In a moment, Henry and Adelia were motionless and lifeless in what used to be their garden of flowers.
"Wake up," Stark and Hafen cried out in anguish. Tears flowed down their cheeks and dripped to the bloody ground.
"Breathe," Matteo muttered in a devastated tone.
Sabre laughed loudly. "The Fisher Family is nothing, now," he remarked and crossed his arms.
"They are predestined to become pawns for our goals," The Exalted One claimed.
Meanwhile, the cloaked figures surrounded the remains of the house and chanted once more.
"Sir, the ritual is ready," one of them alerted.
The Exalted One turned and ordered, "Start the flames."
Suddenly, a small black flame emerged in the house's remains.
Hafen, Stark, and Matteo noticed it, and their eyes widened.
Instantly, the black flame grew bigger and expanded to other parts of the house, engulfing it entirely.
The cloaked figures stepped back and murmured in awe.
Sabre grinned and grabbed the bodies of Adelia and Henry.
"Hey," Stark yelled.
"What are you doing," Hafen demanded to know.
Matteo growled.
Sabre chuckled and pushed them away with a wave of energy.
Matteo, Hafen, and Stark rolled on the ground and groaned in pain.
Sabre gazed at the fiery fest and threw the bodies into it.
Stark, Hafen, and Matteo watched with terror in their eyes.
The black flames engulfed their foster parents' corpses. They spread out and slowly disintegrated anything it touched. Disappearing everything out of reality, it raged.
Smoke encompassed the canopy of the farm, even burning the leaves and branches.
Shocked, Stark, Hafen, and Matteo hurried to what was left of their home.
The Exalted One noticed and reached out to them. "Wait," he urged with wide shimmering eyes.
Stark immediately halted. "I can't move," he stuttered.
Hafen gritted his teeth and groaned in frustration.
Matteo furrowed his eyebrows and struggled.
The Exalted One grinned widely. "Good. Stay there," he ordered.
Together, Stark, Hafen, and Matteo shouted with fury. Instantaneously, a faint light emitted from them and broke The Exalted One's hold.
The Exalted One's mouth fell open. "That light again," he stammered.
Stark, Hafen, and Matteo ran into the burning rubble of the house to retrieve the bodies of Adelia and Henry. With pure determination, they searched around for their foster parents. The bodies were nowhere to be found. Engulfed by the smoke, they screamed in pain. They flailed around and collapsed unconscious. Their bodies still glimmered a faint light.
As the moon shone, Pepe laid close by. He sniffed and woke up with wide eyes. "Food," he questioned. He frowned with focus and corrected, "No, it's something else burning." He sat up and rubbed his head. He turned around and saw the disintegrated house. "Oh, no! Is that the house of The Fisher Family," he yelped and stood up.
Cloaked figures stood outside chanting something unknown.
Stark, Hafen, and Matteo laid on top of the pile of burning rubble.
Pepe noticed, and his eyes widened. His brothers were still in there, asleep. Prepared to save them, he clenched his teeth and fists. He charged towards the house.
The Exalted One and Sabre saw him.
"Don't interfere," Sabre warned.
"Kill him," The Exalted One ordered his subordinates.
From the shadows, four cloaked figures came out and surrounded Pepe.
One of them, the female cloaked figure, lunged at Pepe. "You're not going any further," she insisted in a serious tone.
Pepe glared at her with piercing eyes. He jumped over her and grabbed her cloak's hood. He used her as a pedestal to turn in mid-air and kicked another charging cloaked figure in the face.
The charging cloaked figure slid back to his partner.
"Hey, let go," the female cloaked figure implored.
While in the air, another cloaked figure rushed at Pepe.
Pepe stomped on his head while pulling on the hood of the female cloaked figure.
The stomped cloaked figure hit the ground head-first.
Pepe swung his arms with his whole body and threw the female cloaked figure to the last two cloaked figures.
The cloaked figures exclaimed, and they fell to the ground on top of each other.
Pepe ran and jumped through what used to be a window and into the burning remains.
In a short while, The Exalted One seriously stared at the black flames. The sheer heat reached him and caused him to sweat. He gulped and asserted, "We should go. There's no escape from the flames of our all-powerful god."
"Are you sure, brother? We should check if they are truly dead after the flames dissipate," Sabre suggested and looked at him. His mouth remained open. "Hey, are you crying," he questioned.
The Exalted One looked down and sniffled. With teary eyes, he shook his head. "Let's get out of here. It's complete," he murmured with a solemn expression.
The cloaked figures obliged and departed.
Left alone, The Exalted One clutched his head and stammered, "What have I done now?" He walked away with intense guilt. He covered his mouth and sobbed.
Pepe entered what seemed to be the remains of the bedrooms. Surrounded by smoke, he struggled to breathe, and he harshly coughed.
Sparks of fire came out of his mouth and dropped on the floor.
Just then, Pepe saw a burning unrecognizable corpse at the door and panicked.
The black fire reached the doorway, and it ravaged and spread out.
Pepe grunted and fell back. He covered his face and peeked around between his arms.
In the darkness, Stark, Hafen, and Matteo were unconscious and apart. Strangely, they were not burning.
Pepe loomed closer and grabbed Hafen. He threw him outside the window. He inhaled a load of the smoke. He coughed. Next, he threw Stark out. He groaned as his skin burned. His eyes were wide. Finally, he grasped Matteo. He managed to lift him up and exclaimed, "You're so heavy!" Using almost the rest of his strength, he threw him outside.
"Ow! Watch it," Stark yelled.
Pepe dove out before the fire could touch him. He collapsed to his hands and knees and breathed heavily. Sweating profusely, he turned to his woken-up brothers.
Matteo crawled off Stark and approached Pepe. With an eye barely open, he worryingly asked, "Are you alright?"
"Do I look fine," Pepe gasped for air and interrogated. "Of course not. The smoke, itself, burned me. It feels like every part of my body was seared," he alleged.
Concerned and confused, Stark, Matteo, and Hafen stared towards their burning house.
"Why is this happening," Hafen queried with teary eyes. A crease formed between his eyebrows.
"Where's our mom and dad? Did you save them," Stark sought to know and squinted around.
"The cloaked figures did this, and I don't know why. Your mom and dad were burnt to a crip, too far gone to save," Pepe reminded and revealed.
Stark huffed and wiped his tears. Furthermore, he stood up and decided, "I going to go back inside the black fire."
"Don't be ridiculous. I just risked my life for you. I won't be able to save you a second time," Pepe retorted in a stutter and coughed.
Stark gritted his teeth. "I'll be back with mom and dad," he proclaimed and stepped closer to the fire.
Matteo pulled on his wrist and expressed, "I understand how you feel, Stark, but it's simply too dangerous. You won't make it back. I don't want you to die, too."
Stark worryingly glanced at his brothers. A tear fell down his cheek as he muttered, "We were supposed to go to the outside world, together." He made a hopeful but pained expression.
"The whole house is in fire, now. It's a death wish," Hafen asserted with a melancholic tone. "Mom and dad wanted us to survive," he noted and looked down.
Stark took a deep breath and examined Pepe.
Pepe had serious burns all over his body. His clothes almost burnt off, as well. One could see the burns on his insides, as well.
Accepting reality, Stark sat on the ground and looked at the starry, night sky. "Darn it," he cried and cursed at the world.
The kids wailed and witnessed their house crumble and disintegrate into nothingness. They had nowhere to go, now, and they slowly fell asleep.
What is next for them? Where will they go?