Monday, July 29, 3074 AE
“Is he still brooding?” Scarlett asked as she sat down on the couch.
“Yes, Brother is still brooding. He wants to be left alone and has been going off on his own,” Lyria replied.
“It’s been over a week. He needs to get over it; he’ll get another chance to fight it. He should be happy and have fun.” Scarlett sighed, looking off to the side.
“You must really care for him a lot, hmm?” Lyria asked with a knowing smile.
“N-no, it’s not like that. We’re just friends. Yeah, friends. I’ve known him since he was younger; it’s not like I have a crush on him.” Scarlett stuttered, blushing faintly.
“If you say so. I just have a feeling that one of these days, he’s going to get himself killed, and I won’t be able to do anything for him.”
“Don’t say that, Lyria. You do your best to take care of your brother, and I’m sure he appreciates everything you do for him.” Scarlett grabbed her shoulders. “Just keep pushing forward, and one day you’ll find that everything you do will pay off.”
“I guess you’re right, but I just wonder, you know. I have this feeling something bad is going to happen.”
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In an open field, Blaze sat meditating. The ground was blackened as if a massive fire had recently ravaged the area.
‘I have to become stronger. I have to be strong enough to destroy every Kōsō,’ he thought as he stood up. ‘They keep telling me to lighten up, but if I do, I might lose track of my goal, and something like that might happen again.’ His mind was filled with the event from his past, replaying over and over again—the Kōsō that attacked his home and his parents' lifeless bodies.
He punched the ground hard enough to draw blood before releasing flames from his fist so hot the area around it began to melt.
‘Instead of increasing my power, I need to find a way to harness and master the power I already have,’ he mused, creating a small swirling flame in his hand and making it spin faster and faster, adding more power until it grew in size.
The twisting flame soon became a massive, blazing inferno—a flaming tornado. The wind picked up, lifting trees and rocks, reducing everything that touched the tornado to ashes.
Suddenly, the tornado vanished as Blaze fell to his knees, sweat dripping down his face. ‘This is far more taxing than I thought. Generating enough power to create a tornado that can spin increasingly fast while keeping the flames hot enough to reduce everything to ash uses a lot of power and focus.’
‘I rely on my scythe far too much. Without it, I would have been dead long ago. I need to be able to fight with and without it.’ Standing up and pushing with a grunt of effort, he created a ball of flames the size of a basketball and threw it at a nearby tree, causing it to explode and combust into flames.
After throwing the attack, Blaze fell completely to the ground, barely holding onto consciousness. ‘How long have I been training non-stop? Three days? A week? Have I even made any progress?’ He soon fell into a blissful sleep, sprawled out on the ground.
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In a realm of pure nothingness, dark energies swirled and flickered with hues of purple and crimson. Its surface was a shifting mass of shadows, forming and dissolving like torn fabric. The jagged edges fractured and reformed constantly, revealing deeper, chaotic depths. An unsettling hum filled the air, and the dim glow heightened the sense of profound emptiness. Temperatures swung from freezing cold to searing heat, making it an ever-changing, disorienting expanse.
A pair of crimson-red eyes glowed with malevolent intensity as they opened.
“It seems my time to awaken has come. How long has it been since the last time? Ah yes, ten thousand years ago. I wonder what I will find this time. Will there be anything that can entertain me?”
Suddenly, he vanished from the realm.
“Ara, it seems he’s found something that has caught his attention.”
“Hn, whatever it is, let’s hope it proves to be entertaining for their own good.”
“Yes, because ‘he’ has a habit of not holding back.”
The last person in the group did not say anything, but all of them were thinking the same thing: ‘Just who or what could catch the attention of Malakar the Voidbringer?’
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“He’s pushing himself way too hard. If he keeps going like this, he’ll die,” Scarlett said.
“So this is the reason he hasn’t been home. He’s been training his ass off. Such an idiot. If he asked, we could have helped,” Lyria replied.
“Well, Scarlett, Blaze is the type to take everything on himself, especially if he doesn’t want us to get hurt. He’s been bearing the pain of our family’s death all by himself.”
