If the flames wrest upon our hands, would we quell its rage? Can we bear to watch as it erodes us, our hearts squirming from its place? What about justice? A hope so abhorrent in this world that it is but a fleeting blow of the wind.

The fire. Purple flames run rampant in the streets. Houses burning, people screaming. It gave me a visage of what hell is. I cannot feel a thing. I’m floating, floating in the abyss. Or was it soot and ash? Or snow? Ah. It is the winter season, yet the fire, although warm, is not affected by the cold. Rather, it clings to its coldness, that purple flame.

Everything is dark. Except for the roaring fires. It fears me, yet it draws me in. I cannot avert it; The warm plume that was supposed to give comfort on white winters now brings forth destruction to my home.

Everything is dark, I cannot remember a thing. Only the feeling of wetness in my face lingers in my senses. Was it because of the heat, or was it from my eyes? I only watched, resting my body within the rubble, paralyzed within the flames.

The fire. The heat. All of it. It seethed into me, culminating into a hollow, cracked emptiness that not even the light can hope to pierce. My mind was blinded by confusion, but I wanted to see through it all so much that I had the raging urge to slam it all unto the ground. But with a frail body as mine? I cannot even move.

‘What is it that you want?’ A voice called out. It melded with the roaring of the flames.

I could not utter a single word, but it answered.

‘You have a somber boon in your heart, but I see flame. A will to seek justice. Hmm... You want to fight fire with fire?’

I heard it chuckle.

‘A pitiful feat. All too well for a boy. You're weak. Frail. Everything is unknown to you. But still you breathe. Very well…’

Then, amidst the still-burning cinders, a tone awakened. It was disoriented, even from reality. I cannot comprehend its motive, but it is familiar. Too familiar… As I listen with intent to that amalgamation, I felt something was jutted out of me and replaced, though I cannot be bothered to care. All I had was the anger cracking through my skin. My head felt heavy as I land into the ash. It was a pain to my mind, but I cannot help but feel… rewarded. The resulting smoke floated above my nose, but the surface which my head rested on was quite soft.

‘Hmm... I too, cannot remember. Only a singularity. But you are far too committed. That seething sense of vengeance amidst a hollow mind... It compliments the fire around you: Eating the surface with its flames, yet blindly so.’ The voice sighed, but his reaction gave off a feeling of satisfaction.

‘Bestowing this is the least I can do, child. For now, I'll submerge deep within...’ The voice faded back into the flames, and there I laid still, amidst the rubble.

I thought nothing of that voice all along. All part of my rage, I thought. All part of me. If I am to be bothered, it was my own weak sense of justice. Hmm, justice…

A fleeting sense of hope.

The fire settled, both around me and in me. I am warm.

I’ll let it embrace me a bit longer…

Dawn rises in the white plains. A reconnaissance vehicle double the size of a tank swiftly drives along the snowscape, leaving smoke-like trails of aqua hue that jitter in the atmosphere. A recon group was sent to a town within a valley. It's name: Mido.

“In Mido, the delicacies are better, right?” A man sitting on a cushioned seat questions, carefully tracing the rim of a cup steaming with coffee in one hand, and the other combing his hair to one side. The humming of the engine and crunching of snow outside dims his words, but it was heard nonetheless.

“Here we go again, glutton Gen.” A soft, yet sultry feminine voice barked at him. “We are in a support mission; the food goes after!”

“Hm. Fine.” Gen concluded. The conversation ended even before an actual discussion can emerge.

The comms taps its signals, trying to reach out to their destination. Mido. A remote town located in the Northern Hemisphere of Alto. The seasons here work, but winter has a longer time period than the rest, and the snow is thicker, making travel for this reconnaissance team harder.

“Strange, no one is hailing us.” A man in a coarse voice wondered. He repeated the same message pings, but to no avail.

“Weather interference perhaps?” Gen suggested. The man gestured a no with his head and pointed to a window.

“No snowstorms, not even an overcast. Everything is clear. I think we should—”

“Guys? Is that supposed to be...?”

Another voice emanated. This time, it came from the upper portion of the vehicle. Everyone inside, no less than five people, looked ahead of them from the driver seat. From the horizon, a pillar of smoke was seen. With their vehicle nearing further, a forest starts to emerge into their vision, the smoke now more visible, and were observed to be dozens of patches of pillars.

