Chapter 1: Azure Butterfly (II)

There was a slight connection between me and the mysterious light as its unexplainable, undeniable feeling of an encouraging kindred of my own. Whilst my heart flutters uncontrollably, I take more gentle steps forward, avoiding the trash bags and scurrying rats along the walls.

Then after taking more subtle steps, I realize, it's not a lantern of effulgence in the darkness, it's a butterfly?

A majestic one too.

Walking steps forward, I watched the beautiful monarch flutter its gentle azure wings while emanating a warm blue glow.

Notable by its wings, it had an azure blue color to it while a natural black that bordered the outline. It appeared to also have intricate black dots which were randomly dispersed throughout the wings.

Wow… It's beautiful.

My eyes never seem to leave the wondrous creatures as it appalls me.

Reaching out a gentle hand, the creature smoothly flutters downwards to my hand while emitting navy particles of light that amicably drift downwards. The tiny azure orbs of energy rain down such forth like god's tears.

Mana is the simple element that one takes to manipulate. Their gift or otherwise known as attribute determines what they are able to manipulate as they are able to manifest in their ripe forms.

If one had an attribute of a passionately warming fire, then they would be able to manifest it as 'fire in their hands' after subtle attempts to summon it.

However, every single person is able to inherit an attribute whether it would be powerful or useless.

I for one, don't have one. I never actually found the reason why.

Possible— that it is the key root to all of my troubles and burdens.

Passionately, holding out my arm, I watch the graceful azure butterfly gently lands on my arm. The captured scene could be considered heartwarming as it felt like an imperceptible bond had already formed. One that cannot be seen but felt.

The reassuring scene could not have been more subtly pure when an ominous foreboding returns.

The foreboding is like an alloy hammer that continuously slams itself against my forehead— generating large agonizing waves of pain. The waves of pain resound throughout my body like macabre ripples in a serene pond.

Tides and waves generated by the maelstrom of the combined feeling of pain and wonder, never seem to cease as I collapse. Using the rotten crimson brick walls, wall as my leverage, I of course ignoring the oozing repulsive sensation that I feel on my skin.

In the midst of the overbearing amount of pain, disgust and confusion, something emerges from within.

I would presume it was the 'parting of the sea of reeds" but it was something much different.

A sensation of smoke, and ash. Immediately, I started coughing intensely as if the smoke infiltrated my lungs but there is no ashen smoke around.

Surveying, my view, I still stand in the same dim alleyway from before while the butterflies start to flutter up and out of the iron rusted fence.

"Hey, what was that all about."

Half-annoyed and half irritated as I follow the azure butterfly. The hurricane of pain that I had experienced only profound moments were already like past polaroid photos. First using the bars of iron that are periodically stacked upon each other as a foothold. Boosting myself upwards, I leap gracefully over the fence as I land on the other side with a heavy thump.

Despite, the murky and grim alleyway, the other side was actually quite contradictory as it was incredibly bright. The blazing heat scorched my skin as the distant sun had reached its pinnacle height. The sky was an expanse of an azure blue, dotted with plain white clouds as the radiant rays of the sun pierced through it to cast a golden glow.

Switching my gaze from the scorching heat and back to the butterfly, he noticed that it was much further up the path. Immediately, I ran to pick up the pace as so did the butterfly, up more abandoned alleyways and serene blocks where the bustling customers slowly dwindled.

As I continued to pace after the butterfly, the ashen smoke only to grow in intensity as my subtle breathing started to turn into wheezing.

What is going on?

Scanning around, there seemed to be no traces of smoke whatsoever. Then where could this sensation and this feeling be originating?

"Hey watch it," A man said as I quickly breezed past in. Not before apologizing on my behalf.

Soon the flat land paved through for all the sweeping customers started to turn rocky and unstable— though I had walked this path much time before so it was no big deal.

However, the combination of a tired aching body, to a rocky path generated a high likelihood that I would trip— and which I did. Scraping my knee on a jagged rock that lay coldly on the side.

Thus also realizing that the shade cast by the clouds was darker than usual. The sun's ray especially at noon and with it being summer was able to pierce through regularly, however in this case it wasn't.

Looking upwards, the butterfly continued to flutter towards the direction of where I and my grandmother were.

Also noticed that there were dark— grisly malignant clouds that started to drift out of the forest.

Those clouds unfortunately did not belong to the run-on-the-mill cumulonimbus clouds, that are often bring grim thunderstorms.

It was malicious clouds of smoke. That seems to begin in the heart of the forest.

Grandma!

Picking up speed, I run through the dense undergrowth as there is a distinctive stone path that leads from the threshold of the forest to all the way to my benign house.

The more apparent smoke burned my eyes as a small dam shattered into dozens of pieces. Desperation raced together with adrenaline as I perilously raced through the forest.

Leaping over decaying red oaks and twigs that lay strewn about by nature, the aching soreness from yesterday's session faded into subtleness. An unexplainable exhilaration coursed through me as I could start to feel the embers of the flame erupting from nearby trees.

Set aflame, the torched trees slowly dissolved into ash and dust— whilst snapping and breaking as if the fire was a being of carnage. Wide-spread destruction of trees that were set to ignition by a single spark could only me more weary and panicky.

Suddenly, large trees that had been scorched to the point of timber collapsed onto the path— still aflame.

Screaming, I barely avoided the tumbling tree as it fell of its trunk. However, even if my naive self wanted to run away, my desperation to save my grandmother still remained.

Going on around it, the path was utterly demolished as it was barely perceivable to follow the path but I still had the azure butterfly guiding my every step.

Suddenly, a small clearing of trees appeared as I used every last ounce of breath I had left to leap towards the open space. Only to my avail, that my house was set aflame.

My grandmother was crippled as she used a wheelchair to move as she was paralyzed in both of her legs. If anything she had to be trapped. Though there still remained a sliver of hope that she was still alive.

Running through, the front door that had already been burned off its hinges, a hot wave of heat scorched my skin.

The house emitted a potent odor of my smoke as I was once advised to cover my breath to prevent smoke emission. With my nose and my mouth covered, I blindly searched in the crumbling abyss of fire for my grandmother. No one there.

Climbing the stairs that had yet to be scorched by the embers, there stood a silhouette

A horrid silhouette of someone standing upright at the top of the stairs. It was impossible to see exactly who it was as the smoke covered most of my vision but it had to be a grandmother!

"Grandma?" I muttered, slightly inaudible as the figure turned their head in my direction as if 'the' person heard me.

But then, I came face to face with the dreadful truth.