Just as I registered the source of the voice, I sensed a burning heat that was completely opposite to the chilly voice I had heard a second earlier.

CRACKLE! CRACKLE!!

The sky was filled with a sea of burning flames. A middle-aged man was floating in the sky, just below the wide expanse of flames as he stared at the old man and me with a gaze so cold I felt goosebumps forming on my non-existent back.

'It truly is magic! But how? How does it work?'

Those were the thoughts running through my mind even as I realized that this man was out for blood.

The man was dressed in a loose set of pale blue clothes which looked like pajamas that were tightened at the wrists and ankles.

At his waist, a wide utility belt strapped his unnecessarily long shirt to his body and was covered with small pouches that seemed to house various bottles and metal containers that I couldn't recognize.

The old man was surprisingly calm even through all this. In fact, he hadn't even glanced at the floating sea of flames above us even once and just stared at the face of this middle-aged man.

From the man's wild and unkempt light brown hair to the sleep lines across his face and the dark circles around his eyes, the old man noticed it all.

He then locked eyes with the man's fiery yellow eyes that resembled that of a feline creature. It differed greatly from his warm, brown, almost tired-looking eyes.

He opened his lips like he was about to say something but then sighed. I looked at the two of them and realized there must be some deep history between them that I was unaware of.

Something painful perhaps? But I would not ask about it, it was not in my place to.

"You vile bastard!"

CRACKLE! CRACKLE!! CRACKLE!!!

The sea of flames seemed to increase in ferociousness at that moment as if responding to the middle-aged man's emotions. With a wave of his hands, the sea of flames flew through the air, crashing towards our location!

'Oh, Sh- Sh- Sh-!!!'

I couldn't complete the curse in my mind as I was completely overwhelmed by the attack coming toward us.

This was magic! This was truly magic! There was nothing, at least in the physics and chemistry I knew that could explain the sea of flames that this man controlled with the tip of his fingers.

"Haaaah.…"

The old man sighed and stuffed my bottle into the breast pocket of his trench coat.

I could properly see the sea of flames in this position washing down towards us, there was no place to dodge, nowhere to run. The old man raised his now free hand and pointed it towards the attack. Seemingly formless energy surrounded his body, covering his clothes and even the briefcase he was holding.

CRACKLE! WHOOSH!!!

I watched as the sea of flames descended and washed over us in a fiery torrent. Through the raging flames, I could see the man's fiery yellow eyes glow with power.

"EXPLODE!" he yelled!

BOOM!!!

The entire sea of flames exploded into a fiery display that might have been beautiful to view from a distance. The burning went on for a few more seconds, the setting sun giving the orange flames a sense of enchanting beauty that seemed to complement its destructive ability.

But,

WHOOSH!

The flames died down. And there we were, not even harmed in the slightest. I couldn't even sense any heat as the flames washed over us but it was something I didn't realize until later.

The old man was still standing there with his hands outstretched, his eyes had a dim glow around them as he spoke.

"You never lacked intent, the ability to put your soul into your spells."

The old man said as he lowered his arm, his eyes never leaving the man across him.

"But you still lack the ability to use skill and experience to temper your talents, you obviously can't do anything to me as you are."

The middle-aged man glared at him for a moment before declaring.

"That's why I didn't come alone."

Various people dressed similarly to the middle-aged man suddenly appeared around us in the dozens. They all seemed to wield some form of an element as they were surrounded by either blowing wind, flowing water, raging flames, or floating rocks.

The air surrounding us thrummed with power.

"I guessed as much."

The old man grumbled in a voice so quiet that only I could have heard him.

"I have no love for people of the tower."

The old man declared in a much louder voice.

Even in such a dire-looking situation, he still maintained his calm with a briefcase in one hand and the other by his side.

"You should know that bringing them here…..."

His eyes instantly turned vicious!

"There is no way I would leave any of them alive!"

"Say that after you eat these attacks first!" the middle-aged man yelled back.

His voice was like a signal, multiple attacks of different elements came flying toward us from all directions. This time, it truly felt like the sky was covered up.

But the old man was still calm, he tilted his head down at me and whispered.

"Little friend, do you think the soul of a person can leave its imprint on the people and things around it?"

I could see his warm brown eyes slowly getting covered by an unnatural glow as I subconsciously answered.

"Imprint? Like memories?"

"Hmm? Not quite."

