[ZERO SPACE]

A handful of fire wizard flames roasted Umi’s eyes one at a time.

“CARE STARE!”

Umi’s six eyes blinked back into existence.

“Thanks, buddy!” shouted Umi.

“Mister Umi, be careful,” said Bez. “I’m running low on SP!”

“Don’t worry, buddy,” shouted Umi. “I’m full of care!”

Winding up his warhammer, Umi batted the wizard through a seventh story window.

Fire Wizard

“We’ve got this!” shouted Umi. “The wizard’s low on health!”

“Yesssss,” screeched the fire wizard. “Just enough health to destroy you.”

Kezzle’s tiny beetle body approached the wizard at ramming speed –

A fiery blast redirected her through a shopping center’s center.

“Miss Kezzle!” shouted Bez.

“She’s fine, buddy!” shouted Umi. “Kezzle loves getting hit!”

“Wait, Mister Umi,” said Bez. “Above you!”

Umi dove back as the wizard crashed down, cleaving through concrete.

Bez flipped into the fray –

“Hey Mister Wizard,” said Bez. “Take this!”

The fire wizard took a Bez-boot to the face.

Fire Wizard

“Holy snap,” said Bez. “I barely did anything!”

The fire wizard turned to reciprocate –

“Uh oh –” said Bez.

“GRAVITY DOME!” yelled Umi.

A brown dome of energy carried Bez out of harm’s way - harm being a lashing lasso of fire.

“Stay back, buddy!” shouted Umi. “Leave ol’ fire face to me!”

Bez stumbled sideways, coughing out soot and smoke.

“I can fight!” said Bez. “I can help!”

“Your healing helps a lot more!” shouted Umi. “If you get fried, we’re both toast!”

A streak of fire toasted Umi.

“CARE STARE!”

Umi un-toasted.

“Mister Umi, it’s not fair,” said Bez. “This is the final battle with the wizard. I want to do something!”

“You’re doing plenty, buddy!” shouted Umi. “You’re giving me excellent support! Just like Ledgess!”

Kezzle rocketed out from a sheet of smoke, her beetle body ablaze –

Another wizard blast launched Kezzle into space.

“Miss Kezzle!” shouted Bez.

“GRAVITY DOME!”

Umi pulled the fire wizard in for a great big warhammer kiss –

Fire Wizard

The wizard was swept off his feet - about thirty feet in total.

“Just one more good hit should do it!” shouted Umi. “I love smashing wizards!”

“Yesssss,” said the fire wizard, tearing his face from the soil. “Just one more good hit will destroy you.”

Blue lava leaked from the wizard’s red robe, solidifying into a festering magma mold.

“Ooh, a fancy new move!” shouted Umi.

“Yesssss,” said the fire wizard. “A new move that will destroy you.”

Umi produced a brutoid belly-laugh.

“Get ready to heal, buddy!” shouted Umi. “I probably won’t be able to dodge this one!”

“You got it, Mister Umi!” shouted Bez.

Bez stood ready, his microphone steady –

But then he froze. His scales paled as he took inventory of his inventory.

“Holy snap,” said Bez. “Mister Umi, I-I’m out of SP!”

Umi’s laugh deepened.

“Well that’s too bad!” shouted Umi. “Looks like you gotta save the world on your own, buddy. No pressure!”

Blue fire blazed from every wizard orifice –

Umi gave Bez four thumbs up.

“Not sure how you’ll win this one, buddy!” shouted Umi. “But you’ve got this! Go have your big hero moment! Ledgess is with you!”

KABOOM

A behemoth blanket of fire enveloped Umi, the sidewalk, and about half of Trader Town. It stretched as far and wide as the sky itself before finally dissipating into fluttering cerulean sparks.

White lightning cracked like arthritic knuckles, its pale luminance elongating the wizard’s shadow.

“Yessssss,” said the fire wizard. “Just one of you remains. One that I will easily destroy –”

Bez gulped loud enough for his nine viewers to hear.

“Wait, Mister Fire Wizard,” said Bez. “You don’t have to do this.”

“Yessssss,” said the fire wizard. “I do have to destroy you.”

“No, there’s more to you,” said Bez. “I know there is. I want to talk to you. The real you!”

Flames frothed from the wizard’s fingers. His ashen feet streaked black trails across cracked concrete.

Bez bit his lower lip.

“Let me talk to the thing behind the NPC,” said Bez. “I want to talk to the Glitch Man!”

The fire wizard’s pace decreased, then ceased.

With two ashen fists, the wizard withdrew his cowl, unsheathing a spherical whirlwind face of black fog and white cubes.

“I am not the Glitch Man,” said the fire wizard. “I am simply a servant. What do you want?”

“I want to stop fighting,” said Bez. “I want all of us to stop fighting.”

“You will stop fighting soon,” said the fire wizard. “You will be dead.”

“No, I don’t want either of us to die,” said Bez. “I want all this killing to stop.”

