"Salina… Salina… Salina!" He opened his eyes. "Where am I? It's dark and I can't move."
"Finally, you woke up. I was starting to get worried that Kaizen did something to you when he unblocked your channels." He closed his eyes checking his body. "It's weak, but the channels seem to be flowing and absorbing energy well."
"Are you going to make a woman wait?" He could hear impatience in Salina's words and went to her standing in surprise.
He floated over a vast ocean of energy and in the center of the ocean was an island with a large red crystal shining over the sea of energy. He smiled. "Salina… It's good to see you again. Especially after what happened. Let's work together instead of using each other from now on." He looked at her in shock. "What has happened to you? You look… different."
"You did this. No longer do I have to hide as a spark, but I can show part of my form. This is my human form." His mouth opened as she spun around and giggled in front of him." As you grow stronger, the energy you absorb will also help me to become stronger."
He stood in stunned silence as she walked to him and hugged him. "Thank you… I doubted you were able to survive. I'm sorry."
He placed a hand over his heart and floated over his weakened body. "What have I become?" He watched as the mouth over his heart was open and eating the energy that was around him."We're in the rock coffins, that's why I couldn't see anything."
He looked at Salina who was standing next to him. "You haven't changed, nor have you become a monster. You are still the same person who can't control themselves."
He turned and looked at his body listening to Salina's words. "Your body is very weak. It must feed and restore itself. You must learn to control that mouth, or it'll take over and then you'll turn into a monster."
He felt Salina's hands wrap around his arm turning him to face her and stare at her face. "You must never let the urge of feeding take over, no matter how amazing or wonderful it feels."
He nodded and smiled at Salina. "I promise I'll learn control. I won't let it control me."
He felt her hug. "Good. While your body is recovering. That doesn't mean we can stay here and do nothing. From now on when your body is recovering, we're going to train."
He looked confused. "Train? How can we train when my body is there?"
He saw Salina smile at him. "Do you remember when the old monster told us that the weapons here are useless for us?" He nodded. "As a fire eater you're your own walking firebattery, armory and weaponsmith."
"I see." He looked at his body. "So, what type of training must I do? Hang on you said fire eater?"
"Image training… Watch me. We will talk about fire eating later." He turned and watched Salina stand in front of him.
"First create the image of the item you want to make. Second, circle the energy inside of you to fill the image, and then maintain the image in your mind without being distracted."
He watched as she closed her eyes and an elegant blade formed in her hand and her clothing changed into tight fitting iron armor. "The weapons and armor you form can be unique and stronger if you have a strong mind and will. If you have a weak mind or will then they will break easily."
He watched as the sword in her hand started heating up and extended in the shape of a bladed whip wrapping around her. "That's impressive."
He saw her smile. "I prefer this though as it matches my figure." A flick of her wrist and the whip faded, and her armor returned to her tight fire garments.
"Now, you've seen me do it. Now it's your turn. Picture a simple dagger in your mind. You can start at the blade or hilt. You're your own weapon smith."
He nodded and started to form the image of a simple dagger in his mind. ��Thin, strong, short with a small hilt."
"Ouuch. My head it's like there is a fire in my brain."
He was covered in sweat from bearing with the pain. "Why does it hurt? I couldn't concentrate on the image at all." He saw Salina looking at him sadly. "If you don't know the weapon or object you are forming well enough. That is the unfortunate result pain from the missing information in how to make the object, and not enough experience in using the object."
He nodded sadly looking down at his hands. "I'll try again. This time I'll form something that I am very well experienced with." He closed his eyes and became focused.
"Fast, durable, strong, leather, releases heat…" He smiled. "This time it doesn't hurt too much. Seems I still need to experience in making them."
"Image done. Now circulate the energy into the image." He concentrated as a small amount of energy filled the image. He took a deep breath. "Done." He opened his eyes.
"That's a great first try. Now I see that you've been using your fists and feet all your life in fighting. That is a good start."
He looked down at his hands and noticed the leather gloves covered in flames and smiled. "They are weak, and will break easily, but you can make them stronger if you keep training."
He smiled and threw a few punches. As he punched energy traveled to his fist and a fireball shot out of his body from inside the stone coffin destroying it and hitting the roof before dying out.
He opened his eyes feeling pain all over his body as pieces of the stone coffin fell onto him. Salina's voice floated around him.
"That was unexpected, but it seems you are learning fast."He heard her giggle as he picked himself up from the destroyed stone coffin."You just need a little more control but creative."
He groaned as attendants helped him stand up and walk out of the rubble. He looked up and smelled food.
"Nice gloves you have there. "Not bad for your first try."
He turned to where the voice came from and saw the old man staring at him. "The attendants aren't fainting or falling over. That's a good sign. Come here let me see you."
