Len crossed his legs, flames spilling out of every inch of his body. He hadn’t used this much of his power in quite some time, lighting the sky was a hell of a task after all. Yet he had to admit the near euphoric pleasure of letting so much out. He spent nearly every day of his life holding these flames in. But right now, he was free.

  It was the part of him that he hated. Because no matter how great this release of power felt, such freedom always, without fail, came with a lofty price. And it looked like this price was that precious, invaluable experience. He was going to miss out on the boss experience, but in the grand scheme of his plans, it was a small price to pay. Keeping as many of the Legions alive as possible came first; Len would need their love and admiration in the upcoming days.

  Len cracked his neck, breathing in his voracious flames, before looking through a small window in the flames.

  This situation gave him the chance to track the progress of his students and friends. Len squinted his eyes—Len couldn’t actually see what was going on in the raid, but it let him leak some of his Aura into the world below—focusing near the front lines, where Liam and Jaren were, though his focus wasn’t on the boy like usual.

  Len had taken the lead in the last couple of raids, and that forced Jaren into a more supportive role. Such a role didn’t fit the unabashed hothead; no, he was meant to fight at the front, getting into the muck with his soldiers who loved him for it. So he was happy that his friend would get the attention he deserved this time around.

  Sure, Jaren would be forced to play nice with Rickard and Lirae, but that’d be fine. For all of their sharp words, Jaren was respected both for his power and his lineage, even if he hated that second fact.

  He moved the window along the battlefield, curious as to what creature his young proteges would battle first. He snickered as he spied on the huge Reptans coming straight for Jaren’s squad. He almost chuckled to himself about it, too, but the act of speaking was far beyond the limits Len could handle right now. If he didn't keep his breathing perfect, he was liable to scorch the battlefield with some wayward sparks.

  He shut the window. He felt Jaren’s presence, break off from the group and fight one of the gargantuan reptiles with the help of two others. An eagerness grew inside his mind. How beautifully would that monster burn if I was down there? It wouldn’t be hard, just a single small— Flames underneath him spiked, heading towards the ground below.

  Len shook his head once, recalling the wayward flames and closing the window in the process. Using his Aura to observe split his concentration too much. As much as he’d love to watch the battle in real time, he could get a detailed report from Daila or a Scout later.

  Len shut his eyes, focusing his mind, regaining his composure. He’d check on them all again once he settled down. Or even better, check on the monster’s side. He was curious as to what caused the delay in the first place.

  But first came control.

  ——

  Leonard opened his eyes. He was still surrounded by flames, but he wasn’t floating. His feet were firmly planted on the ground. The cavern was dark, he’d lost sight of his squad. And for the first time since he was a child, Leonard felt cold.

  Giant claws swung through his flames, dispersing them with the frost crusting around them. He ducked just inches away from the blow. Leonard swore as he closed a fist and swung back at his attacker. Flames crawled along his arms, creating a hand, and caught the frozen claws. The unseen monster screeched as Len’s fire fought back against the assault.

  Its wail dug into Leonard’s ears, the pain threatening to steal his consciousness. An immense cold descended from the claws, his flames shrinking against their frigid might. He fell to a knee, holding his fist up with his free hand, pushing as much power as he could muster.

  Yet he was losing, the claws pushed further, the screams cried out unending. Leonard’s mind melted as his flames died down.

  “Release.”

  The word hung in his barely conscious brain.

  “Release.”

  It repeated, though no longer just sounding like a word, but a command. Even though he was unsure of this command’s origin, he followed it.

  A fire hotter than any he’d ever been able to create burned inside his stomach. But it didn’t feel foreign. If anything, it’d been down there since he’d been born, he was just blind to it for some reason. But not anymore.

  He stood up, tightening his fist. The flames raced from his body, igniting the blood coursing through his veins. The flames joined with their dying brethren, growing three or four times the size they were just moments ago. They engulfed the claws, then the creature’s furred arm, then before Leonard knew it, the beast’s entire body burned.

  Laughter left Len’s mouth. He had no control of it, and he didn’t want to. The flames poured from his body as they consumed the pathetic creature. In a matter of seconds, the great beast was reduced to charcoal. But it wasn’t enough. Leonard wanted, no he needed to consume more.

  The flames flooded the entire cavern, scaring away each and every shadow from it. Leonard watched in glee as the rocks themselves burned and melted away. His ravenous smile only grew as other bodies ran around the cave, trying and failing to escape his inferno. Their calls deafened by the roar of his everlasting fire.

