Prologue- When Fire Forgot to Protect

  “The one who acquires the power of all the five elements shall obtain the power of the divine” – the prophecy changed the course of history. Five nations rose, each led by an Emperor blessed with a single element. Thus, roared the Thunder Emperor in the western empire of Bergia; in the south, the kingdom of Anderus burnt with flames, as the Flame Emperor danced; the Wind Emperor, in the eastern land of Sylphar, witnessed storms; the northern earth of Terranis quaked, as the Earth Emperor breathed; in the centre came the land of rivers, Nymora, as the Water Emperor bathed. And so began an era of endless war, forging a chain of hatred that spanned generations. Each of the elements was worshipped, in their respective nations, and considered as the blessing of the Almighty.

  Most people possessed abilities, ranking from E to S, however, the emperors were in a league of their own, hoping to acquire other elements. The world witnessed countless wars, and thousands were buried, but the situation greatly changed when Anderus fell into the hands of Bergia. The Flame Emperor – having no heir, decided to entrust the fire element to one of his defenders – Jonathan, the one whom he trusted the most.

  “The last flame of hope should be kept hidden but never be extinguished!” gasped the wounded emperor as he met his end, “for the future of Anderus!!”.

  He entrusted the fire element to Jonathan’s son; Rai, a twelve-year old kid, who didn’t know the horrors of having an element at such a young age.

  Two years later, a mysterious fire broke out in the Paron ghetto—where Jonathan lived with his family and secretly ran a training school for Anderians.

  It was on that day that fire forgot to protect… and chose to destroy.

  Chapter 1- The Flame Returns!

  The Anderian capital city, Gerdon, burned. The commander-in-chief—the highest authority—was presumed dead. With the throne empty and the nation in shock, the four generals took command. No one knew who the culprit was. But the world turned upside down when a voice suddenly echoed across every screen:

  “Yo! Listen carefully, world! The Flame Emperor has returned—and now declares war on the entire world! Just now, I brought down your capital! Hear me, all of you who carelessly hold power and authority—I’m coming for you! I’ll liberate this world from the tyranny of the five elements! You call them a blessing? You worship them? Be damned with your delusions! They’re a curse—bestowed upon humanity by the gods. We’re nothing more than slaves to these elements. Remember me. I’m the Flame Emperor, Rai. My enemies are many, but equals? None. Tremble, tyrants of the world!”

  Panic erupted.

  “What in the world is happening?!”

  “Shut it off! Cut the broadcast quick! This must not be shown to the world!”

  “Our system’s been hacked! We can’t do a thing!”

  The four generals stood shaken. Emergency was declared nationwide. Martial law was imposed. Gerdon, once the proud capital, now lay in ruins—reduced to nothing but smoke and ash. But amidst the flames, one question burned brighter than all:

  Who was the boy who called himself Rai?

  General Kael slammed his fist on the table. “Investigating his identity is a waste of time... He’s our enemy—we must destroy him!” He stood up, rage boiling over—how could a mere kid cause this much damage?

  “Knowing who he is may help us predict his next move. We still don’t understand his motives—or his methods.” General Taren stated calmly, analysing all the possibilities in his mind.

  “And what about the mysterious girl beside him?” General Mira asked curiously.

  “That flame...” Taren crossed his arms, thinking aloud. “It reminds me of the Paron ghetto incident, two years ago.”

  “Mhm... the fire is the same.”

  “But we don’t have any records of that fire. It was dismissed as a low-priority incident,” said General Selric, casually throwing his legs up on the table, completely unbothered.

  “Strange… why didn’t the three guilds react to it?” yawned General Mira, clearly sailing in the same boat.

  “Exactly. They’re usually eager to raise hell over anything we overlook,” said the meticulous one, Taren, flipping through a holo-pad, scanning details like a machine.

  “There’s only one explanation... Do you remember that Anderian defender who refused to fight in the war?” Kael, the furious one growled.

  “Mhm. He was despised by the others…”

  “The one who married Her Excellency.”

  “Jonathan!” one of them gasped, realization dawning in his eyes.

  “It’s possible the man who lived in that ghetto was him. That would explain the guilds’ silence.” Taren stood and looked out the window, unease creeping into his voice.