“Shit. Don’t tell me we’re too late.” The driver worriedly said as he clasped the steering wheel tightly with his burly hands.

“Quick, get to it!” Another voice of a woman urged him. The vehicle accelerated past the clearing of thick trees, and in every meter they approach, reality kicks in harder. Scorched wood, bodies of guards lain dead everywhere, combusted and unidentifiable.

“They hit on midnight?” Gen lost his appetite. The thought of having a good meal in Mido has completely left him. The vehicle veered away from the rubble scattered on the now snow-covered road and parked in front of a toppled building that blocked further access. the engines stopped, and the metal side doors hissed as they open.

“Everyone, investigate.” All five leapt out of the vehicle, boots crunching white snow mixed with soot, their black trench coats starting to catch snow amidst the breeze. As they look around, the contrasting colors of black and white created an atmosphere of stagnancy. It is eerily quiet. Not even crows dared to stay. The towering buildings were only a mere visage of what once was there, now reduced to their bare foundations, tainted in black. Built-up snow slowly forming mounds above the rubble gave the team a crucial information about this tragedy:

It happened much sooner than they expected.

“Fein, care to explain?” He asked the captain of the group, who assured his composure and answered in a calm voice.

“The message was intercepted about two hours ago. To be this late means the culprits delayed the SOS.”

“A buffer, perhaps?”

The scout, who was at the upper observation platform of the vehicle, said to them.

“Most likely. Sora, get in here.” Fein called.

“A buffer delays an interception… Damn!” Sora, the scout, exclaimed in time with his feet planting on the snow. “We made an early mistake. The buffer probably doubled or even tripled the delay!”

“We need to find out whatever we can. Move!” The captain ordered. The team spread out, searching through burnt houses and lifting scorched planks. The town, despite being called one, was albeit condensed. With the front and back walls just a few blocks away, one can feel claustrophobic amidst the mass of buildings. As they rummaged for everything, each one of them found that whatever happened here was akin to a mass-murder: Charred corpses hidden beneath the snow, limbs cut off, people huddling, with terrified expressions frozen in their faces. There is no hard evidence of who or what, or even why all of this had to happen.

After a while, each member regrouped. One look at the team, and one can say they are disappointed. The snow-capped valley concealed them from the world, and their culprit and any trace of evidence were nowhere to be found.

“This is a shitshow indeed.” Gen commented, placing his arms in the pockets of his suit. Slightly irritated, he nudged Fein. “This was supposed to be a recon mission for these people. Did command anticipate any possibility of an attack when we were briefed?”

“No. It was a tonal disturbance, which is likely to occur in this part of the world. Still, I never expected to be this… severe.” Fein rubbed his chin, hunched over a panel of wood, and saw an amulet protruding out of it. It was circular, a silver base lain with ornate runes, and a chiseled topaz as its centerpiece. He admired it a little and forcibly yanked it out. The tension released the accessory and cracked the panel into cinders.

“It is hard enough to use abilities here, and this comes. *sigh*” Gen reacted, leaning back into the steel frame of their vehicle.

After a while, a somewhat petite woman and a big, muscular man, whose mullet and beard are already starting to show gray, emerged from a block, the latter seemingly lifting an antenna-like device.

“We have nothing, cap’n. Same messages on the airwave. Should we report back to base?” Fein threw the amulet and the engineer caught it with his free hand.

“Give command a sitrep. We should at least notify them.” The man nodded, proceeding to show the amulet thrown to him.

“What’s this, then?”

“A memento, Gris.”

Sora, pacing through the thick snow, called for his colleagues.

“Guys! Wiz found someone!” The surprise in his voice made everyone go into full alert.

The team trudged through the snow-laden road. They followed Sora back a few houses, leading them into an alleyway which emerged into the town center. This particular house overlooked the town hall, which was probably the biggest building in the entire town. Nothing was to be checked there, however, as it was flattened to the ground.

There was a massive clearing in the roof. Snowfall is coming inside through it. The ceiling was chipped away, likely from the fires. Wiz, their medic, was tending to someone. A boy in tattered clothes thick with soot, likely in his teens, lay unmoving on Wiz’s thighs. His hair was messed, made thick by the ash. On his visible skin lies dark blotches, possibly burns and sustained bruises. He was visibly breathing deep, the air coming out of his mouth emanated a hoarse sound every cycle, likely from severe smoke inhalation. As the others came to her assistance, she whispers to the boy, which was almost as blank as the monotony around them.