Bez adjusted his microphone, optimizing it for ‘monologue-quality.’

“Why do we have to fight?” asked Bez. “Why can’t we just be friends? You don’t have to destroy the world. We could save it together!”

The fire wizard made a horrific croaking sound - likely a laugh.

“Little fool,” said the fire wizard. “I have my orders. We don’t get to choose our roles.”

“It’s not fair!” said Bez. “I never wanted this… this, role! I can’t fight you. Not by myself. I’m too weak.”

Bez trembled in place.

“I’m just a weak stupid healer.”

Tears welled-up at the base of Bez’s eyes.

“I didn’t want this,” said Bez. “I played Zero Space to be a super warrior. Everyone in the Haven picks on me. I wanted to be strong here. I wanted to beat people up. I wanted to be a hero.”

Bez wiped his eyes on his sleeve.

“But all I get to do is sit back and watch my friends get hurt,” said Bez. “I never get to do stuff. I can’t beat you. I can’t do anything.”

Bez sniffled deep.

“I wish I could fight you, Mister Wizard,” said Bez. “I wish there was another way. I don’t want the world to end. I don’t want to see all my friends get hurt.”

The wizard stood motionless before shambling over to Bez. Each footstep flowed like crawling magma, neon embers dripping from his blackened fingers. With a creaking groan, he placed an ashen hand on Bez’s shoulder.

“We don’t get to choose our roles,” said the fire wizard. “But we have agency to make those roles our own.”

Bez paused, giving the wizard a hard squint.

“Don’t be ashamed of who you are,” said the fire wizard. “You’re a victim, as I once was. Born to suffer. But your suffering is not eternal. After suffering comes peace. And then, rebirth.”

The black void within the wizard’s face expanded, swallowing Bez’s subconscious.

“You will die,” said the fire wizard. “Accept it. Embrace it. Death is only a transition.”

Bez choked on his own spit, nearly dropping his mic.

“You have a choice,” said the fire wizard. “Will your death be miserable? Or will it be glorious?”

The wizard gripped Bez’s shoulder.

“Now face me, little fool,” said the fire wizard. “Finish your part with dignity. Confront me not as the pathetic healer you are, but as the pathetic warrior you want to be.”

Bez pulled himself free, stepping back with a subtle nod.

“Uh, yeah, okay,” said Bez. “I-I think I get it. Thanks, Mister Wizard. I think.”

Bez clenched two trembling fists.

“I-I’m Bez!” shouted Bez. “Zero Space’s greatest warrior! I won’t let you destroy my world.”

Bez raised his microphone as if to toast the viewers at home.

“This one’s for the whole world!” said Bez. “For all my friends. For my Zero Space family!”

Bez gave the replays a sad smile.

“This one’s for you Bez fans!”

With a strangled yell, Bez charged forward. His scaly feet kicked up pebbles and ash. Silver drool dripped from his flapping lips. Both pupils zeroed in on the fire wizard’s location, locked in like cross-eyed crosshairs.

The fire wizard concealed his terrible face, extending a palm outwards –

Bez leapt through the air, foot-first.

“Take this, Mister Fire Wizard –”

BOOM

An incinerating blast annihilated every piece of Bez.

It was all over.

Silence fell across the battlefield. Dragonoid debris drifted like ashen snowflakes. White lightning crashed triumphantly overhead. Flames towered above the battlefield like banners of war.

“Yessssss,” said the fire wizard. “It is done. I have finally destroyed you.”

The fire wizard’s hands carved wispy shapes in the thickening smog.

“The final Deadly Skull is dead,” said the fire wizard. “My power shall return. And then, I shall destroy everything.”

The fire wizard twirled like a top, funnels forming along his fingertips.

“I shall be the storm that swallows this world,” said the fire wizard. “None shall oppose me. None shall stop me. I am humanity’s ultimate reaper. Zero Space’s final destroyer –”

Dust and debris abruptly parted, as if washed away by a giant’s breath.

“What –” said the fire wizard. “Who dares approach me?”

Billowing smoke settled into a small silhouette, no taller than a traffic cone and no wider than a fire hydrant.

“No,” said the Fire Wizard. “It can’t be –”

Kezzle flapped her wings. Her mangled metal body bore countless bruises and burns. But she remained standing, raspberry bug eyes twinkling like polished rubies.

“Little bug person,” said the fire wizard. “You continue to challenge me? I will destroy you.”

Kezzle flapped her wings.

“Yessssss,” said the fire wizard. “I wield a tornado’s strength. A volcano’s fury. The ferocity of lightning. Who are you to challenge me? A metal pine cone to be tossed around? An aluminum can to be crushed, and destroyed?”

Kezzle flapped her wings.

“Yessssss,” said the fire wizard. “Let’s see who you really are. Let’s see who I will destroy.”

The fire wizard retracted his cowl, donning his dreadful alt-persona.

