Beyond the Rift ✔ (Completed)

Chapter 18: Fire in the belly

Alexis

"I'm not... sure if I can do that." I stagger back.

"Yes, you can."

"No. I mean, I'm not certain if I can generate the fire. What if the Aether gets triggered?"

"That is why you have to focus." He folds his arms across his chest and waits for me to start.

I sigh. It's no point trying to convince him. He really means to get this done, so do I. If we really wanted to defeat the devil, this is how.

I face the two piles, which are still stacked firmly. The third one is almost turned into a heap of grey ash. That fire burnt out way too fast. Strange.

I clasp my hands just in the way Ethan had done, my eyes peering at the gap, waiting for a flame to show up. I imagine the fire, nonetheless, nothing happens. I clap my hands and start all over again. I also try mimicking Ethan; by enlarging an imaginary fireball, although, I look stupid, but I think it might work. I patiently wait for something to happen. Buppkis.

"Do you have any idea what you are doing?" Ethan's confused face implied my condition.

I open my mouth to speak, but close it as soon as I realize, I have nothing to answer. I couldn't produce the essence. He told me jack shit, other than to focus. What is that supposed to mean?

"Fire; it is not like water, earth or air for that matter. You can't think about it and make it happen. You can't summon it to do your 'bidding'."

He walks up to me with his shiny silver weapon. When he flicks the 12-inch blade, it lights up with the same orange flames as before; a bit warm and less intense.

"Our essences are fueled by our emotion. They basically reflect our reaction to things that have happened in our past; memories that keep us going."

My eyes are on the flicking flames of his blade. I try to comprehend his words as the heat from his flame augments.

"Fire essence requires motive. It feeds on rage, hate and vengeance. You need to possess at least one of the above."

"But, I have no grudge against anyone." I counteract.

He looks at me, while he seems to do some serious thinking. After few seconds, he speaks again.

"Not even the tridents? Ramiel? Duma? Not after what they did to our base?"

I remember, our initial plan was to report to the headquarters, but the tridents had destroyed the base, before we could make it. And hence, we had to go to a secret base, which was in-turn infiltrated by them within a fortnight. We lost 5 men in that fight and our entire team split up.

"Aren't you angry at the mayhem they have caused till now? The people they have killed? The people they have hurt?" The flame flickers again. "What about Elvira? Don't you want to avenge her death?"

The heat surrounds us, making me breathe harder. I feel my heart sting, like someone has slowly inserted a red-hot knife through it and left it there.

All the times when I remembered Elvira for the pass days, I would silently swallow the rage and blame myself for the events that are unfolding, but deep down I knew that I had develop hate against the trident siblings. I wanted to hurt them, however, I let my reasonable-self handle her loss and considered to be moderate for the time being.

"What about your father? Don't you detest that monster for annihilating an important person from your life? That led you to misunderstand your own father so badly? Don't you feel to rip them apart?" His final words ignite the fuse of the gunpowder, eventually firing up the white-hot ball of pure fury in me.