Chapter 364: Magma Knight
Ethan was less than pleased when he found himself back in the flaming plains. He had gone from talking to a horse, to a wooden cabin to a meeting with supposed ’gods’ and now he was back in a flaming hell hole.
The heat pressed down on him instantly, thick and suffocating, as if the air itself wanted to burn through his lungs. Flames licked across the ground in the distance, sending up bursts of smoke that curled like serpents against the blood-red sky. Ethan clenched his fists and swore under his breath.
"Fantastic. Just what I needed. More fire," he muttered. His boots crunched against the brittle, blackened soil as he forced himself forward.
Ethan trudged forward, muttering curses at every step, when a sudden gust of hot wind swept past him. The flames ahead parted, and from within the haze, a familiar silhouette took form. Hooves struck the ground with a heavy echo, and a pair of ember-red eyes pierced through the smoke.
The horse was back.
Hellion’s mane whipped in the air like strands of fire, sparks crackling off his hide as he came to a stop in front of Ethan. The beast snorted, the sound sharp and mocking, before lowering his head slightly as if daring Ethan to complain.
Ethan’s eyes narrowed, his patience already at its end. "You’ve got to be kidding me," he snapped. "Why am I here again? I just got out of this burning nightmare, and now you drag me back? What is this, some kind of twisted joke?"
Hellion stamped his hoof, flames flaring outward in answer. His deep voice rumbled like smoldering coals. "Since you ate the fruit, you have crossed a threshold. Whether you like it or not, boy, you have bound yourself to power that cannot be left untamed. It falls to me to guide you."
Ethan barked a short, humorless laugh. "Guide me? Mentor me? You’re a damn horse who can turn into some weird guy! A fiery nightmare horse! And you expect me to take lessons from you?"
Another sharp snort sent a wave of hot ash into Ethan’s face. Hellion’s gaze bored into him, unflinching. "Mock all you like. You will learn, or you will burn. Those are the only paths forward."
Ethan snorted in derision, shaking his head. "You really expect me to take this seriously?"
Hellion’s body shimmered, flames racing across his form like a living tide. The horse dissolved into fire, the blaze folding inward until a man stepped out of the inferno. Ethan froze, his breath catching despite himself.
He had seen this form before, back at the round table, but it still sent a chill crawling up his spine. The long flaming hair framed sharp, aristocratic features, his eyes burning with the same ember-red light that had once belonged to the beast. The elegant suit looked out of place against the apocalyptic landscape, yet it carried an undeniable authority, as though it belonged to someone who dictated reality itself. In his hand gleamed a spear, the weapon humming with heat, its glowing tip casting sparks into the air with every subtle movement.
Hellion rested the weapon casually against his shoulder, a mocking smirk playing across his lips. "Still unsettled? Good. Fear is the first step toward respect, and respect is the foundation of power."
Ethan tried to scoff, but his throat was tight, his voice strained. "I’m not unsettled. Just... irritated that you dress like you’re going to a gala while dragging me into a barbecue pit."
Hellion chuckled, a deep sound that seemed to shake the air. "Then consider me your host, and this... your first lesson."
Hellion’s smirk widened as he stepped closer, the air around him warping with heat. He twirled the spear once, then drove its tip into the scorched earth. The ground hissed and cracked beneath the white-hot metal, steam rising in furious bursts.
"Lesson one," Hellion said, voice smooth but edged with command. "You think movement is only legs and muscle. You are wrong. Fire is faster than flesh. Heat is faster than bone. If you would master what you have consumed, you must learn to drive yourself forward not as a man, but as a flame."
Ethan folded his arms, glaring. "Right. So you want me to set myself on fire and run. That’s your big teaching moment?"
Hellion’s laughter rolled out, deep and mocking. "Not run. Charge. You are no ordinary boy any longer. You carry within you a spark that craves ignition. Feed it, or it will wither, and you along with it." He pointed the spear at Ethan, the tip flaring brighter. "Your body is fuel. Your will is tinder. But it is flame that will carry you beyond human limits."
The ground beneath Hellion erupted in a violent burst of fire. In the blink of an eye he was gone from where he had stood, reappearing several yards ahead in a ripple of smoke and scorched air. He turned, his burning hair fanning behind him like a banner of living flame.
"That," he declared, "is how you move. Not with steps. With fire."
Ethan stared, his mouth slightly open despite himself. "Yeah, sure, easy for you. You’re... whatever the hell you are. I don’t even know where to start with that."
"Start by forgetting your flesh," Hellion said firmly, striding back with measured grace. "Feel the heat that courses through you since the fruit. The fire is already inside you. You must allow it to consume hesitation, and in its place leave only motion. Step forward as though you are leaping into flame, and it will carry you."
Ethan scowled, shifting his weight uneasily. The air was hot enough to sting his skin, yet beneath the discomfort there was a strange tug, a flicker deep in his chest that pulsed with every heartbeat.
"You expect me to just... what? Burst into a human firework and hope I don’t char myself alive?"
Hellion’s smirk never faltered as he watched Ethan squirm under the weight of his words. With a casual tug, he pulled the spear free from the scorched earth, resting its shaft against his shoulder once more.
"You think this is about fire alone," Hellion said, his voice low and resonant, every syllable laced with heat. "But fire is only the doorway. You are no mere mortal stumbling into borrowed strength. You are now a Magma Knight."
Ethan blinked, his mouth twisting as if he had just bitten into something sour. "A what?"
Hellion tilted his head, ember-red eyes burning with a knowing glint. "Magma. The blood of the world itself. Fire and stone, heat and pressure, destruction and creation intertwined. You carry it within you now, whether you are ready to bear it or not. Flame is but your first step. Your true potential lies in the raw force beneath the flames, the molten heart that can devour mountains."
The words echoed across the plains, the flames around them seeming to flare brighter in agreement. Ethan shifted uncomfortably, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, sounds... real inspiring. Magma Knight. Like some cheesy video game title."
Hellion barked a laugh that rumbled like thunder. "Call it what you like. It does not change what you are becoming. You will learn to move as flame, to strike as molten stone, and to endure as the earth itself. Fail to do so, and your body will break long before your enemies get the chance."
The heat around Ethan spiked, pressing against him like a physical weight. Despite his frustration, he felt it again. A strange pull deep within his chest, as if something molten stirred inside him, restless and waiting.
Hellion’s grin turned almost predatory. "Now tell me, Magma Knight... will you burn as fuel for others, or will you become the fire that shapes the world?"