Lie woke with a start. Pain coursed through his body as if remembering the ball of fire that seemingly descended and burnt him to a crisp, yet gazing at his arms they seemed to be perfectly healthy.  Taking a breath, Lie went from observing his arms and hands to looking at the pristine blanket that was draped over his lower body now that he sat up.  

White sheets, a luxurious blanket patterned exquisitely, and pillows that melded to fit his head. Lie looked down to see that his jacket and pants were stripped from him and were replaced by a white robe with a red cloth to tie the garments to his body. Someone had stripped him when he was unconscious... "I wonder if they tried to help with the burns from the fire, my skin seems as if the fire never happened." Lie muttered to himself as he carefully checked his body.

Despite being caught in a fire accident, it seemed that his body was in perfect condition. The skin was without flaws and  he took note that the scar from when he accidentally cut himself during cooking was gone.  Lie thought it was strange for the line of discolored skin to have disappeared but it was originally fading since it happened years ago so he pushed it out of his mind.

Checking the side table to see if his phone was there, Lie noticed that there was something on the floor. It wasn't a rug, nor was it a blanket. Dressed in red robes an elder man was kotowing before him. Grey hair that fell like a curtain to cover his head, robes that seemed to flicker as flames danced across it while a huge print of a hawk was on the back, displayed prominently due to the man's posture.  Who was this person before him and why was he apologizing?

"Who are you?" Lie asked, it was pretty obvious that he was in some sort of hospital since the last thing he remembered before blacking out was intense flames and burning skin... Lie started to frown. Unlike his home country, medical procedures and medicine were costly. Lie thought back to his friend Sven who made it a point to look up home remedies so that he wouldn't spend money on visiting a doctor. 

The man before him stirred, causing Lie to focus his attention on the mysterious elder before him. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." The man seemed to chant, the man repeating his words over and over till Lie finally took action to hold out a hand to have him stop. "What are you sorry for? A meteor probably fell out of the sky and the flames from it burning up scorched me, how is it that you are at fault?" He asked the man. 

The man froze, the chanting of "Sorry" came to an end and slowly the elder looked up. Pristine blue eyes gazed at Lie as the elder sat up from the floor. 

The elder coughed and averted his eyes before looking at him again. "About that... its my bad."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I was practicing a new technique that I was in the process of making through my vast experience and due to a lapse of concentration I accidentally lost control of it.  The fire that descended upon you was due to my unfortunate mistake. " The elder bowed again, his head practically kissing the floor. 

"So this is the afterlife?" A person who could control fire was probably a super hero... but if so why hadn't super heroes shown up to stop crime or something? Was it some background war that were kept away from the eyes of the public?

"If it was then we wouldn't be seeing each other right now as I am very much alive. No, I just couldn't bear the weight on my conscious that I have injured another party without meaning to. The injuries were nasty and quite frankly you might have been bedridden your entire life if I hadn't stepped in to heal you. Luckily the damage was extensive so the pill I gave you didn't make you explode."  the man's muffled voice reached his ears.

"What! Explode!" Lie exclaims, the man looked up again to see Lie had retreated swiftly to get as far from the man as possible.

"Oh don't be like that boy, it was only a tier 1 pill, the clan has as many of them as stars in the sky. No what is important is what you can do to repay me. As I have mentioned before your life would be ruined with no hopes of returning to how it once was. I only have one request for you to fulfill." 

Something only he could fulfill? Was there a such a task that the man before him couldn't do? If he could control flames, and since the flames were descending onto him, does that mean he could fly as well? He had a pill that could bring his body from near death to brimming full of life? He also mentioned a clan, there were more just like him? 

What could he be asking that nobody in his clan can do?. 

Lie gulped as he thought about his next words carefully. Coming to an answer he asked "What do you need me to do?" 

The elder smiled as he got up and dusted himself off. "I would like to ask you to marry my daughter." 

It took a second to process the words, this man before him with white hair just asked for him to marry his daughter...

Letting that sink in Lie went wide eyed and once more shouted out. "What!"