working on hell

Fire roared around me, a blazing vortex consuming everything in its path. Aria stood before me, her feet firmly planted, her light a barrier holding back my fury. Her eyes shone with something I couldn't comprehend: not fear, not hatred, but something worse. Faith.

"Ignis, you don't have to do this," she said, her voice clear and resonant despite the roaring flames.

"She doesn't understand," whispered Laplace in my mind. "You are the fire. You are the destroyer. You cannot stop what you are."

"Shut up!" I shouted, but my words were an echo, mingled with Laplace's laughter, distorted and unrecognizable.

"I won't be silent," Aria retorted, stepping forward. Her light grew stronger, stripping shadows from the walls. "If I have to wade through your darkness to reach you, I will."

Her determination hit me like a blow. For an instant, my flames wavered. It was a flicker of doubt, enough for Laplace to strike.

"Doubt? At this point?" His voice thundered, and the flames around me surged, spreading with renewed fury.

"Ignis!" Aria's voice cut through the storm of fire, firm yet filled with emotion.

Suddenly, the world shifted. The flames vanished, and I found myself standing in a dark stone corridor, dimly lit by flickering torches.

"Hurry up, Ignis!" A child's voice echoed, clear and full of joy. It was Nox, running ahead of me with his runny nose and goofy grin.

"Nox…" I murmured, taking a step toward him.

"This isn't real," hissed Laplace, his figure emerging from the corridor's shadows. His face was identical to mine, but his eyes burned with an intensity that froze me.

"Leave him behind. He's dead weight, a useless echo," he said, moving closer with each word.

"No…" I whispered, my voice barely audible.

"No?" Laplace laughed, a cruel sound that pierced my mind. "Then let me show you what happens when you doubt."

The corridor crumbled, and the roar of flames returned with force. I was back in the present, gasping, the heat of the fire scorching my skin. In front of me, Aria had fallen to her knees, but her light still shone, fighting to stay alive.

"Ignis, listen to me. Fight!" she shouted, her voice tearing through the chaos.

"Fight?" I replied, my voice blending with Laplace's. "There's nothing worth fighting for."

Her eyes met mine, and in them, I saw something that made Laplace recoil slightly in my mind: compassion.

"Fight, Ignis. Not for me, not for them… fight for yourself."

For a moment, the roar of Laplace in my mind went silent. I felt something small and fragile, buried in the darkness. A spark.

"Don't you dare!" roared Laplace, but his voice was no longer as strong.

I opened my eyes, and my flames began to fade. Laplace screamed in my mind, trying to regain control, but with each breath, I pushed him further away.

I collapsed to my knees, gasping, as the flames extinguished, leaving behind a heavy silence.

Aria crawled toward me, her trembling hands pressing against the wound in my chest.

"Ignis…" she said, her voice soft but steady.

"Thank you…" I managed to say before the darkness claimed me one last time.

Epilogue to the Chapter: Awakening

The air was thick and heavy when I woke. The light around me was dim, like the faint glow of dawn. Aria was by my side, seated, her hands still glowing as she closed my wounds.

"Why?" I murmured, my voice hoarse and weak.

She looked at me, her face exhausted but filled with the same compassion I had seen before.

"Because I believe in you, Ignis. I always have."

I wanted to respond, but the weight of exhaustion pulled me back into sleep. In that darkness, I felt Laplace, diminished but still present.

"This isn't over," he whispered, his voice now a distant echo.

"No, it's not," I replied quietly, both to him and to myself.

As the darkness slowly faded, I felt something new: a spark of hope.