When Kael woke, the world around him was painted in the dull red of a dying dawn. The ruins had cooled overnight, yet smoke still rose in lazy streams from the broken earth. His body ached with every breath, as if his muscles had been forged in fire. His palms were blistered, his veins faintly glowing beneath the skin, like embers refusing to die.

For a long time, he didn’t move. He just sat there, watching the light creep over the wreckage, wondering if anyone else had survived. The silence was too heavy, the kind that comes after everything that mattered has already burned away. Then he heard something new—a metallic hum, distant but growing closer. Engines.

Kael’s heart tightened. The Federation. They always came after the fire settled. Not to help, but to collect. To erase evidence, to retrieve the unstable energy, and to hunt down survivors who had seen too much. Especially those who showed signs of resonance.

He forced himself up, his legs unsteady, and ducked behind a collapsed wall. Dust fell from the edge as heavy vehicles rolled into view—black transports bearing the insignia of the Flame Division. Searchlights swept across the rubble. Loudspeakers crackled.
“Unit Three, confirm Pyronite surge detected in this sector. Reading high resonance levels. Proceed with caution.”

Kael’s pulse quickened. The heat inside him stirred again, a faint echo of the power that had erupted last night. He tried to suppress it, but the fire seemed to have its own will now, reacting to his fear. The air shimmered around his fingertips.

He pressed his hands to the ground, whispering to himself, “Not now… please.”

A squad of armored soldiers fanned out across the ruins, scanning with thermal sensors. One of them stopped, turning his visor directly toward Kael’s hiding place. The man lifted his weapon.

Kael didn’t think. He moved. A burst of heat flared from under his feet, launching him over the wall as a volley of plasma bolts tore through the concrete behind him. He landed hard, rolling through ash, pain slicing through his shoulder. Instinct took over—his right hand ignited, flames spiraling outward in a wild arc that struck the nearest soldier, knocking him backward.

The other soldiers shouted, forming a circle. Kael stumbled to his feet, chest burning, the glow beneath his skin now a furious red. Every time he exhaled, sparks flew.

“Target confirmed—resonant level four!” a soldier yelled. “Engage nonlethal suppression!”

Kael raised his arms, fire streaming like ribbons from his hands. He didn’t know how he was doing it, only that the flames obeyed emotion more than thought. Anger made them roar; fear made them scatter. The blast hit a transport vehicle, its side erupting in a brilliant orange bloom. The shockwave threw Kael backward.

He coughed, vision swimming. His body screamed for rest, but he forced himself to crawl toward the alley that led deeper into the wreckage. Behind him, soldiers regrouped. A drone swept overhead, its red light blinking.

“Subject heading east!” someone shouted.

Kael ran. Each step tore at his lungs, but his fire left glowing footprints on the ground. He ducked under fallen beams, leaped across shattered pavement, chased by shouts and gunfire. A beam of plasma struck the wall beside him, showering him with debris.

He burst into what used to be an underground subway entrance. The air was thick with smoke and steam from ruptured pipes. He slipped down the stairs, into the dark tunnels where the noise of pursuit dimmed. His heartbeat echoed louder than his footsteps.

He finally stopped, leaning against the wall, his chest heaving. The glow under his skin slowly faded, leaving only a faint warmth. He closed his eyes, trying to calm the storm within him.

Then a voice came from the shadows.
“You almost burned half the district, you know.”

Kael froze. From the darkness, a figure stepped forward—a young woman in a black mechanic’s coat, goggles pushed up on her forehead, a wrench hanging at her belt. Her expression was unreadable, calm even in the dim light.

“How did you—” Kael began, but she cut him off.

“Your fire readings were off the charts. I tracked the energy signature.” Her eyes glimmered, sharp and curious. “Name’s Lira. You’re the one they’re after, aren’t you? The one who survived the reactor burst.”

Kael hesitated, still catching his breath. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

“No one ever does,” Lira said softly, glancing toward the faint glow still pulsing under his skin. “But if you want to live, you’ll need to learn what’s inside you before they find you again.”

The tunnel trembled slightly—distant explosions above. Lira turned toward the deeper passage.
“Come with me. Unless you’d rather be ash.”

Kael looked back toward the faint red light of the surface, then at the darkness ahead. His fists clenched. The heat inside him flickered once, steady and alive. He followed her into the shadows.

Behind them, the last embers of the ruined city faded into smoke.