The scent of burning filled the air.
Not the gentle warmth of a hearth fire…
but the violent, choking heat of something that wanted the world to turn to ash.
The land itself had been scorched black.
Trees stood broken and smoking, their trunks cracked open like shattered bones. The ground glowed faintly red beneath layers of burned earth, and the sky above trembled as if it could no longer bear the pressure of what was happening below.
Two figures faced each other at the center of the devastation.
One stood with emerald flames raging from his body, fire coiling around his limbs like living serpents. His eyes burned with the same green light, and every step he took caused the earth beneath him to hiss and smoke.
Carl Riven.
Across from him stood another figure, tall and radiant, his entire body wrapped in a blazing golden aura that pulsed like a miniature sun. Massive wings — feathered and glowing like forged light — extended from his back, stirring the air with each slow beat.
The golden-winged man smiled.
"So… you didn't die, Carl."
The emerald flames flared brighter.
Carl didn't answer.
Instead, the fire around him crackled violently, bending the air itself.
The man chuckled. "Your Phoenix power must be special," he said casually, as if discussing the weather. "But I am a Griffith. My kind stands far above yours."
Carl tilted his head slightly, green fire dripping from his fingertips.
"Big talk," he said flatly, "for a kitten with bird wings."
For a heartbeat…
Silence.
Then the golden aura exploded.
"What did you just say?" the Griffith snarled, his wings flaring wide.
The ground beneath both of them shattered as they moved at the same time.
BOOM.
Green and gold slammed into each other.
The clash was violent enough to send a shockwave ripping outward, flattening what little remained of the forest and carving a massive crater into the land. Air screamed. Fire roared. The sky itself seemed to warp under the impact.
Their fists met.
Emerald flames and golden light collided like two stars crashing together.
The world shook.
---
Months Earlier
Laughter filled the small cottage.
It was the warm, comfortable kind — the kind that came from a home that didn't know fear, didn't know war, didn't know monsters hiding beneath calm waters.
Sunlight poured through the open windows, dancing across wooden floors worn smooth by years of footsteps. The smell of baked bread lingered in the air, mixing with the sound of voices and playful arguing.
Carl Riven leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, watching his siblings chase each other around the room.
"Give it back!" one of his sisters laughed, reaching for a piece of cloth her brother had stolen.
"You have to catch me first!" he shot back, darting behind the table.
Carl smirked. Same old chaos.
From the kitchen, their mother turned around with a bucket in her hands and sighed, pretending to be stern.
"Alright, alright," she said. "Enough running. Boys — time to fetch water from the stream."
Groans filled the room instantly.
"Aww, do we have to?" one of the boys complained.
"Yes," their mother said firmly, though her lips curved into a smile. "Unless you want to wash dishes all afternoon."
That ended the debate immediately.
Carl stepped forward, grabbing two large buckets instead of the small ones the others usually carried.
His sister blinked. "Why are you taking the big ones?"
"Because I can," Carl said casually, swinging them over his shoulders.
His little brother, Eli, tugged on the back of his shirt.
"Carl," Eli said, looking up at him with wide eyes. "Can you carry me too?"
Their other brother burst out laughing. "No way he can carry you and the water."
Carl looked down at Eli, then grinned.
"Watch me."
Before anyone could stop him, Carl crouched down and lifted Eli onto his back. Then he grabbed both heavy buckets, one in each hand, straightened his posture, and stood like it was nothing.
Eli squealed in excitement. "Whoa!"
Their mother blinked, surprised. "Carl—"
"What?" Carl said with a laugh. "Just flexing my strength."
"Let's go!"
They stepped outside together, the sunlight warm against their faces as they headed down the dirt path leading into the forest. The trees swayed gently in the breeze, their leaves whispering like quiet voices, and birds darted from branch to branch overhead.
Eli leaned against Carl's back, comfortable and relaxed.
"You're strong," Eli said softly.
Carl smiled. "I know."
The stream wasn't far — just a short walk through tall grass and low-hanging branches until the sound of running water grew louder, clearer, calmer.
The stream sparkled in the sunlight, clear and peaceful, winding its way through smooth stones and moss-covered banks. The water was shallow near the edges but deeper toward the center, where small fish darted beneath the surface.
Two of Carl's siblings immediately rushed forward.
"I'm going in!" one shouted, kicking off his sandals.
"Hey! Don't splash me!" the other yelled as water sprayed everywhere.
Carl sighed. "You're gonna get in trouble."
Their mother set down her large bucket and folded her arms. "Don't go too deep," she warned. "The current gets stronger in the middle."
"Okay!" they called back, already ignoring her.
Carl walked closer to the edge, dipping one of the buckets into the stream.
The water was cold.
Refreshing.
Peaceful.
Yet…
Something felt wrong.
Carl paused.
The air felt heavier somehow. The birds had stopped chirping.
The forest had gone silent.
"…Huh?"
He glanced around, scanning the trees, the water, the rippling surface of the stream.
Nothing.
Just sunlight.
Just water.
Just—
A bubble rose from the center of the stream.
