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“Are we really sure about this...?”
“Gather yourself, Rondo. This is no time for hesitation.”
Sazantos sighed. Sweat beaded on his forehead from the oppressive heat around them. He much preferred the frigid cold of the Frostlands compared to this hellscape. Didn’t Rondo realize he didn’t want to be here either? But the duty of the Flameguard was absolute. Evil must be purged – and finally, Sazantos had a clear target for his restless flame!
“But, sir...” Rondo tried again and looked at the ominous gate before them. Two statues of strange, grotesque monsters stood guard at the sides. “You heard the villagers. This temple is supposedly a place of worship for the sealed dark god. And we’ve seen what Ceraphina is capable of. If this place hosts more of that accursed power, then...”
They had journeyed to Berecain with the Knights Ardante. In there, they had talked with the last remaining descendants of the kingdom of Bernstein and learned shocking truths about Ceraphina: she was the scholar Salomon’s granddaughter, the one responsible for opening the Gate of Finis by King Jennish’s orders. Two kingdoms had been destroyed by Hell’s horrifying forces before the Gate was sealed and Salomon executed as punishment.
That had all happened over two hundred years ago, but somehow Ceraphina still lived, fueled by resentment and the ring’s power. She had headed beneath the volcano to the Forbidden Temple, built by King Jennish with the purpose of ascending to godhood. The king’s previous attempts had ended in failure, but Ceraphina had a divine ring in her possession. They couldn’t take any chances.
“Evil is to be purged,” Sazantos repeated his mantra, the driving force behind his entire life. “We must stop Ceraphina before she completes the ritual, lest she succeeds.”
“Couldn’t have said it better myself,” Captain Hugo agreed.
Sazantos huffed and tried to covertly swipe the sweat from his face. At least someone was agreeing with him. The less time they wasted standing around, the faster the threat would be dealt with. The blue flame within Sazantos blazed strong, hungry for revenge after what Ceraphina had done to Rondo. He would not fail this time.
“You can always turn back and return to Berecain,” Sazantos suggested, feigning calmness. He almost hoped Rondo would take up his offer.
“No, sir,” Rondo replied without hesitation. “I will go wherever you go.”
“Then act like it. Let us move.”
With no room for doubts, they pushed the gates open and stepped into the cathedral of the dark god. And this time, Sazantos would walk his intended path and do whatever it took to vanquish evil. No matter the cost.
With the Flame men may perish
With the Flame men may rise
Beyond life and death lies the path divine
The Forbidden Temple welcomed them with a cryptic engraving on a pedestal. Rondo didn’t like its foreboding tone. He looked at his mentor for guidance, but Sazantos merely glanced at it, and then he was already descending the stairs deeper underground. Rondo and Hugo had no choice but to follow.
The temple looked less like a place of worship and more like a place of nightmares. Lava from the volcano was trapped into narrow channels, where it flowed and cascaded down as infernal waterfalls. Precarious stone stairs and passageways stretched across the sea of molten fire. The air was filled with toxic fumes. It was mindless. Why would anyone build such a place and worship a god who desired it? Why would anyone want to become a god themselves?
Hellish beasts prowled the hallways, but the combined strength of the three knights prevailed easily. Or mostly two of them, Rondo had to admit. Sazantos and Hugo, despite not exchanging a word with each other, fought effortlessly side by side. One sword seemed to always follow the other, finishing off their enemies quickly. It was like watching a dance, its steps born from years of experience.
Eventually, the passageways led them to a circular platform. A pedestal in the middle featured another engraving, no less cryptic or concerning than the first one:
Ye who pierce the pillar of desire
Set your gaze upon the form of god
Two statues of monsters guarded a doorway again. Rondo had a bad feeling about it, about everything. Sazantos hadn’t spoken a word after they entered the temple. That wasn’t unusual for his pensive mentor, but something was different. He was driven, almost feverish in his relentless march forward. They had to hurry to catch Ceraphina, yes, but Rondo hadn’t witnessed such agitation in his steps before.
“Wait,” Rondo pleaded. Sazantos stopped in front of the doorway. “I have a bad feeling about this.”
Rondo could hear his mentor’s usual sigh. Sazantos turned to look at Rondo. His face was unreadable.
“I have tempered my blue flame. This time, Ceraphina will fall. You needn’t repeat that stunt again,” Sazantos assured.
