A quiet abyss, dormant, and peaceful. A lone figure resides within this void. He sits without thought, despite this place being his own mind.

The boy sits in a daze, looking around the abyss. Not a sound could be heard, and not a soul could be seen, however, the boy is presented with a reflection of himself staring down.

The boy stared back in confusion. He had never seen his reflection before. Wondered who the figure before him could be. A friend? Another who wishes him harm? He tilted his head in question.

“I’m you, idiot.” The figure scoffed. It crossed its arms, raising an eyebrow, “But let me ask you… Who are you?”

The blazing heat fills the quiet wasteland that is Eden. The sky glows red, similar to the fires that burn below; ashes rain down from the veil of Demous’. Roy assumes a pose, preparing to defend Jack, Crystal, the boy, and cat who remain behind him. The sound of the metal forest echoed, clashing with the Demous’ pursuit.

Roy clings to a tangible wind. Soot falls off his clothes. Standing before them is a man protecting the rest. “Be careful!” Roy yells, “Is it even possible to outrun it?” Roy’s winds blow away the Demous who fall and turn to ash, however his power diminishes slowly.

The parasite and Flare remain in a standstill. The two exchange words of admiration, or resentment. “You, human.” The parasite acclaims, “You possess a power far stronger than that of that lowly hag…”

“Is that supposed to be a compliment?” Flare asked mockingly. His flames burn brightly, illuminating the ground beneath their feet. The green grass burns yellow. Flare raises his hand, pointing at the parasite, his face sinks into an angered expression. “Sorry, but I despise anyone who smears the names of the dead…”

The rain of Demous begins to subside for only a brief moment. Roy’s winds recall. He walks behind Jack who carries the unconscious boy on one shoulder, Crystal on the other, and the trembling cat clings to his head. “Y’know what to do big guy,” Roy lies in the grass, panting from all the exerted winds. “I’ll stay out here.”

The cat mumbles to Jack, “What is that thing..?” Her fears unanswered as Jack continues without understanding.

“Understood,” He nodded, raising his hand in response. The ground shook and raised around them, creating a small dome of rock. A small window forms from the dome. A muffled yell can be heard within. “Flare! This dome is moving at walking speed, just try to keep him off! We’ll meet you at the camp!” Jack yelled, looking through the slot window.

“Alright!” Flare answered. “Got it! But how are you going to move—” Suddenly, the dome lifts up and Jack’s legs become visible. Roy takes a quick look at the dome and back at Flare. A snicker came out of Roy's mouth.

“Alright, just move a bit faster than that!” Flare yelled. Holding his book, he stares down the Parasite. It carries two daggers, pitch-black. Flare squints his eyes, the blades are hard to see with the dim light that the veil provides.

The parasite bolts to Flare’s direction. Daggers in front of his approach, the sound of a short swish passes by Flare’s ear. At the same time, it stands behind him. The parasite stands upright for a second before turning around. “Impressive,” It told him. “You seem to have mastered that technique.”

On the side that the Parasite approached, his right side’s waist has been completely gashed out, leaving a hole on his right. The hole burns with fire, no blood has been spilled. His waist returns to its original state, however, his clothes have been destroyed in the shape of where he had been gashed.

The parasite flourishes the daggers, spinning them around its fingers. “Not regeneration, no. To master the Phoenix’ flame is one thing, but to master the Transformative State is another.”

“So I’ve heard…” Flare retorted. Turning his body around to face the Parasite.

It bolts once more; Flare gestures his hand sweeping towards the left. Immediately after, a hammer made of flame accompanied by the sound of a fireworks whistle bashed the Parasite. Knocking it away, the parasite lands on both feet strong enough to halt its momentum.

The Parasite looked back at him, his hair flowed like a raging wildfire. His pupils burned similarly. Clothes scorched from the heat of his fires, riddled with burnt holes. Thick soot covers his coat. His wrist emits a shine, glowing orange such as fire.

From the dome, Jack takes heavy steps, thudding as he marches. The sound of fireworks often echoes in the dome. A sudden third sound can fill the ears from within the dome. The sound of groaning alerts both Jack and the cat. A loud thud soon follows. Roy immediately reacts, approaching towards the slot in the dome

“You just said you were going!” Roy yelled, peeking into the dome. The battle behind begins to heat up, not only fighting-wise, but the group begins sweating due to the heat.

