Leave The Monster Alone

"My name is Alex. I wanted you to know since I always felt as if we could be friends" the whisper was let out in the wind, no one left to hear it at all but the guardian still felt better having said it out loud. It felt as if he had failed his friend all over again but he hoped that Mark would be able to save his friend in time. 

This was all the hope he had been left with.

It was all burning around them and the heat was rising as well. Was Kuro's fur on fire as well? Alan could not tell in this heat but it was hurting him now. He was too hot, he felt like he was burning and he needed someone to help cool him down. His core was pulsing and it hurt.

Hurt, Hurt, Hurt, Hurt, Hurt, Hurt, Hurt, Hurt, Hurt, Hurt, Hurt, Hurt.

"Alan, keep yourself together. I know this flame is painful but you need to pay attention to my voice" Luna tried to attract the attention of his younger brother but he looked to be too tired to snap out of his comfort zone.. The situation had become all the more dangerous now.

The flames had been tough enough but when you add the rocks and separation, it became ten times more dangerous. They were locked in a small space with limited room to move around in and the fire was closing in on them now.

If Luna did not do something then they would be buried alive under the debris of this fire.

"It is going to be alright. Everything is going to work out well" Luna did not know if he was consoling himself or his brother. Maybe it was a mixture of both but he could not tell.

"Sorry" the teen squeezed out of his mouth, his colour even paler than before, "I will try to get over this fear. Fire is just a big flashpoint for me" which was understandable. Luan did not like the fire as well, but he did not have a close call with it yet to paint it as devastating.

Besides, he was old enough to have overcome most phobias he had developed but Alan did not have the same experience as him.

His brother was still had some of his innocence left inside him after all. The fire was still something for him to fear.

"We need to knock the boulders down if we have any hope of surviving. We cannot stay inside here or we would suffocate" Luna knew what they had to do but that did not mean he knew how to do it. The fire was still a pressing issue to consider as well.

"I can feel monsters on the other side and new power as well. It is overwhelming and my body is terrified at the thought of facing it" Luna had not yet paid attention to the feeling knocking at his instincts but he had enough practice ignoring it as well.

He was still no fully divine beast so that helped reel his instincts as well but there was no such luxury for the other two in his party. They looked tense and a little on edge when they looked at the stone wall.

The wall vibrated which put the party of two at the edge of their seats. Kuro did not look that worried but she never did in these situations so Luna could not take a clue from her book. Was it a friend or a foe who was behind that wall? Would they need to fight for their freedom?

And who could this terrifying aura belong to? And what was his purpose in coming here? There were so many questions inside Luna's mind but they would all have to wait for a little while longer.

"Please do not shoot me" the voice was familiar, one that caused Luna to put his weapon down and relax. It had to be this person to make such a thing happen as well. Luna should have known that any change would occur because of this person.

Of course, it was Mark on the other side of the crumbling wall, his aura screaming power.

"Mark, what happened to you. Is there someone with you as well? The aura is kinda terrifying" Mark looked a little embarrassed at the kid's question, his face going a little redder. Of course the other found enough mental capacity to still be able to blush.

"Sorry, I will try toning it down. Adjusting to a divine core is not easy and I do not know how you did it so well" Mark stepped out of the wall's debris, his steps careless as he made his way toward the pair. His face showed no signs of worry which was to be expected from him.

"Can you tone your aura down a little? It is giving me a headache here" Luna complained, more out of habit than actual annoyance and Mark gave him a look of concern. He actually looked sorry for him which got on Luna's nerves.

"Sorry, I'm trying to tone it down for ages now but the core seems to have a will of its own. It is doing what it wants to and I have no say in it" Alan looked sympathetic, his eyes going soft at the other. So it was a thing that just seems to happen?

"What about Yun and the guardian? Are they here as well?" There had been many questions that begged for an answer but these two were the most prominent ones Luna could think of right now. He would get the rest of his answers with time and patience.

Were those two allies or enemies? And how far were they willing to cooperate with the human race. Would this be the last time or the start of something grander down the road? Luna did not like to be held in suspense and he needed an answer asap.

"They are both together and handling Nathan. They should be done soon as well since they did have this planned out quite well. We should go and join them" Mark waved his hand and the flames dimmed quite a bit. The other winched at his failed attempt but to Luna even this much was impressive.

"Oh yeah, you said that you had a core as well now. What kind of core is able to produce this much power and aura anyway?" Alan's question was one Luna wanted to ask as well but had been too late to do so. 

He had his guesses but he also knew he had a lot of margin for error. Surely it would not be one of those 4 since they were rare and revered cores. One would not find them just lying around in a hole anywhere but nothing else made much sense either.

"Oh, this? It is what you are thinking it to be. Do you remember the bomb we found in your rooms? Well, turns out that it was a divine core after all and I somehow absorbed it. Don't ask because I don't know how either" there was a dumbfounded look on the party's face which amused Mark.

To be honest, it did sound a little far-fetched when he put it like that but it was all a game anyway. He had to remember that this was not out of the norms for this world at all and he could make sense of this absurdity.

"Yeah, it all makes sense in a twisted kind of way and even if it does not, I am not going to question this at all" a wise decision on the teen's part and one Luna decided to follow as well. This situation was not worth the headache it was going to produce anyway.

"So, what should we do now? Go out and meet those two once again?" that would be the sensible thing to do and Mark agreed with them as well. With Mark with them, the fire was no longer a pressing concern to them now.

The flames parted to give them the way outside and the party hurried up to meet the other two. No monsters attacked them, having realised the danger this place put them into and it seemed like a wise choice to Mark. 

"You really have shitty control over your powers, don't you?" Luna's question caused another portion of the fire to flicker up and down irregularly and it drew a small laugh out of Alan. of course this was how it was going to go and Mark could not help but act offended.

"Hey, I save you and this is how you treat me? I will be sure to remember this in the future" the tense atmosphere receded a bit as the group made their way outside to the two figures far away. Yun was the first to see them, his expression melting into a calm smile which Mark could not help but mirror back.