It was true, Rondo had witnessed Sazantos training relentlessly since Flamesgrace. And not just honing his swordcraft. Even when they were supposed to be sleeping, Sazantos was often sitting in deep meditation, refusing to relax. He didn’t seem angry at Rondo, surprisingly, but Rondo didn’t know how to approach him. And now he feared if he didn’t, Sazantos might do something irreversible and get himself hurt.
“You’re not fighting alone. I’m with you, Sazantos,” Rondo said and stepped forward, even if fear gnawed at his core.
“And I,” Captain Hugo added.
“Hmh.” Sazantos turned back towards the doorway. “Let us keep going, then. Stay vigilant.”
The doorway led to another bridge over a chasm of lava, and beyond it loomed a circular chamber. They could already see they had found their target. Ceraphina stood in the middle of the room, her distinct silvery hair cascading nearly to the floor. She was accompanied by a half-circle of black robed cultists. And behind them towered a giant statue of a horned monster.
Sazantos didn’t even try to hide his presence as he marched across the bridge, Rondo and Captain Hugo hurrying behind him. The robed cultists shifted but didn’t move from their strange formation.
“Oh, you’re still alive?” Ceraphina looked at Rondo, unamused. “Congratulations. Not many return from the darkness.”
“Do not underestimate his flame!” Sazantos snarled and stepped in between them.
Rondo’s brain took a while to catch up. Wait, his flame? But Rondo couldn’t wield the Flame yet, what was he talking about? Not to mention Rondo had never heard such raw anger in Sazantos’s voice.
“Hmph. No matter,” Ceraphina scoffed. “Since you’re here, you can soon bear witness of my ascension into godhood.”
Ceraphina tugged at the hooded figure standing next to her and pulled down their hood, revealing the cleric Rinyuu. She appeared to be under a spell and simply stared ahead with unseeing eyes.
“Wha- why do you have Rinyuu?!” Rondo asked.
“I need her blood,” Ceraphina answered casually. “She is a descendant of the Crossford family. You might be familiar with them, Flameguard.”
Judging from the shocked sound Sazantos made, he was. Just how much had been hidden from them in plain sight?
“Release her at once!” Sazantos demanded.
“Do not disturb my ritual any further,” Ceraphina said, turning around and grabbing Rinyuu with her. “Or the Sealed God will devour you.”
Sazantos tried to sprint after them, but the cultists barred his way. Their eyes, instead of being under a spell, were burning with fanatical fervor. Before anyone could stop them, the cultists chanted something, raised daggers to their throats in unison and slit them open. The wet gurgle of their death throes made Rondo feel sick. Their bodies dropped unceremoniously to the floor and blood seeped between the thirsty, ancient stones. It flowed towards the statue, like a macabre river of death, and purple smoke began to rise from the statue’s feet.
The statue trembled, and then moved.
“Is that him? The Sealed God?!” Rondo shouted in horror. Deep cracks crisscrossed across the pedestal. Soon, its full power would be unleashed to the world, and –
“Don’t be an idiot, Rondo. It’s just a statue of him,” Sazantos replied with his usual composure. “Nevertheless, it’s obstacle we must cross now. Prepare for battle!”
Squeezing the hilt, Rondo readied his blade. The stone pedestal toppled over and cracked open, a nightmarish monster hatching from within. Massive, clawed arms reached towards them, and then came a gaping maw with dagger-like teeth that would rip apart anyone who got caught. Rondo swallowed. He could feel its foul energy pulling him, absorbing all of his willpower and turning him into the same helpless boy who couldn’t even protect his sister.
But he had promised Sazantos he wouldn’t be a hindrance anymore.
“Hyaaaggrrhg!” Rondo dashed forward and slashed with his sword. Swift offense was the best defense, as his mentor had taught him.
But the horned monster’s skin was as tough as the stone it was carved from, and Rondo’s blade didn’t even scratch it. Enraged, the monster swung back with its massive arm and Rondo barely managed to duck and evade it. He stumbled on his own feet and fell to the floor.
“What have I told you about attacking without a plan?” Sazantos reprimanded him, and rightfully so. “Clearly, physical attacks alone won’t work. We must coordinate our offense. Hugo!”
“Here!”
