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“I want to burn.”
“Won't you let me burn?”
“Hotter. Brighter! Harder!!”
“..Why won't you let me burn?”
“Let me show you how good it feels!”
Kray awoke with heavy sight, slouched forward and allowed himself a few minutes of deep breathing to quiet down the voices that haunted his every day consciousness. Then he swiftly arose to start his morning routine without further delay.
1... 2... 3... 10... 20... 50... 1... 2... 3...
The usual full-body calisthenics after attaching his prosthetic, before he headed out to a more equipped gym, where he continued to push, pull, and strain his body further and further, until the voices lingering inside his head could be heard no more.
He got busy with paperwork afterwards. As the governor of the city, there was always much to be done; he shook many hands, wrote speeches, attended meetings, looked into reported city issues, and appeased to the public. After all that, there was the Parnassus project--a secret work that poised him as the soon-to-be savior of humanity, where there was continuous lab work to oversee, direct and test.
Kray allowed himself little idle time. For his mind had to remain sharp, attentive and focused at all times. One small slip-up, and the voices of the accursed Promare would rise once again.
“Brighter! Hotter! More!!”
“I want to burn more!!”
“Let us all burn at once!”
Because of his constant public appearance, Kray took every precaution. Not only with his busy schedule and trained body. He'd implemented safety nets within himself, should the Promare ever grow out of some spasmic loss of control again.
Derived from the freezing technology he stole from Dr. Deus, Kray had injected himself with a variant of the Absolute Zero Bullet. His outfit had been tailored to be especially resistant to sudden changes in temperature to a degree, and his prosthetic facilitated deviating any incoming surges to the missing limb, helping to keep it all at bay.
Under normal circumstances, all of these safety nets worked. He was free to reside as the governor of the Autonomous Republic of Promepolis without waver. He never gave in to the voices of the Promare, who constantly urged him to burn everything to the ground. No. He would pose as a normal human. He almost BECAME normal, instead of having any association with the type of people who've terrorized mankind for three decades.
It worked. It always worked. Except for one tiny little factor...
“I live to make you proud, Sir. I'm very honored!”
Galo Thymos stood straight with a salute, eyes sparkling in awe and admiration to his hero. His brand new red gear looking a little over-sized. And his blue hair stood at ridiculously pointed ends. But Kray regarded him in much the same fashion as was expected of a gentle public figure, with an added pat to Galo's shoulder in a slight show of familiarity toward the boy he'd personally endorsed.
“I know you will do well, Galo. That's why I trust you with this position,” his normally soft voice affirmed.
“Alright, you two, perfect pose for the camera!”
A flash to contain the tender moment for the press, and Kray was ready to excuse himself for his other duties, when Galo closed in again.
“Sir. I really mean it! This is a lot for me. I'm so-- I can't wait--” Galo blabbered through his mouth, exaggerated movements in his gestures. His hands looked much bigger in those gloves. He'd never been shy to tell Kray how much he looked up to him, but now that he was fully grown, Kray could tell he was attempting to be more formal.
Coming from any other person, it would've been a little endearing. But not with Galo, so Kray cut him off. “It's alright, Galo. I'm leaving the care of Burning Rescue to you--”
“Just like you did for me back then, Sir!!” Galo answered with amazing glee. “This is why it means a lot to me! I get to.. I get to almost play your role, Sir! But for other people! This is perfect for me, my soul burns--”
And this is where it happened. Hero worshipping from the public was expected. Contained. The Governor of Promepolis is very much looked up to thanks to his city's safety standards and precautions against fires. Kray could be proud of that, even if it part of it was thanks to stolen tech. He could deal with the surface worship. And yes, part of him wanted to represent hope for humanity. That's what his secret project and upcoming inventions were all about.
But Galo made it so much more personal. Galo brought out a tale that was based on the known Truth...
“It's just like you did for me, Sir!”
"My soul burns!"
...But it was a truth that was twisted into a LIE.
“Burn more!! More!! Brighter!! Hotter!!”
“It feels so good! You KNOW it feels good!”
"LET US BURN ONCE AGAIN!!"
The governor of Promepolis hated Galo Thymos, not because of his person. The tenacious boy could be described as someone slightly annoying, maybe even clingy. But that wasn't enough to hate a person. No. To Kray Foresight, Galo was something else. It was that face. The face that reminded Kray about that night--
“IT FEELS SO GOOD TO BURN!! BURN IT ALL!! BURN AGAIN!!!”
--The night when Kray Foresight became a filthy burnish.
“You know it feels good.”
"You KNOW."
“Why won't you let me burn?”
“I want to burn.”
“Let my soul burn”
After he ran off from Galo (as gracefully as a public figure is allowed to), Kray clenched his left prosthetic hand tighter than normal human strength could allow, and left a dent by the bathroom's counter. He counted his breaths. Four in. Six out. Five in. Seven out. There are calculations that will need sorting out. Heris is being stubborn on alternative methods of warping that he's sure won't work, but indulges her anyway. After that, the drill needs to be tested for durability against unknown metals. And then--
“Sir.”
Galo Thymos...
“We want to burn brighter, Sir!!”
"Sir, we must burn brighter! Hotter!"
If only Galo Thymos would disappear. Then Kray could bury that night forever, forever...
“Let us burn up at once! Just like we did to when that boy was around! His soul wants to burn!”
And then maybe the Promare would stop using his fucking face to remind him of who he is, of what he's done..!
“Burn it all up! Just like that night!”
“We live for the fire! We will care for you!”
"We understand you, Kray Foresight!"
That night, Kray was just a student who committed arson against his will, burning down Galo's home, Galo's family, Galo's future.
~“I want to grow up to be just like you, Sir!”~
And whenever Kray would gaze upon Galo's little kid smile, always looking up to Kray. Always bringing up that lie...
"BURN! I WANT TO BURN!!!!"
Perhaps a more rational mind would be able to separate the two, but for Kray Foresight that luxury was begone years ago, under the constant never-ending voices of the fire contained within his body. Many years have passed and that face kept popping up. The face of a kid who sees something that isn't THERE. A child dissolving in a fire in awe.
"My soul burns--"
"SHUT UP!" a metal fist slammed hard against the surface, emitting steam into the air. Ice within his body ready to cool his suddenly heated hand. Five in, seven out. Five in, seven out.
Six in. Eight out.
"...It will all be over soon." Kray said after a throaty sight. He's made many plans, and planted as many safety nets. Using Galo's own admiration against him, he proposed he take a position at Burning Rescue, the job with the highest mortality rate, and the boy had agreed. It will only be a matter of time now. It only will be a matter of probability.
Kray eased the pressure in his hand and straightened up. He fixed a few stranded hairs as he composed himself in the mirror. He will need to look right as any day, ready for the public that knows him for his pleasing smile, his assuring presence.
“Damn you, Galo. Why must you always bring that up? If only you would shut your fucking mouth. ...But it won't matter soon.” His voice gradually returned to his customary gentle tone, and he adjusted his left glove and smiled.
“Soon, all those lies will become real. And you were only a minor misstep. Your soul will burn away indeed.”
There is much testing to be done still. The crackdown for the other repugnant burnish in hiding will come around. He has no pity for them, for they did not willfully shut down the voices from the fire and gave in. What silly little beings. But he will remember them as the fuel that will drive mankind to their future, and to his own salvation from them.
And the Galo-shaped Promare that constantly haunted him will be no more.