A profound warmth

The guards are quiet, because they are dead. I killed them, slaughtered them. There was no mercy in my brutal assault.

There was no hope of victory in their eyes, only fear. Then, even that was gone, replaced with the same emptiness they had been living with.

Their lifeless bodies surround me in droves. The putrid stench of death, fills my nose.

Sigh... I need to hurry and find Shadar. My body is cold and tired, I won't be able to move for much longer.

Just as I finish that thought; the world begins to tremble.

A ferocious roar echoes through the prison, and with it comes a humongous worm-like creature. It's long body scrapes against the stone walls of the prison, it's large maw open wide - ready to devour everything in it's path.

It rises higher and higher, destroying each cell block, devouring the slaves trapped within them.

I can't let it continue, but what can I do? My flames only burn sea monsters, is this thing one?

I don't know, there's only one way to find out.

I step to the edge, staring down at the ever rising creature.

The stone walls of the prison crack, beginning to fall apart.

Allowing myself to fall down the lightless pit, I summon my flames once more. Their cold embrace wraps around me. My eye's spark weakly with blue radiance, as I plummet down towards the monster bellow.

It's jaws rising up to meet me, only to retract as my flames tickle it's taste buds. Scortching it's mouth.

So it is a sea monster... this I can work with.

Plummeting down with great speed, I have no way to land, nowhere to land. The monster opens it's maw once again, willing to devour everything. It's greed knows no bounds, ready to consume anything if it means it will satiate it's gluttonous hunger.

Engulfed in flames, I fall down, in a ball of blue flames. Straight into the beasts wide maw, it's sharp teeth threatening to tear me apart.

Now be devoured by your own greed.

Snap. The monsters maw closes in on me.

Blue flames flow down the beast's throat, unleashing a torrent of incandescent fury. Its internal organs are instantly reduced to smoldering, charred remnants, while its blood is vaporized into a cloud of scorching ash. The creature's body begins to convulse, its exterior skin crackling and charring as the flames continue their ruthless destruction.

The monster is large... how long will this go on for? How long can I hold on for?

As long I still breathe.

The monster squirms, as it's insides are incinerated, it's large body smashing against the stone walls.

I hold onto it's sharp teeth, so that I'am not forced down it's throat.

The prison trembles as it begins to fall in on itself. The dark stone walls shatter, plummeting down the lightless pit.

'I need to get to Shadar, and where is that She-devil?!'

My last thought, as the flames consume my conscious. I've push my body to it's limit. My bones feel like ice, ready to break at any moment.

The worm-like monster rages on, it's pained shrieks fill the collapsing prison, as if the prison itself were in pain.

In the corner of my eye, a red haired devil sprints up the shattered steps, a shadow follows behind.

Can I rest now? Without waiting for an answer, my eye's close shut.

The worms ferocious squirming threatens to squash those bellow.

"Not yet" A deep voice, echoes within me. My eye's open, but they are not my own.

The white of my eye's have turned black, my deep black eyes burn ferociously with blue flames.

My body moves, yet I'am not the one moving... what is this?

My vision is clouded, as if I'am looking through a glass bottle.

Something builds up within me, something that has always been there, but never within reach.

I feel warm...

Blue flames surround me, they engulf everything, the entire prison.

The lightless void of the bottomless pit, now radiates with incandescent blue flames, illuminating every shadow.

The flames embrace me, protecting me. I feel a deep love from them. They wrap around me, wishing to never let go...

A profound warmth... something I've never felt before.

"You've done well to survive, child." The deep voice tells me, softly. "...But remember... your-"

The deep voice is gone, as it had never been there in the first place.

Perhaps it was a dream... such deep love could only be felt from a dream.

***

I awaken at the entrance of the prison, my body's to weak to move, so I lay quietly in the embrace of cool shadows.

My vision is blurry, throat dry. My blue coat covered in blood and ash.

The prison has fallen in on itself... filled to the brim with shattered stone and corpses.

Corpses...

'Where are my friends...?' I think to myself, as a pale hand reaches out from the shadows. It pulls me into a tight embrace, something wet drips onto my face, it rolls down my cheek. Attempting to quench my dying thirst, I lick it.

Salty... tears?

Wiping my eye's weakly, I look up at my crying friend. His skin paler than usual, cheeks sunken, lips chapped.

"...Shadar?" I manage to ask, weakly. Tears building up in my own eye's. His alive?

"Yeah... it's me." He says, hoarsly.

He gazes down at me with the best smile he can muster. "I'm glad your alive, Mavro."

I return a smile but before I can answer, I'am rudley interrupted by a red haired devil.

"What about me, huh?" Maggie asks, dragging a bloody sack, bigger than her own body.

"Glad to see you too, Maggie" I say, genuinely.

She turns away sheepishly, "W-Well good! Now let's get out of here before the Crown arrives."

Right... the Crown. We destroyed one of there prisons, we're sure to be captured and executed for this, not that I'd allow that to happen.

Shadar helps me up, allowing me to hold onto his shoulder. His bloody shoulder...

"What happened?" I ask, worried.

He chuckles before answering, "Nothing serious, you know how prey fights back sometimes."

"Prey?" I ask

He smirks, a cold, mirthless smile, and points a pale finger at the bloody sack that Maggie drags unceremoniously across the stony surface, leaving a trail of dark stains in its wake.