By the second day after the curse activated, Selena was more absence than presence. She existed as suggestion, as memory made barely visible, as flame that had burned so hot it was consuming the very concept of fuel. Through her translucent form, the world was completely visible—she was becoming a lens rather than a barrier, a medium light passed through rather than a solid thing that blocked it.
And still, she refused to stop using her flames.
Dante found her at dawn on the third day, standing at the edge of a wasteland, preparing ash for seeding, making it fertile ground where life could take root. Her hands were barely visible as they touched the gray soil, her entire form flickering like candle flame in wind. But the ash was responding, warming, transforming, becoming capable of supporting growth.
