"Water! Someone bring water—now! Hurry!" Nox shouted, voice ragged and urgent.
The fragile calm shattered instantly. Chaos erupted like wildfire. Students scattered in all directions—some frantically searching for water, others backing away in fear, their eyes wide, horrified, as if the flames licking at Joshua's body might leap onto them next.
Joshua screamed—pure panic. He was flailing, staggering in place, nearly running. He would've bolted if Kealix hadn't stepped in front of him.
"Stop!" Kealix said, gripping his shoulders. "You'll set the others on fire—stay still!"
Joshua froze, trembling, eyes wild. The heat radiated off him in waves. The fire crawled across his skin like a living thing.
Kealix held his breath. He was preparing for the worst—for skin to blister, for clothes to blacken and peel from burning flesh—but then he saw it.
And something didn't make sense.
He... he isn't burning.
Kealix stared. The flames were real, he could feel their heat—but they weren't harming Joshua. If anything… his wounds—cuts, bruises, even the deep ones—were healing faster. Far faster. Right before his eyes.
And his color.
That strange aura that clung to everyone in this place—it had changed. Joshua's was brighter now, wild and untamed. It moved freely, no longer sluggish or dim. It looked awake.
"No—wait!" Kealix shouted.
His voice cut through the chaos like a blade.
Everyone froze, stunned by the sharpness of it. Dozens of eyes turned to him. Even the screaming stopped.
"Stop what you're doing. Just—look at the fire," Kealix commanded, louder this time. "Look at him."
His chest heaved. He hadn't expected them to listen—but they did. Whether from the tone in his voice or the sheer confusion, they paused.
"See for yourselves," he said, quieter now. But the words carried.
Nox was on him in an instant, grabbing Kealix's shoulder roughly and spinning him around.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Nox snapped, eyes blazing. "Joshua is burning alive and you're just standing there?"
His voice cracked with fury—raw and unfiltered. Nox never yelled. Not like this.
Kealix felt the tension ripple in the space between them. He understood the rage—of course he did. To everyone else, he looked like a lunatic, letting a friend be devoured by flames. No one else could see the colors. If they could, they would've said something by now. They'd know what he knew.
He didn't raise his voice. Didn't fight back.
"Just… look," Kealix said softly, locking eyes with him. "Please. Look at him."
Before Nox could turn, someone came sprinting through the crowd. A boy with a dented metal bucket sloshing water in all directions. He didn't hesitate—just flung it straight at Joshua.
The water hit with a harsh splash.
And the flames—
Didn't die.
They grew.
Bigger. Hotter. More alive.
The fire consumed the water like it was oil.
Nox stood frozen, eyes wide. The fire—there was no stopping it. It had consumed the water like it was fuel, roaring higher as if mocking their efforts. But then… he looked closer.
"You're… right?" he muttered, brow furrowed. "The fire—it's not burning him."
Joshua's voice cracked through the stunned silence. "Uhmm, guys… how do I turn this off?! Even water doesn't work!" His voice was high, jittery with panic.
Of the three, Joshua was never the brave one. When Nox and Kealix stepped in to deal with bullies or troublemakers, Joshua was the one who lingered at the back, uneasy. But now—he had no one to hide behind. There was no escape. No waiting it out. This wasn't something someone else could fix.
The fire was his.
"Alright, Joshua," Kealix said, calm and steady. "I know it's a lot to ask, but the flames don't seem dangerous. You need to calm down."
"Sure! Y-yeah, calm down, easy for you to say," Joshua stammered, eyes darting to the flames curling around his hands. "How do I stop this? There's gotta be a way, right? Right?!"
"Even if there isn't a way yet, we'll find one," Nox said, stepping closer, his tone softer now. "For now, just breathe. Get yourself steady."
Kealix watched closely. The fire… it wasn't just fire. It moved with purpose, with rhythm—like it was connected to the strange colors swirling around Joshua's body. That glow—it had shifted when the flames appeared. Brighter. Sharper. Like something dormant had awakened.
I've been seeing these colors since I came back from that place… the one with the voice. That strange, feminine voice. Could it be connected?
He stepped forward.
"Joshua," Kealix said carefully, "I need you to focus. Imagine the flames going out—picture it in your mind, and then try to pull that image into reality. Just… will it to stop."
He wasn't sure it would work. But it was worth a try.
Joshua hesitated, then nodded. He took a shaky breath, standing still in the center of the crowd. The other students held back, watching silently. Waiting. The tension was thick enough to taste.
Then, slowly… the flames began to fade.
They dimmed, the tips shrinking inward, pulling toward his chest. As if being absorbed back into him.
It's working…
Kealix stepped forward again, his voice more hopeful now. "Joshua, can you try something else? Focus on forming a small ball of fire—something controlled. A light source. Just to test your grip on it."
Joshua hesitated, silent. The power was new, overwhelming. Even now, the fear hadn't left his eyes. But slowly, he nodded.
"I… I can try," he said uncertainly.
He raised a hand, holding it about half a meter from his face. His eyes narrowed in focus, shoulders tense.
Kealix and Nox stood nearby, watching closely. The other students leaned forward ever so slightly, anticipation rippling through the group like static.
