A Second Chance: Part-1

 A dark, eerie plain, with vast nothingness on the horizon; a land where light dares not trespass, where shadows writhe in eternal torment. Blaze was walking through such a plain.

How did he get here? He did not know.

 He did know that he's been walking through this land for quite a long time. Hours? Days? Or weeks perhaps? He did not know.

The land was ominous, but for some reason Blaze felt at ease. He remembered about Calix's betrayal.

 He knew that he had already died. "So this is the way to my hell", he thought to himself.

He had walked a lot, his legs were aching, his body was at the precipice of collapsing. But he didn't stop to catch his breath, as he knew that since he is no longer alive, this pain is nothing but a needless illusion formed by his own mind.

 "Wake up." A familiar voice called to him, from the back. Blaze paused and turned around, but found nothing.

He thought he saw something in the darkness, perhaps someone. But the harder he tried to see, the darker it got.

 Thus, Blaze gave up and started his walk, a walk that seemed never-ending. He limped as he walked forward into the darkness in front.

 "Blaze!" another familiar voice, but this time the voice came from straight ahead. Blaze recognized this voice.

 "Sung?" Blaze called and the darkness in front of him decimated. And with the darkness gone, he could see the semblance of a person; it was Sung, there's no doubting it.

 "Blaze? Is that you?" the figure spoke.

 "Sung? O-oh god! Its real—its really you." Blaze stammered, "But what are you doing here? Have you not found your way to your afterlife yet?"

 "I have been waiting here, waiting for you." Sung said gently.

 "Me? Why would you wait for me?" Blaze was baffled.

 "There's something important I need ask you about. I couldn't move on to the afterlife without knowing the answer."

 "Oh! You can ask me anything, if it helps you find peace, I will find the answer, even if I had to scour hell for..."

 "Why didn't you save me?"

 "Huh?" Blaze was taken aback by the abrupt question.

 "Why did you let me die?"

 "I—I uh- don't..." Blaze was speechless, as the answer was really unknown to him.

 "You! I died only because of you!!!"

 "I'm sorry—I am so, so sorry!"

 "Sorry? You are sorry? Is that supposed to be the answer? That you are sorry?"

 "Sung, trust me, if I was able to save your life, I would've done it; at any cost."

 "At any cost, you say?" Sung looked straight into Blaze's eyes, "Then give me your life."

 "My life?"

 "Yes, give me the life I deserved. My mother, my sister, they are waiting for me. You are alone! Nobody awaits your return. Now, die for me, so that I can live." Sung's voice transitioned into a demonic voice as he put his hands around Blaze's throat, and tightened his grip.

 "But I'm already… dead. Why would my 'life' be…. Of any use to you?"

 "Yes, you are no longer 'alive', but with your afterlife, I may get to live again." Sung had a peculiar grin on his face, one that Blaze had never once saw while they were alive.

 "If I give up my afterlife, then what happens to me?"

 "Nothing. Without an afterlife, there will be no you. Your existence will simply be gone."

 Sung's words strung a cord in Blaze's mind; a cord that he himself didn't know about.

 "I can't." said Blaze while gasping for air.

 "Why?" Sung let go of Blaze, "You said 'at any cost', didn't you? Can you not sacrifice your life for your only friend?"

 "I want to, but…..." Blaze seemed to struggle telling the truth.

 "But what?"

 "I'm scared." He spoke in a faint voice, "Death itself is scary, but at least I knew there was an afterlife. But, not existing at all, that scares me. The thought of it haunts me."

 "Haunts you?" Sung scoffed, "You are scared of not existing anymore? That haunts you?"

 "Yes."

 "You, you are a coward, Blaze. You know what haunts me?"

 "What?"

 "It is not death I fear, it is the fear of what becomes of my family that I left out there, without anyone to take care of them, that haunts me!" Sung turned his back towards Blaze and after a few moments of silence he finally spoke, "But since all this matters so little to you, witnessing my end once again won't be that much of a bother."

 "What?!"

Suddenly a mysterious figure emerged out of nowhere and grabbed Sung. It dragged Sung away from Blaze, and when he tried to follow them, he found himself trapped in ethereal binds.

 A pillar emerged from the ground and Sung was pressed against it by that figure; and not too far from them, materialized a ship, the ship that had exploded and killed Sung.

The ship was all red but still transparent enough that he could see the bomb inside; and with every moment passing, he felt the bomb nearing its explosion.

 Then he looked towards Sung; the figure was talking to him, but could only hear parts of Sung's words, "What?..... Brethren of what?"

 Suddenly the realization hit Blaze like a log, "No! No, no, no, no, no, no. RUN! Sung get away! Run!!"

But alas! Neither Sung, nor that figure responded to his words, they kept bickering, "I don't work for any shady organization."

 "SUNG!! GET AWAY!!!!" Blaze screamed his lungs out.

 "Nu-uh." Sung spoke, oblivious to Blaze's warnings.

 "RUN! PLEASE!! IT'S A TRA..."

*BOOM*

 And once again, the ship exploded, and burnt away Sung's skin, melted his bones; and in his last moments looked straight into Blaze's eyes. But nothing happened to the mysterious figure.

 "Su…." His words jumbled, his brain stopped working; and the concern for Sung suddenly changed into pure, ungodly amount of rage.

 "Rrahhhh." Blaze shouted as fire ignited from his limbs and burned the ethereal binds. He leaped, and charged at the figure furiously. And before the figure could even react, Blaze started beating the crap out of it.

 Even though the figure tried to defend itself, the anger behind Blaze's each punch blew right through its defenses.

 "How dare you kill my friend?! I. Will. Kill. You." Blazed yelled as he kept beating that figure, "You. Are. WEAK. So. Fucking. WEAK!!"

*Smack*

 Suddenly the figure caught Blaze's punch, but this time Blaze couldn't even move his hand away. The figure spoke, "Of course I am."

 Blaze was dumbfounded, "What?"

"Of course I am weak. Because I'm you!"

 And suddenly the figure's face wasn't so undistinguishable anymore. Blaze could finally see its face, it was his face, disfigured by his own punches. Blaze was mortified, his hand were shaking as he looked at them, bloody, scarred; just like him.

 "Wait, you killed Sung, but you're me. I killed him?"

"Yes!"

 "NO, no, no, noooo!" Blaze screamed, pulling his hair in regret and a mortifying realization. He was the reason for Sung's death, and he believed it deeply.

 The whole place started burning and decimating. And amidst Blaze's screams of agony and destruction of the plain, a faint voice could be heard, "Come back, Azar, please."

 The plain was disintegrated, and so did Blaze.

 "AAHH!" Blaze finally woke up from his dreadful nightmare.