The Initials | Nanowrimo 2023

15| Conquering The Flame

The trio bake in the sweltering heat, having moved their training sessions to the one part of the bunker where they can interact with the outside world.

The small patch of land is located at the centre of the structure, making it easier to forget they're still trapped inside with the real sky above their heads.

There's even an outside tap attached to a hose that they've been using to put out fires whenever Helel got tired of trying to teach him how to extinguish fires with his powers.

Cloud immediately protests against Helel's threat, dropping his aching arms after struggling to channel anything larger than a spark for the past ten minutes. "I always knew you were sick Helel, but torturing your own friend? Is that really how low you're willing to go?"

"You have no idea what I've done to get here! No idea!" he retorts, burning with enough fury to startle Cloud and Hunter.

Helel rarely loses his cool with Cloud, even when he and Hunter were joking around he only ever shook his head or gave the pair a disapproving glare, so his sudden outburst is alarming.

However, Cloud isn't all too surprised. He's seen what Helel is capable of, seen how willing he is to snuff out life. He only ever assumed it would be a matter of time before his mask would begin to slip.

Just out of principle, Cloud swiftly decides to snap back, assuming that in a pissing contest he'd be stubborn enough to win. "I've tried it your way but nothing you've done has worked!"

Helel leaps off his boulder to join Hunter and Cloud on the ground. "If we had done it my way I would have already thrown you off a cliff."

"I'd rather be thrown off a cliff than spend another moment with the guy who can't even look me in the eyes when speaking to me because he's ashamed!"

Helel scoffs, opening his hand expectantly in Hunter's direction. "I regret nothing-"

"-you regret everything, which is why you're here, pretending you don't care, pretending you don't like having me around!"

Helel locks his eyes on Cloud, staring at him with a gaze that Cloud doesn't quite understand.

The tension between them eventually reaches its climax once Helel calmly gives the order. "Fine, Hunter, break a finger of your choosing."

It's a simple command, one that the Hellhound doesn't hesitate in completing, dislocating his pinky finger so fast that it bends awkwardly like a twisted pipe.

Cloud closes his eyes, hearing Hunter's scream get stuck in his throat followed by heavy breathing.

"Channel something as large as this." Helel utters, opening his palm to summon a ball of fire out of thin air.

Cloud taps into the power behind the Snare, letting the energy surge through him, creating a fireball on his first try.

It's much smaller than Helel's at first but eventually with much effort it grows to the correct size. Unfortunately, unlike Helel's, the flame goes out within a few second.

"Hunter."

Cloud drops to his knees after feeling Hunter's agony through their temporary bond once he snaps his ring finger in half. "You don't have to do this!"

Hunter grinds his teeth together, foaming at the mouth as burning tears streak down his face. "Do the spell!" he growls, spit flying from his mouth.

"He wouldn't have to do this if you would just start tapping into your gifts."

Cloud staggers to his feet, failing at resisting the primal urge to scream out of frustration before summoning another fireball. "I'm trying!"

"Then the solution to your problem is simple. Try. Harder."

Cloud channels his anger into his fireball, getting stuck in a trance like state without realising that it is the largest one he has ever created on command.

However the anger is fleeting as the raging flames trigger flashing shots of Mortelix in his mind.

Cloud drops his hands, hiding his face from the others whilst wiping his eyes with the back of his thumbs and whispers to himself as he counts down from five.

"That was just a glimpse of your true potential. There's more of it waiting to be used."

"The Snare-"

"-the Snare is as much of an obstacle as you make it. Instead of looking at it as a curse, view it as your shield. Until now it's kept your powers in check and let you live a normal life."

Helel can tell he's losing him so he decides to push further. "Think back to when you channelled enough power to defend against a dragon. That power only came to you when you were protecting something you care about."

Cloud whips his head around so sharply that he can also guarantee he'll have a migraine later. "I'm not letting you spin this into a teaching moment."

"If that makes you feel better."

Cloud sigh, just wanting to go curl up into a ball and hide in his stuffy room. "So what next, you torture my parents in front of me?" he inquires, his glare intensity once he notes the drawn out silence.

"If I have to."

Before he realises what he's doing, Cloud summons not one but three balls of fire, his eyes glowing amber just like they had the first time he channelled.

He struggles to breathe, his heart pattering away in exhilaration of having this charging energy pulsating through him.

The power is intoxicating like lightning waiting to be zapped out of his fingertips but the eagerness to release it forces him to pull back.

Helel treads carefully as he approaches Cloud, choosing to speak softly. "Whatever it is, let it go.

"What if I can't?"

Helel clasps Cloud's hands together, the fires gradually dwindling into nothingness as the lights in Cloud's eyes fade

"Courage is not the absence of fear. And of all the elements, fire represents that the most." Helel peers down at Cloud's hands in his, looking back on times long before this. "Fire tests us all, claiming those who are not strong enough to conquer the power."

"Conquer fire?"

Helel proceeds to sets his hands on fire, their skin remaining unharmed even in that state, feeling oddly pleasant to Cloud.

"Once you conquer the flame, no one, not even the darkest of souls, can snuff out the light."