“It’s not good for him. It’s like an obsession. Something is keeping him from moving on, and I don’t think it is his hatred for the Kōsō.”
“What do you mean, Scarlett?”
“It’s just a gut feeling. I have a feeling something is pushing him towards this.”
At that time, Scarlett did not know how correct she was. But it was two beings that were pushing Blaze down the path of vengeance, and one of those beings was closer than they could have imagined.
Blaze, lying on a bed after Scarlett and Lyria found him exhausted in the field, listened to their conversation and could not shake the feeling that they might be correct. But he steeled himself, resolving that the path he was on was the only way to make up for his past weakness and his parent’s death, twisted as it may seem.
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Wednesday, July 31, 3074 AE
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A few days have passed, and Blaze continued his relentless training until exhaustion overtook him, only to wake up in his room the next day. His control over his flames had reached new heights; he could now manipulate them with his mind and create a fireball the size of a mountain effortlessly.
Back in the same desolate area, now reduced to ash and charred earth, Blaze focused on honing his physical and hand-to-hand combat skills. Standing before him was a clone made entirely of fire, solid enough for training.
Blaze lunged forward, throwing a punch. The clone blocked it and countered with an elbow, which Blaze deflected, only to be caught by a knee to the chin, lifting him off the ground. The clone spun and kicked him away.
“Still not good enough,” Blaze thought. “If I can’t even beat my clone, how can I protect everyone? How can I stop those I care about from dying again?” He stood up, determination etched on his face, and launched a flurry of punches, all either blocked or evaded by the clone.
The clone swept Blaze's legs out from under him, but Blaze caught himself, grabbed the clone's arm, and spun around, kneeing it in the head before slamming its face into the ground. The clone turned back into flames, reappeared behind Blaze, and reformed, delivering a powerful blow to his back and kicking him in the side. Blaze anticipated this and used his fire to create shields, reducing the damage and leaping away.
Lyria and Scarlett watched from a distance, concern mixed with intrigue on their faces. They had been observing Blaze since they found him unconscious in the field.
“He’s using his fire to help himself improve. That’s a good idea,” Scarlett noted.
“You’re right. I should try it too. It would be a good way to see how strong I am as well,” Scarlett grinned.
“You just love fighting, don’t you?” Lyria shook her head, not understanding Scarlett's enthusiasm for combat as she would rather take care of her brother.
Far above, a figure floated, watching Blaze. This figure was tall and muscular, with skin a deep, shadowy black, veins faintly glowing dark purple. His eyes were crimson red, glowing with malevolent intensity. Long, jet-black hair flowed like smoke, and he wore a dark, tattered robe adorned with glowing runes of chaos and destruction.
“This is the one I sensed,” the figure murmured. “The power inside him is wonderful. With that power, he would be a worthy opponent for me.” He smiled sinisterly. “But it seems he has not unlocked that dormant power. Perhaps I should do something about that.”
The figure landed in front of Blaze, interrupting his training.
“Who are you?” Blaze demanded, creating a ball of fire in his hand.
“I am Malakar the Voidbringer. It is a pleasure to meet someone as worthy as you,” Malakar bowed.
“Worthy? What do you mean? And why are you here?” Blaze asked, a barrage of questions tumbling out.
“Let’s just say I am here to kill you,” Malakar replied, taking off with explosive speed, striking Blaze in the stomach and sending him flying. He followed up, kicking Blaze high into the air and then smashing him into the ground, creating a massive crater.
Inside the crater, Blaze’s clone faded away.
“So, you managed to avoid it,” Malakar said, looking over his shoulder to see Blaze standing, shocked. He hadn't seen Malakar move.
“What are you?” Blaze covered his hand in flames, readying for the next attack.
“If you must know, I am a Void Entity, born from the void, from the vast expanse of nothingness, and the realm of chaos and destruction.”
“Now enough talk. Show me the power that lies dormant inside you.” Malakar fired a condensed beam of chaotic energy. Blaze dodged, but the beam curved back, striking him in the chest and leaving a gaping hole.
