Flame walked through the smoldering streets, bodies of soldiers laid on the ground, charred. "So the ability is an active one, not a passive one?" He asked himself, referencing the resurrection ability.

  Flame consumed the bodies; images of their deaths flashed before his mind, yet he wasn't fazed. A gruesome end, but at least it was instant. Flame never felt pity, empathy, or such emotions from things such as this.

  Death is just an endless cycle. A repetition of life.

  Flame continued to walk forward, and as if sensing the shift, the Phoenix, with its golden embers, landed in front of him. Approximately 35 feet away.

  "I'm back again, Devil." Flame said, his hands igniting in Devouring Flames. "This time, I'm going to tear you limb from limb."

  The Phoenix almost looked in glee; its wings flaring at the prospect of a challenge.

  "Let's see who burns brighter!" Flame rushed forward, as well as the Phoenix rushing toward him.

  Flame immediately notices a glint in its right wing, prompting him to immediately dodge back. His intuition proved correct as the wing cut through the air. Flame's eyes narrowed, noticing that the Phoenix had an intelligence it didn't have before, nor did its wings become blades the last time they fought.

  "Quit playing around." Flame extended his hand, creating a halberd made of his Devouring Flames and a sword made of his Azure Flames.

  The Phoenix grinned, or at least made the expression of one. Its body began to morph, turning into a tall, shirtless man with gray skin. His hair is as orange as his flames, with eyes of the same color and sharp teeth. He wore white, baggy pants and appeared to be barefoot.

  The most notable features of this man were the orange markings and wings on his back. The markings went from his shoulders, across his chest, and to his abdomen.

  "Very well, child. Hear my name, for I am Yval."

  ---

  Shadow ran through the streets, escorting citizens to safety when he could. After escorting a mother and father with their child to a safe space, he ran down the wide street.

  He carried the greatsword Neolia gave him, and strangely enough, he could already wield it like he wields his shadow weapons. Though, it didn't work against elemental beings such as the zombies.

  He came to a halt as he saw a blur shoot into the air before immediately crashing in front of him.

  Shadow coughed, the smoke from the landing catching him off guard despite the distance between them. Approximately 30 feet.

  Shadow's eyes widened; it wasn't flaming like the rest of them, though it did have some of the attributes. It was male. His eyes were on fire, and he almost sounded like he was sobbing.

  "Please... KILL MEE!" He gripped his face, fire shooting from his hands and mouth. His hands turn into claws, and his limbs elongate to unnatural proportions, making him at least 7 feet tall.

  Shadow didn't hesitate. It still had a physical form, meaning his current greatsword would do. He dashes forward, swinging his blade upward, aiming for the creature's chest.

  The creature immediately moves its long, gnarled claw to block the blow, causing sparks to fly.

  "Tch..." Shadow kissed his teeth, immediately dodging back from a claw swipe. They parried each other's strikes for a brief moment before the creature thrust one of its claws forward.

  Shadow barely dodged, getting a cut on his cheek. "This is going nowhere!"

  "Shadow! Watch out!" Alyssa called out, crawling up and standing on top of the roof of a still-standing house. Intel stood next to her.

  She took a deep breath, "STAY STILL!" She yelled, her voice amplified through unknown means. Suddenly, the creature was blasted back through multiple houses. It went so far it crashed into the walls of the city.

  Shadow ran in the direction it went, coating his greatsword in mana. After about 10 minutes of running, Shadow came across the beast, still reeling from the collision. "Kill... Meee..."

  It barely managed to mutter out before bursting into brighter flames and even growing wings. Shadow realized it was evolving.

  Shadow then coated his greatsword in shadows, keeping the weight while still having the effects of shadow. "I'll put you out of your misery."

  The creature got on all fours, rushing toward Shadow with a single flap of its wings. Appearing before him with unnerving speed.

  Shadow's pupils dilated, now completely focused. He immediately parried the strike from its claw and swung his blade at its chest, landing a good blow on it.

  However, Shadow didn't notice a bladed tail appear behind its waist. The tail thrust forward and impaled him through his abdomen, but since it was on fire, the wound was cauterized immediately.

  It then threw Shadow onto the ground. He spat out the blood that began to pool in his mouth, wiping his chin of any residue. "Damn it... I wonder what I'm supposed to do here. I'm physically outmatched, no thanks to this body of mine." Shadow said sarcastically as he had the thought of retreating.

  "You call for help, kid." A voice spoke, causing the beast and Shadow to shift their attention to the voice. It was Marana, and he had his sword drawn. "That is one gnarly creature!"

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  "Yeah, it is." Shadow said as he turned his attention back to it. However, the creature waited long enough.

  With a swift motion, it lunged forward, swinging its claws and aiming for Shadow, but Maran parried it and began to trade with it. Sparks flew, and the sound of steel on steel filled the air. Despite Maran being in a new body, he fought with a practiced ease, almost calm.

  "Flank its side!" Maran yelled, ducking a strike. Once he did, he saw an opening and immediately swung the blade upward, slashing its chest.

  Shadow wasted no time and moved to the left of the creature, dashing forward and jumping into the air. He brought his sword down, aiming for the shoulder of the beast, but its wing blocked it and swatted him away.

  "Holy shit!" Maran immediately noticed an orange ball charged from its maw.

  Shadow skidded across the ground, his eyes shifting to an odd silver before he dashed forward at a speed he could not yet achieve, or at least he didn't think he was aware of achieving. He landed a kick onto the creature's jaw, causing the ball—which turned out to be a beam—to misfire.

  Nothing happened for a moment before a string of explosions blasted Maran and Shadow back. The string extended for about a mile, leaving a trail of devastation. However, the castle, despite all this chaos, was unmoving.

