When Lightning Strikes: World's Collide Edition

9. The Child of Fire

Vivid bright lights pierced his vision. Disorienting, meddling; they seemed to strike viciously towards his eyes.

Evils are lurking, the voices said. He stared wide-eyed into nothing. Trembling, he refused to acknowledge the whispers. The mere attempt struck tremors that pulsated through his body, his head throbbing with pain.

"Where am I?"

He was in a foreign place; nothing could be recognized, as though he were suddenly plopped down into a different world. A different realm, one that produces echoes of ominous winds and infectious sensations of solitude. He sensed the magnitude of this place; its strange magnetic pull tugged at his feet.

He was lying on his back, facing the sky. Trees, their vivid nature glimmering against the darkness of the night. Flashes sparked across his eyes, violent rays of light. He winced in pain. Unable to move himself, the boy remained motionless on the cool, soft meadow. He watched, as tiny sprinkles of glitter scattered from above, touching his face. It was comforting; warmth and familiarity, the motherly touch of a thousand rain drops.

Blankness occupied his mind. Not even his memories accompanied him in this strange land. He glanced down, attempting to raise his hand. Despite the exhausting effort, it was deemed worthless to try. Paralyzed from head to toe, within a mysterious place, with no one to call out for. An absurd way to die, with no way of knowing what unfolded here.

"Wh-why?" he croaked. "So-someone... help."

But alas, there was no one to call out for. As the boy slowly flickered away, he realized this was the last place he'd ever see. The only voices he'd ever hear ever again, are the ones inside his head.

You've been abandoned again.

A single tear trailed out of the boy's eye. Images started floating into view. Two girls, who he considered family. A mother, who encompassed his world.

Feelings too, began to fester. Hurt, yes. A little pain. Happiness and love wavered through his vision. But all those emotions seemed to be pushed back by the one he truly feared the most.

Hatred. Its deafening red-hot blaze of glory. It flooded into him, overwhelming the poor boy.

Abandoned, left for dead. Unwanted. Again.

He tried to push away the whispers. His body was paralyzed; shaking away the darkness wasn't an option.

Clouds of smoke appeared before his eyes, submerging him within an escalating fog. This seems familiar, have I been here before? Thoughts, they were left lingering in the air.

He caught a whiff of a particular scent in the air. Burning trees; its smoky, earthy fragrance wafted through the air. Something else too. A hint of booze spreading through the winds, as though someone had been binge-drinking. The boy shut his eyes tightly. Now all he saw was darkness.

The fires have burned through the mightiest of walls.

The whispers of the woods snaked into the boys' ears. The mere attempt at movement, caused his entire body to tremble in pain, but he continued. There seemed to be something pushing him on. Some type of energy.

Finally, his hands regained a sliver of motion. His fingers fluttered softly. New energies pulsated through his veins. His heart began pumping a different beat. Faster, much faster. He felt his legs move, slightly bent. His arms worked on autopilot; he managed to lift himself up to his feet. Eyes still closed, the boy curled his hands into fists, gritting his teeth.

"This power." The boy envisioned the strikes of lightning, the streaks illuminating the skies. It's too flashy, too bold, his thoughts reasoned with his desire for power. The power to remove doubt in his mind. The power to finally become free of his darkness.

The Light won't be what you seek.

For once, the boy nodded. The voices took shape within the massive void of darkness. He perceived what seemed to be, smoke radiating from the depths of his realm. It suddenly felt warm; heat seemed to seep inside, as though he was by a campfire.

Inhaling the smoke seemed to make the illusion clearer; it seemed the fog was injected with a special drug. It seemed to pull him deeper within this mirage. Drifting farther into the depths of darkness, he envisioned figures surrounding him. The murkiness of his settings determined the smoky figures indistinguishable.

The rage: Seek it, and you will be reborn, the voices whispered. The tone sounded familiar; a long-fading memory pulled itself from the shadows.

"Wh-who are you? What... what do you want?" His entire body shuddered. It seemed to reject the air, the strange energy surrounding him. Staying here any longer would be detrimental.

Silence filled the air. The smoky figures drew closer, their faces were still unclear. Something clicked into his head. The memory triggered a sliver of emotion, an image of someone.

"Dad?" He cried out. Uncertain and fearful, he stared straight into the abyss.

He's not here, never was.

The boy winced; a pang of sadness washed over him. His eyes lowered. For a moment, the smoky figures remained still, before disappearing into the night.

Tears began to flow down his face. A twitch of pain rippled through his chest; his throat closed in haste. He brought his hand closer to his face. It shook intensely, as he tried to cover his face.

"I just wanted... to see... see him one last-"

Alone, always was. Always will be.

"Shut up." Tears continued to flow, but his face changed. What replaced his soft, child-like demeaner, was a cold layer of nothingness. A barrier, a chilling veil of protection. A mask that covered endless waves of rushing emotion, the mask that replaced them with solemnness.

Within this void, currents of thickening smoke flowed, greater than before. It curled in the air, wisps of smoke passed him by, and rose above the air. There was a tinge to it, a hue of azure.

Abandoned and unwanted. Back then, and even now.

The boy's expression changed yet again. Negative energy surrounding him, seeped into his skin, weaving into his fabric of being.

His eyes, covered in flowing tears, now glowered with hatred. His hands gripped tighter into a fist, their palms turning whiter.

Try to escape; it'll continue to torment. You will never be free.

"Shut up. Shut up. SHUT UP!" The air around him was scorched with endless amounts of pain and animosity. The blue smoke poured like heavy fog. Circulating around him, whipping up a storm. The heat suddenly became unbearable.

His eyes: They transformed again. What replaced his cold stare of hostility, were vivid bright lights of sapphire, spinning and churning just behind his irises.

His fingers erupted with energy. Dark energy. The very ones he'd tried to fend off. No use now; they exploded from beyond the barrier, unleashing well within his persona.

Your friends abandoned you, just as your father did.

Submerge yourself within the rage.

Flames rose up in front of him. Fires of Sapphire. They churned and scorched, whipping up a storm that shredded through the gloomy air.

Try to avoid it, you'll be consumed.

The fires burned through the smoky figures, who shrieked in excruciating pain. Their cries echoed through the depths of the void.

The vivid, azure flames churned along the surface of his skin, enveloping him in a layer of fiery energy. A blanket of protection, to shield him from the pain.

The growing wall of fire in front of him beckoned him forward. As though a rite of passage. The boy glanced behind him. There was nothing, just an endless barrage of destroyed remnants and intense pain.

Escape the pain, only to end up a villain of mass destruction.

Within the chaos, the child of fire had risen. Surrounded by the wicked flames of azure.