“Don’t. I’m here.” Trying to give comfort, she gave a voice of assurance that he will be saved and cradled him into her arms. The boy manages to only groan from the intense pain he felt, but cannot exclaim.

“Get a med-kit immediately!” Fein ushered the others, but Wiz signed for them to stop.

Focusing, she chanted. To hone her ability, she waved across the space in front of her, and ethereal, glasslike strings came out. These were translucent, ever so slightly phasing the space it contains and distorts it, glowing cold hues of color, like an aurora. The others stared. They know she can handle this situation on her own. But the repercussions, however...

“O grantor of life, Heed upon my gracious call, as I revere thee. Let the strings of fate manifest and grant me the power to mend the afflicted.”

The aura grew vibrant and latched themselves into the boy. This rejuvenated his near-death body and dissipated the impurities. After a few seconds, visible changes emerged, but the boy was still paralyzed. Unmoving, but breathing. Wiz looked at the boy she saved, smiled and suddenly slumped down, ruining her hazel fringe hair in the process.

“Oi, Wiz!” The woman exclaimed and knelt to both of them. Fein and the others ran back to get essentials for the immobile party. Wiz reached out a weakened hand, touched the woman’s, and said, “Enna, it’s alright. He’s safe… now…’ She eventually fell unconscious.

Enna arranged Wiz’s hair into her back. “Wizbette, you pretentious princess. Now we have two more bodies to lug around...”

The group briefed command, who hurried them back, and assured cleanup will respond. Their two unconscious passengers were made comfortable in the vehicle’s med bay. Labelling their vehicle a tank is an understatement: It is a small moving fortress, equipped with every essential needs.

The team cannot help but feel remorse; if only they were notified sooner, lives might have not been lost, and they would have brought justice to this tragedy.

“Mido. Another town unfortunate to be lost.” Gris sighed as he placed the amulet in a box, tucked it in a drawer, and drove his team out of the destroyed town.

For the duration of the ride back to the city, no one shared a word. They had failed an investigation, and to make matters worse, this was just the beginning of another mystery, begging to be solved. The weight of the lives of others were too heavy for the team to carry at this time, sadly.

It was a warm feeling. I thought I’ll just die in the cold, but something pinched me. It was warm, like an embrace, tightening me. Like a person inserting their utmost feelings to comfort...

Am I saved?

I tried to open my eyes. Even that small deal was an effortful feat, like lifting a heavy hatch to be opened. Once I succeeded, I was rushed by light. It was blinding, its as if I lived in a cave all my life. I cannot focus on anything, so I closed them again.

I tried to smell. The stingy aroma of burnt wood is still there. I exhaled as deep as I could. It was painful, like splinters scattered all around both of my lungs. I tried my best to inhale again, but I squinted my eyes at the pain. I wanted to pluck it all away, but my body won’t let me. I soon realized I was floating. I only felt the weight of the air inside my lungs and the sharp pain that accompanied it. The pain set in so deep that tears fell in my eyes.

I am paralyzed. I am in pain. The tears itched my face so much I wanted to wipe them off, but because of frustration, I only let out more. I want to get out of this state. Is this even living?

I should’ve just died. Nothing is waiting for me. I can't even remember...

Why bother?

Suddenly, I felt warm air condensing in the left side of my face. I couldn’t bear to look, as the lights still pierced my eyes. Something is reaching out. Small strokes from my cheeks to the lower lids of my eyes cleansed the tears away.

It was only when she talked that I realized I still have my hearing.

“The world offers new chances. You are safe, now.”

That voice soothed me. It gave my weakened mind assurance that everything is going to be okay. Still under the belt of pain, I had nothing to do but to focus on those words:

The world offers new chances?

If that is true, then...

I am safe.

The sun was up. An overcast reign supreme over the blue skies. It was noon when the recon group arrived at the city gates. As a towering wall lined with reinforced hard metals brushed by hints of snow loomed above them, it imposed a strong sense of resilience and protection to anyone outside its perimeters.

The vehicle slowly inched into a clearing, the only entryway from the outside world to the city. After a few discussions with the guards, with a nod, the intercom hailed them.

“Apprehension Group, Designation Seven, you are permitted to enter Migny.”