The night would have been silent if there wasn't the smell of smoke and crackling of flames coming from Lily. She nearly burnt the tree in the garden of the hospital before she stopped.
Lily's arms were raw, her breath ragged. The flames sputtered violently around her, no longer obedient, only wild bursts of heat that threatened to consume her along with the targets she was aiming for. Her knees gave way, and she collapsed in the dirt, her vision swimming.
"I… can't…" Her voice cracked, the night swallowing her words. The embers around her fizzled, leaving only the scent of scorched earth.
She forced her hands up again, but no fire came. Just a painful, hollow emptiness.
"How can I protect myself if I can't even manage even this little bit of fire?" sweat dripping from her head to chest before the hospital gown caught it.
She smelt bad, like smoke and water merged together on her.
"You're breaking yourself." The voice slid through the night, low and unhurried. Lily stiffened, dragging her gaze upward.
A figure appeared in the dead of night. The person was cloaked in black with a top hat resembling that of a stylish gentleman, purple glints faint in their eyes.
Her heart lurched. "Who—who are you?"
The figure took the form of a human being.
The stranger didn't move closer, didn't answer. Instead, they stepped into the faint moonlight, their presence sharp and suffocating, like if life was contained within a glass it would be too small to hold it.
"I've been watching," the figure said, tilting their head, raising their hat. "Your flames… they're wasted. Untamed. A tool you don't deserve."
Lily's fists clenched. "Please enlighten me since you know what's wasted." her voice cutting through the wind.
The figure chuckled, dark and low. "Good. You still have spirit, even half-broken. That's what makes you… interesting."
The figure walked a few feet forward before stopping clearly looking at something. A faint light shone bright in its eyes before staring down at Lily.
It or they knew something.
"You have a mana spirit worm in you." It said as it held one of its eyes to make the other shine brighter. It could see the worm swimming in her.
Mana spirit worms are pests of the magic world. They prey on people with high mana reserves, live in them and grow eventually making the mage lose their mind and sense of magic, not even able to cast the simplest of spells.
"How do you know this? You haven't answered my question about your identity!" she was shocked with the revelation but still kept her guard up for all she knew whatever was talking to her might not be friendly.
They stopped a few feet away, crouching slightly, eyes catching hers. "Do you want to be stronger, girl? Strong enough that no one, not even your elder brother Sukai, Riven, not even your enemies—can look down on you?"
Lily's breath trembled.
The words pierced her exactly where she was weakest.
"…Yes. I want to be able to stand beside Kairo and Riven. I just met Kairo while I've known Riven all my life but still I don't want to be a burden to them."
These words were genuine and carried weight.
It became clear she heard what Kairo and the nurse were talking about the other night.
The figure smiled faintly, as if satisfied. "Then… let's see if you survive the fire that really burns."
The figure stretched out its hands. On its palm there were sparks They became bigger and brighter before towering over both of them shooting into the sky.
And with a flick of their wrist, a flame unlike anything Lily had ever seen erupted between them black and yellow -ish red, searing the air with raw power.
"To conjure up a spell of this caliber, this person must be in the grand Knight realm." She thought to herself while still being wary of it.
Since the beginning of their interaction she didn't now the identity of this stranger; she didn't know if it was a person or worse.
The fire from the spell shot into the sky before disappearing, then seconds later the sky fills with shining light forming a cluster of fake stars in the sky.
'Beautiful, they're really beautiful.' She said to herself while looking at the sky, mesmerised at such beautiful magic.
" It seems the lady likes it" the figure said before taking off his hat while lifting his cape to bow. "let this sink in, not all magic is meant for battling, some can save a life. You should know where you stand."
Shrim
The figure starting distorting before disappearing into thin air not to be seen again.
Definitely there will be more interactions with this two people in the future.