89 Minor Hope

He could see the halo of light shrinking ever so slightly and knew, soon his suffering in this world would end. Aiden looked at his parents who in the soft golden light looked to have resigned themselves to their fate.

The halo didn't hurt. If he pressed against it, he felt something akin to a raging wind against his hand. He knew there was no getting past it when the time came.

'Just like you mortals.' He heard a raspy voice whisper in his ear. As he looked around, all he saw was the frightened people being pulled to their fate.

'Its' just your fear given a voice.' He thought to himself, then did what he could to block it out. As the spire came closer, Aiden saw the glint of gold off of the prince's embroidered clothing and knew his fate was sealed.

'No, boy it is not.' The voice returned with a vengeance. 'You will survive.' As they drew nearer, he could feel something that wasn't dread building inside him. It felt warm and familiar, yet different as well. When he was given the aura at first, it was the same as everyone's. He had been given the ability to use the flame aura, yet now it seemed different, as if he could sense more affinities than just the one. "Am I going insane?" He asked aloud as he felt within.

'You are as sane as a mouse stuck in a trap can be.' The voice said within his head. 'Now you need to escape! Use your aura to break through the halo!'

Aiden wasn't exactly sure how to do what the voice was instructing, yet he gave it a try nonetheless. Focusing on the golden light surrounding him, he gave a desperate push on the light. He saw it waver, yet it held fast.

Seeing progress in a way he had never had before, he sent another wave of power to crash down on the golden halo, this time, his flame came out crimson with a golden hue.

The halo broke slightly, and through the cracks, Aiden could see something more. He could see tall buildings which belonged to another world. He could see a metal flying machine in the air, it's wings catching the light of the sun. He reached for the crack. Feeling slight resistance, he pushed with all of his might. He heard a scream, only to realize it was coming from him. He allowed all the desperation and anger to build within him boil over into his power. The gold shone stronger as a twister of crimson raged within the halo, centered on the crack.

'Welcome to a new world of promise.' The voice reached out one last time as everything went dark.