Fl
Falling.
Falling.
Falling.
Falling.
Falling.
Falling.
Flame felt the wind hit his back and whip around his face. The sounds of his teammates fading as he descends. Had he fallen through the ground? Flame didn’t feel the ground leave him or the panic one would feel from suddenly losing support under his body.
Just, slowly floating downwards like the air had him in its hand.
‘I’m not scared of anything.’ He thought, but his body tensed up, betraying his inner monologue. Who was he trying to impress anyway? He didn’t hear anyone else falling. Flame giggled a little.
If Rumble was falling, he would probably start crying like a little baby. It could’ve been someone else, but he swore he heard the boy whimpering as he fell.
…
Stop it…
That’s… weak…
Flame didn’t like how the boy’s fading wails put a different feeling on his heart. A different kind of squeezing, but a similar feeling. One of even greater failure than seeing others succeed instead of him. The hand seemed to grip him even tighter. Like Lady Victory herself was disappointed in him.
“Stop...” He quietly said.
He was tired. His mind was getting especially groggy as he drifted to the great beyond.
This wasn’t him.
He wasn’t supposed to go. Flame was the strongest in the cradle, all to be done in by cheap shot from some stupid rabbit. Tossed to the side like he wasn’t worth the creature's interest. He still remembered the way his head slumped as he hit the ground.
He could still feel the flames crawling down that tree.
This… Sucked. He wasn’t a wordsmith, what was the point of trying to use colorful language when you were dying. That’s what this was right? He was dying? That’s the only explanation he could think of.
Man… he was supposed to rule this place. Show all the adults how amazing he was and eventually have a crown on his head. Leading these people and shoving it in Nike’s face.
The boy king.
The Greater Imp.
But he guessed that dream was not in the cards… Hm?
He heard crackling? Below him something crackled as he slowly floated down. It was so faint as he lowered, but as he fell he got a better grasp. It was like the sound of fire but… was it leaves? Flame sucked air through his teeth.
He tried to open his eyes and look down at where he was falling. And when he attempted, he heard someone.
*Shhhh.*
A voice that was sweeter than anything he’d ever heard, shushed him in a way that hit his mind just right. The snake who tempted Eve whispered her sweet nothings into his ear and he felt his motivation and drive slowly fall away.
The shush felt like gospel, his body lulled immediately on her orders. He felt his mind slip even faster. His aggression, falling away, his arrogance, falling away, his greed, falling away,
(No,No,No…) She said as she felt him drop that last one.
Keep the greed?
(Yessss.)
Okay…
He kept it.
The shush was so slight, but also addicting. He knew it was a woman. A much older woman that floated just above him into the crackling ocean of red leaves. He wanted to open his eyes more than anything, but didn’t want to make her mad.
He didn’t want her to leave him.
Flame’s thoughts felt… alien to his brain, but every fiber of his being knew this was what he wanted.
To serve.
His mind dug at an itch it couldn’t satisfy. The back of his mind tried to break a barrier as deja vu flooded him.
Where had he heard this voice before? It was too familiar. Every part of him screamed at him as the answer felt so obvious, but he just couldn't place it.
(Let me hear your voice.)
“Yes, lady,” He answered back. He’d never been this… obedient before. But something about her told him that he was meant to. Designed to.
From his fingertips to his toenails her words flooded through. Each word slamming and ruminating like practiced gospel. Flame asked, “Is… Is it over?” apprehensively. This woman was most likely the one who marked him.
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It only makes sense that it was someone beautiful. She said nothing and floated down with him. He heard the flowing of her robes and felt her nail as she traced his chest.
He started to cry. For the first time since he could speak she had done it. She’d broken the wall. Flame clutched at himself as they fell closer to the sea of leaves.
The cozy eternal fireplace felt good as he approached and the fire cradled him as much as the air did. Holding him like he was never held. Unlike the parents who didn’t want him. Unlike the instructor who kept denying him.
He had never been… comforted before. That along with the sweet boatman guiding him to the beyond, he… he…
Flame was fine with his story ending if this was how it ends.
The woman sat quietly, the fires getting loud now as they were almost there. The crackles were billowing, roaring in his ears.
It stung a little. But in a good way.
In a way that felt real.
In a way that told him he was alive.
Conquest.
Fame.
Power.
What did it matter when you were gone?
What did a legacy matter when you dropped into the great oven below?
(Are you sure that’s how you feel?) She asked. Flame thought for a moment. This was him without his arrogance, without his aggression, but…
She had told him to keep his greed. Why?
He didn’t want to disobey her but… slowly, Flame opened his eyes. What revealed to him as the flames licked around his body and he floated atop the flaming sea, was something he never would’ve expected.
“M…Mother?” He gasped. The Lady was a tall demon. One large horn that curled as it traced away from her face. One broke off and matched Flame’s own disfigurement. Long flowing hair like Warrior’s, with a beautiful, symmetrical face. Bright pink skin.
Well developed body. Long tattoos tracing down her sides. A light shroud hovered mythically around her naked body that was minimalistic yet immaculate, only covering what was needed. Though, this was coming from a child who had only worn brown fur around his waist for his short life. She opened her eyes in time with his, revealing beautiful orange eyes that flickered with energy and fire.
