At the precipice of his insanity and failure to hold on—within the scarlet flames that made up his current world—appeared a light, bright and gold. From within it, came what appeared to Jonas, in his current state, a being made of nothing but a golden color.

Wherever it touched, the fire receded. The flames almost looked afraid of being in contact with it.

“Rejoice!” The golden being roared, blowing back the fire around Jonas’s body. “For the Father does not forget his children!”

Jonas floated in a state of shock. The sudden appearance of this being had his mind working hard just to catch up. He had gotten used to the flames and the agony that covered every inch of his body. This feeling of coolness and comfort the being exuded was foreign to his senses.

How long had he been here?

For all he knew, it could all have been nothing but scant seconds and nothing more. Or on the other side of the spectrum, it could have been a millennium in totality. There was no way to tell the difference in nothing but the red tinted world he was in.

Jonas raised his hand to cover his vulnerable eyes, the bright lights were just too strong. As he did so, he noticed that the scorch marks were nowhere to be seen, the evidence of his suffering all but gone. He was completely healed—at least physically.

The golden being shifted in its spot. “Do you not have ears to listen? A mind to comprehend what I’ve spoken?”

Jonas peeked past his forearm, his eyes becoming more alive. Though he had only one question that kept his mind going. “H-how long has it been?”

“Seven days mortal.”

He sighed, dropping his arm in the process. “So little, felt like ages.”

“A hundred more are to come. For Gargarjkutar has yet to find his answer.”

“What?! No!”

The golden being waved its arm towards him. With the motion came a light summer breeze, a feeling of home and family. “Worry not, mortal. The Father does not neglect his children.”

With a snap of the finger, the golden being disappeared and with him the light. With his absence, a void was left for the fire to engulf. Like waves of an ocean, the fire rose and fell towards the epicenter of it all, towards him.

“N-no!” Jonas covered his face and huddled to himself. It had been a long time since he felt this feeling of belonging to a family and he longed to it fiercely.

He wanted to tease Gregor once more, rely on Ash, and let his heart out to Frezar once more. He wanted to feel connected to someone or anything as long as it staved away the loneliness that hurt far more than the fire itself.

He waited for it all to being again.

But the flames never burned him. They lapped at his body, greedily grabbing onto every part of him. They did not harm him, rather they healed in their own unique way. Burning off the burned flesh and wounded soul only to replace it with its own creation.

Slowly his mortal skin was replaced with that of flame. But, unlike the pure existences that surrounded him, he still had a hard physical existence just like a normal body.

Without knowing what had happened, only that the...angel had done something, he floated in the mass as it continually revolved around him. The flames looked joyous to finally get its chance to speak to him in their own ways, a frequency and vibrations shook the world around him as each part of the fire tried to speak over the other.

They acted closer to children that had seen their most favorite person in the world. Dancing and singing in that low reverberating frequency they called their own. Some wouldn’t even part from his body, covering him completely except for his eyes and mouth.

Jonas laughed. He, without ever noticing, was being carried away by their jubilance. His one greatest wish had been resolved, loneliness had been pushed away. What other reason could he have to exist but to be with them?

He…

Was he supposed to return somewhere?

Was someone waiting for him?

Where had he been beforehand?

He shook his head, there wasn’t time for those useless questions. Only time for the play and fun he could have with the fire spirits. Just the thought of it made him giddy.

Without knowing how, he began to glide and race on the flames as though they were solid ground. He had started to become one with the flames, whether that was good or not was yet to be seen.