He could not see anything besides orange and pain. 'Can you even see pain?' he thought, though the answer was laid bare: he could. Scorching heat enveloped his small body, flames licking his clothes; not eating them, however. His throat hurt, smoke and fire being breathed in faster and faster in the uneven rhythm that was his panicked breathing.
Clinging to his open eyes, the smoke tried to pry its way inwards, a searing pain spreading across the whites of his globules. Rapidly closing them, Noah tried to calm his wildly beating heart and focus on overcoming the test before him.
'It's just a test,' he thought, 'it's not real flames, they won't kill me... right?' He tried to reassure himself but to no avail; his heart continued to race, his breath ragged.
With every outgoing push of air, the flames retreated quickly before surging back in unison with Noah's breathing; the fire burning his mouth and nasal airways.
Sinking deeper into the infernal abyss, Noah lost track of time; his very being acclimating itself to the surrounding hostile environment. The flames stopped hurting his throat: the fire consumed by his alveolus. The searing pain in his mouth subsided with every breath, the flames healing the burnt skin instead of continuously eating away at it.
Stirring in his abdomen, Noah's Energy Core began to rumble: the red sea of flames on the globe stretching upwards, seeking the energy around its host. Having lost consciousness from the pain, Noah was oblivious to the changes occurring in and around his body. Oblivious to the previously harmful flames being absorbed through his skin, its uncontrolled temper raging in his veins.
Slowly but surely, the amount of fire in the infernal abyss lessened, leaving the frail body of a child in its smoky way.
.
.
.
On the outside, Mark and The Deer stood in silence, the pit of flames dancing happily in front. For them, the abyss had not receded in the slightest, its heat still soaring. With a sigh, Mark sat down, his cape melting into the darkness beyond his road.
"How long do you think he'll take?" He said, his eyes reflecting the raging fire; a chilly air battling the encroaching heat.
"It is an unknown, even for me." The Deer answered, its deep wisdom leaking into its melodic voice. The specks of gold painting its brown irises began to glow. "He has entered the absorption-phase."
Soon, they could see the flames slowly lose vigour: its intensity lessening together with the volume, the heat residing alongside it. After another set of time, the flames completely succumbed; smoke from the still tenaciously burning sparks the only evidence of the past infernal.
Left in its wake lay the still body of a child, its cloak draping over the lifeless body like a duvet covering a child during a cold winter morning. Suddenly, a tremor ran through the body: muscles tensing and relaxing in the arms and legs. A sharp intake of air signalled to the two onlookers that the child was, in fact, alive. Struggling to get its limbs to move, the child rose to all four slowly, painful grunts echoing in the empty pit.
"Congratulations, Noah." Said Mark from the edge, his voice full with pride. "You have attained a greater fire affinity." A light shrouded Noah, the path spreading out before him when it subsided. He stretched his arms out, fingers closing and opening as he stared at the spotless skin.
"I burned, or so I thought," he said aloud, his mind racing. "How many more tests do I have to clear?"
"One for every element, and affinity," The Deer answered, "up until perfect affinities it is only the lesser elements. After perfect affinity comes the two stages of authorities where the higher elements come into play as well."
Noah nodded in appreciation, newfound resolve lighting his eyes.
.
.
.
He had come to realise he hated water. It was not some childish behaviour. No, he hated water, a subconscious part of him resented it to the point of almost incinerating it with his flames. But he could not, his powers were locked. He could only sink deeper into the pitch black darkness, the pressure building around him, making it hard to breath.
It felt familiar: the cold seeping through his wet clothes; the weight of them dragging him further down; the pressure over his ears and eyelids and lungs.
His consciousness slipped further and further away, helplessness pervading his senses. Completely losing it he fell into a darker darkness than the water around him.
In his mind, a lake spread out before him, a boat rocking beneath his feet. 'Where am I?' he thought. A shrill shriek pierced the veil of silence around the boat, small waves expanding in circles from the keel. 'Where is the path?' he thought, again. With uncontrolled movements, the being in his mind looked at its feet, at the wrapped figure resting against its legs. Another shriek, this time followed by movements from the wrapped figure.
With what felt like a sigh, the standing being sat down on the rowing-thwart. With soft movements it grabbed the silk covering the shrieking figure, pulling it aside as another shriek pierced the dark sky. In the small crib lay a baby, its pale and smooth face reflecting the bright moon above; their only source of light. Running a white finger down the cheek of the baby, the sitting being clasped the baby's chin, turning its soft face towards it. Beaming with colour in contrast to the pale skin, the baby's deep blue eyes shone in the dimly lit night, meeting the unknown eyes of the being above it.
The shrieks had stopped by the time the sitting being covered the baby. With careful movements, it lifted the baby out of the crib, placing it in its lap. As it rose to its feet, the baby in its arms, a soft wail came from the covered child. Stepping closer to the wooden railing of the boat, the wailing grew in intensity. With surprising elegance and caring, the being placed the baby on the still lake and gave it a push.
Standing at the railing, the being watched the baby float for a while before the weight of the wet silk pulled it beneath the surface, taking it into the darkness beneath.
Sitting down, the being took hold of the oars. Soon the dull sound of the oars cleaving the surface of the lake drifted through the air, accompanied by a baby's wail.