Then another.
Then several more.
Carl lowered Eli from his back and set the buckets down.
"You stay here," Carl said, ruffling Eli's hair.
Eli nodded obediently, sitting on a rock and watching the water ripple.
Carl frowned.
"That's weird…"
The bubbles grew larger.
The water began to distort.
Then…
Something moved.
"Hey—" Carl started.
Before he could finish—
SLASH.
Blood sprayed into the air.
His siblings in the stream didn't even have time to scream.
Something surged upward from beneath the water — a blur of scales and claws — and in a single motion, both of them were cut down, their bodies thrown violently onto the riverbank.
"WHAT—?!" Carl shouted.
His heart slammed against his ribs.
His mother spun around.
"CARL—"
Too late.
Another flash.
Another wet, sickening sound.
She collapsed.
"NO—!"
Carl's mind went blank.
His body froze.
The world stopped making sense.
Blood soaked into the dirt.
The peaceful stream ran red.
Eli screamed.
"CARL!"
The thing emerged from the water.
Fully.
It was tall — taller than any human — with a twisted, hunched frame that looked almost like a fisherman's silhouette warped by nightmares. Its skin was slick and pale blue, covered in uneven scales that glistened wetly in the sunlight. Gills flared along the sides of its neck, opening and closing as it breathed with a horrible, drowning rasp.
Its face was wrong.
Too wide.
Too long.
Rows of needle-like teeth filled its mouth, and its eyes were pitch black, reflecting nothing but emptiness. Long, webbed claws extended from its fingers, dripping water — and blood.
A fish-like demon.
Its voice sounded like someone choking underwater.
"Ahhh…" it croaked. "Such a peaceful little place…"
Carl's hands shook.
His legs wouldn't move.
His lungs felt empty.
The demon's gaze shifted.
To Eli.
Carl's heart dropped.
"NO—!"
Without thinking, Carl grabbed the nearest bucket and hurled it with everything he had.
The metal slammed into the demon's face.
CLANG.
The creature stumbled backward slightly, its head snapping to the side.
Eli screamed and collapsed unconscious from shock.
Carl ran.
He grabbed Eli and dragged him behind himself, standing between his brother and the demon.
His hands trembled.
His breathing was ragged.
The demon straightened slowly, water dripping from its body.
"…Strong," it murmured, its black eyes narrowing at Carl. "You're a strong one, aren't you?"
Carl didn't answer.
The demon smiled.
"That's why I saved you for last."
Carl's stomach twisted.
"The rest…" the demon continued casually, "…weren't a threat. I enjoyed killing th—"
"You bastard!" Carl screamed.
He threw another bucket.
The demon didn't move.
Yet somehow…
The bucket appeared behind it and shattered against the ground.
Carl's eyes widened.
"What—?"
The demon tilted its head. "Too slow."
In the next instant, it vanished.
Carl felt something behind him.
He spun.
Too late.
A claw swung toward his chest.
He barely managed to block it with another bucket.
CRACK.
The metal shattered into fragments.
The impact sent Carl skidding backward across the dirt.
Pain exploded through his arms.
He rolled, coughing, barely scrambling to his feet.
The demon was already there.
Another claw.
Another strike.
Carl jumped back, heart pounding so hard he thought it would burst.
His thoughts spiraled.
I'm going to die.
Right here.
In front of Eli.
The demon's shadow loomed over him.
"Such fragile creatures," it croaked. "But you fight. I like that."
Carl clenched his fists.
His vision blurred.
His knees trembled.
"Is this…" he whispered, "…how it ends?"
The demon raised its claws.
Everything slowed.
The world faded.
---
Carl fell.
Not physically.
But mentally.
Suddenly, there was no forest.
No stream.
No blood.
No demon.
Just…
Nothing.
An endless white void stretched around him, silent and empty.
"…Huh?" Carl muttered.
His heart still raced, but his body felt weightless.
"Am I… dead?"
"is this... heaven."
A voice answered.
"No."
Carl turned.
The air in front of him ignited.
Green fire erupted into existence — not violent, but vast, majestic — forming the massive shape of a Phoenix, its wings stretching endlessly, its feathers made of emerald flames that shimmered like living light.
Its eyes burned with ancient wisdom.
Carl stumbled backward.
"W-What are you…?"
"I am a Pyro Phoenix," the being said, its voice echoing like fire through wind. "An eternal flame."
Carl swallowed. "Then… why am I here?"
The Phoenix's gaze softened.
"I saw you," it said. "Protecting your brother. Standing against death with no power, no training — only will."
The fire around it pulsed gently.
"I will lend you my strength."
Carl's breath caught.
"…What?"
"But," the Phoenix continued, "if you accept, you will be bound to this power for the rest of your life."
Its burning eyes locked onto his.
"Do you still want it?"
Carl thought of his mother.
His siblings.
The blood.
Eli.
"I don't care," he said immediately. "If it means I can protect him… I'll take it."
The Phoenix's wings spread.
"Then accept the flame."
"YES."
---
Reality shattered.