He answered. The glow had completely covered his eyes and a slightly crazed look was now on his face.

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The attacks were quite close to us now but he still slowly raised his free arm and looked around at the robed people who launched those attacks.

"Etching its very essence into something…."

The ground around us suddenly rumbled as a vast amount of power that even I could feel rippled out of the man.

"A permanent engraving of a soul itself!"

RUMBLE!

The earth around us suddenly burst out into four distinct shapes. Even as we were far up in the sky, the large chunks of earth still towered way above us as they formed a barrier between us and our enemies.

BOOM!

Large explosions rang out as the attacks smashed into the large chunks of earth that protected us.

"A soul been capable of influencing things around them permanently?"

I mumbled to myself as I ignored the rumbling and explosions around me.

"Even if that is possible, shouldn't it be within set limits?"

I spoke up to the old man.

"You can attribute certain objects, scents, or sounds to certain people based on the influence they had on you in relation to those things. But should it be possible for them to leave their permanent impressions on such things? Even in a situation where they are long gone?"

I was not a sentimental person.

I was not a sentimental person so even though I knew it was a situation that has happened and will continue to happen, I could not, within my own rationality accept that particular situation.

The old man smiled.

It might have been meant to be a sad smile, but it just looked scary under the distortion that covered his face.

"FOUTIER!"

Before I could share more of my thoughts on the matter, a loud shout came from one of the enemies.

The old man's smile seemed to grow wider as he stared at the middle-aged man through a crack between the large chunks of earth.

As I looked closely at one of the towering structures, I noticed something that looked like-

"Hair?"

I couldn't help but voice my thoughts out loud.

I could clearly see the surprisingly detailed strands of hair that flowed down the bare slender back of a woman that seemed to have been carved by only the best of sculptors.

Looking to my left and right, I saw the exact replica of the statue of a woman with long hair and a slender figure. I was sure that if viewed from a distance, a person might be mistaken to think of it as an actual naked giantess looking into the distance.

"You actually dare to still use this power."

The middle-aged man's voice was so low that I almost couldn't hear it.

WHOOSH!

A giant ball of flames suddenly appeared above him without warning. I couldn't explain it but it looked far more powerful that the sea of flames he had previously used.

The old man was still calm throughout all this, he looked around at the enemies who looked like they were still hesitating, and muttered to himself.

"I think I will take my turn."

The arms of the four beautiful figures suddenly extended outwards, pointing towards the enemies surrounding us. The distorted power around the old man seemed to have been building which he suddenly released in one burst.

RUMBLE!

Large chunks of earth appeared from the palms of the four figures and started shooting toward the numerous enemies.

"Dodge it! Quickly!"

"Those further back should create barriers!"

"Help! We are getting overwhelmed!"

"This damned crazy bastard!!!"

The chunks of earth flew out like bullets and decimated the enemy ranks like a scythe to wheat. The attacks didn't seem to pause, the sky around was covered with vicious projectiles made from the earth which got dyed in blood as they smashed through the enemy.

"If you had a wife who always made the best porridges"

"What?"

"Porridges? You don't know what porridge is?"

The old man had a quizzical look on his face as he calmly stared at the carnage he was bringing down on his attackers.

"Yes but-"

'What did this have to do with the soul?'

I almost said my thoughts out loud.

"Well like I said, porridges"

The old man laughed like he could read my mind. But to the enemies, it looked like he was mocking their attempts to defend themselves from the attacks he was dishing out.

"This damned bastard!" The middle-aged man yelled as he flung the ball of flames at us with a wave of his hand.

I noticed the statue facing his direction extending its arms and creating a large wall to block the attack from the corner of my eye.

"You loved your wife's porridges so much that you wouldn't eat any other porridge except hers. Now should your wife die, which means you can no longer eat her porridges. How do you think your relationship with porridges will be?"

"You would forever attach your wife and porridges together?" I answered skeptically.

The old man smiled while watching the flurry of flames rush by us as it was blocked by the firm earthen shield.

I mulled over his words for a bit, I understood what he meant but I felt such an imprint should not be to the level to which he was suggesting.

"Isn't that a bit exaggerated though? No matter how much our memories distort and create attachments it can't reach a level of eternity."

I confronted the old man's theory.

"You are correct!"

The old man laughed and then continued.

"But who said anything about memories?"

He said as he turned to look at me, his eyes still possessing that unnatural glow.