The Desolate Plain

The fiery figure slowly walked towards Kaelen, he backed away in response. Everything about the figure before him reeks of bad news. It's not like Kaelen could simply talk his way out of the impending disaster and be at peace with it; he wasn't even sure if that thing could respond to him. As he slowly backed away, an invisible force held him in place, it seemed that the monoliths were serving as reference points to create an invisible barrier that surrounded them. 

'Oh that is just great!'

The fiery figure extended its right hand, conjuring a black flame that hovered in its palm. It then hurled the flame in Kaelen's direction. With quick reflexes, Kaelen barely managed to leap out of the way. The flame singed his shoulder, causing a portion of his white tunic to disintegrate.

"Hey! This is my favorite outfit you shithead!" 

The figure paid no mind to Kaelen's words, continuing to hurl flames after flames with both of its hand into his direction. Kaelen dodged each flame with difficulty, unsure of what to do. He looked around the surrounding area, but there was nothing except himself and the fiery figure encircled by the towering monoliths playing cat and mouse with his life at stake.

However, as Kaelen fought for his life—or rather, ran for it—he noticed a slight change in the figure's atmosphere. The black flames that once burned vigorously on its body were slowly dimming, little by little.

Realizing this, Kaelen has two assumptions: either the flames on its body would continue to fade with time, or the act of it hurling flames at him was causing them to weaken. Whichever assumption was correct, it all came down to a battle of wits and stamina between the two, to see which one would be downed first. Gasping for air, Kaelen mocked the fiery figure with a taunting gesture and a smile on his face.

"Alright, come at me, you shithead!"

In response to Kaelen's provocation, the figure's sinister smile widened even more.

***

As time passed, Kaelen grew tired of continuously dodging the black flames. Eventually, his fatigue caused him to trip on the edge of the barrier—a fatal mistake.

"Shit!"

Seizing the opportunity, the fiery figure hurled the black flame towards Kaelen, who was laying on the ground.

As soon as the black flame came in contact with him, a loud scream is heard across the plain.

"AARRGGHH!!!"

A searing wave of agony erupted through Kaelen's body, as though molten iron had been poured into his veins. He rolled around on the ground, his muscles contorting and spasming uncontrollably. His vision blurred with tears of torment, and his breath came in ragged gasps. Every nerve felt as if it were on fire. Kaelen glimpsed at the fiery figure as it appeared to be mocking him.

'you.. son of a..'

Suddenly, a ray of light descended from the sky, enveloping Kaelen's entire body and his surrounding until he disintegrated from existence, leaving no trace on its path. Miraculously, he then reappeared in the center of the circle where he had once sat. 

"What the hell?!" 

The excruciating pain that had erupted through his body suddenly vanished. Kaelen was clueless about what had happened, but he was just grateful he didn't have to endure that torturous experience ever again.

The fiery figure, observing Kaelen's condition, began to move as if it was irritated by the events that had just occurred. The flames that hovers on both of its hand slowly disappeared. It then closed both of its hands into fists before stretching its arms out in front and bringing them together with a deliberate motion. As both of its hands slowly moved away from each other, a sword began to materialize, filling the gap between them.

"Oh come on, give me a break you shithead!"

The sword features a striking black hilt. With its pommel wrapped in dark, tattered bandages, fraying at the edges and threatening to unravel with each movement. The blade itself is a deep, dark hue, almost like a shadow made solid. The black flames that were surrounding the fiery figure slowly dissapeared and starts to flow into the sword itself. As the black flame merges with the dark blade, it pulses with a sinister energy, causing the entire sword to radiate a menacing, shadowy light.

Kaelen, now in a more dire predicament than before, began to shiver slightly. But knowing that a single mistakes could cost him his life, he took a deep breath and started to assess the situation at hand.

For now, the lights. How many times can the lights help him if he finds himself in trouble again, and do they only appear when he is feeling threatened or in pain? Speaking of the light, it did come crashing into him from... above. As he looked up, the three aligned stars had now become only two.

'I see, so those stars above probably act as some sort of lifeline for me, which means if I get hit two more times—'

Not finishing his thought, Kaelen gulped nervously. He then took a deep breath to calm himself down. Unlike before, flames thrown from a distance could be slightly dodged by him, the problem now is that the fiery figure has adopted a different approach: close-quarters combat. Kaelen, being weaponless, is at a significant disadvantage. Unless—

Kaelen suddenly thought of an insane plan that could gamble his life. He knows that what he was about to do is beyond insane but he couldn't think of any other plans. As he slowly firm his resolve, he then taunted the figure once more. 

It responded to Kaelen's provocation by dashing toward him. Kaelen, anticipating this move, also charged onto it. The fiery figure positioned its sword in a stabbing manner toward Kaelen. Seeing this, Kaelen reflectively moved; not to dodge but instead to braced himself to confront the tip head-on with his body.

The tip of the blade pierced through his left shoulder. Still not used to the excruciating pain, Kaelen screamed in agony once again. But this time, he grabbed the blade of the sword with his right hand and held it tight, as if his life depended on it. Not long after, a light descended from above, enveloping Kaelen's entire body, disintegrating him along with the sword that is pierced through him.

He once again reappeared in the center of the circle with the sword in his right hand.

"Fuck! now is my turn you son of a bitch!"