UNITY

Chase and his father exited the house through the back door. They were immediately hit by a terrible breeze of smoke and flame.

Chase stepped back near the door and stood there for a second or two before catching up with his father, who had already started jogging through the backyard.

As the boy ran, he looked back at his small rustic home one last time. Chase was holding back a dam of tears as he followed his father, stepping over plants of all kinds and plenty of debris.

The two climbed over the fence that led to Chase's friend's home. Cloudy was nowhere to be seen as they ran through the backyard, clearing any objects that stood in the way.

Chase stopped running and put his hands on his knees to catch his wild breath.

"We can't stop yet, Chase. I cannot fight with you near me," Blaze said with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"I can't keep... up... sorry..." Chase gasped as his ragged breath finally caught up with him. His back had also begun to hurt again as the adrenaline wore off, causing Chase to nearly fall over.

"Dammit all!" Blaze yelled, kicking a miniature oak tree in the neighbor's backyard.

The tree split from about a meter high onto the trunk, causing the entire tree to come crashing down as if split by an axe.

Chase stood shocked, having never seen his father so angry; however, there was also a small sense of awe as his father toppled the eight-meter-tall tree with a single kick.

Finally, after taking a few short breaths, Chase's father walked over to him and put a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Listen, Chase, and listen well..." Blaze spoke in a quiet yet solemn manner.

Chase nodded, ignoring the terrible pain in his back.

Blaze took a deep breath before he spoke again, looking directly into Chase's eyes as if he were trying to send a message directly to the boy's soul.

"Take this blade." The orange-haired man set the dagger of the Phoenix Clan onto the boy's tiny palm and closed his fingers around the handle.

"Show it to the head professor of the academy. After that, they will believe everything you tell them. Tell them my name. But first, you will leave the village and ensure your own safety—do whatever it takes."

Chase flinched at the realization of what his father was saying.

"What about you?" Chase asked, feeling small drops of water fall from his eyes.

Blaze just smiled at the boy and turned around, stepping toward the center of the large fire that engulfed the entire town. It looked like it had begun at the schoolhouse, from what Chase could see.

"Myself and your mother have done everything we could for now, but you have too much time left in this world, as I am already nearing my own end," Blaze spoke with confidence as he stared down the burning hometown of the two.

"Surely you have noticed my sickly state. It was not something I could avoid, and so I would much rather die in the blaze of a battle, protecting those who still breathe and avenging those who cannot anymore, than to die like a coward."

He paused as Chase tried his hardest not to argue or to begin sobbing like the child he was.

"Chase, you have more time in this world than you think. Nothing about you is normal, and one day you will notice that as well. But you are also far too important to die now. I am sorry that I could only tell you so little, but if you look in the right places, all the answers you need will simply fall into place. Now go!" Blaze picked up the boy by his right arm, reached back, and launched the boy into a soft bush two houses over.

Chase coughed as he landed in the soft bush. It was not a hard fall; however, because of the injuries to his back, the impact left the boy quite dazed.

"No! Dammit!" Chase yelled as a dam of tears broke. He had not even had the chance to give his father a real goodbye.

...

Blaze slowly proceeded past the fallen trees and charred buildings, swinging his battle axe casually from side to side.

He was whistling an old tune that Lilith used to sing as she watered the flowers outside the wonderful home they had built together.

Blaze could feel his old heart slowing down, even if it was ever so slightly. 'These pillagers can be such a pain.'

Blaze continued to walk through the town of ruin and fire until he finally found something quite interesting.

He had reached the schoolhouse, and what greeted him was not as visually appealing as he had hoped.

The old man, who just so happened to be Chase's teacher, was strung by the neck with a tattered rope, hanging from the tree that stood in front of the schoolhouse.

Around twelve or so other men and women were also neighboring the old geezer's lifeless body on nearby trees.

Blaze scanned the area, searching for the two boys who always hung around Chase. Luckily, they were nowhere to be seen.

However, what sat on a small wooden chair at the center of the chaos was a shorter man with messy, short brown hair.

He had a curved silver blade strapped to his back and skin-tight leather armor, lined and plated with raw silver.

The man had a disgusting scar that ran from the crown of his head to the right side of his chin.

The man stood up slowly and wiped the ash from his thigh plates.

"Where is the boy, dead man?" the man said with a scratchy, deep voice as his ice-colored eyes pierced through Blaze.

"The boy is gone," Blaze said coldly, wiping the blood from the edge of his battle axe.

The man studied Blaze's eyes silently for around thirty seconds before he spoke again.

"What god do you serve?" the man asked with a hint of anger in his voice.

"I serve no god, and I serve no man; however, I believe you should ask my name before you let threats seep into your voice," Blaze said, halting his movements and returning a fiery stare to match the man's.

"I already know who you are, Blaze, son of the First Phoenix. As I am sure you know who I am as well," the man said, letting a creepy grin fall onto his twisted face.

"Sazir of Frostfang... Do you wish me to kill you and all of your soldiers before the sun can even break the tree line?" Blaze threatened, letting his battle axe rest against his hip as the bladed edge dug into the dirt below him.

Sazir let out a cold, ragged breath that almost appeared to thaw as it left his mouth.

"You talk too much..." Sazir launched forward, drawing the curved silver blade mid-charge.

Sazir's blade glinted as it slashed through the air, unleashing a crescent of jagged ice that roared toward Blaze like a winter storm. Without hesitation, Blaze hefted his axe, its edge igniting with a searing flame. The fire surged around him, erupting into a blazing inferno that swallowed the icy attack. The collision shook the ground, sending waves of steam hissing into the sky as the town briefly lit up in fiery brilliance.

Steam rose from the point where the two elements met, and when the large cloud of smoke cleared, what remained was a clash between two beautiful weapons.