The land burned.
Flames crackled, devouring homes, trees, and everything in their path. Smoke coiled through the air, choking the skies with a dark haze. Neutral villagers screamed and scrambled to escape the inferno. But there was no mercy.
In the heart of it all stood Prince Arson, his red skin glowing like molten lava, flames swirling at his fingertips. He burned everything in his path, taking slow, deliberate steps forward. His fiery aura blazed, a walking inferno.
"Bow before me!" Arson roared, his voice booming across the ruined land. "I am Lord Arson of the Magma Tribe-your ruler! This land belongs to me now!"
The neutrals who dared to resist found themselves crushed under the sheer force of his power. One defiant villager lunged at him with a rusty blade but Arson caught the man's arm mid-swing and slammed him to the ground, pinning him beneath his heavy boot.
"You think you can fight fire?" Arson sneered. "Burn."
Flames erupted from his hand, searing the ground dangerously close to the man's face.
All the while, Princess Sylvia struggled beside him - still bound to Arson by the stubborn tangle of vines wrapped around his arm from their earlier imprisonment.
Her green skin glistened with sweat and soot, her focus divided between stopping Arson's rampage and saving the neutrals.
Every time Arson torched a hut or ignited a patch of grass, Sylvia countered it with a wave of sprouts and vines, smothering the flames before they could spread further.
She worked furiously, calling forth roots to lift people away from danger or forming thick plants to block the fire's path. Children clung to her, terrified and crying, as she guided them behind her protective walls of greenery.
"Run!" she urged, shielding them with a thick barrier of moss and leaves. "Get to the woods - now!"
But with every life she saved, Arson destroyed more.
"Why do you keep interfering?" Arson growled, yanking at the vine binding them together. "You're chained to me, princess. If I burn, you burn too."
Sylvia's jaw tightened. "If I have to go down with you to stop this madness, so be it."
Arson chuckled darkly. "Then you're a bigger fool than I thought."
_ _ _
The sky turned an unnatural shade of orange as the smoke thickened. But then...
A deep, guttural snarl echoed from the forest's edge.
The neutrals froze. Their fear shifted - from the flames to something even more primal.
A massive figure emerged from the charred trees - a giant wolf with silver fur streaked with black.
Its eyes glowed yellow, and its fangs, long and jagged, dripped with saliva. It was easily twice the size of any normal wolf - a towering guardian of the wild.
"The Forest Guardian..." one neutral whispered in awe, his voice trembling.
Another added, "It protects us - it always will."
The wolf's gaze locked onto Arson. Its lips curled back in a snarl, revealing rows of teeth meant for tearing flesh apart.
It didn't hesitate - with a single bound, the beast lunged straight at him.
"Come on, then!" Arson roared, flames bursting from his fists.
The wolf collided with Arson, slamming him into the ground with bone-crushing force. The impact sent cracks through the scorched earth.
Sylvia, still stuck to Arson by the vine, was dragged down too, landing hard beside him.
The wolf's jaws snapped at Arson's arm, and he narrowly avoided being mauled. Flames erupted from his hand, singing the beast's fur but the wolf didn't even flinch.
"Get this mangy mutt off me!" Arson growled, struggling against both the beast and Sylvia's vines.
Sylvia, instead of helping him, summoned more roots to slow Arson's movements. She wrapped them tightly around his legs, holding him in place as the wolf clawed at him.
"Maybe the wolf's doing the planet's work," she said coldly.
Arson's rage exploded. His flames burned hotter, and he ripped through the vines holding him down. With renewed fury, he struck the wolf with a blast of fire, sending it stumbling back but it quickly recovered.
The two clashed over and over while Sylvia was constantly stumbling as Arson was in rage mode, not able to resist much:
The battle was intense and fierce.
Arson's flames clashed against the wolf's fangs.
Arson's strength rivaled the wolf's ferocity.
Sylvia, constantly caught between the two, trying to stop Arson hoping to stop the bloodshed.
The battle raged for what felt like an eternity.
Burns scorched the wolf's fur, but claw marks streaked across Arson's arms and chest. His red skin was smeared with his own blood - dark and almost molten in color.
Finally, after what seemed like an unbreakable stalemate -
Arson, driven by sheer rage, grabbed the wolf by its neck and forced it to the ground.
His flames flared as he summoned every ounce of his strength - and with a final, brutal attack - the wolf collapsed beneath him, its massive form falling limp.
For a brief moment, there was silence.
Arson, his body charred and bleeding, stood victorious. His chest heaved, and his red skin still glowed faintly with heat.
He turned to the neutrals, his lips curling into a proud, merciless smile.
"Your guardian is dead," he announced, his voice hoarse but triumphant. "You have no one left to protect you."
The neutrals shrank back in horror.
But then -
Arson staggered.
His vision blurred. The pain from the wolf's attacks and his own relentless use of fire had pushed him too far.
His legs gave out.
And Lord Arson of the Magma Tribe collapsed.
Sylvia, still tangled in the vines wrapped around him and fell beside him unable to keep balance.
The neutrals stared in stunned silence - their tormentor, fallen.
The flames continued to burn.
And in the distance, the forest seemed to mourn its fallen guardian.
The once-fiery battleground had cooled, though faint embers still flickered across the charred land.
Smoke trailed into the darkening sky, but the air was no longer filled with the roar of flames - only silence, broken by the soft cries of neutral villagers gathering the wounded.
_ _ _
After a few moments, Sylvia stirred.
Her green skin was streaked with soot and blood, her hair tangled with stray leaves and ash, but the moment she opened her eyes, she wasn't thinking about herself.
The first thing she saw was Arson unconscious beside her, his red skin dimmer now, his usual fiery glow reduced to a faint ember.
The vines connecting them were now wrapped tightly around him, a web of thick roots and tendrils restricting his arms and legs.
It was a precaution Sylvia had taken - Even in his weakened state, she couldn't trust him.
And then - the whispers began.
A small crowd of neutral villagers had gathered.
Their expressions were a mixture of fear, grief, and fury - their homes lay in ruins, and their once-mighty guardian lay battered and still.
"How can a savior like you," one villager muttered, his voice laced with anger, "be chained to a destroyer like him?"
Another added, "He killed our guardian! He deserves to die for what he's done."
Several others murmured in agreement, stepping closer - some with makeshift weapons in hand - ready to end Arson while he lay helpless.
Sylvia, dizzy from the battle, forced herself to stand between them and Arson.
"No." Her voice was soft yet firm.
"Why not?" shouted a woman, eyes burning with tears. "He's a monster! He burned our homes - killed the guardian who's protected us for years!"
Sylvia's heart ached - she understood their pain. But there was a line she refused to cross.
"I won't defend him," she said slowly, "but I won't let you kill him while he's unconscious."
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
"He's dangerous!"
"Do you want him to burn us again?"
Sylvia's eyes hardened. "He's tied up," she said, motioning to the vines twisted around Arson's arms and legs. "Even if he wakes, his movements are limited. He won't hurt anyone - at least not right away."
The crowd remained tense, still staring at Arson with hatred.
Sylvia took a shaky breath. "Killing him like this - while he can't fight back - would be no different than what he did to you."
Silence.
A long, bitter silence.