It hurts. Even, after I was sent to the hospital, and they treated me for third degree burns. He didn’t hold back, that’s for sure.

“God this bed is uncomfortable”, I muttered to myself.

It’s been three days, since Hermes attacked the school, my back is still a mess, and I haven’t burned anyone since. I wonder if he’s doing it...

“Miss Mia, your friend is here”, one of the nurses said.

I always look forward to seeing him. He’s visited me every day now. I was told he tried to protect me from the soldiers, and they broke his nose because of it. I found it oddly cute, even though it must have been traumatizing for him...

I don’t think he’s a particularly strong person, after all, his heart almost gave out when I got on top of him back on the roof-

“Oh my god”, I covered my mouth and said softly.

“I got on top of him-“.

That must have been so suggestive, and without context I bet it looked like I was trying to do something...

I thought his life was in danger damn it! I had to keep him out of Sasha’s sight.

“Kill me now”, I said, as I dug my face into a pillow.

“That would be unnecessary”.

Suddenly, a jolt ran down my spine.

I know that voice, and it sure as hell isn’t Ney.

“Sasha... What are you doing here?”, I said.

“I came to check up on you, isn’t that what good friends do?”.

I bit my lower lip so hard it started bleeding. As always, his words frustrate me to no end.

“Good friends, huh?”.

“You know damn well we’re furthest from that”.  

He smiled gently, and sat down on the chair next to my bed.

“Here I brought you something”, he said, as he handed me a paper bag.

“What’s this?”.

“A get well soon gift”, he uttered, as his eyes started glowing ominously.

I gasped in shock, when I opened the bag.

“How is this possible?”.

Either my eyes were deceiving me, or I had gone insane, those are the only possible explanations. Because... This shouldn’t be here.

In that bag, was a copy of the Pyronomicon. A physical copy. Something which must never pass that threshold, and make its way to our world. It can’t be real. After all, how could have he-

Obtained it...

“What have you done, Sasha?”, I asked.

“Relax, it’s not the real thing. I just wrote down the Glyphs I know. Thought it’d help if I shared them with you”, he said.

“The Glyphs you know- This book is like a hundred pages thick! And, why did you make the covers look like the real book?! I was about to freak out!”.

“To mess with you. I thought your reaction would be pretty funny... Regardless, its a hundred pages thick, because that’s how many Glyphs I know. My guess is, you know only about fifteen to twenty Glyphs... Well, mine number in the thousands”, he stated.

“Wha-“.

“But, all my Glyphs combined don’t amount to even a tenth of your firepower. So you can forget about me burning, buildings, as you did in the past... If you add all of these Glyphs to your arsenal, you’ll be unstoppable”.

“Well, how kind of you”, I said sarcastically.

“Hey, could you come a little closer”, I added.

“What? Why?”, he asked.

“I want to give you something back”.

He leaned in, but his doubtful, and stoic face didn’t change. I feel as though, I can’t do anything to hurt him. But this is worth a try.

I swiftly planted the palm of my hand on his cheek. When I slapped him, I felt his cold flesh touch mine, and I quickly recoiled. I felt like I was hitting a mannequin, not a person...

Damn it. The worst part is, he didn’t even blink...

“What was that for?”, he asked, calmly. 

I shook my hand, which was sore from the blow.

“You burned my entire back! I passed out from the pain, you jackass!”.

“Those men were about to shoot you. I had to distract them”.

“So, burning me, in particular, was your only course of action?!”.

“I did it for your safety. He’ll now find it a lot harder to suspect you’re Scorch”.

“It’s not like he suspected me in the first place, dumbass! And you may not realize it, but, you made a big mistake”

“You’re the one who made a mistake”.

“How!?”.

“You just stood idly, waiting for your execution”

“I could have killed Hermes, right then and there, you idiot!”.

His eyes widened, ever so slightly. That may have been the first and I’d seen him genuinely display any kind of emotion...

“Before I entered the classroom, I collapsed on the second floor, and was pulled into hell”.

“Down there, I saw the devil, and learned two new Glyphs, one passive, and one active. The first one, melts everything it deems a threat, organic and inorganic, by converting all of the target’s energy, into heat. It protects me automatically, without needing any kind of input. And the second one, burns the target normally... But, instead of me having to look at the target. The target has to look at me. And guess what the body cams on those soldiers were for-”.

I continued talking... But he didn’t react, didn’t even move a muscle. He just kept staring at me.

“Did you speak with it? The devil?”, he mouthed, finally.

“Uh- Did you not hear what I just said-“.

“I asked you a question”, he asserted, his eyes set on mine.

He brought the chair closer to my bed.

“Answer me, Mia”.

I pulled back, and asked.

“Why are you getting so aggressive-“.

“I told you to answer me!”, he yelled out.

"Fine!".

I brought my gaze down, and reminisced.

“It threatened to kill me... That thing, wrapped its decrepit hands around my neck, and started choking me... It gave up when I begged for more power”.

“Did it say anything else”, he asked.

“Something about how I’m not doing the best job, and that someone else should take my place. It also mentioned, that my familiar, Stray, had gone rogue. Whatever that means... I’ll be honest, I don’t miss the damn thing, it’s been gone for a while”.

He got up from the chair, turned his back on me, and said, “I see”, as he took a step towards the door.

“Wait, where are you going? I still have one more thing I need you to answer!”, I demanded.

“What would that be?”, he asked.

I propped myself up, and cringed, as I could feel the bandages on my back, dig into my burnt flesh.

“What are these names, on my back?”, I asked him.

He stopped, in his tracks, and then said.

“Get well soon, Mia”.