There’s a presence in the flames. Somehow, I know it’s him—Dracoth. So aggressive, powerful, and all-consuming. I can almost see his towering form within the blaze, almost smell his scent, feel his raw intensity.
A surge of pride and adoration floods my heart, as I feel a closeness I’ve never felt before, like we’re connected at a deeper level, that a part of him resides within my soul. I could open myself to him, because even here in this realm of nothingness, he refuses to abandon me. He pulls me back from the brink. The only one in my life strong enough to care.
But then, a shadow looms behind Dracoth’s fiery silhouette. Arawnoth. The molten god, titanic and wreathed in lava, radiating the heat of a thousand suns. His eyes burn with the fires of creation itself, two endless pools of molten gold and fire. His presence dwarfs everything, overwhelming in its sheer power.
They step toward me, their combined presence overpowering. The suffocating cold retreats before them as if terrified, the darkness dissolving under their mighty presence. The flames surrounding don’t scorch the air—they purify it, turning my icy prison into a blistering furnace.
“Rise, and complete the cycle!” Arawnoth’s titanic voice thunders, echoing through my bones, shaking me to the core.
I gasp as the flames coil around me, wrapping my body in a blazen embrace. The heat is overwhelming at first, burning through the numbness, and igniting my nerves like fireworks. I try to scream, but no sound escapes. My frozen lungs are now filled with roaring fire.
I love it! I could burst with a renewed lust for life, wishing the blaze would fill me utterly, consuming me entirely.
Arawnoth extends a colossal finger of liquid fire, and I squeeze my eyes shut, arms spread wide, ready to be taken. The firescorches my skin, burning away every shred of despair, of weakness.
My flesh sizzles, but it’s not pain I feel—only renewal. The flames carve runic symbols into my skin, scorching my chest and neck. My body convulses as each alien letter sears into me, but with every mark, I feel power flood through my veins.
“You are mine,” the voices of Dracoth and Arawnoth echo as one, a thunderous promise reverberating through the molten air.
Ecstasy surges through me as the flames reshape me. My eyes snap open. I’m no longer lost in the endless darkness. I’m back in the icy prison where Ignixis had condemned me. A raging torrent of fire engulfs my body, lashing the crystalline room in flickering orange and red hues. The ground is slick with melting ice and the very walls collapse in liquefied clumps. My skin, once frost and despair gnawed, now glows with vibrant heat. I am no longer cold, no longer broken. I am a vessel of flame, imbued with Arawnoth’s divine blessing. His words scorched into my flesh glow, illuminating the world with sacred meaning.
My vision sharpens, my senses expanding beyond what I thought possible. The once crushing cold now feels like nothing more than a distant memory, replaced by this glorious warmth.
“You burn with Arawnoth’s blessing!” Ignixis gasps, his green eyes wide in awe as he shields himself from my divine flames. “He was here! In this very room! I saw him mark your flesh with my own eyes!”
I feel only contempt for the creepy old Klendathian. The one responsible for putting me in this freezer, threatening to have me eaten alive, almost letting me die in here! My lip curls in fury as I lift a hand blazing with fire toward him.
“Wait, wait!” Ignixis pleads, cowering, his hands raised in a futile defense. “Blessed daughter, I only sought to—”
Before he can finish, I project something towards him—driven more by instinct than knowing.
“Oof!” he grunts as his body is crushed from front and back, like some putrid sandwich filling wedged between two shimmering barriers of silvery bread.
I study my hands with a frown, seeing the flames whirling that do not burn.
What is this power?
I expected him to burst into flames, but instead, his stupid, blackened face is pressed tight like a child smushed against a windowpane.
Ignixis groans, slithering and sliding like a snake trying to escape between the barriers I somehow created.
He tries to squeeze out through the left side, so I project another silver barrier, cutting off his agonizing escape. Ignixis’s eyes widen in horror as his hand taps uselessly against the invisible prison.
I savor the look of panic spreading across his weathered face. He hastens toward the right, his last chance at freedom—but I smirk, wavering my hand, sealing him inside as he sealed me inside this frozen tomb.
“Doesn’t feel good, does it?” I sneer, folding my blazing arms as the flames continue to melt the world around me, fueled by my fury. “Trapped and helpless, like a drowning rat. That’s all you are, Ignixis—a disgusting, creepy rat.” I spit the words at him, stepping closer to his shimmering cage, only to be yanked backward by the chains still shackling my ankle.
I grimace, glaring down at the thick black chains. They creak and groan as I focus, projecting a small barrier into the clasp. There’s resistance now—a deeper strain not just of strength but of will. It’s as though reality itself is testing my desire, daring me to bend it. My frustration rises, pushing me harder. I’m so sickof this—so tired of being bound. With a final surge of resolve, the clasp bursts open, clanging against the frozen floor.
A scraping sound draws my attention and I turn to see Ignixis, with only a few inches of space, struggling to maneuver his extended claws against the barrier. I can feel his efforts inside my mind, every pathetic scrape like nails dragging down a chalkboard.
He thinks he can break free. How cute.
With a flick of my wrist, the barriers tighten like my mother’s purse. I smirk, seeing him grunt in pain, his body completely squeezed with not an inch to move. My heart soars with joy. This power... it’s intoxicating. No longer will I have to take anybody’s bullshit, even Dracoth won’t be able to boss me around anymore with this!
I could tighten the barriers even further, watch Ignixis pop like an overgrown boil. He deserves it. For kidnapping us, treating us like hobos, calling me stupid names, having us shot, and then the final insult, nearly leaving me to freeze to death!
My hand twitches, the temptation to tighten the vise overwhelming. His eyes lock onto mine, a flicker of fire glowing in his green irises.