Green fire exploded outward.
The stream evaporated in a violent surge of steam.
The demon was thrown backward, slamming into a tree hard enough to crack the trunk.
Carl stood at the center of the blast.
His body burned — not painfully, but powerfully.
Emerald flames wrapped around his arms, shoulders, and chest like living armor. Heat surged through his veins, his heartbeat pounding like a war drum.
He gasped.
"What… is this…?"
On his chest, glowing beneath torn fabric, a Phoenix tattoo burned into existence — wings spread wide, feathers of green fire stretching across his skin, pulsing with radiant light.
The demon stared.
"What…" it croaked. "…what is this power?"
Carl lifted his head.
His eyes burned emerald.
"Get away from my brother."
The demon snarled. "So… you were chosen."
It crouched low, muscles tightening. "Let's see how long borrowed power keeps you alive."
It vanished.
The air screamed.
Carl moved.
Without thinking.
His body reacted before his mind did.
He twisted sideways, barely dodging a claw strike that tore through the space where his head had been.
The ground behind him exploded.
Carl's heart thundered.
But he wasn't afraid anymore.
He felt… clear.
Fast.
Strong.
The demon appeared above him, claws descending.
Carl raised his arm.
Green fire surged.
BOOM.
The demon was blasted backward mid-air, crashing through two trees before hitting the ground in a shower of splinters.
It skidded across the dirt, snarling.
"What—?"
Carl stared at his hands.
Flames danced across his fingers, alive and obedient.
"…I can move," he whispered. "I can actually move."
The demon lunged again.
Faster.
Sharper.
Carl stepped forward instead of back.
He threw a punch.
The impact didn't sound like flesh hitting flesh.
It sounded like fire colliding with steel.
The demon was launched skyward.
It crashed down again, coughing dark blood.
"Impossible…" it growled. "You were nothing seconds ago."
Carl clenched his fists.
"I'm still nothing," he said. "But you're not touching him."
The demon roared and charged, claws glowing with dark energy.
Carl felt something strange — a shift inside him.
The demon's movement…
He understood it.
Its rhythm.
Its power.
His flames twisted.
Changed.
For a brief moment, they took on a liquid motion — flowing, coiling, snapping like waves.
Carl didn't hesitate.
He vanished.
Not in smoke.
Not in light.
But in speed.
He appeared behind the demon.
"You're slow."
He drove his fist into its back.
Green fire erupted.
The demon screamed.
Its body ignited from the inside out.
Flames tore through its scales, its flesh, its bones, reducing it to ash in seconds.
The fire burned so hot that even the blood evaporated before it hit the ground.
Silence.
The forest crackled softly as remaining flames flickered and died down.
Carl stood there, breathing heavily.
His flames slowly faded.
The tattoo on his chest dimmed but didn't disappear.
He looked around.
The stream was gone — replaced by a smoking trench of scorched earth.
Trees lay shattered.
The smell of burned flesh filled the air.
Then…
Reality hit.
"M-Mom…" Carl whispered.
He turned.
Bodies lay motionless on the ground.
Blood soaked into the dirt.
The world that had existed minutes ago… was gone.
His knees buckled.
"No…"
His chest tightened.
His vision blurred.
"…No…"
His hands shook violently.
Eli.
Carl spun around.
He ran to his brother and dropped to his knees, grabbing him.
"Eli! Eli, wake up!"
Eli stirred.
"…C-Carl…?"
Relief slammed into Carl so hard his lungs nearly collapsed.
"You're okay," Carl whispered hoarsely. "You're okay…"
Eli's eyes opened slowly, confusion clouding his face.
"Mom…? Where's Mom…?"
Carl couldn't answer.
His throat closed.
He pulled Eli into his chest instead.
"…I've got you," he said quietly. "I've got you."
Carl lifted his brother into his arms.
Eli was light.
Too light.
Carl stood, his legs trembling as he turned away from the stream — from the bodies — from the place where his life had ended.
Behind him, embers still burned among broken trees.
Ahead of him…
Home.
He walked.
Each step felt heavier than the last.
His arms burned.
Not from effort.
But from holding the only thing he had left.
Eli rested his head against Carl's shoulder, shaking.
"…Carl… I'm scared…"
"I know," Carl whispered. "Me too."
The forest path stretched endlessly before them.
The sky felt too bright.
The wind felt too cold.
The world felt wrong.
Yet Carl kept walking.
Because stopping meant breaking.
And he couldn't afford to break.
Not now.
Not with Eli still breathing.
---
High above the path…
Hidden among the trees…
Four figures stood silently, cloaked in dark garments embroidered with faint silver symbols.
Their faces were concealed beneath hoods.
But their eyes glowed with interest.
"…Another one," one of them murmured.
"A Mythic Beast contract," another said quietly. "And a powerful one."
"He's young," a third voice said. "But that flame… it's different."
The fourth figure smiled beneath their hood.
"Let's recruit him right away."
Below them, Carl Riven walked through the forest with his brother in his arms — unaware that his fate had already begun moving.
---
To Be Continued…