I float through the decades-old patchwork of tunnels. The stone feels warm somehow in the darkness as I descend through Gaia. When I finally reach the bottom, I am momentarily surprised by the shadows hugging the walls like small creatures, despite the absence of sunlight.

Then I see _him_.

Unconsciously, I churn faster, feeling the furnace ahead. As I do, I am greeted by the taste of hope—if such a thing were possible. I meet his gaze as the clink of chains echoes against the walls.

"You've come to kill me, Aerea?" he asks, bouncing a fireball slowly in his left hand. I watch, mesmerized, as it floats down and absorbs back into his palm each time.

“Yes,” I answer, forcing confidence despite the jitters in my currents. I calm my spin and stare at his toothy grin.

“They’ve sent you to smother me once and for all. Why?”

“You know why,” I snap, releasing a sharp burst that causes his amber light to briefly flicker.

“Yes, your father and his _dog_—“

“Do not speak of my brother that way. He is kind and loyal and thrice the man you’ll ever be.”

“My apologies… your brother,” the prisoner corrects. “The two that tried and failed to kill me. So now they send you. Realizing only you can.”

I study him, but say nothing.

“But you hesitate—“

“I do not—“

“Am I not still breathing?”

"You deserve to die for all the crimes you have committed," I say almost robotically, decades of drilling these words into me wrestling with a sudden, unexpected doubt.

“I deserve freedom,” he replies calmly, his ankle restraints clanging as he steps forward. “And so do you.”

“Freedom, Pherno? Not a chance. And you know nothing of me,” I say, firing off another burst. Without thinking, I begin siphoning the air from the corridor, slowly suffocating him.

His eyes widen slightly, but his composure remains unbroken.

"I know you, Aerea," Pherno whispers fiercely, despite struggling to breathe. "You fight your very nature trying to extinguish my life. You are Air itself—the very source of life. And I? I am not the foul beast you've been led to believe. I am a victim, Aerea, just as you."

"Victim?! You wish to make jokes?" I laugh maniacally, and his composure slips a bit. He clearly didn't expect my outburst—intentional or not—so I press further.

“Your cursed inferno destroys everything,” I insist. “It destroyed people. Were they not victims?”

“Perhaps,” he murmurs, not meeting my eyes. “Fire is destruction, I don’t argue that. But, it is also renewal. The Humans knew this.”

“You lie!” I accuse, pulling the air faster. I don’t know why, but something in me stirs deep within. It confounds me, and I try hard to ignore it.

“No,” Pherno coughs, looking up. “Some Humans believed in a man. One who consumed fire. A Lord who used it to cleanse and purify his followers with His spirit. Others leveraged my flame to purify scalpels for medicine, to refine gold for transactions. Sometimes they willingly burned down forests or crumbling structures to make room for new beginnings. Or to destroy what no longer served them."

“Bedtime stories, Pherno! Do you believe me a child? I know you wield the Golden Flame,” my winds spin wildly. “Do not test my patience, or I will end this little chat right now.”

He looks at me, his expression unreadable. “Yes, I have wielded it.”

“Ha! Then you admit—“

“But, so have you,” his flames flare out briefly before flickering. “It is impossible to wield alone.”

“I would never touch something so vile,” I spit out the words. “Lies will not prolong your fate. In fact, we should end this charade—“

“I swear I can prove it,” he quickly interrupts, breathing hard.

This throws me, and for a moment I slow the pull of air.

"Scoop up some of the water your brother left when he came here to…" He trails off, and I shoot him a look—a not-so-gentle reminder to tread carefully. But curiosity takes over, and eventually, I comply.

“Now suspend it in the air.” When I hesitate, he adds, his voice cracking, “plee-ease, Aer-ea.”

I proceed. As I’d seen earlier, he generates a small fireball in his hand. I nearly extinguish it instinctively but force myself to watch as it floats over, hovering just beneath the suspended water.

My eyes go wide. Sparks start to form, slowly at first, then faster, until a bolt of Golden Flame shoots toward the ground between us, scorching the damp earth. Scorching Gaia. Some embers continue to burn, and I let them, as Pherno slumps against his restraints, taking ragged breaths.

I stare at the ground. As I watch the burning embers, a lost memory floods my mind.

And I want to scream!

Immediately, I rush to restore the air in the room. But Pherno is not moving, and I fear I am too late.

"Pherno!" I yell, but there is no response. His flames flicker until there is only a pile of ash. Pherno is dead—by my hand. My winds slow to a whisper as I realize what I have done. What I have been forced to do, I correct.

One last ember starts to flicker where the bolt hit, and I nearly put it out before an idea hits me.

I carefully create a protective bubble around the last of his being, nurturing it as I move it atop the ashes. I let it fall, praying to this Lord Pherno spoke of. After a desperate minute, the ember goes out. But before I can despair, two others light. The strange process continues until Pherno rises from the ashes.

“Pherno,” I say, breathlessly.

“Miss me?” he jokes, weakly, and I rush in to hug him, careful not to smother him.

“They lied to me… for a long time.”

“Tell me, Aerea,” he whispers urgently. “Tell me why your father fears us together so much.”

“Because… because, together,” I breathe, staring into his amber eyes, “we are unstoppable. He fears losing control. He fears the Golden Flame.”

At these words, Gaia roars, the mountain above us trembling violently.

I step back, but Pherno reaches for me, pulling me close. Our bodies collide, and we kiss. A vortex of fire surrounds us as we consume each other hungrily. Flames intertwine with air currents, creating a fiery tornado. The earth rumbles fiercely, yet we continue, ignoring the crumbling world around us.

We rise high above into the sky, a golden maelstrom bursting through the falling rocks. Far below, Hedro surges upward, his waters swirling beside us in a torrent, matching our ascent.

For decades, my loyalty was assumed. And as fire, water, and I twist together, lightning crackling in our combined wake, it becomes clear: Father was wrong. But Hedro? His loyalty was never a question. It was always to me.

Just like the memory a century ago. Only then, we cowered in fear at our own combined, uncontrollable power, allowing ourselves to be slaves to Gaia.

"I love you!" I think, responding to his thoughts. We are one now. And starting today, as we stretch out into the sky, I know:

We will fear no longer.