"What?" Flester asked with a dead pan stare, the guy standing in front of him-in the form of Flester himself just sighed in return.
"Listen, whether you believe me or not, that is the truth."
Flester shrugged looking at him and then smirked, a moment later the rope fell to the floor and Flester lunged at the other guy. The other guy looked shocked but only for a second, and then the next moment he disappeared appearing behind Flester and raised his hand, flame covering them as he brought it down.
At the last moment however Flester vanished and appeared metres away from the other guy.
Two Flesters stared at each other, one with cold and calculative glare and the other with a smile, one of them shrugged and spoke, his voice was etched with an ancient feeling and was mature, it was almost comical seeing such voice coming from Flester's mouth except it was not Flester who spoke.
"I brought you here for two reasons," he began "The first reason being that unlike any of the past holders, I am able to summon you into your soul, and the second reason being that once I realised I could summon you, I decided to teach you some things."
Flester frowned. He had managed to free himself from the ropes of the mysterious man who called himself the Flame Symbol but that was only because of the one hour he received where he actively sent Light energy in the rope.
He sent Light energy through the rope, studying the pathways of the magic within it before altering them, though he couldn't fully alter the spell, he changed enough to break free using Light Step to free himself and used it again to make some distance between him and his current mysterious enemy.
"I see, so it has gone like I hoped." The other Flester said, his smile widening, it was a sincere smile and it was aimed at him.
Flester narrowed his eyes, there was no escape and even if there was one, could he even escape such a being?
"What do you mean?" He asked and the other Flester looked shook his head and sighed. "It's nothing important, it's just that you have inherited all the memories I flowed into you like I wanted you to."
Flester's eyes widened as he stared at his double. 'What the hell?'
The other Flester just smiled brighter, "So my Flamebearer, how was my gift? How many times did it save your life?"
Flester was too stunned to speak and his mind was working too fast, normally he would easily be able to understand his thoughts but this time, he was too stunned-too stunned to even understand his own thoughts.
"You are.. really the Flame Symbol?" The words left his mouth before he realised, he grit his teeth and glared at the other Flester who just nodded. "Well, well Flester. The first lesson I want to teach you is about Flame Arts."
"Shut up!" Flester screamed, summoning the flame portals behind him, chains made of flame shot out of them, rattling and dashed towards the other Flester, and with a wave of his hands-the chains stopped, then they trembled and then finally they were dissolved to atoms.
"Good, you at least know how to summon the portal, but it is of only the basic level, and you are nowhere near mastering it-not even in a century unless I teach you that is." Flester stared at his double, confusion written on his face.
'No way.' The flame arts he had mastered-even though from the memories but still all of that mastery only for someone to say it was of the basic level and that he was not even close to mastering it was a disturbing fact but that was not the topic that was disturbing him.
It was not the fact that he was weak-no, it was the fact that he was becoming more and more convinced of the fact that the person in front of him was.. the Flame Elemental Symbol.
He was in disbelief, how could this man be the sacred symbol? No-no how could he not? It was very obvious when he thought about it-First thing is that his senses were not working and there was no seal in this world so strong yet so weak. It was almost as if the other Flester wanted him to escape.
And finally, the man's immense knowledge about how his symbol worked, not even Night would know this much.
Finally even if the figure was lying, going alongside the man's acting was the best way to get out of this situation right now, he could not sense anything with his magic, and after watching how his chains were gone in a second-he was sure that he did not stand a chance in a fight against the guy.
So, the beast thing to do was to wait-listen and adapt and finally escape.
"Well, what now?" He stared at the symbol, who was still looking like Flester, then a crooked smile appeared on the symbol's face.
"What now?" He repeated Flester's words almost mockingly then a superior and arrogant look appeared on his face. "Is it not obvious, Flester? I am going to make you worthy of my power."
"Worthy of your power?" Flester snorted, "You mean to say I'm not?"
"Yes... That, is indeed what I mean." The symbol then took a step forward, then another and another, he was walking towards Flester-a mad glint in his eyes. "Do you seriously really think you are worthy enough to be called a Flamebearer? Huh?"
The symbol paused for a moment studying Flester's face then let out a mad mocking laugh guy as he began to walk towards Flester again.
"No... someone as weak as you could never hope to be called a bearer of an Elemental Symbol."
Flester opened his mouth in outrage, then closed it and stayed silent for a while and then looked at the figure walking towards him and asked. "Why? Is it because I am not a noble heir or a prodigious prince or a gallant king? Just because I'm an an orphan?"
"Partially.." The symbol replied evenly. "But not for the reason you think."
The symbol was still walking, only a couple steps away from the boy, "I have lived before this kingdom was created, I lived before any of the current noble clans were created an I lived through even the war where the Dark God was killed by the Imperial God. Something as trivial as family and blood won't change the way I look at you, Flester."
Then a dark expression appeared on the symbol's face as he glared at Flester with disdain and malice. "But there's one thing that determines the way I look at people, it is a single and yet the most important thing-strength." He finally stopped walking standing face-to-face with him then snarled.
"The more powerful a person is, the more I respect him..."
He stopped for a while and took a shaky breath. "You are weak, far too weak, among all of my past holders at your age, you are the weakest, I do not know of what kind of life you have lived." The symbol said and then continued.
"Neither do I know your achievements, your failures and adventures but you are too weak for me to even care about such things, you unworthy Flamebearer."
Flester scoffed, "You call me weak, alright then I'll just become strong, strong enough for you to shut that crappy mouth of yours and strong enough to make even the mightiest of mages to kneel down to me-and then we'll see if you still have the guts to laugh , you wretched eternal maniac."
The symbol chuckled, then something changed-the figure of himself, or rather of the symbol who looked like Flester changed, the symbol transformed and soon, instead of a weak black haired teenager stood a lean, muscular man with bright orange hairs which swayed looking like flames itself.
The tall man looked down at Flester with his menacing and cold murderous red eyes which shone brighter than the crimson colour of blood itself.
The handsome man wore a long coat of black and deep crimson, its fabric moving like living flame. Ancient golden runes lined its edges, glowing faintly like embers. Beneath it were fitted black clothes and dark trousers and he was bare foot, he also had a tattoo of a bright red flame etched in his right cheek.
He wore a black lustreless steel with a bright orange flame symbol on its back.
"This...is my true appearance." The handsome man said looking at Flester with fury and disdain.
"All my suffering, all the torment and all years of isolation only for the first human that I meet to be a weak mage, and that weak mage also happened to be the Flamebearer as well." The symbol let out a mad and furious laugh in front of Flester. "Funny, is it not?"
After a while of laughing, the mad symbol stopped and then was silent, lingering for a while, he looked at Flester and said calmly. "But unlike most of my past holders, you do not hail from mighty families and loads of personal teacher."
He then looked away, and a faint and sincere smile made its way into his smile. "But still, of all the people I have met-the embers of flame shine the strongest in you, you are like flame itself-you just have to realise it and accept it."
"Flester, I will share your vision, give you ideas and embrace you with my teachings-it is with a cost though and for now it is to see the outside world." His face suddenly became serious as he looked at the Flamebearer.
"Join me, Flester and I will make you a true Flamebearer, I will transform you into Flame itself. Let us become the strongest together and defy each other."
Flester looked at the symbol, hatred and resolve burning in his eyes. Just moments ago, he was contemplating on ways to run but now there was no need, he just had to do one thing.
"Yes, but be ready to be humiliated by me one day, you dammed symbol."