There seemed to be a steadily growing commotion outside, a group of people slowly gravitating towards the door to the café, looking on at something outside and further down the street.

Naturally, Syrus wondered what could have been going on, making his way towards the door as the people looked on in growing concern.

"What's going on??" He questioned, glancing between them to see if anyone knew what that something might have been.

"Apparently a fire started in one of the apartments further down the residential district..." Someone replied.

...A fire??

Now that it was mentioned, Syrus could pick up on the pungent scent of fire and smoke the more the moments ticked by. He could even see the rising smoke in the distance, but...

He felt his heart sink in his chest immediately.

...It looked to be in the direction of where Aaron and his brother lived.

On that thought alone, Syrus ran off, going as fast as his legs would take him.

Closer...Closer...The closer he got, the more that worry rose in his chest.

...Until he finally arrived at the building in question, his worries transitioning into a sense of fear that stuck in the back of his throat.

It was Aaron's. the entire building already set ablaze in flames.

Somehow, the image seared itself into Syrus' mind. He could barely hear the voices from the people muttering frantically around him.

"How awful!! Was everyone able to get out safely??"

One voice called out.

"I'm not sure..."

Another replied.

"I heard there were still some people trapped inside!!"

Those last words alone rung out particularly loudly in Syrus' ears, that nameless fear growing until it was a lump in his throat. He felt almost suffocated by it.

He glanced around the gathering crowd frantically.

...But he couldn't seem to spot neither Aaron, nor his brother anywhere amongst them.

"All it takes is a single word from me, and everything you hold dear and precious to you can be stripped away in an instant."

Those words echoed eerily in Syrus' mind, instilling an almost suffocating sense of that fear within his heart.

The fear of losing those precious things...

Before he was even aware of it, Syrus' legs had already been sprung into motion as he dashed through the intense flames and into the building.

The fire inside was intense, even if Syrus hadn't come into direct contact with it.

Almost immediately, his senses were dyed in that red, the smoke and fumes burning at his lungs.

He couldn't see well, but he didn't let that stop him, pressing on in search of either Aaron, or his brother. Both of them, if he could...No, he had to find them.

"Aaron??!!?" He rose his voice, desperately calling out to them...But he received no answer in return.

Over and over, he called out in vain, traversing throughout the burning building...But he couldn't find them anywhere. Not even a trace of them.

Had they escaped?? Or were they still trapped inside somewhere??? He didn't know.

Suddenly, a creaking noise sounded off from above, echoing in his folded back ears before a massive piece of wood from the ceiling suddenly came crashing down, blocking his path.

The flames from the burning wood flared up immensely, and Syrus felt as though the heat from it alone seared his fur and flesh.

He just...Couldn't see anything but red. Couldn't smell anything past those fumes.

He couldn't breathe, his lungs seizing up as he broke into painful coughs.

There was just...Fire all around him, a strange sensation of terror overtaking him, different from before. Syrus felt trapped, unable to see which way was what, unable to see past that immense red.

The flames continued to mercilessly flare up all around him, threatening to completely engulf him...And Syrus felt as though something was coming loose inside of him.

There was just...Red.

Fire everywhere.

He couldn't escape it. Would he just die like this??

...Was he...Afraid to die??

...Or...?

He reached up to cover his ears, trembling uncontrollably.

Fire.

Fire.

Fire.

He squeezed his eyes shut, desperately trying to block it all out.

And then...Everything fell silent.

...Was it over? Did he pass out??

Or...Die?

He dared to open his eyes just barely, hearing a voice, a gentle voice.

"It'll be alright Syrus, I promise."

A gentle hand reached out to touch the top of his head, feeling strangely large, and...Oddly warm and nostalgic.

He looked up, seeing a man, achingly familiar, and yet...Syrus wondered why he couldn't seem to make out his face...? It was though it was just blotted out.

He seemed so tall...Or was it that Syrus had somehow gotten smaller??

He didn't know. His thoughts were muddled. Like a murky torrent of water just overshadowed them.

"Take Syrus and run. I'll be right behind you." He said, warm arms wrapping around Syrus and plucking him up...But they weren't the man's. They belonged to someone else.

He turned his head to see a woman, her face also strangely blotted out...But somehow, Syrus just knew in his heart, and it ached.

"...I..." The woman spoke, her voice sounding so terribly fragile. She looked as though she would break into tears...Syrus wondered how he knew that, despite not being able to see her face.

Somehow...He just knew.

"...I love you." The woman said softly, her free hand touching the man's face one last time before she turned around and ran, Syrus still in her arms.

No.

He thought.

No...Turn back.

He heard a voice, wondering if it was his own.

Turn back!

It sounded...So desperate.

He wondered what had happened after that, the images seeming to black out until he was aware that they were just...Running.

...No, it wasn't him. The woman was carrying him, holding him close as though he were the most precious bundle in the world to her.

Someone was chasing them.

One...Two...No, there were definitely more than that, and they were getting closer.

Why?

All around them, everything was set ablaze...Just where was he?

He just didn't understand, closing his eyes...And in that moment, he heard a violent, tearing sound echo throughout the area.

A strange scent reached his nose, his eyes opening in response.

A vibrant spray of red.

The warmth suddenly left from around his body, the woman now lying in front of him, her hand still reached out, still clinging to him, as though to try and protect him, even as the life had long since left her body.

He just...Didn't understand, and yet...

It felt as though something was still coming loose from inside him, drawn thin into a taut line.

He could feel people all around him...Were they the people who had killed her??

Somehow, he brought himself to look up...And in that moment, everything around him seemed to come to a grinding halt.

Not too far away from him, looking down at him...Was a man.

A man steeped in a black so deep, painted in such an endless black, that it threatened to swallow him whole.

A man with cold, piercing, silver eyes.