  “Leonard…stop...”

  ——

  Len gasped as his eyes shot open. He felt a spew of flames rocket away from him. It was heading for one of the squads at the eastern edge of the battle. Len waved a hand just before it made landfall. The flames curved upwards and away from the group before dying out above the sky.

  Len corralled the fire back into the sky. He frowned, upset with himself for letting himself fall into a trance. And that terrible memory.

  He reopened the window, forcing his mind on today. He wasn’t sure how long he was out, but he could sense the fighting. The raid wasn’t over. And it looked like the boss had finally shown up. He felt waves of energy crash together. Jaren, Rickard, and Lirae had begun their battle with the creature. A Gexen from what he could tell. They should be able to handle it.

  To his surprise, he felt the presence of Ferals running amok, in the battlefield. Crazed men and women ran around, attacking whatever soldier they could find. Some even attacked the command tents.

  But as he watched, the pieces began to fall into place.

  He sighed. Lisse, I see you are finally making your move then. Len slowly shook his head. His almost daughter-in-law was just as brilliant now as she had ever been. Probably more so. Len couldn't help but grin. Lisse must have found some way to delay the raid, losing a lot of her people in the process, Len guessed. All so she could make sure he was out of the equation.

  But what was her goal? What did she not want him around for? Was she planning on taking out Lirae? No, that was foolhardy. There are some strong Ferals, but no one on Lirae’s level. Not to his knowledge at least. And even then killing Lirae wouldn’t amount to much, if anything it’d only conjure more hatred for Ferals.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  But this chaos, it felt crafted, planned. Just what was her goal then.

  A pillar of flames jumped away from the sky. Len clamped his fist, smothering it before it got far.

  Well, if nothing else, her plan is working. I’m stuck up here.

  Len sniffed, closing his eyes again.

  ——

  Sunlight flowed into the cavern. A few flakes of snow blustered through the entrance. They floated on the wind before dropping onto the scorched stones, vaporizing the second they landed.

  Leonard sat on the ground, his hands clutching a pile of ashes, his eyes red and dry after a night of tears.

  Mel stood outside the cave, shivering, but too scared to walk in. Len could feel her fear from where he sat. But he had to give her credit, the rest of his squad had already deserted. She had more courage than the whole lot of them combined.

  Leonard rubbed ashes between his fingertips. He caused this. He and he alone. It was the funny thing about ashes, you have no way of knowing what they were before. Were these the ashes of the Frost Titan he battled the night before, or were they perhaps Rendal’s? His plucky lieutenant that followed him into every battle, no matter the odds. Or maybe Jenthal, or Bred’s?

  Leonard picked up his head and looked around. A sea of ashes filled the cavern, from wall to wall. His creation. His destruction.

  “Mel!” He called.

  She shot up. “Y-yes Sir!”

  “I…what was our mission?”

  “Umm…it was to.” His bat-gened scout paused, composing herself after walking into the smokey cave. “We were sent here to eliminate a monster nest. The Titans were setting up too close to the Southern Wall.”

  “Ah, right.” Leonard said blankly. “How many were there?”

  “Just the one sir. Nearly boss level from the looks of it.” She coughed after breathing in some ashes. “It had already devoured the rest of his pack. It likely would have turned into a raid boss down the line—”

  Leonard raised a hand. “Thank you.” He looked at the ashes again.

  Wind whipped near the entrance of the cave. Leonard stood up. He walked over to the entrance.

  “How do we stop it all?” He asked.

  “What do you mean?” Mel answered.

  “All of this, the fighting, the raids, the monsters. How do we stop it?”

  She didn’t answer the ridiculous question. How could she? How could anyone? This was the way of the world. Monsters tried to kill them, they fought back.

  He turned around. Looking at the ash covered cave, then at his sole squad member. “Do you want to try?”

  ——

  Len opened his eyes. His flames had grown weaker. He had been powering these flames for hours, at least that's what it felt like. He opened up the window again, shocked to find a giant silver tower right underneath him.

  A creation of the boss he surmised. Len was glad he gave Jaren those tips on flying. Looks like they came in handy this time.

  Len let his Aura leak out, flowing into the tower. He felt the boss’ presence near the top. It was weak. They had just about won. Jaren and Rickard were near the base of the tower, recuperating. Flying took a massive toll on the body. They must have left Lirae to finish it off. Made sense considering just how weak it was now.

