The small family of four could tell something was wrong far before he appeared. Inside the cabin the family had built for themselves, the four huddled close together despite the heat, like they would be safer the closer they were to each other. The weather had felt unusually warm. That had kept them on edge. If it had merely been one or two of them to feel this way, they might not have felt uneasy, but for all of them to feel it left them unnerved. They had finally managed to relax their taut nerves and calm down. That was when they saw it. A man, dressed from head to toe in golden armor. He wore a black mantle that hung low, down to the back of his knees. He would have looked like the very picture of righteousness, if it weren't for his eyes. His eyes were the brightest shade of red, like fire so hot it felt cold to the touch. Despite the rising heat the smallest of the family of four shivered upon making eye contact with the man.
The tallest of the family of four turned to the rest of his family and opened his mouth as if to give orders, but before he could even speak, the man in armor waved his arm. Instantly the heat became almost unbearable, and a tide of fire burned into existence in front of the man. It shot out toward the cabin and the smallest could only look in horror as the inferno sped closer. The damage was catastrophic, the cabin was able to delay the fire for a brief moment before breaking through. The second tallest, who seemed to be the mother, was burned to ash in an instant, all that remained of her was the curved ivory horn that once sprouted from her forehead. The tallest, who appeared to be the father, was not much better off. When the wave of fire hit he managed to wake up the youngest from his stupor and throw him behind him, shielding him. As he too began to turn to ash, he turned his head with great difficulty and managed to convey his final words to the youngest.
"Vide, take Arlan and run," His eyes shone with a flicker of madness, "You have to live, Vide! Promise me! The Pyreans cannot end here!"
Vide, his eyes veiled with tears, both from the grief of losing his family and from the smoke stinging his eyes, gave a resolute nod and grabbed the limp form of his older brother, Arlan. Arlan was standing behind his mother when the wave hit. He wasn't struck as severely as his mother, but was in critical condition. Intense burns covered almost all of his body and Vide wasn't sure he was breathing. He turned around and booked it.
The man in the armor looked at all of this with a detached stare, as if the horrific events that had just transpired had nothing to do with him. He looked up at the sky as if searching for something. The only thing the man could hear was the crackling and popping of the burning forest. Apparently, he didn't find what he was looking for, and looked forward towards the escaping brothers. He didn't move from his spot, but a look of disgust and mockery appeared in his eyes.
Vide ran as fast as he could through the gnarled forest. Everything was tinted with an orange hue from the flames behind him, and the stench of smoke was overpowering. He ran past the old willow tree that Arlan and he had played on, he could still see the spot where they had carved their names as children. With no set destination, Vide continued to run. He ran until his knees were buckling and his legs were covered in scratches from the bushes he forced himself through. His legs were battered and bloody, but he managed to put one foot in front of the other mindlessly, like an undead. His father's last words echoing in his mind like thunder. You have to live, Vide!
He racked his brain for a location to go where we would be safe. All of a sudden, a memory struck him. One night several weeks ago, he had come across a small lake on the side of a mountain in the middle of Enti. The water was crystal clear, which was a rarity in Enti, most of the water was dark, menacing and so viscous you could almost stand on it. He recalled taking a swim and coming across an underwater cavern that he had thought was captivating. He committed the place to memory and told himself that he would come back with everyone one day for a family outing. He decided that that was where he would hide with his brother and hopefully treat Arlan's wounds.
Vide almost made it to the other side of the clearing when the wind began to pick up. He began to shiver involuntarily, as if his body knew something was wrong. The wind caused his throat to dry, and made it difficult for him to even breathe. The wind felt like a warning of something sinister approaching. It slowly increased in strength until it was a struggle to even move forward. The clouds sharted to shift until a pair of eyes appeared in the sky. He started to shiver even harder. Those eyes were a familiar and unwelcome sight. The eyes of the man who had taken everything from him. The man who had slaughtered his parents and left his brother only hanging on only by a thread. The eyes scoured the clearing for a moment before they locked onto him.
As the eyes focused on the hunched and dreary form of Vide and Arlan, Vide started to gasp for breath. His back was covered with sweat. The eyes seemed to shine in anticipation when they saw him struggle. The pressure continued to mount until Vide felt like he would be crushed. His body was too heavy, every step felt like another mountain was being pressed upon his back. At this rate neither of them would be able to make it to the clearing. The pressure was so strong that Vide could no longer move. He was only ten feet from the edge of the clearing. He thought if he could just make it under the cover of the foliage he would have a chance to escape. Vide's heart beat faster and his mind raced, he raked his brain for some other way, any other way. But he couldn't think of any. His heart dripped with blood as he slowly loosed his grip on his brother. Arlan fell to the ground disturbingly fast, like a puppet that had its strings cut. Immediately the pressure loosened and he was able to move again. He made a mad dash and almost made it to the edge of the woods, as he made the mistake of looking back. Vide didn't know when Arlan had woken up, but he was staring straight at him. His face was a mixture of surprise, unwillingness and worst of all, betrayal.
The eyes in the sky flashed with a hint of surprise, before returning to their blank stare. They focused on the puppet-like form of Arlan, and the pressure visibly increased. The earth around Arlan was indented like a giant metal ball had fallen onto it. Disturbing cracking sounds rang out from Arlan as his body was crushed. Vide turned his head to continue running, the pressure continuing to decrease. He was half a step into the forest before he heard one final shout from his brother, "Vid-!"
The scream was cut off by a sickening pop that rang out around the forest, before going silent.
The eyes in the sky turned toward the fleeing Vide when all of a sudden storm clouds appeared in the distance. The screaming lightning threatened to destroy the earth and upturn the heavens. The rain was torrential and the wind terrifying. A booming voice that could only belong to the man with red eyes sounded out, "The Western Heaven is mine, Jin. You know the price of disturbing me."
As if in response to the man's words the fire that was spreading through the forest burned even hotter and spread quicker.
A pair of gray eyes manifested in the middle of the stormy clouds. The eyes looked like clouds full of rain and lightning, a sense of foreboding rose in Vide's heart. The eyes looked over at Vide and he got the feeling the man with gray eyes felt like he was looking at an ant. The gray eyes rose to meet the gaze of the fire wielding man.
"What kind of fool do you take me for Kaya? You think any of us Kings of Four Heavens would let you achieve recognition that easily?" A voice sounded out from the thundercloud like a roar. The voice shook the earth and caused the rain to fall even harder.
Hatred appeared in the eyes of the man with red eyes. With the gray eyed man interfering there was no way he would be able to finish Vide off. With an uncharacteristically cold snort, the fiery eyed man, apparently named Kaya, started to vanish. As he was in the middle of vanishing, a wave of fire rose up from the beginning of the clearing. It was almost exactly the same as the one from earlier. It began to move toward Vide and picked up speed. The gray eyed man gave an equally cold snort and a massive gale appeared and smothered the fire, a torrent of rain came down from the clouds to put out the final sparks and ensure it wouldnt start again.
With one final look of disdain, the gray eyes disappeared. Vide was shaken to his core at what he had witnessed. Those people displayed a power he didn't even imagine possible. People who could kill him merely by speaking. Their anger shook the earth and caused destruction to rain down.
He wanted it.
He wanted power so strong he could crush them underfoot. He kept moving. His face was so cold he couldn't feel the tears running down his face. He didn't stop for anything, the forest was quiet. The birds had long gone silent.