working on hell

Aria

—Hurry, Ignis.

My own words echoed in my mind, growing fainter and more cruel with each repetition. I had told him not to worry, that I could handle it. But now, as my divine energy flickered like a candle on the verge of burning out, I wondered if that confidence was just a mask I wore to protect him.

—I have to do this… I have to… —my voice trembled, barely audible amidst the screams and the pounding blows.

The villagers, their green eyes glowing like burning embers, wouldn't stop. They struck my barrier with blind fury—farming tools, stones, even their bare hands. I knew they weren't at fault, but still, I couldn't help but feel that Lira's hatred was flowing through them, tearing apart both my body and my faith.

A sharp pain snapped me out of my trance.

—Ahhh! —I screamed as a knife plunged into my calf.

The knife quivered in the hand of a child, no older than ten. His lifeless eyes showed no trace of humanity, yet something in his stance shattered me. How could I defend myself without hurting them? How could I justify my promise to "rise to the challenge" when I could barely stand?

—No, I can't fail! —I cried out, encasing the boy in a dome of energy with the last of my strength.

But I was failing.

The blows against my barrier were like a death drum, pounding relentlessly in my mind alongside the certainty of my defeat. I could feel the pressure bearing down on me—the weight of the tools and claws tearing at my protection. Every second was a lash to my will.

My knees buckled, and tears of despair streamed down my cheeks.

—Ignis… I'm sorry… I'm so, so sorry… —my voice broke, lost amidst the chaos of the crowd.

The dome that protected me began to flicker, and fear consumed me entirely. I had promised I could do it. I had sworn I was strong enough. And now here I was, on my knees, as everything fell apart.

Then, the world changed.

First, there was silence. An unnatural silence that blanketed the air like a heavy shroud. The blows stopped abruptly, and the flickering of my dome steadied. I lifted my head, scarcely daring to believe what I was seeing.

The villagers were collapsing, one by one, like puppets whose strings had been cut. Their bodies crumpled to the ground in a silent chorus of defeat.

And then I saw it.

From the haunted mansion, a blinding light erupted, ripping through the night's darkness like an open wound in the sky. It was beautiful and terrifying all at once—a radiance so intense it seemed to devour the stars.

The ground trembled beneath my feet, and the air grew heavy, thick with an energy I couldn't recognize.

—Ignis… —I murmured, my voice barely a whisper choked with fear.

I knew it was him. He had won. But I also knew that this light was not divine. It didn't bring peace or redemption. It was something else. Something that should not exist.

A shiver ran down my spine as the brilliance grew, consuming everything in its presence.

—What did you do, Ignis? —I whispered, my throat dry and my chest tight with panic.

I curled up inside my dome, unable to move. Guilt and terror swirled together in a storm that paralyzed me. I hadn't fulfilled my part, and now… now Ignis had unleashed something he might not be able to control.

Something we might not be able to face.