“She’s waking up!” Jack yells from under the dome. “I don’t want her to wake up so abruptly so I’ll leave her to rest, you just—”

Flare immediately reacts to Jack's words despite the noises, “What happened to her?!”

Roy unsheathes his daggers upon hearing Flare’s words, “Flare! No! You need to—”

The parasite's eyes meet with Flare’s right in front of each other. The parasite appears with its dagger reaching Flare’s face.. “—Focus” The parasite interrupted.

Another dagger meets with the parasites, parrying the slash; ringing sharply as the metal clashes. The parasite backs away and scoffs. “I take it that this has become no mere duel?” The parasite asks.

Roy stands beside Flare, pointing his dagger, “When fighting me, all others become irrelevant. Consider it a duel if you want.”

The Parasite flourishes its daggers once more. The daggers morph seamlessly. The handles grew to fit its hands. The blade twisting into a circle until the two blades clash and sparks fly. The daggers that the Parasite held now became sickles.

Flare raises his hand, burning with bright embers, facing the parasite alongside Roy. He gestures the hammer to his side, mocking the morphing of the Parasites blades, the hammer splits apart into fire. The shaft changed into a thin rod which bent into a curve, the head shrinks and rests behind Flare’s back. As the flames subside, the shaft has turned into a mighty bow, and the head turned into a quiver filled with arrows of pure fire.

Flare glances at Roy who gives a challenging glance back. “You’re so petty,” Flare snickered under his breath.

A sharp whistle echoes in the abyss-like place of the boy's mind. There, the figure continues to berate the boy with little to no effect. “You’re weak,” it criticized, “You’re brain dead,” It insulted.. The figure sighs and kneels in front of the boy. He who sits there blankly stares at the figure who stares back in annoyance.

The sounds of a distant battle can be heard, however, nothing but a pitch-black space surrounds the two. The two look up at the abyss. The sudden sound of metal on metal impact echoes throughout the mindscape. Yellow sparks fly with each clash within the mindscape. The whistles illuminate the two in an orange hue.

“You really are clueless.” Said the figure, flicking at the boy's forehead. The boy wasn’t hurt as dreamscapes simply are thoughts. The boy, unaware of this, begins to cry from the phantom pain despite not feeling; the thought hurts him.

“They won’t survive soon—” The image uttered, propping itself up, taking a few steps away from the boy. “So, kid. Your first job,” It explained, “A choice between life and death.”

The metallic collisions screech within the mindscape. The boy begins to cry and the figure twitches, leaning to one side in response. “Eugh… I never liked this sound.” It commented, “Is it that pest and your little friends?”

The figure snaps, shaking the dreamscape. The tremor shakes the boy, not like an earthquake, no, it mocked a cradle. After the tremors subside the abyss falls quiet. The boy wipes his tears as he looks up at the figure.

The figure sighs as its eyes scrunches, “I pity you, truly.”

Outside the mindscape, the unconscious boy’s face shifts in discomfort and falls back into sleep. The sound of clashing metal echoes louder, even within the dome the sound discomforts the group.

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“It’s so loud!” The cat yelled, head down covering her ears, “Can’t you make the rock thicker?”

Jack kneels next to Crystal, watching as her finger begins to twitch lightly. Her long blue hair spreads out across the grass. The jewelry rustles with her movements, drowned by the commotion outside. Her breathing speeds up as the clashes continue.

Jack glances at the slot. Bright lights flicker through the hold as a battle not so far rages. “This damn noise…” Jack complained, holding her head up. “Wake up already!”

Flare and Roy work against the Parasite together. Roy paces on the ground as Flare and the Parasite took flight. Roy circles the two who clash in the air at a swift pace, circling them twice in five seconds while watching their movements. Dodging the Demous conjured from the Parasite.

Flare and the Parasite circle each other. Flare holds the bow without drawing the arrow, waiting for moments of vulnerability. The Parasite dashes toward Flare swiftly, only to be met with Roy who parries the slash and knocks it away with wind. Only then did Flare draw the bow and shoot.

