THE MOMENT
A brilliant flash of light pierced Amber's sleep. She woke up instantly; but, the light was gone. She sat up in bed in her dim room and looked around. Orange morning light glowed around her curtains, but it was too weak to shine through.
"Was that a dream?" the flash happened so fast she was ready to dismiss it. Then, she saw the time: 10:32 a.m. She had slept in, which was odd for her. But, it was too late for such little light. Amber slid off her bed and stretched as she padded to the window.
"What the Hell?" she interrupted her stretched and pulled the curtain open for a better look. The two-story house she had seen every day for the past five years was gone, along with the rest of the block across from her home. She could only see a barren, burnt wasteland beyond her street. Dark, red-orange clouds cluttered the sky and filtered the light that came through. And yet, she could see a single figure on the charred plain. He seemed to be moving in her direction and Amber had questions.
Logically, she knew she should be quite frightened. Or, at least, more concerned. However, Amber had a compulsive curiosity. A need to always know what was going on. She found her phone had no signal, and she could see no one else was out there asking questions. She decided it was up to her and she hurried to get dressed.
Amber rushed out her door and discovered the houses on both sides of her were still intact. She did a quick spin to look past the fences. As far as she could tell, everything behind her house was still intact; and, the figure was getting closer to her block. She did not hesitate to rush at him.
He was easier to identify as Amber drew closer. He looked like a portly teenager that was likely still in high-school. He had a mess of brown curls atop his head, and he noticed Amber. He changed direction to meet her.
"Good morning," he waved at her. Amber did not expect him to be friendly; she was there in spite of her nerves. But, he stopped once he was close enough to converse, and he wore a genuinely happy smile.
"Good morning..," Amber nodded at him. "Who are you?" she asked. He chuckled.
"My name is Aurelio Luna. What's yours?" he asked. Amber narrowed her eyes at him.
"What did you do to the neighborhood?" she asked. "Are you going to kill me?" She reasoned that if he was going to kill her, she didn't have to ask any more questions. Aurelio chuckled and shook his head.
"Not today. I'm in a great mood," he said. He sighed and let himself fall backward. But, a black leather recliner appeared behind him before he hit the ground. He stretched as soon as he landed, then visibly relaxed into it. "I accidentally torched the block..," he said as he gestured at the blackened ground around them. Then, he gestured further back to the other neighborhoods that were no longer there. "...again. I made an upgrade for myself," he giggled like a child. "'... but, it's stronger than I expected. It's taking some getting used to. Don't worry, all your neighbors will be back once I get the hang of it."
Amber stared at him. She was trying to make sense of the situation; but, she felt like her mind was fighting against her. Her mind was insisting that there wasn't anything to make sense of. The explanation was already given. Amber did not like the feeling of distrusting her own thoughts.
"Why do I trust you?" she asked. Aurelio grinned.
"Way stronger than I expect," he said. "It's a side effect of my upgrade. I'm not using it right now, but maybe that last flash was close enough to affect you. I can generate a sort of 'trusting aura' if that makes sense," he said. "But, it only works if I mean what I say."
"That's a convenient detail," Amber said. She did not want to trust him, despite already trusting him completely. But, as long as she was alive, she could get more answers. "So, what's your new power? Like a fire blast or something?"
"Along those lines," he nodded. "You could say I have the power of the Sun now," he chuckled.
"The sun?" Amber did not hold back her laughter. She did not want to like him as much as she did and she hoped that some mean-spirited teasing might help her. "You're destroying maybe a block or two at a time, that's hardly, 'THE POWER OF THE SUN'," she giggled along with her sarcasm. "It's barely a blaze."
"Yeah," Aurelio nodded with the grin still on his face. "I guess I technically don't have the power yet," he said as he got to his feet. He pulled a red translucent card from his pocket and held it out in front of him. Amber stood slightly to the side. He wasn't showing her directly; but, she got a good look at it. A golden sun was etched into the card, and Amber heard a strange, deep voice fill the air.
[El Sol] "The hard part is enduring the activation," he said. Then, he spoke a phrase that Amber did not know what to make of. "Oversoul," he said. Before she could wonder what he meant, a bright, golden flash happened around her; but, she wasn't blinded.
She watched with puzzled horror as Aurelio's hair and skin ignited into orange flames and he grit his teeth to keep from screaming. After a few moments he shook his head and the flames disappeared. He was breathing heavily from the exertion but he was otherwise unburned.
"Yeah, that's hot..," he said with a light chuckle.
"Are you okay?" Amber asked.
"Yeah," Aurelio nodded. "And, sorry again...," he said.
"What? For what?" Amber asked. Aurelio nodded at something behind her and she turned to look at her house. Except, not even the ashes were left anywhere on the block.
"Don't worry," Aurelio said. "I'll respawn your neighbors and your house when I'm done."