I closed my eyes. I was done. I knew I wouldn't be coming home anymore. I would never see my family again and the friendly faces of the village. All because of my foolishness, and I didn't even manage to warn that man.

But... Nothing happened.

I opened my eyes, the things blood-red eyes seemed focused on something else. As I wondered why the monsters would hesitate now, I heard a humming. I looked back and saw the man from earlier, now I felt I could focus better on his person, he seemed to be wearing a full set of leather clothes, it didn't seem to offer protection at all, it just looked luxurious. I took this chance to run towards him, he was my only hope of surviving!

However, as I got close, I noticed his wide-open eyes. They were staring at the things not in surprise or like someone was getting ready to defend himself, but like a beast in a man's skin, ready to savor on his prey. I couldn't do this anymore, I fell to my knees, waiting for this nightmare to end.

The man ignored me to his side, he started walking towards the beasts like an old man taking a stroll through his garden. He kept humming an unknown song while slowly taking his steps, and even the beasts, that seemed to be driven only by instinct and cruelty, felt danger coming from him.

One of the things couldn't take it anymore, it turned around as if to flee, but before it managed a single step, it died. The man had extended his left hand and something hit the thing on it's back, flames erupted and it burned into a crisp while the fire quickly subsided on its own.

The other thing was knocked down by the explosion, it quickly got on its feet and jumped towards the man, with great speed. The man crossed his arms and sidestepped the attack, before the thing could touch the ground, he sliced with his right hand while holding a blade. The thing was cleanly cut in half and the two parts burst into flames, then it fell on the ground. The fire, once more disappeared on its own, and the blade that seemed to also, be made of fire, faded away into nothing.

He turned to me. He looked at me with his obsessed eyes for a second, it sent shivers down my spine, but they soon turned into eyes that resembled an ordinary person, the change was surprising as it was scary.

"Brat, why did you follow me here?"

"I... I-I, wanted to warn yo-you of the fo-forest's dan-danger."

"Just for that? Despite being just a child, you almost got devoured by two undead dogs for such a stupid reason?"

Being provoked like that, made me want to argue, even if this man wasn't normal.

"S-Sir, I didn't know you were so... strong, I just wanted to help."

"Kid, you are weak, too weak to even help yourself, even less to help others."

He looked up to the blue sky as if in deep thoughts. I just stood there, still trying to understand what had just happened.

"Kid, do you want to be strong?"

...

Uhhhhh, as sunlight sent discomfort through my body, it woke me up. Good morning, me.

I had that dream again, huh? I hate undead! But since I did not take form yet, I can only sigh mentally. Master William, where are you now? Hmmm, probably traveling or researching. No matter, I have myself and Ignis to worry about for now. I once again take my salamander form. Since I have no fire magic, there's no point in keeping the 'fire' in the name.

Ignis is still sleeping. His body was in much worse shape than mine, so it's to be expected, and my tiredness was just on a mental level. I'm not sure if I can even get physically tired anymore with this body! Taking this into account, I better work on my human transformation for a while. I will try not to overexert myself again, lest I become a water puddle while we travel.

...

I think I'm getting the hang of this. I'm rested and getting more experienced with this body, I'm sure I can solve this dilemma in no time! As I try to keep myself motivated, a hand touches what would be my shoulder, if a salamander had one.

"Good morning, Ignis."

"Already up, huh? We better not waste any more time. Let's get going, Multum gets closer by the second."

I get on his back again. We go down fast from the tree, jumping from branch to branch. Are you sure you are not a demon monkey?

We keep going south, we encounter some animals along the way, but even the boldest (or stupidest) of them, a real fat bear, is made to flee with a howl from Ignis. I think there was even honey on its mouth... weird. Soon, we leave the forest.