  “So what? That boy would’ve been... what, fifteen? He can’t possibly be—” said Selric, walking over to the fridge and pulling out a bottle of wine.

  “We have data on Jonathan, don’t we?”

  “Mhm. After the war, he secretly ran a training school. Thought he could hide it from us.”

  “He had a son,” Selric, the wine-pouring general muttered, filling glasses.

  “When was Her Excellency blessed with a child?”

  “In the year 206—” said Taren, scrolling through his pad.

  “Oi, wait up!” Mira raised a hand, panic flashing in her eyes. “This can’t be…”

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  “That boy would be fourteen now!”

  “That means… this Rai is His Majesty’s nephew?” said Kael, the furious one.

  “Our enemy is him?!”

  “We can’t be sure yet.”

  “What if it’s a third party?” said Selric, the wine-drinker, finally setting his glass down, now serious.

  “A third party would have no reason to destroy a poor ghetto—and then the capital…” Taren replied, calmly, putting together all the intel.

  “Mhm… and as for Rai, his fire powers must’ve erupted uncontrollably in Paron. That happens when an elemental gift is passed to a non-bloodline host—”

  Suddenly, a soldier burst into the room.

  “It’s trouble, sir!”

  “What happened?!”

  “Two of the three guilds… they’ve formed a union—and they’re attacking us!”

  A glass slipped from one of the general’s hands, shattering on the floor. The red wine spread across the white marble, but no one moved.

  The guilds… turning against us?” the shocked general asked, fear dancing in his eyes.

  “They were never on our side to begin with…” Mira said coldly.

  “The guilds follow power. And right now, that power… is Rai,” said the strongest among them, Selric, calmly finishing his wine and placing the glass down. He was an A-ranker—but a legend even among S-rankers.

  “His speech must have swayed them.”

  “The concerning part is that the guild chiefs are S-rankers…”

  “And we’re all A-rank soldiers…” Taren looked down, disappointment etched across his face.

  “In any case, mobilize all troops! We’re the highest authority here—we don’t get intimidated by a union of guilds!” Kael barked, rising with fire in his eyes.

  “We just need to defeat them, right? I’ll take on one of the guild-chiefs…Perfect opportunity for me to test my skills! You guys manage the rest” said the strongest, Selric, walking towards the command table.

  “The reinforcements from Bergia should arrive within an hour. We don’t need to defeat them—just hold them off,” General Mira concluded.

  “What if that Rai joins the battle?” Taren expressed his concern.

  “THAT’LL BE INTERESTING. I WANTED TO ALWAYS BATTLE AN EMPEROR!” Selric’s spirits rose. He was a man who always longed for battles.

  “Idiot! It would be one hell of a problem, you moron!” Kael roared.

  “Well, sir, you see, the word is that he’s hunting the third guild right now…”

  “Aww…lame…I wanted to fight him…” Selric expressed his disappointment.

  “Have you heard the news, Rai?” asked the girl beside him, lounging comfortably on a plush sofa.

  “Mhm… just as I expected. The two guilds are on the move.” Rai reclined, legs on the table, calm and confident—as if everything was going according to plan.

  “Then what now, Rai? Try anything funny, and I’ll finish you.” The voice was cold, and composed. It came from a man standing near the window, smoking, gazing out at the skyscrapers towering around them.

  “That’s my line, idiot. You know you can’t beat me,” Rai replied with a smirk.

  “Can we even trust this guy, Rai?” the girl—Saera—asked, wary. Her eyes never left the man by the window. He was dangerous, important. Not someone you trusted easily.

  “It’s fine, Saera. He’s a powerful ally. And if he tries anything…” Rai’s gaze darkened. “I’ll erase him myself.”

  “Oooh, how terrifying,” the man laughed dryly. “Here I was, thinking we were the evil ones, using people like pawns.”

  “Well,” Rai said, shifting the topic, “the real problem is that third guild. They’re dragging their feet and ruining the plan.”

  “So, we wipe them out,” the man said coldly. No hesitation. No remorse.

  “Mhm. Anyone whose goals don’t align with ours… is the enemy. No ifs, no buts.”

  “But how?” Saera joined them at the window, eyes scanning the blue sky. “It’s a massive guild. And there’s only three of us.”

