Lysandra, Raine and Nikolay pushed their way through the gathered crowd, receiving many glares in their haste. These people weren’t moving at all — they faced the same direction, presumably some kind of spectacle. Whatever it was, it didn’t interest the three.

“God, learn to keep the way clear,” Lysandra muttered under her breath. “Let’s get out of here before we get caught in this mess.”

She elbowed a few more bystanders out of the way, tossed a glance behind her to check that Nikolay and Raine were still in tow, then continued forging through the sea of people.

“Seriously, I’m telling you guys, Marque isn’t this crowded usually- Wait a minute!”

Lysandra did a double take and looked behind her again.

“Wha- Not you guys too!” she groaned.

Only strangers were behind her, instead of what should’ve been two familiar faces. Annoyed at the setback after all her spent effort, Lysandra trudged back the way she’d came, until she found Nikolay and Raine standing at the front of the crowd.

She placed her fists on her hips petulantly and finally looked in the direction of the drama. “This commotion can’t be THAT interesting…”

It turned out maybe it was that interesting. Well, ‘uncanny’ would be a better descriptor.

A lone person looked to be half asleep, staggering on the spot like a drunk patron from the bar nearby. Despite the dense crowd, nobody dared step within a few metres of this person.

To any sorcerer, something wrong immediately stood out — the colour of their aura wasn’t… normal. A magic aura was always vibrant, regardless of whether it was a darker shade or a lighter pastel colour. This ‘brightness’ was the illumination of the sorcerer’s spirit, like lighting a candle wick to produce a flame. Like a flame, only the intensity and colour of the magic changes. A flame can’t be half-lit, nor can somebody’s magic be half-ignited.

Yet, this person’s aura looked heavy. Dull. As if a flame was dampened by darkness, and enveloped in silence. The closest colour would be something akin to the murky brown produced by mixing multiple different shades together.

Nikolay narrowed his eyes. Not only did the aura seem suspicious, a familiar mark sent loud alarm bells ringing in his head. Etched into their forehead was a glowing symbol — one that was reminiscent of the symbol on Nikolay’s own forearm.

“They have a divine contract marking,” Nikolay muttered to himself.

To make a contract with the gods, it took many, many accomplishments and proof of one’s power. Someone who met the criteria for a divine contract would definitely have been known throughout Kosira by now. Needless to say, not a single person met these criteria in this era.

Out of the blue, Raine stepped forward, breaching the invisible circle that everyone left around the strange person.

“We should help them,” he declared.

Nikolay clicked his tongue and grabbed Raine’s wrist to pull him back. “Who said they need helping? Besides, they smell like trouble. Something fishy is going on.”

“Good thing I like fish then,” Raine jerked his hand out of the other’s grasp.

“Raine, this is serious.”

“Then take me seriously too, Nikolay. Do you really think I’m still as naïve as when we first met?”

“That’s not…”

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Lysandra scooted up next to them and patted Nikolay’s shoulder heartily. “Why don’t you join him? If you’re worried about his chances of succeeding, then you being there will help.”

Nikolay shrugged off her hand in irritation, but ultimately conceded to her logical reasoning. “Fine. We can settle this together.”

He took a step forward to join Raine, who cheekily grinned at the change in heart. It seemed like their small spat had been forgiven already.

“You’re not coming, Lysandra?” Raine asked.

“Pssh, hell no. You two can be the heroes. I’m out.”

To illustrate her point, Lysandra shooed away the two with a hand motion. She melted into the crowd, out of their sight.

Now that they were alone, surrounded by the crowd on all sides, things seemed a lot more daunting than before.

Instead of facing the centre of the commotion, Nikolay glanced over at Raine. He expected a sheepish grin or an awkward laugh at their situation. To his surprise, none of the above happened. All traces of humour had left Raine’s face, leaving a strong, determined look.

Without waiting for any commentary from Nikolay, Raine immediately began walking towards the sorcerer with the strange aura. All Nikolay could do was trail behind Raine and pray that he could react quickly enough to protect them if anything happened.

As they drew closer, they realised that the stranger was muttering something to themselves. Their eyes were closed, as if they were sleepwalking.

It took a moment to process the jumbled nonsense being said, but it eventually became clear that they were repeating the same words over and over again.

Can’t escape can’t escape can’t escape

“Hello, can you hear me? Are you talking in your sleep?” Raine called out.

No response. The sorcerer kept swaying on the spot, their upper half hunched over as if they were unconscious.

“What if they fall over and hit their head?” Raine frowned. “Let me sit them down on the ground.”

He gently grabbed the stranger’s shoulders, ignoring the odd feeling of their murky aura on his skin.

Suddenly, their eyes snapped open.

Unlike what he was expecting, there was a surprising lucidity in their gaze. They weren’t clouded over by alcohol, nor sleep.

The stranger’s gaze locked onto them.

“I found you,” was all they said.

Then, their oddly lit magic burst into flames as they transformed into their true form. The divine contract marking on their forehead burned brightly, as if a miniature radiant sun had formed.

Raine had only ever seen one true form, which was Nikolay’s blue wings and markings.

But despite his limited experience with true forms, even he knew that this was wrong. To release one’s true form meant offering your entire mind and body as kindling for the spirit. It was understandable when it came to Nikolay’s magic reserve, but trying to activate a true form when the original flame was only half-lit…

This wasn’t a last resort, it was a suicide attempt.

Raine barely had time to react when a fist cloaked in murky brown magic swung right at his face. Thankfully, Nikolay’s reflexes were much quicker, as his own divine contract marking glowed and a blue barrier formed around them. Even though the assailant had activated their true form, their magic-infused fist bounced harmlessly against Nikolay’s shield.

Nikolay grit his teeth. “Step back, Raine. We don’t know what else could happen.”

Another punch glanced off the shimmering blue barrier.

“I don’t think you have to worry about that,” Raine replied.

The magic roared higher, consuming even more to sustain the level of intensity. It grew hotter, stronger, and yet no matter how much the person sacrificed, it did nothing to pierce through Nikolay’s barrier.

Most people would’ve given up after seeing the futility of their actions, but desperation fanned the flames of destruction. Logic and reasoning held no place in comparison. All they could do was to burn more and more of their soul in exchange for a tiny chance at succeeding.

Punches turned into primitive clawing, the time between each hit progressively lengthening.

Raine had never felt more helpless in his life. Here he stood, protected by the very thing causing the slow death of somebody in front of him. Before he could register it, a tear slid down his cheek.

A warm hand placed itself on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” Nikolay said.

It was clear that he wasn’t just talking to Raine.

At last, the fire finally burned out. Heavy silence enveloped the air.

All that remained was a spot of scorched earth and minute traces of murky brown magic.

This was hardly the first time that Nikolay had witnessed such a sight, but it didn’t lessen the heavy weight on his heart. There was something sobering about watching someone with nothing left to lose but themselves. Although they knew the consequences of their actions, there was no other choice given to them.

Raine swallowed, though his throat was too dry to do anything. “Is that… what happens if you push yourself too far in the true form?”

To his dismay, Nikolay nodded solemnly.

“With or without a divine contract, regardless of the strange colour of their magic, no matter how strong you are, there’s nothing to save you if ‘you’ are nothing but ashes.”

After all, once a candle wick burns out, it will never be reignited again.