Hugo took Rondo’s place and stepped next to Sazantos. Sazantos imbued himself with the familiar blue glow and unleashed it towards the monster. Once again, they worked seamlessly together. With Sazantos’s flame melting the creature’s unnatural skin, Hugo’s sword was able to pierce through. The monster, now missing an arm, trashed at them, but Sazantos was unwavering.
“May it engulf all who oppose me!”
Sazantos ignited the entire abomination into a blaze. After a horrifying roar that rattled Rondo to his bones, there was nothing left but crumbled stone and dark clumps of the cultists’ bodies.
“We’ve delayed too long already,” Sazantos said and sheathed his sword, as if he just hadn’t effortlessly downed a replica of the Sealed God.
Rondo could do nothing but stare at the pile of debris on the floor. Had he really been so useless... again? But Sazantos was right, they couldn’t afford to wait. There was no room for personal emotions if he was to become the Flameguard one day. Only duty mattered.
“Well, at least your reckless attack gave us information about our enemy,” Sazantos said, whether sensing his thoughts or merely by coincidence. “But don’t do that again. Understood?”
“Yes, sir...” Rondo muttered and scrambled up from the floor.
With steeled hearts, they rushed after Ceraphina.
They ran up, up and up, climbing the precarious stairs across the jagged rocks and tried to keep their lungs from seizing from the fumes. They were at the heart of the volcano and the heat was suffocating. At the top of the stairs loomed an altar surrounded by broken pillars, and a pedestal with a dark flame roaring in it. Its oppressive force was unlike anything Rondo had experienced before. An ever-burning Accurst Flame.
Ceraphina and Rinyuu stood in front of the unholy altar. I need her blood, she had said.
“Stop!” Sazantos shouted.
“Long have I awaited this moment...” Ceraphina spoke to Rinyuu, who seemed lucid enough to finally register her surroundings and look at her in horror. “And yet you worms persist.”
“Evil must be purged,” Sazantos said, not even out of breath, and stopped behind them. “Give us the ring and release the girl.”
“And just what is evil?” Ceraphina questioned. “Whoever you point your sword at, hmm? Humans are all repulsive, selfish creatures. There is no hope for them. And they must be judged accordingly.”
Ceraphina talked more: about the accursed night, manipulating the church for years to execute her plan, avenging her grandfather... but Sazantos paid it little attention. Rondo could tell he was mentally calculating their situation. A battle was imminent. Sazantos was the only one wielding the Flame. With the hostage situation, there were three people he had to protect. Joint attacks were out of the question, as they couldn’t get hit by Ceraphina. If only Rondo was stronger, they would have the superior numbers instead...
Before Rondo could sort out his thoughts into any kind of plan, Ceraphina raised her hand. Rondo couldn’t stop himself from flinching. But Ceraphina wasn’t aiming at them. A flick of her wrist, and Rinyuu was trapped into a purple sphere of magic and transported over to the roaring pedestal of the Accurst Flame.
“Rinyuu!!” Rondo called in horror.
“How dare you!” Sazantos growled and unsheathed his sword. “The blue flame is my soul. My guardian...!”
“Charming,” Ceraphina chuckled. Purple smoke condensed into a dark flame around her. “But your struggle is futile. I will extinguish both of your flames with mine.”
Immediately, Sazantos engulfed all three of them with the protection of his flame. Rondo had never felt its power like this – roaring from anger and despair. When Sazantos had healed him, it had been warm and comforting. Now Rondo could feel his mentor’s panicked thoughts being transmitted through it.
I-must-not-fail-I-must-not-fail-I-must-not-fail...
I must not let anyone else get hurt! I must do my duty even if it kills me!
Rondo stood at a crossroads. To stay in the shadow of Sazantos, as he was supposed to? Or risk everything to save him and Rinyuu? Rondo knew exactly how powerless he had been and how it had cost them the First Flame. Facing Ceraphina headfirst would lead to the same result.
But even so...
Rondo gathered his resolve and stepped next to Sazantos. Even if he died there, it was not about duty or becoming the Flameguard. It was because he wanted to stand there.
“No, get behind me!” Sazantos shouted. His voice was shaking from... anger? No, fear?
“I’m with you, Sir Sazantos!” Rondo refused to step back.
