Kingdom of Life and Death (The Fifth Element Chronicles)

Chapter 7 "The Flame of Creation" [part 1]

Perhaps this was as far as my path had gone.

I would be forever locked in the far reaches of this strange fiery world with a God to whom I only seemed a foolish child.

All because of my feelings.

My feelings were out of control and now the pain was unbearable.

I had no way to stop what was happening.

I just let the pain take me.

And soon, I stopped feeling it.

But not for the reason I thought.

His finger, or claw, or whatever it was that he had kept fixed on my right arm, suddenly released me.

'Humans, so dramatic.'

Out of reflex I hugged my arm.

It was hot, boiling hot, which gradually subsided.

That's when I saw it.

The fire mark that Phoenix had.

The same mark that the King of Vulcan lay on my skin.

A flame.

What did it mean?

What had happened?

'What did you do to me?' I asked haltingly, my words still shaky after what had happened.

'I gave you the gift.'

'The gift?'

That was what had made me feel like I would die from the pain?

If it was going to feel like that every time, I wasn't sure I wanted to keep gathering them.

'Yes, the gift. The way you will contact the Fifth God is if all the powers align on you. He will only see you when he knows that we trust you enough to give you that much power.'

'Do you trust me?'

He watched me closely, his movements more animal-like than human.

'You were sincere and honest, fearless and straightforward. I will trust you... for now. I hope you won't disappoint me. With Crey I chose... never mind. If you let me down, I'll burn everyone you love alive.'

I didn't understand what I was supposed to do now, or how my life would change after this, but his threat was clear to me.

'And what will I do with this?' I said showing him the scar of the mark he had left on me.

'With that flame on your skin, I shared with you the power of the fire sign, my sign.'

It couldn't be true.

I was not only going to collect the signs, but the power of them.

My power was that of creation, but now having this power meant I could control fire itself. 

I would be as powerful as a Vulcan King or Queen.

'I... I don't know if...'

'If I shared it with you, it's because I know you can handle it. I expect you will control the shadows, because you were honest about your own weakness, something Crey would never have dreamed of doing.'

If Crey had battled the same shadows I had... it meant he had lost the fight. It was the only way to explain his change and his darkness.

The man I had heard in the memories of the wealcere was not the man I had been told about in the legends about Crescendo.