“Ardenti Igniqua, are you ready?” The Demon asks me.

“Yes, I am.”

“Then go and fulfill your plan.”

I had about a day’s worth of traveling to go before I would reach my town. I would not sleep, eat or drink until I was there and have begun my plan for rebirth.

The Next Day…

I began my destruction for rebirth with the crime families. I destroyed their homes, their cars before I destroyed the people. I watched it all burn. I moved on to the crap area I once lived in before my father killed my mother and I killed him. I destroyed the building and attempted to destroy the surrounding buildings until a small voice caught my attention.

“Please don’t kill me and my parents, mister. We don’t wanna die.” This little girl couldn’t have been more than five years old and was holding a teddy bear while clad in purple pajamas. I stopped the fire from my body and kneeled before the little girl.

“Which house is yours?”

She pointed to the house that was once my best friend’s home. I turned my gaze upon the little girl, “Go ahead and go back inside, sweetie. I won’t hurt you or your family.”

I watched her run towards her house before setting every surrounding house aflame. I made sure to form a barrier around her home so that none of my fire could reach it.

I turned to the city government buildings and lifted my hand to light it on fire until a voice I hadn’t heard in ten years stopped me.

“It’s true. My dreams; they’re all true. You’ve become a monster. After all we’d planned, how could you do this?”

“I had planned to save our town and knew what needed to be done to save it. You went along with my plan when we were younger, but I knew you weren’t completely sold on how saving the town would’ve needed to happen. This has to be done,” I explain to her.

“No, it doesn’t need to be done! Remember when we were six and you killed your father after he killed your mother? I told you I would help you so you wouldn’t need to run, but you still ran away.”

“WE WERE SIX! WHAT COULD YOU HAVE DONE?! HIDDEN ME UNDER YOUR BED AND BROUGHT ME EXTRA FOOD AFTER YOU HAD DINNER WITH YOUR PARENTS?! I ran because it was a better choice for all parties involved. You kept your normal life and I disappeared.”

“Derek, you do not understand! My parents would’ve taken you in regardless of your status as a person of interest! I asked them when I was 16 and saw you that day. I wanted to tell you, but you ran off before I could!”

“I’m sorry, Annabeth, but my name is no longer Derek. It’s Ardenti Igniqua. I don’t have anything to apologize for after today.”

I lifted my hand and let loose the flames that were burning beneath. I could feel my rage growing. The flames became so hot and solid that it was almost like I was shooting lava from my hands.

“Ardenti, whatever you call yourself nowadays, turn around and face me.”

“I don’t know why I’ll bother, but sure. What do you want?”

“You have everything to apologize for. You will have destroyed our entire town; a town I swore I would protect.”

“Then it is you that should apologize, dearest Annabeth, for what is rebuilding in my eyes is only seen as destruction in yours. You have doomed this town by not helping me to rebuild it. My victory is your downfall. This is your burden to bear, not mine. I will still rebuild upon this charred land after it has been reduced to rubble. The question is will you join me?”