Title: He Who Breathes Fire

Character: Chanyeol 

Pairing: N/A

Word Count: 1,596

 

 

---

 

 

 

An abandoned hut stands in the midst of the forest, down the hill from the outskirts of a small fishing village. It is obscured by the thick growth of life surrounding it, fortunately for the boy who has taken refuge inside. He is on the run. Members of an underground organization require a piece of information only this boy holds, and are in search for him in possibly every main city in the country. Or so the thinks. The boy is not quite sure what kind of organization they are, and what they stand for. All he knows is that the piece of information they need is inside a journal so important to him that he could not give it up. He’d rather die.

It is beginning to grow dimmer, he notices, and curses his luck because soon it will be sundown and his only source of light would be his mobile whose battery is running out by the minute. He sighs and puts his mobile back into the left front pocket of his jeans. He’d rather sit in the dark all night to preserve its remaining energy.

There is an alternative, a small voice in his mind whispers. You have it in you, Chanyeol.

He chooses to ignore the voice and the sudden rising heat in his body that it has awakened. He could feel it. A ball of fire in the pit of his stomach burning brighter and brighter by the second. Slowly, it spreads further down his torso, along his limbs and to the tips of his fingers until his whole body feels the burning of his power.

As if in pain, he curls into a ball on the ground. This power is still unwanted and unknown to him, and its mere presence in his body makes him feel even more of a freak than he already is in the eyes of his peers. A giant with elf-like ears, the size of his twitchy eyes comparable to those of an owl’s and a deep voice not matching with his child-like face. He is treated as a freak, and so he believes himself to be one too. He tries to suppress the power from unleashing itself again, knowing how much damage it will cause once unleashed.

Besides, he pleads with the ball of fire as if it had its own consciousness, if I make a fire people will know I am here and find me, and that totally contradicts my purpose.

The ball of fire is merciful and slowly shrinks itself into what it feels to be the size of a marble in the pit of Chanyeol’s stomach as if it did have its own consciousness and listened to his pleas.

However the process is quite draining, as this was the first time he was able to control the power, and soon Chanyeol finds himself closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.

The ball of fire is not as generous in his state of unconsciousness. With all the eagerness and energy of a new pet it nudges Chanyeol continuously, demanding for attention. At first he is able to resist it, but it is persistent and increasingly strong in its nudges, and soon flashbacks of the previous days’ discoveries crawl into his dreams.

 

 

☼

 

 

An old building, with its peeling wallpapers slowly getting consumed by an ever growing sea of red and orange. The droning cry of youth trapped, begging to be saved. Falling concrete pillars and wooden shelves. A veil of smoke oppressing the lungs, causing great difficulty and slowly putting a stop of breathing. And heat.  Blistering heat. Heat that seeps right under the skin, making it feel like it burns not only the top layers but also pulverises the bones and vaporises the blood.

In the midst of the flames and the burning debris stands a boy, mad with anger and poisoned with revenge. A mere hour earlier he was standing in the same spot, cowering as the rest of the orphans sneered at and . In his hand is a glowing red orb of light, frightening to the sight and scorching to the touch. This orb is the source of the fire engulfing the whole orphanage; it came to Chanyeol when all he needed was a means to protect himself.

Lying by his feet is the leader of his bullies, body aching with all the bruises and scorch marks caused by Chanyeol’s outburst.

“P-please,” the boy begs, “i-it hurts. I-it burns. Make it stop.”

A sinister grin plays upon Chanyeol’s lips, and his eyes that normally sport the look of innocence is now filled with crazed anger. “Stop what? I’ve only just started, hyung.”

He leans down towards the boy, tiny flames erupting at the end of each of his fingers. He reaches his hand so that the orb is slowly getting closer to the boy’s face.

He reaches, closer, and closer, until-

 

 

☼

 

 

There is a sudden flash of blinding light on his face and Chanyeol jolts up, awake. His eyes are wildly scanning the room from one side to another, slowly gaining focus. He finds the silhouette of a boy holding a torchlight leaning against the doorframe.

“Oh, so you’re here,” the boy speaks, and Chanyeol could almost hear the smirk playing on the boy’s lips as he does so.

Chanyeol stumbles up slowly just as the boy walks in completely into the hut. He eyes the plastic bag the boy is holding curiously, at the same time protectively hiding the journal behind his body.

“Chill, man,” the boy speaks again. Soon enough he is standing face to face with Chanyeol. Chanyeol can’t help but notice that the boy is almost as tall as he is, and by the look of his face as the torch he is holding illuminates the room, that he is younger by at least a year or so. “I’m not here to take anything away from you. In fact, I’m helping you hide.”

He drops the plastic bag by Chanyeol’s feet. “Here’s some food and water, you’ll need it.”

“W-who are you?” Chanyeol finally speaks. A look of surprise flashes quickly across the boy’s face, until he hides it again under his default mask of indifference.

“You’ll find out soon enough,” he answers after a moment, eyes flickering to Chanyeol’s hands. “I want to give you this torch too, but you might want to cool down for a bit before you burn me or this hut down.”

He follows the boy’s gaze and finally sees the smoke coming from his hands. He lowers his gaze towards the floor, and notices the ashes covering his body and all over the ground. He has burnt the hay on the ground as he slept.

When the smoke has completely lifted, the boy placed the torch in his hands.

“See you around.” There’s a faint sound of explosion, such as those in the chemistry labs at his high school. 

When Chanyeol looks up, the boy is gone.

 

Daybreak finally comes around, but until then Chanyeol could not sleep a wink. He fears that the moment he loses consciousness, his power will awaken again and burn the hut down, himself along with it. His mind also keeps on wandering back to the boy. Who is he? He only realizes now the details he missed while the boy is gone.

The confidence in the boy’s stride, the gleam on his eyes, the fullness of his lips. The rich black hair that covers his forehead and brows. And his disappearing as suddenly as he arrived.

He shakes his head to clear his mind. Out of the corner of his eye he notices a ray of sun shining against a stone lying on the ground an arm’s reach away. He took the stone in his hand, examining the engravings on its surface. It is of a creature resembling a horse, with a long pointed horn layered with spirals. A unicorn? A spark of recognition flashed upon his eyes and soon enough he is fumbling for the journal in the inner pockets of his jacket. Carefully, he flicks through the pages until his eyes landed upon a page containing the exact same symbol. A cluster of runes are located right underneath the symbol, a sort of description. Chanyeol does not have a wide knowledge on runes, but he can tell that the writing was about life. The symbol on the page, which the stone also contains, has something to do with life.

He glances down at the ring he wears on his right hand. It is the symbol of the Phoenix. And according to this journal, the phoenix symbolises fire.

Across the room Chanyeol spots another stone. As he walks toward it he could already tell the outline of the shape etched on its surface. He carefully places the first stone on a damaged table near the hut’s window, and picks it up. A circle within a teardrop is etched on its surface. The signs are coming to him now. He has seen that symbol before. Wasting no time, he flicks through the pages of the journal until he finds the correct one. Water.

He understands that these symbols signify powers. He has already gone through the journal enough times for him to recall that there are twelve symbols in all. He owns one of them, his powers and ring has proof. But what he does not remember was how he has received the ring and the power.

Only one thing was on his mind at that moment: What does this all mean?