Then—it sparked.
A faint ember appeared in his palm, flickering like a candle in a breeze.
"That's it!" Kealix beamed. "That's great, Joshua! Keep going, just a bit more—make it a little bigger."
Joshua's eyes fluttered, the strain visible on his face. He squeezed them shut, trying to concentrate.
The ember flared brighter.
Then it grew. And kept growing.
Too fast.
That's not good.
"Joshua, that's enough!" Kealix called out, his voice sharp now. "It's big enough!"
But Joshua didn't respond. The flame was swelling, doubling, then tripling in size. Every second it grew faster—brighter—hotter.
If he doesn't stop now, this whole place could go up in flames.
"That's enough," Nox said firmly, stepping forward. He gripped Joshua's shoulder, grounding him.
Joshua's eyes snapped open.
And the fire shrank instantly—receding back into his palm until it disappeared entirely.
The room exhaled.
"I—I'm so sorry," Joshua stammered, eyes wide with panic, voice raw with guilt. "I didn't mean for the flame to get so big, it's just that…"
"It's alright," Nox said gently, still gripping Joshua's shoulder, grounding him. "But what happened? Why didn't you stop?"
The flame in Joshua's palm still burned, a steady, flickering light. It hadn't grown, hadn't shrunk—it just hovered there, frozen in place the moment Joshua's focus had snapped.
"There was a voice," Joshua said, his teeth clenched, voice trembling. "An old one. Rough. It told me to keep going. To set my body ablaze. To embrace his gift."
Kealix stilled.
Joshua looked down, shame pulling at his features. "I listened… and then it was like I couldn't hear anything else. None of you. Just him. Until Nox touched me—I couldn't even tell you were yelling."
A voice? The same as mine?
Kealix's thoughts spiraled. Nox was murmuring something now, trying to calm Joshua, but Kealix barely heard it. His mind raced. Joshua had heard a voice too—but it didn't sound like the one Kealix had heard in that strange place. That voice had been soft, elegant—feminine. This one sounded ancient. Harsh.
But Joshua only heard his voice after he activated the flames…
The connection still didn't make sense. Something was missing. Kealix felt it, a gap in the logic that refused to close. The voices—were they linked to the colors? Did every person hear something different? Was the depth of the color somehow tied to the strength—or intent—of the voice?
His thoughts spun faster, a quiet storm behind his expressionless face.
Kealix exhaled sharply, dragging a hand through his hair. "Ugh… as much as I hate to say it, we need to hold off on using your flame, at least for now. I know it's a gamble, but until you can control it, it's just too dangerous." His voice was calm, but there was an edge to it—strained and troubled. "If it gets out of hand again while we're all walking close together..."
He didn't finish the thought. He didn't need to.
Joshua nodded, still shaking, the glow in his hand flickering softer now, almost as if it understood.
Kealix sighed again, rubbing the back of his neck.
Can this day get any worse?
Just as the thought Can this day get any worse? settled in his mind, something caught Kealix's attention—a sudden, bright light, faint but unmistakable, pulsing from inside his pocket.
His gaze flicked around the room, heart skipping. No one else seemed to notice. No heads turned, no eyes squinted against the glow. Was it... invisible to them?
His fingers instinctively slipped into his pocket, closing around the familiar object.
The cards.
He pulled them out slowly. His tarot deck—the same worn pack he'd carried for years—was glowing again, but this time the light was deeper, more vivid. A swirl of shifting colors bled from its edges, richer than before—just like Joshua's aura after the flames.
That's... strange.
He turned the pack over in his hand—and paused. There was text etched into the cover, fine and silver, dancing like threads of starlight. It hadn't been there before.
The one who looks fate in the eye and refuses its judgment shall be abandoned by it.
Kealix narrowed his eyes.
What the hell is that supposed to mean? And why now?
A flicker of realization passed through him. Could it be... a relic now? That might explain the change—the light, the aura. But if it had become a relic, how did he use it? There were no instructions. No guide.
More questions tangled in his mind as he tightened his grip around the packaging. He tried to open it, but the material resisted him. Stubborn, as if the deck itself didn't want to be seen. Kealix pressed harder. Eventually, after a brief struggle, the flap gave way without tearing.
He exhaled and looked inside.
Let's see what you're hiding.
The moment he slid a card out, he knew something was different. The back—once a simple, classical design—was now unnerving. Eyes. Dozens of them. "A single, unblinking eye stared from behind an hourglass, frozen mid-drip. It wasn't just art—it watched, patient and ancient, as though waiting for time to run out."
Every card glowed with a distinct aura—red, blue, green—each shade different from the next, none repeating. Kealix fanned them out in his hand, inspecting one after the other. Nothing had changed on the face of the cards—just the glow, and those watching backs.
Still, it was enough.
Satisfied—though not reassured—he carefully slid them back into their box and tucked the pack into his pocket again, thoughts circling like vultures over a battlefield.
Maybe it's not ready. Maybe I'm not ready.
Then—just as he turned to rejoin the others—he heard it.
A voice.
Inside his mind.
Calm. Direct. Unmistakable.
[Master, the beast wont be contained much longer.]
Kealix froze.
His pulse jumped.
What the hell? Who said that?