He made his way towards the old man and stood in front of him. He felt the old man's touch for a moment. "Excellent. There is control now." He looked down at his chest and saw the old man staring at the scar over his heart. "Hmm. Fire eater. You really need to have control, but that'll come from practice and experience."
"Grrrrrrrrrr"
"Ahh yes. You've been in the stone coffin for seven days and you are going to be hungry." He nodded and followed the old man's pointing.
He sat down at the plate of food and waited as the old man sat opposite him. "Yes, you can eat. I'll talk after you eat."
He nodded and started to eat all the food on the plate in silence. He looked up when he had finished one plate. He saw an attendant carrying another large plate of food. He smiled and took it from then and continued eating.
He sat back with a smile of satisfaction once he finished the second plate and patted his stomach. He looked at the old man who was sitting there smoking on a black pipe.
"Boy. So, your spark's name is Salina?" He nodded and watched in silence as he saw two scars on the palms of the old man. "Mine is Argus. He can be annoying at times, but he means well. Another thing is that I'm a fire changer."
He looked at the old man in confusion. "Fire changer uses the energy to improve their body and their use of energy is very different. You're a fire eater. Both have their own strengths and weaknesses."
He sat in silence while the old man was smoking his pipe. "This is important. That's why I want to say it in here. No ears." He watched as the old man waved his pipe and a wall of black fire formed around them.
"Sparks are our greatest treasure also our greatest secret. If people knew about the sparks inside us, we'll be hunted down and feel extreme pain and torture until the spark is taken. You must never ever tell anyone of the spark inside you. Even if the spark takes form, you must never say it." He looked at the old man with a serious look and nodded as they smoked on the pipe.
"FireStrike unit here know we're different, but that's all they know, and that's the way it must always stay."
He nodded and watched as the old man used his black pipe and tapped on the gloves he had made. They shattered and faded away. He placed his hands on his head at the pain.
"aaaaaaaarrgh."
"You need to always focus on the images you form or when they break and fade, you'll be in intense pain."He took deep breaths as the pain slowly faded. He heard the old man's words as he sat smoking.
"Fireball from gloves. Very surprising. Well you're a fire eater which makes perfect sense."
He sat up and looked at the old man in confusion who nodded at him. "You can talk freely while I have my fire wall up."
"Sir, you call me a fire eater and you are a fire changer what is the difference?"
He looked at the old man smoking. "Fire changer uses energy to improve their body, turning their body into a weapon. A fire eater uses the energy to create objects which are used as a weapon. You're lucky you didn't get the fire guardian. With your level of control, you would explode. Hohoho."
"How do I become stronger as a fire eater? Salina told me I need to practice making images of items, but it seems my images are not fully complete."
He looked at the old man with hope. "Boy, since you are your own walking blacksmith. Sitting and making an image is not your way. You don't have the patience or mind for it." He watched the old man smoke from the pipe and look at the ceiling. "You're the type of person who learns by touching and experiencing it, which means very special training for you."
He sighed at the mention of training. "Sir, I have one more question. I've heard a name of someone, their name is Kaizen. Do you know who they are?"
"Crackkkkk!" The stone table cracked from the tap of the old man's pipe. He looked at the anger forming over the old man's face. "Never, ever say that name in front of me. All you need to know is that he was kicked out of the unit, because he lost control of his spark. He wasn't human and killed many people. That was a very long time ago. He died by my own hands."
He sat in silence, watching as the old man waved his pipe and stood up. The firewall around them fading. "Come, get dressed and follow me. Time for talking is over. Special training begins."
He looked down at himself and noticed he wasn't wearing any clothes and stood up embarrassed. He walked over to the broken stone coffin and picked up his clothes. He ignored the female attendants following him with his eyes and biting their lips at him.
Outside, he took a breath of fresh air and smiled looking at the FireStrike unit. He walked up to the old man and stood at attention waiting for him to move.
"Let's go. As we walk listen."
He nodded and followed the old man in silence. "Boy, you've been reassigned to me and I'm in charge of your training and development. However, you're not ready or strong enough to face being trained by me. So, I'm sending you to the perfect person for you."
He was surprised as they walked past the training yards and stopped in front of the blacksmith. "Boy, wait here." He stood and watched as the old man walk into the blacksmith. "Salina. He said Kaizen is dead, but we saw him twice."
Salina floated around him in silence. "Yes, seems there is more to the story of Kaizen. Especially if he did lose control to his spark…"
"Boy, enter!"
He walked into the blacksmith. The smell of molten steel filled the area. He stood in front of the two men.
"This is him. I'll leave him in your hands. Morning training is smithing here. Afternoon is weapons training outside the forge." He looked at the blacksmith who handed him an axe.
"Apprentice. Since it's still morning, you're to chop wood for the furnace. Now go."
He nodded at the blacksmith taking the axe in hand with hope and determination in his eyes.