"Prim" Dolion said as they approached the newly destroyed village.
Prim was staring at a small crowd of villagers huddled against a ruined building.
"Is anyone hurt?" Dolion asked them.
"No one" Said a woman in the back. "It is only us"
Dolion stood silent, taking in the horrendous sight. "You, you, you and you" Dolion said pointing to four of the men. "Come with me"
"What are you doing?" Prim asked gripping his sleeve.
"I'm double checking. If someone is hurt then we can't leave them"
Prim nodded and let him go.
"The rest of you" Prim said to the remaining crowd. "Come with me"
She lead them back up into the safety of the forest. She made sure the children were warm and ordered one of the men to build the villagers a fire.
Three other men pushed four fallen trees into a circle shape so that everyone could get off their feet for a bit.
Prim was seated on one of the logs and watching the clouds dance past when one of the village women joined her.
"You and your boyfriend were true heroes today" She said as she cradled her baby to her chest.
"He's not my boyfriend. Just a friend"
"Oh," The woman said suddenly embarrassed. "Forgive me"
"There is nothing to forgive" Prim smiled at her. "And no...We couldn't save you all"
The woman placed a hand over Prim's and smiled. "Trust me. You were true saviors"
Prim attempted a weary smiled but felt like she failed miserably.
"No!' Cried another village woman.
Prim shot to her feet once she caught sight of the fire. It was spreading throughout the village at rapid speed.
"No!" Prim screamed as she sprinted down the hill.
By the time she reached the edge of the village the fire had grow too much. She didn't know how she was going to stop it.
"Dolion!" She shouted.
"Prim!"
Immediately she darted into the empty streets of Lorn, not once taking her eyes off of the white flames.
"Prim!" She heard him cry again. She could hear the utter fear in his voice.
"I'm coming!" She yelled as a mix of tears and smoke stung her eyes.
She could see him, She could see Dolion and the other four men.
"Dolion" She shouted. "Over here! Over-"
As soon as the flames touched them, they didn't burn...They vanished.
Prim was frozen in her tracks as she watched the white flames make their way towards her.
She didn't run...She couldn't...She was too afraid.
She squeezed her eyes shut as it was just a few feet away.
Would she survive this? Would she vanish too?
What happens when-
She felt the flames pass through her. They were warm, not smoldering. She chocked on the smoke it left behind in her lungs. And when she opened her eyes again, the world around her was blurry and fading fast. She felt herself collapse. But after that...Darkness...
When she awoke, the world was silent, all except for the sound of her ragged breaths. "Dolion" She whispered. Her throat burned and the smell of smoke that clung to her clothes made her nauseous.
She pushed herself to her feet and peered up at the hill. There was no sign of life at all. Even the orange fire that was keeping them warm was gone.
Prim eyes went wide when she tuned back to the village only to see Vespertine standing just a few feet away from her.
"You can bring them all back you know" She said in her honey sweet voice.
"What did you do?" Prim seethed.
"I didn't...You did. And you can bring them all back. Even your friend...What was his name?Ah yes, Benjamin"
Prim stared in disbelief.
"But of coarse, you have to make a decision now. Give up and bring them all back. Or try and defeat me, lose, and then you would have ended both your world and theirs"
"My world?"
Vespertine nodded. "You Earthen's are so weak" She laughed. "Making your people vanish was much easier then vanishing Astal's"
"Where are they?!" Prim shouted.
"I've sent them to a place where they'll never escape on their own. And without me, you'll never get them out either"
"Out of where?"
"Bolide. The land of souls. You see, they're all lost. They don't know that they've left the Plane. So they will never make it back"
"No, Dolion...He's smarter then you think-"
"Perhaps. But he's not going to make it out of there...Even you know that"