As I stepped outside I heard the fire crackling louder than before, a voice resounding out of nowhere.

“Stay here.”

I walked forward through the flowers. Slowly they began to wither.

Crackle! “Stay with her, you can’t change anything.”

“Shut up.” I stepped through the arch, leaves turning yellow, then brown before falling to the ground.

“You have already failed!” The voice started to shout out in anger.

“I won’t fail again!” The world started to fall apart, before little by little scenes were depicted before me.

Claws stabbing into her body, ripping her apart. “You couldn’t protect her, making her die as she shielded you.” The body of my brother, falling apart like dust in the wind. “And he too, died while protecting you.” My newest partners lying in a puddle of their own blood. “And what about these two? One already died a lifetime ago, after saving your worthless one. The other nearly died while trying to cover your flight.

“Stop it!” I shouted out, covering the world in my flames. Slowly they started to crawl over me, covering my body in flames once more.

Crackle! Crackle!

But as I thought that nothing else would come forth the flames before me twisted, becoming darker and darker until they were completely black. Inside of it a creature stood up, covered in black flames, somehow even darker than the surrounding ones. No, not a creature. Myself, possessed by rage.

“Give up, there’s nothing you can do anymore. Stay here in this illusion while I take care of the things you couldn’t do.“

My rage started to revolt as slowly the golden flames were suppressed by the black flames.

“You’re too weak. If I leave you like this, we will only fail once more.”

“That’s not for you to decide!” I tried to fight back, pushing my flames against his, but they were still pushed back.

“Maybe I should just erase you completely.”

He stretched out his arm, clenching his fist, making his flames surround mine. Little by little they came nearer, assimilating my flames until ultimately the black flames surrounded me. Slowly they climbed upwards on my body. I felt them enveloping me, spreading coldness, until my flames weren’t there anymore.

“Just leave this to me.”

Everything faded, leaving me in a empty world once more. I screamed out, tried to fight back, but nothing happened. No flames coming out, no one speaking back to me. Only myself and the void.

I tried to think about its, no, my words. Am I truly too weak? Will everything just happen all over again? I’ve lost so many on my journey. Some which died far away, their death only heard through stories of other survivors. Some which died besides me, unable to be saved in time.

Maybe it would be better for it to take over. Even the system acknowledged that the strength of my fire laid inside the anger. Could I truly safe them all, without using this power? “Hahaaa.” I let out a hollow laughter.

I closed my eyes as I laid myself on the ground, not that it would do anything in a world of nothingness. Not that I can do anything anymore now that I’m imprisoned here. What will happen next? Will I be imprisoned until the day my rage decides to let me out when everything is over? Or will it hold its words, erasing me until there’s nothing left but the rage?

If it does, what will happen to those I love? Without anything left, wouldn’t I turn into a coldblooded murderer, slaughtering everything at the slightest mortification, turning even against the ones I tried to protect?

It was something I never even thought about before. Even when I lost my friends and partners, I only felt sadness. When I lost my loved one, I turned towards rage, losing any other emotion. Yet, in my despair I pushed the only one away who could have helped me retain my humanity. Guess I was lucky enough that only demons were left behind after that, else I would have even turned against humans.

I couldn’t let my rage remain in control, not after thinking about what would happen if it would. But whatever could I do now that I’m here? In the end it had already won.

“Sorry, I guess I have failed you all.”

 

---

 

We could barely hold on as we sat beside him, the flames licking over our body. Opposed to the normal, gentle flames these ones tried to burn everything away, pushing at us as if to make us go away. I grimaced in pain, biting my teeth together to stop myself from screaming. But Sarah couldn’t help herself from screaming, though her voice was drowned out by the crackle of the flames.

Wake up you stupid idiot! We tried whatever we could, rocking his body back and forth, slapping him in his face, but it didn’t work. His flames just continued to rush outward, slowly burning our skin. As a last mean we clung onto him, ready to burn with him.

“Please wake up.” I wished as I clung onto his body in tears

Slowly I felt the pain numbing my body, my consciousness ready to give away, as I heard a silent whisper.

“Sorry, I guess I have failed you all.”

My eyes opened wide as I heard his voice.

 

---

 

“You haven’t failed us!”

Deep inside this nothingness I heard a voice, Alice’s voice. I nearly started to laugh. Am I already hallucinating? Guess I cared even deeper for them than I thought I did.

“You saved us!” This time’s Sarah? “If it weren’t for you we would be long dead by now.”

“No, I only brought you into danger, it’s my fault.”

“We wanted to do this. You warned us that it was dangerous!” She shouted out, remorse in her voice.

“Then I should have stopped you. Instead I even helped you as you headed straight for disaster.”

“We believed that you would help us, that you would save us once more.” I could imagine Alice’s smile after she said this.

“Save you? I saw you lying on the ground at deaths door.” Even if this isn’t real, I want to say it. “I’m sorry for leaving you two alone.”

“If you’re sorry than wake up!”

 

---

 

With her shout a pulse of energy shot through the void, making me open my eyes. In the darkness above me I could see two orbs of light, pulsating as they weakened quickly. I stretched out towards them when I felt something grasping me from beneath.

“Give up, you won’t be enough.”

Once again, my rage appeared before me, ready to end this once and forever.

“It’s true that I will fail again if nothing changes.”

“Then let me do it.”

I looked at the flames before me. “But you won’t be enough either.” I reached out towards the light, gentle warmth enveloping me as the light covered my vision.

When it faded I found myself lying on the floor. I lifted my upper body, only to see the sorry state of Alice and Sarah. “You’re…!” I couldn’t bring myself to speak, biting my lips in reluctance, drawing blood from it.

Burns covered their bodies, flames still licking at them, somehow covering parts of them. I tried to suppress them with my magic but somehow they just continued to flicker. Even as I laid my hands on them, to suffocate them, they just started to burn once more when I let go. But before I had the chance to try anything else the two shot forward, pressing me into the ground once more.

“You stupid idiot, what did you think you’re doing?”

I didn’t even had the time to answer as she started to hit my chest with fists, hammering down on me. Though her strikes lacked her usual punch it teared my heart apart to see the two in tears because of me, Alice wailing loudly while Sarah tried to stay silent.

I pulled them down, resting their heads against my chest and caressed the back of their heads. I could feel their tears falling on me as I gently brushed my hands over them, waiting for them to calm down.

“I’m sorry. I’m okay now.”

But even with my words they just continued to cry, keeping me down beneath them. As I wondered what to do, I heard a voice deep inside me.

“If you ever lose someone again, I’ll be back once more. And that will be the last time you see them.”