“That should be good enough for now. When you are strong enough, come seek me out. You will know where to find me when the time is right,” Malakar said, vanishing.
Blaze lay on the ground, clutching his wound, thoughts racing. The encounter with Malakar had revealed just how far he still had to go. But it also ignited a new determination within him. He would harness his power, master it, and one day, he would be ready to face Malakar again.
Lying on the ground, Blaze's blood pooled around him. Scarlett and Lyria rushed to his side, finally able to move after being paralyzed by Malakar's presence.
“We have to stop the bleeding NOW,” Lyria said, pressing her hand on Blaze's chest to staunch the flow of blood.
“I know, let me help,” Scarlett said, using her flames, which had the added property of healing injuries. The hole in Blaze’s chest started to heal, but to their dismay, it soon stopped.
“Wha, what's going on? Why did it stop working?” Scarlett asked in shock. This had never happened before.
Upon closer inspection, they saw that the attack had left behind a residue of its chaotic energy, preventing Scarlett's flames from healing him.
“Is he going to die? This can’t happen. I can't lose him too,” Lyria began to break down, flashbacks of their parent's death overwhelming her.
Inside Blaze, an entity of pure evil and darkness began to form. Its eyes, luminous deep violet orbs, reflected ancient wisdom and cosmic energy.
“Ara, Ara, it seems my slumber has finally ended, but I can’t have my host dying on me now, can I? I still have plans to accomplish.”
This being had long, flowing silver hair that shimmered with hints of blue and violet, cascading like a waterfall of starlight. Her skin was pale and almost translucent, with a faint iridescent glow that accentuated her ethereal nature. Most strikingly, she was unclothed.
She whispered inside Blaze’s mind as he slept, “Dear host, try your best not to die anymore. It would sadden me if that were to happen. I need you in the end.” Using her powers, she rapidly healed his wounds, her words hinting at deeper, more mysterious intentions.
“His wound, it’s fully healed!” Scarlett exclaimed in shock and delight.
Lyria leaned down, hugging Blaze and crying into his chest. After a few minutes, Scarlett picked up Blaze and carried him home, with Lyria following closely behind.
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In a different plane of existence, a being watched Blaze. It was the same figure who had observed him before.
“Seems like my plan went off without a hitch, ufufufu,” the being laughed, having orchestrated Malakar's appearance to trigger the release of Blaze’s hidden power.
“Are you back at it again, doing what I told you not to?” Another being asked, glaring.
“Oh, calm down, Seraphina. There’s no harm done. Besides, it worked, and he is still alive,” the being, Nyra, waved her hand dismissively.
“This is not about whether it worked. This is about you interfering with the world below and human matters, Nyra. You are a goddess; you should act like it,” Seraphina scolded, smacking Nyra across the head, causing her to pout and fake cry.
“B-but, it gets boring and lonely up here. This is the only way I can have fun. Why do you have to be such a spoilsport?”
“Because you created me as your angel, to keep the balance and control you. That is why. Next time you do this, I will put you in time-out.”
“Wha, no! Not that, anything but that!” Nyra backed up with a terrified look on her face.
“Then get your act together, goddess,” Seraphina walked away.
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Simultaneously, another being observed, Blaze. This Kōsō, sensing the emerging power within him, had sent a disposable pawn to watch him and saw everything through its eyes.
“My, this power is very interesting. It could either be good or bad for us. Only time will tell. But that young man is intriguing himself. I'll have to keep an eye on him.”
This being had a striking and alluring appearance, with a slender, statuesque figure. Her skin was a warm ivory tone. She had long, vibrant amethyst hair cascading in loose waves. Her large, almond-shaped eyes glowed softly blue, adding to her captivating presence.
“What more can you show me, I wonder?” she mused, licking her lips, a blush on her cheeks.
With everything that had happened, Blaze’s journey now had the attention of various powerful beings. His path ahead was fraught with unknown challenges and dangers, each step drawing the interest of entities far beyond his understanding