  He looked for his ex-wife, finding her a few stories higher than the boss itself. It hid from her, trying to regain some health. Len checked the boss’s floor again, then titled his head in confusion.

  Liam? How did you get up there?

  The boy was locked in battle with the boss. Len grinned.

  Good. Very good. Killing that beast will accelerate Liam’s growth by nearly a full year or two. Then we can—

  But before Len could come up with any new plans, the boss died. Liam had managed to kill the weakened boss.

  Len smiled, right before his overwhelming fatigue knocked him out.

  Only for a moment however, he quickly woke up as he fell through the night sky. He had enough energy left inside to break the fall, but he’d waited until he was closer to the ground. He looked at the moon as he fell. It looked bigger than usual.

  He guided his descent, aiming for the base of the tower where Jaren was. Len threw a hand out a few feet above the ground, igniting it and causing enough of an updraft to kill his momentum.

  Len twisted and landed on his feet. The surrounding soldiers panicked at the sudden explosion, fearing the boss or other monsters were attacking, but calmed down, even cheered once they saw Len walk out of the small crater.

  Len stood upright, waving at the soldiers, who whooped and hollered. He wanted nothing more than to fall asleep right then and there, but he needed them to see him strong.

  “Ha, you’d think you were the one who bested the boss with how much praise they’re throwing at yer damn feet.” Jaren said, limping up to Len.

  Len shrugged.

  “Asshole.” Jaren mumbled under his breath. “Thanks for the light.”

  “Anytime.”

  Len looked up the tower, stunned at the size of it. “Gave you all a bit of trouble, I see.”

  “Ehh, not too bad. Hate to admit it, but Lirae and her man helped out a lot.”

  Len just nodded his head. He wondered if the tower would fall by itself, or if they would have to knock it down throughout the month.

  Part of the tower was covered in Lirae’s plants. Len and Jaren watched as roots and vines fell from above, many covered in blood and flesh.

  “Knew she could handle it.” Jaren said, leaning up against his double blade.

  Len chuckled. “Jaren, my friend, would you believe me if I told you she wasn’t the one to fell the beast?”

  Jaren raised an eyebrow. “Are you telling me you did?”

  “Nope, and you won’t believe who did for even a second.”

  “Then who?”

  Len opened his mouth, but a flash of light and a crack of thunder stopped him.

  Every eye in the area flew upwards, searching for the source. Lightning raced across the sky. Blue arcs crashed into the tower.

  More and more soldiers scattered, scrambling to find weapons. But Len recognized the lightning. He’d seen it months ago.

  A tempest of wind thrashed around the battlefield, coming from the monster’s side of the field. It threw tree branches and rubble all around as it raced toward the tower.

  Not many could even hold their ground against the force of its winds, but Len and Jaren both looked up at the tower. They saw a large mound of vines fall from the tower. Right around where Len sensed the boss was. She didn’t. But he knew deep down she wasn’t the woman he once loved. And she’d just been given the perfect opportunity to relieve herself of a headache.

  He looked back at the tempest, it flew straight for the falling mass of vines.

  “No!”

  Len went to ignite his feet, but they didn’t listen. A few sparks was all he could muster. He could only watch as the vines eventually collided with the tempest.

  Bodies of the fallen, both man and monster, were thrown around by the powerful gusts. He and Jaren had to grab hold of the tower just to steady themselves.

  SCREECH!

  A loud cry pealed throughout the night sky. Len looked up, pure astonishment on his face. In the dark black talons of the Tempest Roc sat the mass of vines. Another crash of lightning filled the sky. The bird flew straight up the tower, perching at the top with its free talon. The winds died down.

  Everyone still standing watched on as the bird screeched once more. It opened its wings back up, pale moonlight shining amongst the blue arcs of its silver feathers. The roc hopped off the tower and flew away, taking the mass of vines with it.

  Jaren coughed, spitting out some dust. “What just happened? What the hell was that thing?”

  Len only stared off into the sky, watching the bird as it flew into The Forest. He turned back to the tower. Another mass of vines crawled down the side, but this one didn’t hide its contents. Lirae followed everyone else’s gaze and watched the bird fly off, an uncomfortable, worried expression on her face.

  Len frowned. “Jaren, plans have changed.” He looked over to the tall battle-worn half elf.

  “It’s time we took over this city.”