"Hey! Hey! Are you ok?!"

I didn't know who was talking to me as I slowly opened my eyes. I could only distinguish his almost phosphorescent red hair and his deep blue eyes.

The young man kneeling beside me was no more than 16, his training clothes were torn and burned.

My clothes were also torn but luckily nothing hurt. I only tasted a strange flavour of blood mixed with ash in my mouth.

Around us, the crimson fire that my magic had produced was burning the rubble of the fortress.

A few drops fell on my face. It would have been good if it rained, but fate was not so kind. The drops came from another source.

"I thought you were dead!!" For some reason, this boy I had never seen was crying over me. "I'm so happy you’re alive."

I felt completely numb and weird, like waking up after a surgical operation: My body and mind returning from an abyss without dreams.

"M-my Father!" I asked, when my most basic instinct of protection awakened. "Where is he?"

I tried to get up, but the boy kept me lying on the floor.

"I don't know who your Father is, but don't move, please. You may have some internal injury or bleeding. I will go for help. Everything will be fine, I promise.”

The redhead returned a few minutes later with a group of paramedics that put me on a stretcher and took me to a safe place, where the flames couldn't reach.

In the improvised medical camp, there were a few dozen other injured on stretchers and corpses in closed black bags.

The redhead refused to receive medical attention, and remained by my side constantly.

I used the opportunity to ask them about my Father. He was in a very delicate state, being so close to the epicenter of the explosion, but most importantly; he was alive.

After the paramedics were sure I was well, they quickly left to attend other wounded and to look for more survivors.

"Why are you still here?" I asked the boy who was sitting by my side, like a lost dog.

"Do you want me to leave?" He replied, a little dejectedly.

"Don't you have someone else who you should be worried about?"

"I don't know... I can't remember anything."

I didn't know what to say, so I let the wind take away his words.

"We don't know each other..." I said, "and you were still crying with joy when you saw me alive..."

"Y-you were the first person I saw," he sobbed, "to think you were dead made me feel lonely... well, more than lonely, nonexistent within this hellfire."

"I'm Lume," I said, extending my hand. He needed a connection with anyone, I was the one to blame for his amnesia, it seemed right to at least try to comfort him.

"I... don't know who I am yet, but it's nice to meet you, Lume." He replied, wiping away the tears he was struggling to hide.

"But you are someone! you saved me! You are my hero!" I said, trying to smile, despite the emptiness I felt. "Come, let's find a doctor, if you don't remember anything, we should get you some help for that."

The Knights controlled the Fire in a few minutes, and the count of dead and wounded began.

The three members of the council died instantly, or so we assumed because their remains were never to be found.

Half of the Arcanum had exploded, dozens of people were injured, others were burned or crushed by debris, including other candidates and apprentices.

After that day I was never the same, I could never do magic. Fear blocked my powers…

I never wanted to cause so much misery and death again.

.....

Thanks for reading!! Next chapter will be out by end of February!!!