And suddenly, Rondo could feel it: a well of power roaring within, getting stronger and stronger. It didn’t originate from Sazantos, but from inside him. The blue flame...! It was overwhelming, as if all of his senses had magnified a hundredfold. The heat of the lava was no longer just suffocating— Rondo could see beauty too in it, glowing as the very lifeblood of the earth. And in contrast, the Accurst Flame looked like an endless abyss, greedily devouring all life around it.
Rondo understood the depth of Sazantos’s devotion now. Evil had to be purged, or it would consume everything.
Mesmerized by his new-found ability, Rondo looked at Sazantos. His blue flame was strong but roaring wildly, exhausted under the strain of burning alone for so long. Rondo could barely control his own, but he would do anything to help Sazantos.
Don’t lose hope! We can do this! Rondo conveyed wordlessly.
Sazantos’s eyes widened from shock as he looked at Rondo. Slowly, he nodded. Two different flames – one burning too brightly and one unrefined – combined into an unyielding force. Sazantos imbued his sword with both of them and aimed it at Ceraphina.
They were locked into a swirling storm. Ceraphina’s flames were a bottomless whirlpool, trying to drag them below the surface and suffocate them. But their flame was a divine tempest, clearing the skies and calming the seas, erasing the unnatural taint from the world. Finally, the blue overpowered the dark. Ceraphina’s flames vanished, while Sazantos’s and Rondo’s blazed on.
“Impossible...!” Ceraphina staggered backwards. “Two Flames...? You are not even a Flameguard! Your flame was supposed to be extinguished! No, impossible! I was meant to become a god! I – urggh!”
Suddenly, a black vortex surrounded Ceraphina and another female voice spoke to them. Dark and deep as the depths of the earth, unforgiving as the starless skies.
“You disappoint me, Ceraphina. Must I do everything myself?” A woman dressed in black appeared from the vortex. Her form was flickering, as if merely a mirage, but her red eyes were burning into their souls like hot coals.
“Why... are you here, Lyblac?” Ceraphina asked and coughed weakly, struggling with the magic around her.
“I have used your body as a vessel. Your hatred has nourished me well these years. Did you never notice my presence?” Lyblac looked amused. Ceraphina’s horrored expression revealed that she hadn’t. “My gratitude to your grandfather for opening the Gate of Finis and allowing me to descend upon this world. But it seems this is where your usefulness ends.”
“W-what are you talking about...?”
“Oh, you foolish girl. This ritual wasn’t for you; it was for me. I have inherited the blood of Galdera the Fallen, and He is the only one who may bestow judgement upon humans, not you. Now I must find another puppet to pull strings with. Fortunately, I already have several, and...” Lyblac looked at the knights before her. “There are plenty more to choose from.”
“Not while I still draw breath!” Sazantos growled.
“Are you certain?” Lyblac taunted. “I could take all the pain away, all the struggling. You could turn your rage into something useful: eradicating humanity. Abandon the wretched Sacred Flame which has never brought you anything but suffering and accept my father’s Accurst Flame. I can already see the offer is tempting you...”
“NEVER!” Sazantos shouted.
“Very well, then. You shall die here and serve Lord Galdera in death.”
The floor cracked beneath Lyblac and parts of it crumbled below to the volcano. A vortex of fire surrounded her, with the purple of the Accurst Flame mixing with it. But her form still flickered, as if not fully present. It seemed whatever Lyblac had intended Ceraphina to do, had not finished correctly.
“Ugh, how infuriating! I cannot attain my true form...” Lyblac grumbled. “Curse you and your uselessness, Ceraphina! But this will be more than enough to incinerate you. A shame there won’t be much left of your bodies for Hell.”
Lyblac raised her hand and summoned a pillar of lava. If that hit any of them, it would be certainly fatal.
“Sazantos, we must withdraw and regroup with the others...” Hugo urged them and looked at their shrinking escape route.
“No, her ritual must not succeed. We’ll need to end this swiftly,” Sazantos growled. “Keep your eye on the cleric and Ceraphina, Hugo. Rondo, are you with me?”
“Yes, Sir Sazantos!” Rondo replied and readied his sword again.
Finally, he was worth of Sazantos’s trust, doing something right... even if he only had a faint idea of what he was doing. Sazantos had once described wielding the blue flame as if trying to manifest one’s soul. The stronger the light, the darker the shadows it cast, he had said.