  Maran backflipped onto his feet and caught Shadow, planting him on his feet. He suddenly had an idea, but it was a gamble. "Alright, kid, do you think your balance is good? I'm going to throw you at him, and I want you to aim for his neck."

  Shadow looked at him, thinking for a moment. "Can't these guys not die?"

  Maran shrugged. "I don't know, but judging by how I've seen some drop from soldiers and not get back up, I assume they have to be within a certain distance of the Phoenix Mavis and Rose are dealing with."

  Shadow nodded, "Alright. I'll take your word for it." Shadow crouched down, ready.

  "Alright... Now!" Maran yelled as Shadow jumped into the air and leaned forward, his greatsword in position. Maran pressed his palm against the bottom of his shoe and threw him.

  Shadow sped past the creature and landed on the ground, turning to look at it. He watched as it shook slightly before its head fell clean off and its body went limp. He smiled a little, letting out a soft chuckle as his eyes went back to their usual black. They rolled back as he fell back and passed out.

  Maran ran up to him and checked him out, noting the wounds on him. "You did good, kid. You did good."

  ---

  Flame landed on the ground, watching as Yval crashed down in front of him. Flame had no weapons, but his hands were ignited in Devouring Flames. "He's purposefully avoiding my fire..." Flame thought as he narrowed his eyes.

  "Go to hell!" He yelled as Yval only chuckled. "I feel bad. If you had been older, you could've beaten me. As it stands right now, though, you're just too weak, or rather, too young."

  Suddenly, a pillar of ice dropped on top of Yval, seemingly crushing him.

  Flame looked up, seeing Mavis and Rose come from the sky. "Don't worry, kiddo, we got ya!" Rose yelled as her irises shrank in excitement.

  Mavis ran up next to Flame, panting. Clearly she was not the most physical. "Goodness... That thing's mana is insane!" She said, readying her staff.

  Flame looked confused about where these people came from, but he knew this fight had to end soon. The entire fight started at dusk, and it was well past midnight now. He looked up at a blue moon hanging in the sky.

  The ice pillar began to crack, and Yval burst from beneath it. His eyes were filled with rage as he had steam be discarded from his body.

  Flame's eyes widened, noticing that steam came from his body when interacting with water! He felt like such an idiot! The water weakens his flames! "So, you have the same weakness as my people?" Flame began to grin.

  "Don't let it get in your head, kid!" Yval dashed forward, aiming for Flame with an outstretched claw, but Rose kicked it away. She then did a sweep kick that knocked him off balance, which gave Mavis enough time to slam her staff to the ground.

  A pillar of rock emerged, shooting our diagonally and sending Yval flying through various buildings.

  Flame narrowed his eyes, grimacing at the fact he needed assistance, but he didn't want to drag the fight on. After all, ever since he gained mana, the hunger of his Devouring Flames prodded at him even more. He had chosen to ignore it up until now. "Pin him!"

  The two girls heard the directive, and assuming Flame had a plan, that was their goal. Mavis ran forward, with Rose immediately passing her. Flame passed her as well, her eyes widening at their speed. "Unfair, guys!"

  Yval flipped onto his feet, stopping his momentum by planting them into the ground. It created a small path of tiny trenches where his feet were dragged. "Enough!"

  He dashed forward, speeding toward the three, but was met with a foot inches away from his face. He ducked, avoiding a drop kick from Rose.

  Flame appeared in front of him, his hand coated in Azure Flames. He threw a punch aimed for his face, managing to strike him and causing blood to spurt from his nose.

  "You little—" Before Yval could counterattack, Rose kicked him in the back of his head. His vision immediately doubled, and he heard a ringing sound in his ears.

  "DIE!" Yval burst into flames, flying into the air as he turned back into the Phoenix. "Me dying won't even matter! None of you can kill me! Hahaha!" He laughed, but it was soon cut off by Rose leaping into the air, causing a small shockwave and the ground to crack from the force.

  She grabbed onto his feathers, causing him to shake violently to get her off. "Mavis!"

  Mavis stood on top of a pile of debris, panting as she had been out of breath. "Got... it!" She raised her staff in the air with one hand. "Chains of Eden..." she said as she took deep breaths.

  Chains of gold wrapped around Yval, causing him to start to fall. "What?!"

  Rose jumped off of him, landing on the ground with a roll. As she looked up at the smoke-filled sky, where the only light source was the slowly dying flames as they were being put out by soldiers, she saw another light. Another light that was green and purple in color, with the primary color being green.

  She saw the light of a law extend itself wide open. Flame's hand extended, making the maw wide enough to engulf Yval.

  "Goodbye!" The Devouring Flames chomped down onto Yval, consuming him entirely.

  However, when Flame managed to eat him, the memories came flooding in, including the ones from the Source. Flame's eyes widened at the sheer amount of knowledge that was obtained from said Source, causing his nose to bleed profusely, accompanied by a splitting headache. His eyes began to bleed as well. "GAAAAHHHH!" He grasped his head as he fell to the ground.

  "SO. YOU HAVE DEFEATED MY AVATAR, USELESS FILTH. VERY WELL. EMBRACE IMMORTALITY..."

  The voice then paused.

  "INTERESTING. YOU ARE NOT LIKE THE REST. VERY WELL, REMAIN YOUR CURRENT SELF, BUT KNOW THIS. DEATH WILL KNOW, AND EVENTUALLY HUNT YOU DOWN."

  The voice itself made Flame want to tear his ears out, but the headache was far worse than the pain he could ever inflict on himself. As he crashed into the ground, he blacked out.