This was a terrible loop.

Earth rumbled and groaned. The ground quaked as rumbles grew to a grinding roar. Purity stumbled, almost tripping. Heat burst from her palm, stabilizing her. A pit opened under her, rocks forming teeth to the wide mouth. The mouth snapped upwards like a beast. Purity took to the sky to dodge; her foot was inches from getting caught in the bite.

Fiery eyes scanned the terrain. I watched Purity trying to catch a clue of what was happening. Fortunately, my personal hell was banished when my body got buried beneath the earth. Unfortunately, I was neck-deep in dirt and had no choice but to watch Purity rain down fire.

My head bobbed and weaved, dancing around the meteors of fire. In all my life I couldn't recall feeling as powerless as I did in this moment. Dying on a stake several times was a close second.

However, it could be argued that staking was an extraordinary circumstance. It's not often that the world is invaded by octopi, and a reckless emperor decides that all present must die. Sure, the two cultivators fighting were powerful. Still, I couldn't help feeling responsible for the exact position I was in, and it all started because I had a damn ax for a hand.

Meteors slammed into golems of black dirt and rock. The thick monster received the burning attacks in stride and hurled boulders they formed from the earth at the flying fire cultivator. Stone lances aiming for Purity's back melted in her aura. She flew high, dodging the barreling stones. As she swooped, a wave of fire washed into the five earth monsters, pushing four of them back and knocking down the fifth.

Before the fifth could upright itself, a massive meteor crashed into the stone body. The explosion blasted the earth-walker into energy and debris.

Ao's bloody pits. A rock jammed into my eye. All the heavens be damned. In my mind, my distant, crumbled left hand was shaking in dissatisfaction.

Purity swooped for another fire tide attack. Another mouth hole snapped at her, causing her to bank to her left. A stone hand anticipated her dodge and slapped her from the air.

The elf crashed into the ground, fire radiating from her skin, leaving flames behind as her body rolled for several yards. Golems raced to the downed elf. Earth piled on the elf, only to melt away. Another hole opened. Smoke filled the pit, slowing the mouth from shutting. Fire, air, and smoke compacted as the hole closed. Purity was nearly swallowed. At the last moment, the hole exploded, and she flew away.

"Booo," I called after the fleeing elf, knowing full well those would be my last words now that she was gone.

All things considered, everything had turned to shit, and being crushed by earth was just as bad as death by fire. Selene's sweet abyss. The end was near.