Everything seemed frozen. Black and white. As if time had stopped at the exact moment reality shattered. Jay lay on the ground, trembling, breath ragged, eyes wide open. Every muscle in his body screamed to move, to escape, to survive. He crawled back a few inches, putting a small gap between himself and the horned lion. His knuckles scraped the dusty ground, leaving thin marks behind.
"This was supposed to be a nightmare… right? I can't… I can't be seeing this…" Jay murmured, a cold sweat running down his back as his heart pounded wildly.
Suddenly, a faint light appeared before him. A butterfly. Fragmented, with wings like shattered glass that emitted a strange, almost metallic sound. Jay blinked several times, in disbelief.
"You… are you the one behind all this?" he asked, voice trembling, as the butterfly gently landed on his head.
There was no answer. Only a soft hum of distortion and crystalline resonance in the air around it. Jay swallowed hard and slowly turned his head toward the lion.
What he saw left him breathless.
The lion began to burn. First its back, then its entire body. Intense yellow and orange flames engulfed its fur and flesh, consuming it in an instant. Each growl from the beast blended with the crackling of fire, and within seconds, its body was reduced to ashes floating on the wind.
And not just that one. Every creature in the village—every monster that had terrorized the place—was swallowed by flames, leaving only drifting ash in the smoky air. The heat was so intense Jay could feel it from meters away, and the smell of burning wood and flesh made him turn his head, gagging.
"What the hell is going on?!" Jay shouted, his voice cracking with disbelief and panic. "Is this some kind of joke? Is someone punishing me?"
A distorted, youthful voice echoed around him, as if coming from everywhere and nowhere at once. It had the tone of a seventeen-year-old boy.
"Disappointing… and you're a soul that shares the same story as us?"
Jay spun around, scanning every shadow, every corner of the village.
"Who said that?!" he shouted, raising his arms defensively, though he knew no one would answer. His mind raced, trying to figure out if this was a spell, an illusion, or just his own madness.
Through the smoke and flames, in front of a house, a feline figure appeared. Only its eyes shone—crimson ruby red, piercing, as if they could see through reality itself. Slowly, the rest of its body emerged, cloaked in controlled flames. Not wild fire like the lions', but flames that moved with grace, as if they were part of its fur. Every movement was calculated, elegant, and deadly.
Jay swallowed hard and thought:
"A jaguar… but with fire and those eyes…"
The feline was muscular and agile, its black spots like charcoal against the fire that danced across its body. Its tail ended in a small flame that flickered and twisted with every motion. Those ruby-red eyes followed him, filled with intelligence and danger. It was a born hunter, a predator wrapped in fire, and its very presence made every cell in Jay's body scream: run, run, run…
The voice echoed again, repeating the same word from all directions:
"Disappointing…"
And then the world changed.
Everything around him—every building, every street, even the sky—seemed to ignite. It was a firestorm with no end, as if the entire planet were being consumed by eternal flames. Jay watched in horror, unable to move, as the heat and light battered him relentlessly. His breath came in short gasps, his heart a war drum in his chest.
"This is supposed to be… real…? It can't be…" Jay whispered, trying to focus his vision, searching for a safe spot, any refuge. But there was none. Only fire and shadows. Only danger.
Jay closed his eyes for a moment, trying to calm his mind. He took a deep breath and remembered the butterfly. If she had caused this… maybe she could control it too. Maybe… just maybe… there was a way to survive.
Still trembling, Jay braced himself. He had to move. He had to think. He had to act.
Even if his whole world was burning— He couldn't give up.
Not now.
Jay stood up from the ground on trembling legs. He could still smell the stench of burnt flesh mixed with the dust of the earth. His eyes fell on his tactical vest—torn off and lying to the side. He picked it up with one hand, but as he bent down, he noticed something strange on his arm.
Wounds. Deep gashes. Claw marks. But that wasn't the disturbing part.
From the wounds… fire was seeping out. A faint flame, almost invisible—like embers glowing beneath his skin.
"Perfect… is this the jaguar's fault too?" Jay muttered.
He tucked the half-ruined vest under his arm and ran toward what was left of the house. He had to find Nekotina.
"Nekotina! Where are you? I'm okay!" he shouted as he entered.
He pushed aside a half-collapsed door and saw her: sitting on the floor, crying, trembling.
Jay knelt in front of her.
"Hey, it's over… it's over now…" he said softly.
"But… my brothers…" she sobbed.
Jay clenched his teeth. That scene… that pain… It burned inside him more than any flame.
"We have to go. This place isn't safe anymore."
He lifted her onto his back and left the village. No food. No water. Not enough weapons. Just a dark, cold path ahead.
The girl eventually fell asleep, dried tears on her cheeks, murmuring her siblings' names.
Jay sighed, staring at the road.
"We can't keep going like this… if we don't do something, we'll starve before a monster even gets us…"
Then he heard it.
A voice. A young voice. A voice that echoed directly in his mind, like a distant whisper.
"Hey? Anyone there? Hellooo. It's me, the Fire Elemental. Can you hear me, Earthling?"
Jay nearly jumped out of his skin.
"What the hell—?! The voice of the giant fire cat? How are you talking in my head?!"
The roar of a jaguar echoed in his mind.
"Giant cat? I'll let that slide only because I'm in a good mood. Looks like you've got problems, huh?"
Jay scoffed.
"Plenty, yeah. I don't know where I'm going, I've got no food, no water, my vest is trashed, I'm low on ammo, and I'm carrying a traumatized kid on my back… want more?"
The jaguar laughed with a sarcastic tone.
"What a tragedy, what drama. I'm almost in tears."
Jay pinched the bridge of his nose.
"And what exactly are you, huh? Besides a flammable cat with an attitude."
"I'm an Elemental. Got it? A being created directly by the Mother. Creators of galaxies, universes, life… you name it. There are five of us: Earth, Fire, Water, Wind, and Energy. There. Happy? From now on, no more questions."
Jay let out a tired laugh.
"Perfect… I've got a cosmic jaguar living rent-free in my head who doesn't want to help. Fantastic. Just great."
The jaguar laughed inside him, clearly amused by his frustration.
As Jay walked with Nekotina on his back, the night deepened. And the path ahead grew darker, more uncertain.
The journey was only just beginning.