Solflare: The Painter's Secret

Birds flew above the warm clouds of Thule as days turned into weeks, weeks into months, and months into years.

Joyous screams tore through the streets as collapsed buildings rose again, aided by otherworldly leaders, including those of Westeros.

Yet among the joyous faces and warmth filled citizens, one person remained unhinged.

Tall green grasses choked the front of the Storm Mansion, growing five feet tall without anyone to cut them down.

Crickets and insects hopped in and out of the iron bars as if it were their private playground. Leaves scattered in the courtyard as crows claimed the walking paths as their own haven.

A sharp, tangy scent drifted from the fountain water, which had become a graveyard for rotting leaves and a breeding ground for bloodsucking mosquitoes.

Dancing shadows stretched long across the walls and untrimmed trees as the late afternoon sun threw sharp light over the compound.

A mixture of cricket chirps and crow cries tore through the peaceful night sky, and a haze of red mosquitoes rose from the stagnant fountain.

Water dripped off their tiny wings as they flapped, pushing a gust of air back across the fountain.

Glittering light sparkled on the tips of their beaks as they focused on the humans still finding refuge within the mansion.

A bright golden light tore through the sky and reflected in the shades of the cracked glass windows before it dashed into the ground, burning the already dead land.

Worried silver gray eyes flashed behind the fraying curtains as the mosquitoes swarmed the glass. They stopped, sensing another human staring straight into their small eyes.

"Was it worth it?" Thunder rumbled through the sky, flickering lightning across the cracked window sill.

Strands of silver hair swept through the air and whipped the thick, fraying brown curtains as Zoe turned. "Leon, was it worth it to kill them?"

Black dots lingered beneath her eyes as she closed them for a sharp, deep breath. The hair on her wrists rose as fabric flapped in the far distance.

When she cracked her eyes open, she froze. A burning wave of air flapped at her face when two cloths, one woven with red and gold hems and the other woven solely with black, tangled themselves in front of her.

Saliva snaked down her throat as she gulped, focusing on the floating fabrics moving like souls three feet away from her.

Flickering embers flew up from the floor in front of the slightly burnt sofa as a dirt covered black boot shifted.

Bones in his legs hardened and groaned as he straightened his ankles. "Yes, it was."

Chilled air flashed through the cracks in the window sill, waving under the tips of Zoe's white hair as she sighed. "And at what cost?"

A pink glow danced across her wrists as she focused on the mixture of blue, gold, gray, red, and black glows in Leon's eyes.

Bones crackled within Leon as he clenched his fist. "At the cost of everything."

The golden rose outlines on his right wrist glowed as he slowly opened his fingers and stared straight at his palms. "They all deserved it. Every last one of them."

Thick veins appeared on his skin as the black glow overwhelmed the gold, red, blue, and gray.

Just as the black glow filled his eyeballs, the black cloth wrapped itself around the gold and red, squeezing it hard.

Fabric tore as the gold and red cloth finally loosened its guard.

Zoe's heels clicked as she moved two steps forward and stretched her right arm. "But not everyone was bad to your family, Leon."

Tiny measures of her pink Soul bloom seeped out of her fingertips, dashing straight toward the black cloth still strangling the gold and red one.

"Especially the ladies you told me you couldn't stop yourself from killing at the Baek estate." Zoe shifted glances between her Soul bloom giving the gold and red cloth strength and the dead look Leon carried. "They even pleaded, yet you killed them without hesitating. Why?"

The walls of the mansion vibrated as the sheer power of her voice blasted them. Cracks spread through the drywall, followed by a shower of sparkling debris.

Hot air gashed out of Leon's nose as his jet black hair stood on end. A wide smile tore across his face, his dark eyes glowing as memories of the maids at the Baek estate flashed in his head.

"I did it because they crossed my path." A wave of sharp light dashed out of him as he remembered splattering the head of the second lady. "They would have been alive if not for being part of the Baek family."

"But they pleaded and told you it was their first day at work!" All the warmth in Zoe's face died as her eyes sunk. "LEON, THIS IS NOT YOU!"

Mocking laughter dashed out of Leon's mouth as he lifted his gaze to the trembling ceiling. "You are right to correct me on that, ZOE QING."

The black cloth disjointed itself from the gold and red as he moved a step forward. It wrapped itself around Leon's neck as he stopped two feet away from Zoe. "THEY MADE ME THIS WAY."

Chills ran down Zoe's spine as she saw another version of Leon she hadn't seen before, staring at her as if watching her soul weep for the man she knew. "But…"

"There is no but, ZOE QING." One side of the black cloth flapped against Leon's chest while the other flared behind him like flames. "There were no buts when they were tormenting me and my family."

The bright stars filling the sky from Thule to Agatha flared as if running away from something that wasn't supposed to exist in the first place.

Just as the last glowing star flashed once and vanished, a dotted violet light appeared in the sky.

Wood, metal, and plastic groaned as citizens across Thule and Agatha pushed their doors open.

Women between the ages of sixty and seventy stared at the violet light with dead eyes, while those under thirty shouted in joy.

The dotted violet light dashed through the sky like a shooting star. It expanded as it moved forward, filling the entire sky when it finally stopped over Bastion City.

Sharp crow cries exploded in the Storm compound, drawing both Zoe and the Destroyer version of Leon toward the glow descending in front of the fountain.