Was he ready for such responsibility? Rondo didn’t know. But he did know his reason to wield the Flame: to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves. All those who had been manipulated and hurt by the Black Scarlet. Rinyuu, who had been deceived by someone she considered a dear friend. Sazantos, whose thoughts echoed Oh Flame, do not let me fail here...
Rondo opened his heart and allowed his feelings to intertwine with the Flame. It swelled within him.
“You keep the shield up, I’ll take her down!” Sazantos ordered and Rondo followed.
Together they raised their blazing swords. Sazantos aimed his at Lyblac’s hellish flames and swiped at them. Rondo, with shaking hands, kept his sword pointed upwards and tried to imagine a protective dome around them. If his concentration wavered even for a moment, the dome quivered.
“Pathetic,” Lyblac sneered at the display.
An inferno of the dark flames surrounded them. Rondo could feel it melting the fragile dome and eating away his childish hopefulness. His legs were shaking from the exertion, but he refused to let them buckle. Sazantos, on the other hand, had switched from defense to purely offense. He was relentless. Lyblac summoned more pillars of lava, but Sazantos countered each one with his angered strikes.
“My flame will never die!!” Sazantos unleashed a desperate barrage of attacks. He was reckless – too reckless, wearing himself out fast. “Even should I die... my flame... will never... nnngh!”
Sazantos swayed and fought to remain standing.
“Sazantos, that’s enough!” Rondo pleaded. If his eyes weren’t lying to him, the edges of Sazantos’s cloak were singed, burnt by the same Flame he wielded. If he didn’t stop, he might –
“Not until all greed... is banished... from this world...”
Sazantos collapsed on his knees. The azure glow disappeared from around them, as Rondo couldn’t hold the dome anymore. But at the same time, Lyblac’s dark flames extinguished and she let out a frustrated scream.
They were at a stalemate. In Lyblac’s incomplete state, her attacks couldn’t reach them. But Sazantos was exhausted and could no longer continue fighting. And Rondo couldn’t finish the battle on his own.
Both sides stared at each other.
“Hmph. I see you cannot be convinced,” Lyblac seethed as her form shifted between solid and translucent, leaning more towards the latter. “I will retreat for now, but this isn’t the end of it. All despicable humans will be obliterated. You will not escape Hell’s wrath!”
After one last malicious laugh, Lyblac disappeared into an explosion of dark flames.
Sazantos tried to make sense of his thoughts.
What had just happened? The threat was gone, wasn’t it? He hadn’t... failed? His head was a tangled mess of mixed priorities. Ceraphina was kneeling on the floor, weakly gasping for air and clearly no longer a threat. What was his purpose now? To Sazantos’s shame, Rondo had enough sense to act in his stead. As soon as Lyblac vanished, so did the magic around Rinyuu and she was teleported back to the floor away from the pedestal. Rondo sprinted to her immediately.
Rondo, who had wielded the blue flame.
“Perhaps I was wrong...” Ceraphina whispered as she watched Rondo helping Rinyuu to sit up. “I thought darkness resided in every heart. That every heart was filled with greed. But perhaps... some people can...”
She didn’t get to finish her sentence. Without Lyblac’s presence and the unnatural magic keeping her alive gone, Ceraphina disintegrated into ash. Her ring dropped to the floor with a soft clink.
“Rinyuu, can you hear me?” Rondo asked, but Rinyuu didn’t answer. She looked physically unharmed but confused, staring at the spot where Ceraphina had been.
They would have a lot of explaining to do, but the ordeal was finally over. Sazantos groaned. Every muscle in him ached, he felt unclean and his hair was stuck on his sweaty forehead. Oh, how he longed back for the coldness of the Frostlands. Back to the remote cathedral with no excess people around, only the self-important Cardinals, and –
Sazantos winced. His head hurt.
“Look, Sazantos, the ring,” Captain Hugo pointed as he examined the floor. “We must safeguard it at once.”
Yes. Duty was calling. There was no time for distractions. Sazantos tried to stand up, but his legs refused to obey. The ring was lying only a few steps away, yet he could not take another step. Gritting his teeth, Sazantos tried again. He managed to force himself up, drag his feet forward and grab the ring, but his fumbling had caught Rondo’s attention.
“Sir Sazantos? Are you alright?” Rondo asked.
“I’m... fine.” Sazantos closed his fist around Ceraphina’s ring. It pulsed with warmth, even though its bearer had been vanquished mere moments ago. Just another tool of the gods.
