“Varyn…” a soft voice called out from the darkness, its tone loving and affectionate. Varyn tried to reach for it but found his arms bound to his sides. The voice rang out again, echoing around the black expanse of his mind. The voice kept calling out, slowly getting more and more desperate and fearful, until finally, just a scream tore out, piercing through Varyn’s skull.

He jolted awake, sweat pouring down his brow and his arms shaking. His form was skin and bone, and the bed he was in barely moved as he shifted in it. The room was dark, and a hole in the ceiling had rainwater pouring through it. Varyn pulled himself to his feet and staggered over to the water, letting it run down his back and through his long and unkempt white hair that dragged along the ground.

His neck cracked as he craned it upwards, letting the soothing feeling of the water splashing onto his face and through his equally unkempt beard take him. The crumbling building around him cracked and groaned dangerously as it suffered even more structural damage, termites adding to the new water damage. The building could completely collapse at any moment, but Varyn didn’t care. He welcomed the thought, even.

Varyn ignored the harsh laugh that broke out from the corner of the room, instead choosing to direct his attention to the pile of clothes in the corner, all of which had been sufficiently feasted on by moths. Again, Varyn didn’t care. “So, this is what the prodigy child of Arcane Flame has become,” the voice called from the corner, its voice hoarse and gravelly. It was starved and weak, and it only talked when there was something important at hand.

“What do you want, Ignis,” Varyn spat at his other half, holding back the flame sparking at his fingertips. It wouldn’t do anything to the creature, Varyn knew that for certain. Ignis’ mouth twisted into a smile that glowed orange with flame in his core. “Oh, come now, little Varyn. Don’t tell me I have to spell it out for you,” Ignis taunted, pulling himself to his feet in slow and shaky movements.

Varyn’s hands tightened into fists as he glared at the gangly figure marching towards him. Ignis’ teeth were long and pointed, his eyes hollow but glowing like spotlights searching for any ounce of emotion on Varyn’s face, delighted when he found anger. His arms were far too long, dragging along the ground, his claws digging into the hardwood floor. Despite his severely hunched back, he stood taller than Varyn. His lanky body only added to the abject horror he projected from his body, his skin tight around his bones, distinctly displaying his ribcage and spinal cord with no flesh or muscle to hide them. His body was seemingly made of obsidian, but it was incomparably strong judging by Varyn’s failed attempts at killing him with anything at his disposal.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“Don’t say another word, Ignis,” Varyn warned, his body shaking as his rage came to a peak. “Or what? You’ll spend another hundred years trying to kill me? Face it Varyn, I know you can feel it, too,” Ignis laughed, his eyes scanning every inch of Varyn’s face with unrestrained glee.

“Shut. Up. Ignis,” Vary spat, meeting Ignis’ gaze, the blazing inferno coiled in their eyes colliding. Ignis’ thin lips curled up even more, and the skin at the corners of his mouth threatened to tear from his growing grin. “Don’t tell me you’re just going to ignore it. He’s the reason that night happened! I know you didn’t enjoy it but that was the most fun I’ve had in centuries. Or should I say that we’ve had? I don’t care how hard you suppress it, I’m still you, and you’re still me,” Ignis goaded.

Varyn shook even more as Ignis continued, his breathing turning into panting as memories of that night rushed back into his head. “I know you can feel it, too. The way those shadows coil and contort. They’re watching you. They’re watching us. And I think you know what that means. Your dear old failure of a brother is back,” Ignis continued, leaning in so he and Varyn’s faces were hardly inches apart.

Then Ignis spoke once more, and the single name he let slip from his forked tongue made the ground beneath Varyn’s feet spark. “Villis.” The spark at Varyn’s feet exploded into a circle of flame that began swirling around Varyn like a whirlwind before shooting upwards, blowing the crumbling roof apart. The fire consumed everything around Varyn, and his mind flashed back to that night. The night when Ignis was formed. The night when his Arcane Embodiment was birthed. The night everything went to hell.

The fire continued swirling around Varyn, but he could still see Ignis’ face. Varyn’s wrinkled and loose skin became smoother as his flesh tightened around growing muscle. He had choked off his powers for so long that it had aged him long before he was supposed to. The sudden influx of Ignis’ influence, his soul’s influence, reversed a portion of the withering the centuries he had spent sitting still in an abandoned building had done to him.

Ignis reached a skinny hand up and grabbed Varyn’s chin, his claws digging into Varyn’s skin. “Oh how I missed this feeling,” he cooed mockingly. Varyn smacked his hand away as the fire grew around them. He wrapped a hand around Ignis’ throat, glaring at the Arcane Embodiment as Ignis’ limbs returned to form and his shape began to mimic Varyn’s.

“After I kill him, rest assured I’m finding a way to kill us next,” Varyn threatened, tightening his grip with fire flaring in his eyes. Ignis barked out a suffocated laugh and wrapped his fingers around Varyn’s wrist, his smile staying as bright as ever. “There’s the Varyn I knew! And trust me, if we get to have some fun, I’ll be more than content with whatever you have in mind.”

🜏