Shadows moved in the night. Monsters prowled the streets. Through Sylvie’s eyes, I could see everything. The people, the Demonkin… the corpses.

  I saw people running in terror, abandoning their loved ones. I saw heroes who gave everything to protect a stranger. Some people tried to fight, others huddled into a ball and cried. The scene of a father crying while cradling the bloody body of a child was carved into my mind.

  Blood dripped down my hand as my fingernails cut into my palm. If I was at my full strength, I could stop all of this. I was too weak to do anything, but that did not mean I would not try. I refuse to do nothing.

  I commanded Sylvie to fly down. Below, a Demonkin was chasing two small children. The creature looked like someone had taken a giant spider, and sewed a human head on its back.

  As the spider was about to jump on the two children, Sylvie flew into its face. She was too weak to harm the monster, but she succeeded in distracting it temporarily. From further down the street, Doctor Fraus sprinted with all his might. His eyes burned green in the dim light.

  He leapt onto the spider’s back, grabbing hold of the twisted human head. It’s bright red eyes, enraged by the interruption. Red smoke poured from its mouth.

  One of the spider’s many legs twitched. Faster than Doctor Fraus could see, the spider attacked. The sickening sound of bone breaking echoed as flesh was ripped away. An arm fell limply to the ground with a dull thud.

  However, pain meant nothing to Doctor Fraus anymore. No blood poured from the wound. Instead, green flames burned from the torn flesh. He did not even look at the arm as bright green flames ignited inside his mouth. He bit down on the somewhat human head with a ferocity of a wild animal.

  Flames seeped through the spider’s thick hide until none remained. Doctor Fraus fell, motionless on the ground. Collapsing, like a puppet whose strings were cut.

  The flames inside my own body flared, connecting with the distant flames now inside the spider. I did not try to control the spider, that would be pointless without hours of time. All I wanted was pain.

  The pain of a burning soul was more than the spider could handle. The human head screamed, while the spider head let out an inhuman screech. The Demonkin no longer cared about the fleeing children, only the pain.

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  It threw itself against a nearby wall, the brickwork crumbled easily. The spider clawed at its own body leaving countless deep wounds.

  Unfortunately, I was not strong enough the burn the soul away completely. The flames inside my own body began to grow dim as I quickly depleted all my energy. My flames grew dim, and finally flickered out completely.

  The spider stopped twitching in pain. It rose slowly, looking towards the church with rage. I was not able to do any permanent damage. I even gave away my position, but that was ok. The children were gone now. The spider would have to find new prey.

  Back in the church, I watched as my dad struck the brute with three mighty strikes. Luther freed himself from the jaws of the creature, standing tall as he looked towards the door.

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  The brute collapsed to the ground. Its massive body shook the ground when it fell. A noxious smell similar to rotten eggs began to fill the church.

  I pried myself from Charly’s grasp. Walking forward, I stepped over the foul corpse. The broken doors of the church scattered on the ground. In the inky darkness of the night, I could see a skittering figure moving towards us.

  “Wren! Stop! There are more of them out there!” shouted my mother, as she dashed to my side.

  “It’s ok.” I replied. Sylvie landed on my arm. The green had faded from her eyes. looking up at the night sky, I smiled. “This battle is over.”

  Looking down from above, was a man. He defied all laws of gravity, as he stood calmly high in the air. He held a long two-handed blade, unadorned with any carvings or jewels. On a head of slick auburn hair, rested a golden crown embedded with nine rubies.

  The king.

  …

  Sebastian.

  He hasn’t aged a day. Still appearing as if he was in his late twenties even after fifty years. At least he is not wearing the stupid grin anymore. That naive smile of his always annoyed me.

  With the king at the center, a golden light filled the night. Like a rising sun, he moved across the sky until he was directly above the Demonkin. Blinding light illuminated every street and alley. There were no shadows for the creatures to hide in now.

  The king waved his sword only once. Twelve rays of light flew from his sword. In the illuminated streets in front of the church, I could see the spider monster I had tried so hard simply to distract. The Demonkin had only a moment to look up before the light engulfed it. In an instant, the creature disintegrated.

  The screams came to a stop, and everything grew still. Cheers echoed through the city streets, drowning out the tears.

  The golden light began to dim, and I could see him, looking towards the church. Our eyes met. For one long moment, my heart stopped. Then his gaze shifted, focusing on the Brute’s corpse behind me.

  Without a word, the king turned and flew back to the distant palace. My body shook as I watched his receding figure. A single tear flowed from my eye.