“No, sir, you’re clearly not.” Rondo stepped closer. “Did my shield not hold? Did you get hit by her dark flame?”
Sazantos didn’t know. All of a sudden, every drop of power had been drained out of him and left him pathetic and weak. It felt as if his chest had cracked open and exposed to the world, revealing the unilluminated crevices of his heart and the ugly truths held within. Forbidden and better forgotten, locked away. “Prayer alone will not save the people.” No, wait... those weren’t his words? Those weren’t his ugly truths, but –
A dark staircase, leading down. A hidden archive, forbidden and better forgotten. A void in his chest, needing to be filled, absorbing everything and nothing being enough.
“Sir...?” Rondo was suddenly right in front of him.
“Take care of the girl. We should leave this place,” Sazantos muttered and slid the ring into his pocket.
“Agreed. We should rendezvous with the other knights in Berecain and explain the situation to the villagers,” Captain Hugo agreed, but Sazantos could see him too eyeing at him suspiciously. “But, Sazantos, are you sure that–?”
“Yes. Let’s stop wasting time and get moving. I’m...” Sazantos swiped at his forehead. The headache was getting worse. “...sick of this place.”
The blue flame was meant to illuminate all, no matter how dense the darkness. But the stronger the light, the darker shadows it cast.
They made their way back to Berecain. Rondo looked after Rinyuu and got them rooms at the inn. Hugo did most of the talking with the villagers and the Knights Ardante. Sazantos didn’t do anything. He could scarcely keep moving one foot in front of the other.
Somehow, Sazantos managed to drag himself to his room. The building was dilapidated and barely holding together, with wooden planks covering the bigger cracks. Sazantos would have normally hated such dirty accommodations, but he couldn’t care less at the moment. His hands worked automatically as he unbuckled his belt to put his sword away before lying down. But that was as far as his willpower took him. The belt and the sword dropped to the floor with a loud clatter.
Sazantos stared at the cracked wall. It was rotten, melting into a sickening pool of filth, everything was crumbling away before his eyes, nothing could be trusted –
“Sir Sazantos?”
Sazantos blinked. The wall was solid again, and there was Rondo standing in front of it. Where had he appeared from?
“Leave me alone.” Sazantos turned his back at him, a gesture all too familiar. “I’m tired.”
“No, you’re not,” Rondo insisted. “I mean, you are, but... there’s something else too, isn’t there?”
“Leave!”
Sazantos inhaled sharply and pressed his fists to his temples. His head was rotting too, falling apart under the inner pressure. Rondo, that stubborn idiot, circled around to face him again.
“No, I will not,” Rondo said, even if his voice trembled. “Whatever it is, you shouldn’t be alone right now. Back then at Flamesgrace, I almost gave up and got lost in the darkness. Until I heard your voice, that is.”
Rondo reached out his hand. Sazantos staggered backwards and nearly tripped over his dropped sword. His back hit the wall and that was the last tremor needed to break him. He slid to the floor and images flooded before his eyes; a dark library beneath the cathedral he called home, the face of a kind white-haired woman, dates on a book... They were a jumbled mess, but Sazantos understood enough.
The invisible veil covering the world had been lifted. It was all spoiled, tainted, faulty.
“Sazantos...” The hand had finally caught him, squeezing his shoulder. Sazantos tried to fight against it, but his body was pathetically weak. “I-I’m here. Whatever you’re seeing, it isn’t real.”
“IT IS REAL!” Sazantos screamed. “It’s all real, and everything has been a lie!!”
“Then tell me. What is it that you’re seeing?”
Sazantos could not. How could he, when even he didn’t fully understand it? How could he speak aloud such sins? Sazantos tried to scream again, but instead a sob tore out from his throat. He tried to push away the hand, but only managed to collapse against Rondo. He grabbed the front of his cloak, the only solid thing in the world of spinning madness, and shattered. Hot tears streamed down on his face. Foreign sounds came out of his mouth. Desperate to hide himself, Sazantos buried his face in Rondo’s shoulder.
“It’s alright. I’m here. Just cry,” Rondo assured him.
It didn’t make sense. Cry? He was asked to cry? Sazantos had never been ordered to do that. On the contrary, it had been forbidden for him to do so ever since he was a child. His entire existence was born out of unimaginable evil and greed. And his only purpose had ever been to serve those greedy people.
