Chapter 1: Sparks (1)

Crackling. Screams. The sounds of debris hitting the ground. All of them merge into one dampened background noise, as he lays in the corner of what was once his home, crying in agony, not because of the burning wooden beam piercing his leg, but because of the pile of ash next to him that he once called sister. In a sea of crimson flames, very much not created from a natural cause, unable to move, he screams out all of the hatred and resentment that has built up over the years. There is nothing else to do. This has to be it. His life will end right here, right now.

'Why?! Why is this happening?! HOW DID WE DESERVE THIS?! LEA, WHY ARE YOU GONE?!?!?!?'

"E...? Echo..." Is someone calling him? "Echo, hey! Are you still alive? ECHO!"

He slowly returns to his senses, and with them come all the sensations he's unknowingly ignored until now and hit him all at once: The stench of human flesh burning away, the overwhelming amount of Mana making him feel like he's underwater, the horrified screams of the other villagers. He throws up, turning away from the ashes of his sibling as to not dishonor her remains. He looks up, his leg still stuck to the ground by the wooden beam. Next to him his best friend, Jared, the one screaming his name. "Jared? Is it you?", he asks.

"I'm gonna get you out of there! We have to leave!" Jared roars as he starts lifting the beam. It has to be at least to meters long and 30 centimeters thick, yet he rips it out of his friend's thigh and tosses it away like it's nothing as green mist appears around his legs and lower back. Body enhancement magic. "O light of Amber, heal his wounds". A white light shines from Echo's wound, and when it disappears just a few seconds later, there is no trace him being hurt left. Jared hold out his hand to him. He looks at it with tears in his eyes.

'To make the bastards pay, I've gotta survive first. Jared's right. We have to leave!', he thinks to himself with a mind cleared of at least the physical pain. He reaches out for Jared's hand, and lets himself be pulled up. "Let's make a run for it!", he declares, determined to survive this slaughter.

"I heard someone scream that they cam from the forest, so lets head for the hill!", Jared decides.

The two climb over a blazing wooden pillar, the only remnant of what you would once have called a wall. There's no one else on the clay path that could be considered the village's main street. As they pass the burning debris scattered all around. they spot a mother trying to drag her 3-year-old daughter out from under a pile of rocks, screaming desperately.

"Come on Sarah! You've go to hold on!", she cries out.

But there's nothing left to hold on to. Her lower half is completely crushed, and it's already been some time since she had drawn her last breath. Echo rushes over to pull ger away, but just as he reaches out to grab her, the debris slides down and caver her head in. He stares at the unmoving body as the blood of the mother's brain slowly drips down on her child's body.Jared grabs his shoulder.

"Let's go", he tells him in a defeated voice.

Echo nods and leaves with him. While the sounds of blazing magical flames and collapsing buildings continue, it seems calmer, for the screams of desperation and pain have ceased. At this point it's to assume that those two boys, the villages most promising fighters, are the only one's still alive. On the road once again, they continue to run for the hill. but, to their surprise, there seem to be two people standing on top of it. One looks like a female wearing a robe made of simple cloth, but shed doesn't look familiar to them. Behind her a man carrying.... 'a sword?!'. They immediately realize that they're probably the one's responsible for the destruction of the village, and they rush behind a big boulder to hide. The one with the sword is wearing fancy iranium armor, which is made out of a special magical steel that strengthens the armor depending on the power of it's wearer. His sword is also enormous and probably made from the same material. His entire armor is embellished with gold. From the distance Echo and Jared have to the assailants, they can just barely make out what they're talking about.

"Well, looks like we got rid of the monsters. Too bad we burnt the entire village down as well.", the mage says.

Echo grits his teeth and clenches his fists together so hard they start bleeding, but he knows just as well as Jared that they can't do shit against them right now. Both are drained, mentally exhausted, and even if they weren't, they still couldn't do a thing. Jared puts his left hand on his shoulder, trying to support him, while struggling to remain silent himself.

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"Why would I care about the village? Those aren't even real people, who cares if they're gone?", the warrior asks rhetorically.

"No shit, duh. What I meant was that we missed out on our opportunity of their women showing us their 'gratitude' for saving them.", the mage answers with laughter.

"Oh, guess you're right. That is too bad. Nothing we can do about it now, let's head back.", he says, turning around to leave the village.

"Hold up, I still want to show you my new spell. They're dead now anyway, so it doesn't matter if I blow up some more."

His companion turns back and looks at the village, "Fine, show me then."

"O Azrael, lend me your strength to send my enemies to Damnation", the mage begins to chant aloud. His points his wand towards the village, as a fire ball of blue and black flames starts to build up in front of it. "Thy wrath shall strike down even the mightiest of monsters", he continues as the fire ball grows to whats probably half a meter in diameter. It's glow intensifies, and aside from the blazing sounds of the flames, there is now also low humming that slowly rises in pitch and volume.

Echo and Jared remain silent behind the boulder. They're not in the village itself anymore, but rather next to it, so they should be save.

"FLAMES OF THE ABYSS!", the mage screams out as the humming reaches it's maximum intensity. Violent flames of black and blue burst out of his staff, not like straight beam, but rather like a cone spreading outwards, and incinerate the entire village all at once. It's wiped out in the blink of an eye.

Echo looks to his right in disbelief. Right next to him, where his childhood friend Jared stood just a second ago, there's nothing but scorched earth left. Half of the boulder he is hiding behind completely gone, just like everything else dear to him. There is nothing left. He slides down rock wall with his back, and sits there, shaking, breathing heavily, with nothing to calm him down. Nothing to look forward to. No one to talk to. Just nothing. Everything he knew and loved, entirely erased from existence. It's not anger that he's feeling, it's just complete hopelessness.

"BAM, LOOK AT THAT!", the mage screams out joyfully.

"That - that was a sight to behold. Wow.", the warrior admits, stunned by his companions attack.

The two turn around and to leave, and their words fade into the distance. All that remains from the village is Echo, cowering and quivering in the dirt, unable to even mourn his loss as he is left in disbelief.

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