**Ep 2**
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Victor seemed completely confused, but something in Seth's gaze made him feel uneasy, as if a silent horror floated between them, a deep invisible pressure that no word could soothe.
— Seth... are you okay? I don't know what to say... I don't know what happened to you in the last few days. But... you have... a change in your eyes.
Seth did not answer immediately. He let his gaze slide back to the TV screen, where the image of the interstellar heroes in shining armor seemed to get lost in a whirlwind of lights and shadows. "Hope" — as they called it. How easy it was to manipulate people, to offer them a beautiful ideal to cling to, so they would stay blind to what was really happening in the world.
— Hope, yes... you're right, said Seth in a barely audible whisper.
Victor raised an eyebrow, not understanding.
— What do you mean?
Seth suddenly turned towards him, his eyes filled with a strange, almost unearthly light, a lively glow of unease.
— When was the last time you saw a true hero? asked Seth, his voice cutting through the heavy air in the room.
Victor seemed overwhelmed by the gravity of the words. He sat down on the edge of the bed, starting to nervously rub his forehead. He knew Seth was going through a hard time, but now he didn't seem to be the same man anymore. He was no longer Elian, the man who laughed with Maia and him over morning coffee. Now... now it seemed he had been swallowed by a chaos no one could understand.
— I don't recognize you, said Victor, almost scared.
Seth got up from the bed, letting his body tremble slightly under the pressure of an unseen force squeezing him from the inside. He closed his eyes for a second, letting the visual disappear behind his eyelids. *I could... if I wanted to. If I understood what was really happening.*
The voice of the primordial spirit still echoed in his head, like a distant echo: *"You are the Fire reborn from the ashes."*
Seth clenched his fists. He did not want to understand what this meant. He did not want to have the power to destroy everything in his path. But... now he had this gift. This huge burden.
Victor suddenly looked up, as if sensing the sudden change in Seth. He approached him, with a worried expression.
— Seth... you don't have to seek revenge, you don't have to lose your mind, even if you've been through all this tragedy. Fight for justice, but don't let anger consume you. You are not alone anymore, man. I'm here. The people who love you are here.
Seth clenched his fists again and turned towards the window. It was still raining outside, and the city's light was reflecting in the fine tears on the hospital windows. Inside, the air was cold, but in his skin, he still felt the heat of the explosion, of the fire that consumed him entirely. Of everything that was old.
— Maybe you're right, Victor... maybe anger will bring me down. Maybe I'm just a man trying to face what he cannot understand.
Seth took a step towards the window and placed his hand on the sill. His eyes focused on the streets, which now seemed empty, deserted, even in the middle of a city that was still pulsing. With every breath, he felt a new force being born within him. A power he did not ask for, but one he inherited.
Victor didn't know what to say. In a heavy silence, he stayed beside Seth, understanding that his friend was standing at the edge of an abyss, and words could not stop the fall.
In that moment, Seth felt a wave of pain in his chest. A pressure, like a hot pebble rolling through his veins, stopping in a hidden corner of his heart.
— Victor... I could destroy everything I've seen in this world, said Seth, his voice deep and quiet. I could use everything I am to bring hell upon this world... but I won't do that. Not for now.
Victor seemed slightly amazed, but breathed a sigh of relief. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't find the right words. It was clear that Seth was no longer the same man.
Seth turned towards him, smiling, but it was a strange, bitter smile.
— Not for now, he said again, as if speaking to himself.
In that heavy silence, with the sounds of the city seeping into the hospital, Seth knew this change within him could not be stopped. He knew he would come to face those who had destroyed him. He knew he would confront the Saviors and reveal the hidden truth behind every power. But... he was not yet ready to bring them judgment.
Before speaking again, he turned back to the window, looking outside, without glancing at Victor.
— The world will learn what true power really means. One day, they will understand that everything we lost... was not in vain.
Victor looked at Seth, but didn't know what to say. He let out a deep sigh from his chest, beginning to understand that his friend was no longer just a man. He was no longer just Seth.
Now he was a Fire reborn.