The arrow pierces the Parasite, yet no blood is drawn. The Parasite does strain from this, removing the arrow and consuming it in darkness. Suddenly, it bolts towards Roy, sending Demous to Flare.

“Creation” Chanted Flare, “Mistress of The Hunt!”

What conjured from the book was no mere hunting dog. A massive hound emerged with sigils on its forehead. A crackling sound came from the hounds snarl. It pounced on the Demous, chewing through effortlessly. Flare draws another arrow and releases it on the Parasite. It promptly caught the arrow without reaching Roy, however, it was met with the jaws of the hound.

“Cease” Flare commanded. Just then, the hound began to bloat. A sudden explosion incinerates the surrounding Demous, engulfing the Parasite in flames with enough time for Roy to back away.

As Roy begins to circle once more, he takes notice of the surroundings of the battlefield. “Steam? He asked himself. Upon realizing he swiftly faces Flare who exerts an excess amount of steam. Roy yelled, “You okay there?!” Worried.

Flare pants with heavy breaths, “I’m just a—a little parched…” As Flare began to sweat, his drops sizzled into steam. He removes his coat which upon leaving his body, turns to ash.

Within the dome, the cat passed out in a sweat. Jack looks over and picks up the cat, bringing her near Crystal. He takes out a wipe as he begins to wipe Crystals, the boy, and the cat of sweat before his own. Continuously watches over Crystal's condition. He removes her fur coat to avoid overheating, promptly removing his shirt. While moving her, Jack notices a jolt in her fingers. He puts her down gently and shakes her. “Wake up! Crystal! Please!” He pleaded.

He glanced out the slot to see Roy rushed over to Flare who continued to expel steam. “Hey! Stop using Transformative! Flare!” Roy yelled. Suddenly, his eyes locked with the Parasite who followed his pace swiftly. Roy braced himself, but in an instant, the Parasite was behind him. It spun around quickly before landing a strong kick to Roy’s side, sending him flying. “Ngh!”

Roy crashed through the top of the stone dome, breaking it. Continuing to spiral, he thought to himself, “Flare… He’s been using it the entire time! Not even I can… Damn.” A distant crash echoed promptly after.

The steam from Flare’s body stopped, he closed his hand on the bow which turned back into flame. The quiver on his back dispersed as well. “Guess we’re doing this…” Flare said as he cracked his neck.

Suddenly, the sound of a whistle approached Flare hastily, only narrowly dodging the arrow. However, as the arrow passed by his cheek, he drew blood. There, the parasite flies to match Flare's height. Holding a pitch-black bow and quiver.

“Out of breath?” The parasite asked mockingly. “I do wish to see more of those flames. However, you’re no longer able to keep up—” The parasite pauses, scratching its face as Flare mumbles to himself.

Just then, Flare in flight clasped his hands together, and from the small spaces, a spark turns into a light. As he drew fire he mumbled. “To which I bestow upon you… My flame that burns so brightly…”

The Parasite feels a sudden overwhelming feeling, immediately acting upon hearing these words, as if memories of a similar encounter. A woman's voice echoes through the Parasite's mind. “My flame that burns so brightly! You who shall face the retribution of the Dawn’s touch!”

The Parasite clutched the bow in hand, erecting it into a polearm. Its teeth grinded, sounding like gears grinding. Loud enough to echo through the land. From which the Parasite uttered with malice. “That hag… So much suffering!” It begins dashing for him, his speed far exceeding Roy’s own. Its polearm begins to waver before it could even strike. The Parasite began to hesitate, fearing.

Flare thought for a moment, “It’s faster than Roy? Was he playing with us? No, focus.” A woman's voice echoed through Eden, one that the Parasite can only hear. A chant at which it begins to shake.

“Gaze before the sun—” The woman echoed.

Flare scoffs, “No—This power is no longer hers, you aren’t facing her might—” The ball of fire in his fist grows, suddenly, he holds out both hands which hold the fire and smashes them together. “Gaze before the sun!” You’re facing mine—! "Eternal Twinflame!”

