{Within the Grasslands, Near the Cave}

"Y-you're..." Oz was truly at a loss for words as he sat there.

The entity before him had morphed to resemble the pervert back at the Dung Den.

Though the creature's body was composed of a black substance that swirled within itself, similar to those portals inside the cave, its figure still resembled him, and that's not even to mention the voice, which had a strange cadence to it.

As the creature approached him, its body now entirely morphed to replicate the pervert yet its eyes kept that same golden glow to them.

Now with them only an arm's length away, Oz was even more sure as he felt the suffocating pressure from it directly.

'Back when I first came here, back when I saw those gazelles...' Oz couldn't move as the creature's face approached.

The young boy didn't even dare to lick his chapped lips as he thought, 'Why is it here now?'

His eyes widened, 'Has it been following me?'

Just as he wondered that dark tendrils began to surface from its body, resembling octopus tentacles as they wiggled through the air, slowly yet steadily grasping around Oz's body.

The tendrils wrapped around his arms, legs, and torso before one particularly thick cirrus grasped his throat.

"Gasp!" Oz used his right hand to claw at the tendrils to no avail as its clutch held fast and increasingly got tighter.

SLOOOP!

The grimy sound of bones and blood sounded out as one shot right through the hole in his left shoulder, causing him to shout out in pain, "Aaaagh!"

The creature only giggled at this sight, continuing to taunt him more, "I've been waitin' for this awhile, hehehe."

Tears formed in the boy's eyes as his head jerked back, and he gritted his teeth, not wanting to give the creature that satisfaction of the pain it had dealt.

That looming feeling of death was gone, now fallen to a piece of flesh to be played with until this insidious bitch of a beast was done with him.

He closed his eyes, silently cursing the heavens once more for sending him to this accursed place.

Funnily enough, he noticed that many places and things in this world had distinct smells, yet this creature had none.

It smelled like nothing, as if its aroma itself made him forget was smell was.

Yet now, as he continued to bleed out and suffocate either which would kill him first, the smell of mint and a very, very slight hint of cinnamon wafted through the air.

The boy, in a daze, looked up at the night sky, a subtle flash of green reflecting in his lifeless optics, 'God, is that you?'

BOOOOM!

A sharp ringing sound and pure blank white filled his vision.

'Am I dead?' he called out as a melody began to play in his head.

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|I am the wind.|

|Minty green, I flow within.|

|Heed my children; call and pray.|

|Breeze I shall, guide from astray.|

|Fast and free, yet loose and wild.|

|The holy winds shall guide you.|

|Be quick, my child.|

|To the Wind, it shall be.|

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White.

White noise.

White display.

White taste.

The world was white.

So many colors in this beautiful world, yet all he could see was white.

Was white the absence of color or the presence of all color?

Oz didn't know.

Yet as his hearing returned and his vision readjusted, he wondered what the mysterious chant that seemed to echo in his mind was.

'To the Winds? What was that?'

He was belly-side down, enshrouded in the tall grass around him as the sound of the wind stifled him awake.

A strong gust swirled from underneath his back, hovering him upwards as his limb dangled awkwardly.

"Ughh..." his body spazzed as blood continued gushing out of his shoulder.

Oz looked around in a daze, the low blood and high fatigue putting a toll on his delirious mind "Wuh, what's going on?"

A gentle wind blew past his ear as an alluring sound played, "Strange for a young boy such as you to be here."

A gentle feminine voice that felt like it was speaking inside of his consciousness sounded out as he barely managed to tilt his head at the figure, giving off an ethereal white glow that nearly blinded him.

If he had to describe the figure whose ends were all round edges, he'd describe it as a leaf that fell from heaven.

He barely parted his lips to croak, "So... beautiful."

The intense light shining from the figure was so intense he could barely make out its face, yet it sounded like it was... laughing at him?

"Hoohoo, you poor child. Some things are just not meant to be," it softly giggled out.

Oz's mind began to race as a bad premonition rose over him, 'Wuh- what does she mean by that?'

However, that question would soon be answered as a ball of wind surrounded his head, suffocating his floating body.

To Oz's horror, he couldn't even hear himself gasp for air as the swirling ball of air made him feel like he was in the center of a tornado.

The shrieks of the surrounding winds dulled out Oz's desperate screams of pain as the oxygen from his lungs was nearly sucked dry, and his skin was ripped to shreds.

Yet, though he could barely see the figure's face, feel anything but the stinging wind against his face, or hear anything besides the furious gale, a particular smell returned once more.

'Is that... cinnamon?'

BOOOM!!

An explosion struck the spot he and the figure were at, badly charring his body and sending him flying as the ball of air, popped from around his face.

The boy soared through the air, his arms flailing as he rapidly descended to the ground, "Oof!"

Oz landed on the semi-moist ground within the tall grass.

As his consciousness faded, he barely made out another figure who glistened with an ethereal white aura to it.

He could barely make outs its shape, yet as his vision dimmed, he could see this figure had more of a... flicker shape to it, like a candlelight as opposed to the leaf.

"Ughhh..." as Oz's consciousness dozed off, a melody hymned in his mind once more.

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|I am the flame.|

|Cinnamon spice, the soot shall rain.|

|Heed my children, kneel and bow.|

|Conquer well, consume and plow.|

|Fierce and warm, yet soothed and hot.|

|The holy fire shall guide you.|

|Go blaze the rot.|

|To the Flame, it shall be.|

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"So... it's been a long while." A figure with a similar white glow spoke to the one across from it in a voice that seethed in a low tone.

This newly arrived being had a different shape to it; however, unlike the elegant slim leaf-like body of the one across from it, this one was akin to a candle flame, in constant motion, calmly swaying, yet ready to burst forth at any time.

The slim leafy figure responded, "Indeed... it has."

The flamy figure glanced around, its flickering head sending traces of flames into the air as it did, "So... where is it?"

The leafy figure nonchalantly shrugged its shoulders, "must have already left."

Flames rose behind the flaming figure's back, and a swell of heat spread through the area, "you think me that much of a fool?"

The figure's glaring ember eyes gleamed into the opposing figure's tranquil ember eyes as it responded, "I very much do."

"Good, very good," wild flames danced around the grass fields, plunging the world into flames, "let's see you keep that confidence after I punish you for breaching jurisdictions."

At the sights of the world descending into an inferno, the leafy figure aloofly frolicked into the air, stepping on the wind as if it were stone, taunting as it floated from above.

"Hoohoo, I seem to remember you've always a tempter." A disgusted look was shown on its bright face, which even then was still remarkably beautiful, "A commonality for your... kind."

The fiery figure glared up, "you breach this territory, you refuse to reveal where IT is, and now you have the gall to speak in such a way?!" the fire died down.

The darkness of night returned once more, with the shadows returning to swallow the landscape.

FWOOOOSH!!

Flames suddenly burst from its body as a demonic roar erupted from the gigantic flame that reached nearly 200ft (61m) high.

The opposing figure was no slouch either, as it transformed, causing fierce winds to swirl around it as its light died down.

Then suddenly, it transformed into a rapid tornado, ravaging the surrounding grass.

The elements clashed and swirled against one another, meshing into a devastating mix of fire and win, wreaking havoc on the surroundings.

The previously pitch-black sky had lit up into a sea of red and green, bathing the land below in splendidly bright light.

As the battle raged on, with clashing, roars, and curses being spewed out from the two within the tall grass, a pair of golden eyes peeked out, eyeing the motionless body of the young boy.

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