He tried to look away, the image of her beauty too… beautiful. And when he looked down to the center of her chest he saw it. The symbol. The exact same symbol that Rumble had replicated on the ground. The exact same symbol that was plastered across his neck and face.
He was right.
She grabbed his face and slightly tilted his head upward. Motherly looking into his eyes as they inched closer and closer to the fire. But her slight smile changed as she looked at him.
(Are you sure… That’s how you feel?) She said firmly.
Flame felt passion overwhelm his body.
Unbridled Aggression.
Royal Arrogance.
Grasping Greed.
All of his traits poured back into his heart and he immediately looked around. What was he doing?! What was he thinking?!
She was pretty, but she was not worth throwing away his goals over.
The woman gave him an exaggerated look of shock as she heard his thoughts, putting her hand on her chest in a look of ‘That hurt…’
“Sorry…” he said honestly, not caring that she could read his mind. “I…I have to go back.”
The woman stared at him as they drifted into the fire, and gave him another (Are you sure?)
“Yes!” He said to her, looking dead into their eyes. “I will rule this place someday, and I'm going to turn the world upside down.” Fire leaked from his eyes similarly to her’s, her bright pink glow moving in time with his yellow.
The Goddess of flames liked this passion.
She held him tight as they fell into the flames, holding him deep in an embrace as they were released from the cradle of wind.
They made it through the layer of flames. Passing through black igneous abysses and columns of fire orbited by the remains of planets crushed by the sheer power infused in them. Huge mountains spewed oceans of lava, exploding endlessly in the distance.
Her shroud flapped as they flew toward the expanse and he saw them barreling towards the ground. Flame grabbed on tight to the woman who giggled in response.
(Then go my little follower, I’ll support you all the way.) Her voice was sweet as honey dew. She kissed Flame on the forehead. An explosion of fire exploded from his neck and jaw, and right before he crashed–
He woke up.
His chest and neck were sore. They burned at the touch and his lips felt off. He felt his lips, sore, the top of his chest, and neck. The area around that part had grown more tough.
His lips that had only been lightly licked by the flames were now completely inky black and tough. Flame’s mouth felt numb and his throat felt scratchy.
He couldn’t tell if that was from the rabbit's bad touch, or the goddess.
He heard the sound of a campfire and saw the dull eyes of Warrior looking far away. He felt her soft legs beneath him and realized that she had held him there. She felt… cold. He looked around.
A short man with mop-like hair tied in a short ponytail hung out by the fire. He was characterized by pale skin and a jutting spike shot out of his head. A pink demon sat next to him, much taller. ‘Another adult,’ Flame observed.
The pink man smiled and joked next to his spiked adult companion, and said companion looked… less than thrilled. The spiked man looked… oddly familiar.
Around them, he saw the shadow kid’s group of mixed matches sit down and eat some stew and meat that they had been given by the adults.
The pink demon wrapped a hornless imp with long sheets of paper and leaves, setting his injuries. Flame noticed a long tail that–
“Rumble!” Flame got up immediately, and Warrior jumped very slightly. Less from a lack of fear and more from the lack of energy. He heard some creature whinny, and the ground under Tail turned to sand as Flame called to him.
“Shh!” The pink adult shushed him. Flame immediately shut his mouth and sat back down. The lesser reached into his bag and grabbed various leaves and long strips of paper.
“He’s volatile, little imp, he needs quiet.” He said.
“Voli…tile?” Flame didn’t have that word in his vocab. The man’s unique accent and way of speaking made it hard to tell what he was saying as well. It wasn’t like the kids, or Rusty’s or even Nike’s.
“He’s very hurt. He used all of his magic to keep you and your friends safe,” He said, explaining. Shame started to run through Flame.
“Shoji told me. He’s very brave, you know,” He talked to Flame softly, half to calm Flame down, half for Rumble. “He battled that rabbit completely on his own, using a fantastic brand of magic. You keep loyal men like him by your side, young flame.”
He heard the spiked white monster suck his teeth in annoyance, mad about something that he wasn’t man enough to say. Flame immediately recognized that as a look of lost glory.
“Creepy man!” It suddenly came to him.
The lesser adult practically did a spit take, laughing loudly. “Creepy man?”
“He’s the weird guy who crawled out of the shadows!” Flame said surprised.
The lesser adult looked over at Shoji and laughed, “That’s your new name now, I just wanted to let you know.”
“Shut it, lesser,” Shoji said, but the medic seemed unperturbed. He waved the Oni off like, ‘Yeah, yeah, not a new insult.’
“Wait, who are you?” Flame asked the man.
The man looked… kind of cool… for a lesser. Though, the man didn’t look in any way deficient. Brown outfit, various tools, knives, weapons, and pouches attached to his person. An animal companion that Flame immediately wanted to ride on, and fairly generic horns.
The man had symbols flecking up and peeking out his outfit telling everyone that he wasn’t someone who didn’t have receipts when it came to combat.
The man had the air of a confident warrior.
Next to him, his beast had giant bags hanging off its back, and glorious hair hanging down. A long yellow mop that looked like angel hairs. The creature hung his head low, almost like it was trying to hide its long, beaked face.
The lesser was about to answer, but before he could, Nike stepped out of the woods.