“Shh… You hear that?” The figure asks the boy. Within the abysmal space, the boy sits before the figure. Although not crying, he still cannot understand the figure. “Yeah, I know you can’t understand. It’s almost like I’m talking to myself over here,” The figure scoffs.

The boy inches closer to the figure who, in turn, takes a step back. “Kay’, kid, let me give you the rundown on what's happening. You’ll be given a choice in a bit.” The boy stares back in response. The figure already knew the response, however, and continued with his explanation.

“The cat is currently unconscious due to heat exhaustion.” He explains. The cat lies with the boy, within the rubble of the dome. She breathes heavily, however, she steadily cools down.

“Your friend known as “Jack,” is currently dazed. Perhaps from information overload.” Jack remains still on one knee holding onto the boy and the cat, his eyes widen in surprise… or fear.

“Your friend known as Flare is unconscious. He sustained a massive injury to the hip, and his Godlike form is no longer.” Flare lies in the grass on his side. His eyes are open yet there’s nobody looking through them. “A marvel that man is.”

“You’re enemy known as “The Parasite” remains unharmed by that attack, however, it’s furious. It stares at the group, behind him, however, is a hole in the veil. “An Eternal Flame.” The figure comments, “Demous is not an option at the moment. For a flame that burns Eternally cannot be reverted so easily. I commend that lads' wits.”

“Your friend known as Roy is, well, a little tempered.” Roy stands despite the serious wound he sustained. He’s quite a ways away from the battlefield. Holding a pose which his feet are apart and he holds his arm in the air. His mouth moves, being in the middle of a chant.

“Your “Friend,” I say in emphasis, you never really met, who they call Crystal. Quite the bold one I must say.” Between Flare and the Parasite stands a woman who glistens in the red light by the hole of Demous. Her jewelry glows beautifully, and her eyes are filled with determination. Despite only waking up, she stands without question in mind. “As the saying goes, when faced with death, you are either incredibly bold— or incredibly stupid.”

The figure turns around and walks away from the boy before turning back and pointing at him. “Now that you’re caught up, kid, I’ll let you witness the scene for yourself.” The figure explained.

“Crystal no!” Jack yelled, however, she swiftly crossed the Parasites path. “You’re going to die! Do not, dammit!”

The skies are lit once more, Demous fall like flies as Flare’s true target has been hit. The Parasite angrily paces towards Flare. “You… Irritant mortal—” The Parasite uttered, “You’ve unleashed that hellish flame once more upon this land and I will not accept this gift lightly.”

Crystal holds onto her coat tightly before dropping it atop Flare's unconscious body. Her eyes filled without the slightest bit of malice. Yet, before her was a battlefield of pitch-black with short bursts of light illuminating the golden field with red skies and bright torches of Demous along with pockets of mist surrounding the group.

The Parasite takes notice of her, unblinded by its rage it asks, “You—that girl that I had captured. Step aside.”

She sighs as a response. She turns her head to the sight of Jack with the boy and cat, looking down to see Flare covered by a coat, and looking further, her face softens into a smile.

Crystal looks back at the Parasite. “I understand the situation…” She explained, “So…”

With one long inhale, the mists that covered the field suddenly vanished. The Parasite remains unphased, its eyes had her locked in its gaze. She glances to the side quickly, before exhaling. Words left her mouth.

“Can you see it yet?” Crystal asks, positioning her hand behind her. She closes her eyes and the Parasite focuses behind her. From a distance, Roy stands in anger, clouds surround, thunder roars and leaves sway viciously.

The Parasite sighs, “Then…Will that man perform better than that young man who lies on the ground?” Without another word the Parasite glances back at Crystal. Its attention sways to the two back and forth.

From the distance, Roy chants, raising his arm as clouds surround him. “Envelop me within the storm, Godlike form!”

The Parasite scoffs, taking a stance “Fascinating…”

Right before him, water from what used to be mists surround the girl. The parasite immediately assumes a stance. Jack, from the dome, calls out to her, picking up the boy and cat and throwing them over his shoulders. “Crystal! No! You just woke up!” He called, “That’s… That’s the Parasite of Eden!”

Crystal from within the bubble uttered. “Submerge me, Godlike form!” She smirked at the warning, “I know—”