Ceraphina had been right: Humans were all repulsive, selfish creatures. There was no hope for them.
Suddenly, a familiar warmth entered Sazantos’s body and mind. It was the azure flame, but Sazantos was unable to summon it at the moment, so how...? Distracted from his spiraling thoughts, Sazantos followed the blue glow with his eyes. It came from Rondo.
“I’m not sure if I can use the Flame correctly yet, but... I’m doing it right, aren’t I?” Rondo asked, his face scrunched in concentration. “But I don’t sense any dark magic inside you to purify. What is it, Sazantos? Please, tell me.”
“I...” The truth weighed on Sazantos like poison. If he didn’t spill a fraction of it, he would never be able to get up from the floor. Then justice would never be served. He had to spill just enough to keep him functioning, to get the hell out of there. “I saw... memories.”
“Whose memories? Ceraphina’s?”
“No. My own.”
“Oh...” Rondo’s magic flickered, mirroring his confusion. “I’m here to listen if you want to talk about it.”
“No.” Sazantos tried to push Rondo away from him. “The church has terrible secrets. You should stay away from it.”
“I’ve already seen a glimpse of it,” Rondo argued. “What the Black Scarlet did and how Ceraphina manipulated them for decades. Even among the highest of ranks, there can be corruption. It is horrifying... but if I’m to become the next Flameguard one day, I need to know the truth.”
“The Flameguard...” Sazantos scoffed and quickly dried his face from the embarrassing tears. “Is nothing more but their pawn. I have been a fool. It’s as Ceraphina said: I have been chasing shadows and refusing to see what was right in front of me.”
“Let me help you, in whatever it is. Talk to me.”
No, Rondo was too bright, too easy to extinguish. But Sazantos was so tired. His entire life up until now had followed a path laid before him, paved out of bloodied cobblestones, and not allowing a single misstep. And at the end of that path would only be more blood. He did not want to take another step.
“I don’t want to talk,” Sazantos growled. He pressed his fists on his temples, trying to keep the overflowing thoughts inside of his head. “I want to... stop this. Stop thinking. Stop feeling.”
“I don’t think that’s how it works,” Rondo answered carefully. “You wouldn’t be a human if you didn’t feel.”
“Then maybe I shouldn’t be a human! Humans are all disgusting, vile creatures!”
Sazantos’s mad scream echoed on the rotten walls. Rondo hesitated, but didn’t give up.
“Y-you don’t mean that. That’s what Ceraphina said, and she got used by that woman from Hell. Lyblac, was it? But listen.” Rondo grabbed his hands. “Even she wasn’t able to pierce our blue flame, right?”
Sazantos was forced to stop and consider Rondo’s words. It was true; their combined flames had overcome the Accurst Flame, even with Rondo’s clumsy control. And there was something else, too. Lyblac had said how she had “several puppets” at her disposal. Which meant that Ceraphina’s schemes had only been the smoke, not the fire itself. The real inferno still raged below... perhaps literally, in Hell.
Sazantos took a shuddering breath. A purpose. He still had a purpose, despite all the vile things his memories were showing him. Those who had sinned must be made to pay. But Rondo’s words had managed to sneak past the madness and reach his chaotic mind.
“Sir Sazantos?” Rondo called. His flame had fizzled into a mere ember again, as he was clearly unable to control it. But its strength had been undeniable.
“You needn’t worry about me.” Sazantos pulled his hands free. “I’m... fine.”
“I know you’re not. But you’re feeling a little better now, right?”
Sazantos huffed in frustration, admitting nothing. Since when had Rondo been able to see through his mask so easily? Just a while ago he was a clueless knight apprentice, barely able to keep up with his sparring. Now he was talking about becoming the next Flameguard, and not entirely unfoundedly. Perhaps he could be trusted – not with the full truth, but until Sazantos figured out what to do.
A plan was brewing in Sazantos’s mind. He would see what this Hell was like, whether light truly triumphed over darkness. And if not, he would carve out a purpose of his own. But one thing was clear: Sazantos would no longer take orders from the church. If he sought out the remaining divine rings, he would do so by his own volition.
And when it came to Rondo...
They will devour him without me. Turn him into another easily-controlled pawn. That is certain.
“Rondo,” Sazantos called, and his apprentice listened attentively. “We have a new destination.”
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