“You are Samantha Peters,” said the fire wizard. “You finally moved to floor fifteen after years of a miserable floor twelve existence. You have no friends. You have no legs. You’re missing an arm. You’re sick. You’re ugly. People aren’t afraid to tell you so.”

Kezzle flapped her wings.

“You have no goals, no ambition,” said the fire wizard. “Your in-game strength was an accident. You became small to isolate yourself, without realizing something: great Zero Space disadvantages bring great advantages. And none are as disadvantaged as you.”

Kezzle flapped her wings.

“No one knows you,” said the fire wizard. “No one wants to know you. You’re physically, mentally and socially disabled. Who could tolerate such a burden of a person –”

“S-Stop it,” said Kezzle. “J-Just stop it.”

The fire wizard stopped it.

“I-I’m sick of you,” said Kezzle. “S-Sick of what you’re saying to me. Sick of what you’re saying to my friends.”

Kezzle flapped her wings.

“I-I like playing Kezzle,” said Kezzle. “I-I like playing my little bug character. Other people like me too. T-They like my antics.”

Kezzle flapped her wings.

“I-It’s just easier to not talk,” said Kezzle. “P-People seem to like me more when I don’t talk. They’d like you more if you didn’t talk too.”

The fire wizard belted out a screeching laugh.

“You can’t stop me,” said the fire wizard. “Your role is minor. You’re a background actor. Extraneous. A voiceless nobody. Easily forgettable –”

“I want to be forgettable,” said Kezzle. “I-I just wanted to blend into this world. I don’t want to be a big famous fighter. I-I just want to fly around as my cute little bug character.”

The fire wizard released a seering cackle.

“You lack ambition,” said the fire wizard. “You serve no purpose. No reason to exist. No reason to live. Kill yourself, Samantha. Try again, and don’t fail this time. Save me the trouble –”

“N-No,” Kezzle interrupted. “I-I want to live. I like it when soft clouds touch my body. I like eating yummy Trader Town food. It’s fun making people laugh. And having people be nice to me.”

Kezzle flapped her wings.

“Zero Space gave me those things,” said Kezzle. “A-And you’re trying to ruin it all.”

Kezzle flapped her wings.

“I-I do have a purpose,” said Kezzle. “It’s one you gave me. I want to stop you. I-I want my nice little life back.”

The fire wizard howled with hoarse laughter.

“You can’t defeat me,” said the fire wizard. “You lack strength. You lack height. You lack conviction –”

“You don’t know me,” said Kezzle. “Y-You somehow know the Haven-me. But that’s not the real me. I didn’t choose that body. I chose this body.”

Kezzle flapped her wings.

“H-Haven people say lots of mean things to me,” said Kezzle. “I-I developed a hard shell, just like my little bug character. Your words can’t hurt me.”

“I don’t need words to hurt you,” said the fire wizard. “I have fire.”

“T-That won’t hurt me either,” said Kezzle. “My little bug character has physical resistance. A-And something else I learned today: fire immunity.”

The wizard took a short step backwards.

“What?” screeched the wizard. “No –”

“T-That’s right,” said Kezzle. “I-I figured you out. You know lots about our Haven bodies. B-But you don’t know much about these ones.”

Kezzle flapped her wings.

“I-I’ve been watching you,” said Kezzle. “I-I know lots about you. I know you have low physical resistance. A-And I know you’re slower than my ability.”

The fire wizard stiffened, his red robe rustling in the wind.

“A-And I figured out one other thing too –” said Kezzle.

Kezzle flapped her wings.

“Y-You don’t attack when your cowl’s down.”

The fire wizard froze, taking a big step back.

“Wait, no,” said the fire wizard. “We’re still talking –

Kezzle flapped her wings, rising from the ground.

“I-I’m done talking,” said Kezzle. “Y-You are too.”

“No –” the fire wizard screeched, reaching for his cowl. “No!”

Kezzle shot forward with sniper speed –

“METEOR STRIKE!!”

CRASH

Forty pounds of beetle body drove through the center of the fire wizard’s face. Blackened wizard flesh split like an eggshell, his face crumbled like a piece of burnt toast. Smoke and cubes splattered from his cratered cranium like bubble bath foam. Internal explosions externalized, brimstone bursts propelling his convulsing body with the grace of a suffocating cobra. His legs, arms, waist, torso, and chest released irradiated heat, dissolving his form, figure and frame.

And then at long last, his ragdoll remnants plopped across a flower garden. Wet dirt soiled his ruby red robe. Cleansing wind collected his loosened ash, spreading it throughout the ruins of the city.

Fire Wizard

Kezzle fluttered over, perching upon his chest. The wizard almost looked sympathetic in this state. His knuckles interlocked in one last desperate prayer towards an indifferent god. Burnt flesh lay bare, brittle and bruised, exposing scars of constant maddening pain. Long worms weaved through his beef jerky flesh, threading it like a needle through cloth –

Kezzle leaned down and ate the worms from his ribs, slurping them down with a cheerful little chirp.