Escaping the fire
"Stay away from me. I don't want to go with either of you" the child stepped back with an outburst. The two women looked shocked at the admission.
The child made a decision and before they could recover, the child took off into the flaming corridor. Staying inside would be a death sentence once the flame caught up with him but running into the flames had not been the best choice either.
"Hey, brat. What are you doing? Stop running aimlessly or your escorts will find you dead" the child stopped at once. The voice sounded a little panicky in his head which made the already scared child freak out.
"Where?" the child asked as he looked around. The walls were almost unrecognisable and fire could be seen just around the corner.
Yet the child could not feel the heat of it. Only a gaping cold remained inside him and the hurt pain was dulling away into a faraway ache.
There was no reply from the voice in the child's head. Only the burning could be felt in the faraway distance.
It was all quiet at the moment and then a shriek sounded from the fire. A burning figure made its way through the fire and red eyes widened at the image of it all.
"What? Let me think. Oh no," the voice inside the child's head changed its tone as soon as it took in the walking charred body in the distance too.
The body's structure was distinctively male and huge. However, the burned parts melted away to show the bones and burned muscles below the skin layer. The mucus and veins were visible and still burning on the body.
The child could feel something coming up the windpipe and yet his mouth refused to get it out any faster.
It was agony on his eyes and his system. Both in pain about thighs they could do nothing about.
"A ghoul?" the child finally let out in the hoarse voice possible. His throat hurt after the ordeal but nothing had escaped his stomach.
"NO. THAT'S A WRAITH. EITHER RUN OR LET ME TAKE OVER" the scream in his head was louder than anything the child had heard till now and it hurt his head.
He wanted to run away but where would he run? There was fire all around and the figure was still advancing. And how to let the other take over? Hadn't the last time been the spirit itself that had taken over?
The door on the right finally caught the child's attention and to his joy it was open. Quickly opening the door, the child entered and slammed the door back. The handle lock was quickly turned.
There was a thump at the door and then quiet. This at least will give them some time.
"I just got a real successor too and this happened. Hey kid, allow me to take over so that we can get out alive. I don't have much power or time with me but I can at least get you to a safe place" that freaked the child out.
The voice had been his constant companion and the thought of losing it scared him. And yet, death scared him much more than that.
"How do I let you take over?" the child asked in a soft voice. There was silence on the other end as the child felt himself calm down.
Soon the red eyes faded into purple sharp ones which quickly took a note of the area around. Then snatched the notepad from the side as a grin made its way on the face.
"Bingo. Hey kid, watch and learn" the childish body opened the door and took the notice of the parameter. There was one around the space but the fire was almost to their location. The wall had a much more defined black tint to it.
Running the hand through the black deposit, the spirit made a sign on the paper. It exploded into light as soon as the symbol was completed and the child leapt into fire.
"What are you doing? We'll die" the childish voice sounded inside the head and yet only a spirit walked into fire headfirst.
"We'll be alright. I made a seal for protection. You'll learn to make them too once you inherit my power" the spirit cheerfully replied as he walked through the fire. The fire parted into sides as the child walked through it.
Suddenly, there was a shadow of black in the flaming part of the building. The spirit quickly dodged out of the way and the burning hand just missed the body by inches.
The body that had crouched to dodge suddenly kicked back at the burned body of the wraith.
"You need to build up muscles. That was pathetic" the childish voice in the spirit's head cried out at the insult but the spirit didn't dignify it with a response.
Their attention was focused much more on the burned body which had stood up once again. Due to the fire, the overall power of the wraith's body was low. But it was still a threat to his own body.
A child's body was still recovering and was beginning to cause issues with movement. The fire still didn't feel like much in terms of temperature but it still stung when it burned the skin.
Only for a second though. After that, it went back to normal and only the black burned spot remained in its place.
"Kidnapping a child is not a wise idea. Don't you know how many rules there are regarding this?" the spirit taunted its opponent who just charged at the childish body again. Again the spirit dodged out of the way, just in nick of time to avoid the attack.
"I don't think it can hear us" the child once again spoke in his mind as the spirit once again dodged the assault on the body. There was no chance for a counter since the bulk of the opponent exceeded the present body by too much.
Also, the surprise factor was gone and respite for a brain dead opponent, it would be difficult to attack back at once.
But the spirit was far from the corner. He had lived long and died late with a plethora of experience under his belt.
"I'll teach you the first step on your new profession, Asato. Watch carefully" there was a moment in the spirit's shared mind and he could feel the child paying rapt attention to him.
The child's lips pulled themselves upward as the pages in his hand from the notepad tore themselves apart and began floating. Some caught fire and looked like will-o-wisp while others blackened due to smoke.
But they flew in a vertical circle around the child which almost seemed to give the child a glowing effect. The glass in the back-reflected the image and it mesmerizes the child at once.
It was beautiful to his eyes.
"Asato, pay attention. Feel the flow of energy in the surroundings and guide it accurately. Like this" the child which was stuck inside the brain could feel the energy flow in a way he had never imagined.
It was all around him, wild and uncontrollable. And yet it was following the directions being put forward by the spirit. It flew into place and spiked. It burned and it froze him inside. It spiked and it flew all around him till it reached its peak.
The child felt more alive at that moment than ever, a mind full of wonders and possibilities.
And then it flew like the wind, the paper pieces all around him stuck the earth as it began disappearing into the wind. Calm purple eyes watched the asked fly into smoke and all of a sudden the body and air felt heavy.
The power was gone and so was the fire around him. The feet began moving.
The fire was no longer in the vicinity but the building was still burning. The floor had been vacated till now and the child was likely the only one who was left there?
"Let's get out of here. People will assume you died in the fire. It will give us the perfect opportunity to getaway. From now on, your past doesn't matter at all" the child could only agree as the body was still in the spirit's control.
Purple eyes closed as red ones blinked back into existence. The smell of smoke assaulted the child at once and he almost heaved at that.
But he pulled the body back as he made his way out. While exiting, the spirit suggested getting out from a backroom window since there will be no people there.
The fire repellent charm was still working magnificently so escaping posed as no problem. The child made its way through the surrounding forest in the medical clothes he was wearing.
No one stopped him on the way, neither did anyone pay any attention to the sickly seeming child dragging himself through the cityscape into the the forest where the mansion of shadows stood.
It was named so because no one had ever claimed to be the master and despite its perfectly maintained condition, no one ever saw anyone going or exiting there.
There were just rumours about the place and as the child entered the place, the gates of the mansion shut themselves. Blank shadowy faces faced the child as he made his way deeper into the house.
Both the house and the grounds were huge and in perfect condition. There was a faint feeling of magic in the surrounding too which instantly relaxed the child's body.
"This is my house. Maintained by my puppets. No one else will barge here unnecessarily. Learn my arts and master them if you want to survive" the spirit's voice echoed in the child's head and the scene with the magic made its way back into his head.
He wanted to experience it again but with himself in control this time. It called out to him and he ached to feel the sensation again. The sensation made him forget about everything bad that happened, the half-memories in his mind all but a fleeting back thought that faded away in its echoes.