  “Our goal is to bring down just the guild chief, Thalen and vice chief. Rest others are just wild pawns, waiting to get order from their king. I’ll deal with those. I want you two to deal with those two…” Rai started to make preparations to head out at once, he was a clever boy; had already taken the map of the guild’s base, had made all plans to attack.

  “So you plan on to attack from the main gate?!” The man was surprised by Rai’s plan.

  “Ah, the main gate works the best, we get some warm-up before the real deal!” Rai said confidently.

  “Screw you! You just now said our goal is the chief and the vice chief. Now you’re – ”

  “How dare you talk like that to Rai!” Saera held the man’s collar tightly, engulfed in the flames of her anger.

  Rai intervened, letting her hand go off the collar, “it’s okay, Saera, it’s natural for him to ask. That’s just how he is, calm down!”

  “And yes, after a bit warm up we’ll start to concentrate on our goal. That’s all!”

  He attached headphones to the ears of both of his allies, to command them easily. He stepped into the lion’s den, not as prey—but as fire itself. In seconds, the beasts that dared to face him were reduced to ash. All one could see was flames – flames everywhere.

  “Ruthless as usual you are!” laughed the man.

  “Look, more are coming!” Saera got alert, took position to attack, but with Rai on his side, there wasn’t any need for her to get worried.

  Reinforcements stormed in from deeper inside. Rai’s group was highly outnumbered, but everything turned to ash in seconds – such was his power.

  “I heard a few dogs were barking at my wolves…say, vice, why’s this Flame-guy here?” a heavy voice suddenly struck. It was the guild chief and the vice chief. Silence broke in the room. Even the smoke-man lost his cool. It was clear – the guild chief meant no good. His aura was tremendous. He was renowned as the strongest S ranker.

  “To think that you would come up this early…which level of idiot are you, Thalen!” laughed Rai – the only one who remained calm at his arrival.

  “Well, I figured out if I sent more troupes, I would just lose them anyways, so just thought to warm up here!” Thalen stretched his legs and arms. Cracked his knuckles, as if ready to take on all three of them.

  “I’ll take him on, Rai!” a courageous voice from the left of Rai–Saera.

  “Well then, it would be nice training for you! Defeat him!”

  “And, you,” Rai pointed towards the man, “deal with this vice-chief! I’ll deal with anyone who interferes in your fight.”

  Thalen’s body suddenly got coated with a sheet of blue aura, his physical abilities improved, as he charged towards the young girl.

  “Ice-style Ice Knives!” Saera raised her arms against Thalen, released an ice type attack. Little did it affect the beast; he destroyed all the ice knives bare handedly, rushing towards his prey.

  Saera tried maintaining her distance for she knew she would be at a disadvantage in close combat. But Thalen would every time catch up. It was clear – Thalen was stronger than her.

  Rai observed the fight from a distance, and was puzzled; Thalen had so many chances to strike, but still missed, as if he didn’t want to. Saera had a reckless way of fighting, leaving many openings, but Thalen didn’t use any. His strikes were fast—but never fatal. His eyes held back something... not rage, but remorse.

  “You’re on desperate girl, no, Saera!” Thalen spitted blood from his mouth, took position to attack, but it still felt he was holding back.

  “Wait- how-” Saera was stunned, “do you know my name?!” “Who in the world are you?!”

  “I’m your father’s brother, dear, in other words your uncle, sweetie!”

  Saera was shocked, but too late to stop her sword attack. As her blade slid through him, Thalen didn’t resist.

  “So... he really never told you about me…” he whispered, falling to his knees.

  “Uncle! So you were holding back till the very end!” cried the young soul, as tears streamed down her cheeks.

  “I never meant to hurt you… you’re all I have left of him…”

  His eyes met hers—not with anger, but with something painfully close to sorrow.

  And then, silence.

  Saera was victorious, there the smoke-man had also finished his business with the vice-chief.

  Saera stood near Thalen, Rai joined her but was in no shape to say anything. He felt it was his fault that Saera had to kill her own uncle. Her breathing grew erratic. Her hands trembled, still stained with blood—his blood. The crimson triggered memories she had buried deep… screams… her mother…

  “No... not again… NO!” she screamed before her legs gave way.

  “Saera!” Rai shouted, racing to catch her before she hit the ground.

  Rai held her close, his jaw clenched. Behind them, stood the man, smoking coldly, his only question: Was she dead?