The wisp of grey floated above his palm. It was steady and strange, like a whispered rumor upon the wind, or the words of a fickle man.
Nero had never seen anything so... so...
So unassuming.
He stared at it for a long moment, watching the way it flickered with that same uncertain quality, as if it couldn't quite decide whether it wanted to exist or not. The flame was pale grey, almost colorless in certain lights, and roughly the size of his thumbnail. It cast no meaningful illumination across the room. It didn't crackle or hiss or exhibit any of the qualities he typically associated with fire.
It just... was.
Small. Quiet. Utterly unheroic.
Nero paused for a moment then placed his hand above it to test its heat.
