Locking the doors, he turned on the hot water, and sank into the hot water with a sigh. After soaking and relaxing in its warm grip, Allizarin took a bath, then put his clothes on as his maid knocked on his room door, informing him that breakfast was ready.

Allizarin quickly went downstairs with his luggage, which consisted of two suite cases and a backpack. As he ate breakfast, his mother, who was talking on the phone, suddenly said to him, ¡°Honey, do you want to go over to your grandfather¡¯s house for a few days?¡±

¡°Um, sure, I guess. Do I even have a grandfather?¡±

His mother had never really taken him to see his relatives. Actually, thinking it over, Allizarin never remembered ever having a relative over.

¡°The man in the car yesterday was your grandfather.¡±

¡°Oh¡¦ so¡¦ um¡¦¡± Allizarin didn¡¯t know how to ask about him, and stuttered, sighed, and just gave up.

But his mother went on, ¡°He was the best father I could ever have, but shortly after my fifteenth birthday he left me, and never came to see me again. I lost touch with him for a while, but your grandfather finally found me at my office. That was him yesterday, the person in the car next to me.¡±

Allizarin sat stunned at his mother¡¯s revelations, but his mother went back to talking on the phone with whoever it was.

Allizarin finished his food, and went up to pack. After half an hour, he went to the living room, as his mother called out from her room saying, ¡°I¡¯ll be out in five minutes, we¡¯ll be leaving then!¡±

He looked at the newspaper, the New York Times.

MYSTERIOUS MUDERS OCCURING ALL OVER EUROPE!

As of today there have been nearly thirty unsolved murder cases, as the bodies found were unscarred or physically hurt in any way. Although reporters say that the bodies all had the look of fear in pasted on their faces, autopsy reports suggest that there was no harm down to the bodies.

Although the first few occurrences were overlooked, after the large total of nearly three-dozen murder cases are making the governments nervous of these killings.

The people of Europe can only hope that their government can stop the mastermind behind these mysterious massacres.

Allizarin was disgusted at the article, threw down the paper, as his mother told him to get in the car. Putting his bags in the trunk, Allizarin got into the car, and promptly put on his disk man, as he closed his eyes knowing the six-hour trip would be very boring.

Allizarin realized that he had probably gone to sleep, as he groggily opened his eyes and looked at his watch. It was 2:30, nearly four hours had passed.

He looked out the window to see that the familiar city view that changed into fields, plains, and hills.

He sat up, and tried to keep his eyes open, was he listened to his disk man. Bobbing his head with the rhythm, suddenly a moving figure out in the distance caught his attention.

Looking more closely, Allizarin saw that the figure wore black robes with a black cloak. The hood of the cloak was up, hiding the figure¡¯s face.

He blinked and suddenly there were three—no—four! Wait! Six! Allizarin watched confused as every time he blinked there were more and more.

Finally these black-cloaked figures stopped appearing. Counting once more, Allizarin saw around twenty of these figures walked towards the road. If they continued at that pace they would reach the road as his car was passing by.

¡°Um—mom?¡± asked Allizarin.

¡°Yes?¡± asked his mother, distracted with something.

¡°Look at those guys over there, the black robed people, who do you think they are?¡±

His mother looked with a frown of annoyance on her face. But when she saw the figures to skid the car to an abrupt halt. At the noise of the screeching car, the figures looked towards the car.

The figures raised their hands, and Allizarin saw wooden sticks, much like that of his grandfather¡¯s grasped in the figures¡¯ hands.

Purple beams of light exploded from the end of the twenty peoples¡¯ sticks, shooting directly in front of the car. Allizarin watched in slow motion, as if time froze, the beam hitting the road a few feet from the car. When the cement and purple light collided, an ear-splitting roar filled the air.

Out of pure instinct, Allizarin opened his door, and jump out while screaming at his mother to do the same. Out of the corner of his eyes, Allizarin saw his mother saying words that sounded of Latin, while also holding one of those queer wooden sticks. A sharp flash blinded Allizarin from seeing if his mother as an explosion caught him in the middle of his jump, scorching his clothes and burning his skin as Allizarin screamed from the pain of the fire. Flying ten feet into the air, more than twenty feet from where the car was, Allizarin landed hand first, and felt his left wrist break from the impact.

Allizarin whimpered, as he no longer had the use of his left hand, got up unsteadily and watched as the last bits of what remained of his car burn away. The area where the purple light had hit was a crater nearly five meters in diameter, and six feet deep. Another ten feet of grass around the crater was either scorched or burned to dust.

Allizarin looked around trying to spot the figures that had caused this explosion.

They were still a few minutes away, and did not seem to see him, as they continued their leisurely pace towards the burning wreckage.

Allizarin suddenly realized that he had not seen his mother. Calling for her, Allizarin walked slowly and unsteadily around what was left of the car and the crater.

And there she was, her eyes open, cuts all over her face, a pool of blood surrounding her body. But she was still breathing. Allizarin felt tears run down his face as he cradled his mother¡¯s head in his arms.

¡°Mom, just wait, we¡¯ll get help¡¦ we will¡¦ please hold on,¡± Allizarin cried, tears pouring from his face, as he tried to not to think of his mother dying in his arms.

¡°I-I¡¯m f-fi—¡° spoke his mother, her voice strained as if she could not breath properly.

¡°No, mom, don¡¯t talk, save your strength. It¡¯s going to be alright!¡± Allizarin tried to interrupt, but his mother lifted her hand to his lips to shut him up.

¡°I-I¡¯m s-so sor-ry. I should h-have listened t-to A-Albus. I¡¯m s-s-so¡¦ sorry¡¦ I-I l-l-love¡¦y-you¡¦¡±

Her hand fell from his lips, as she drew her last breath, her eyes still open, but without life, dull hazel eyes.

At her death, there was a sudden wrench, as if a wall somewhere within him were torn away.

Allizarin stood slowly, as he looked in disbelief. The dream he had experienced in during the night before crashed into his mind. He could have prevented this, but he had been foolish and forgot; now his mother was dead because of him. Because of him. Allizarin was in shock, as he stared into his dead mothers eyes. No, this cannot be happening! NO, this CANNOT BE HAPPENING!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOO~~~~!!!!!!!!

¡°NOOOOOO~~~~~~~~!¡± screamed Allizarin, in hatred of the evil people, at the loss of his mother, in the pain of his injuries. He screamed out all his emotions, and with his scream heat filled him, the burning heat of power. He could felt every stone, every plant; he was connected to it all. Terrible heat. Crackling heat.

The robed figures halted thirty meters from where he stood, pointed their sticks at him, but Allizarin didn¡¯t care.

From the clear sky lightning came, each bolt crisp and sharp, searing his eyes, each bolt striking the figures with precision, never missing.

The heat. The terrible heat of power.

He fell to his knees; he thought he could hear his tears sizzling on his cheeks. ¡°NO!¡± He clutched at the tuffs of wiry burned grass for some hold on reality; the grass burst in flame. ¡°Please nooooooooooo!¡±

Emotions engulfed him. It opened the gateway to his core, the core that held his true power.

The wind rose with his voice, howled with his voice, roared with his voice across the plains, whipping the flames to a wall of fire that sped from him, crashing into the enemy, faster than a horse could run. Fires burned the trees and plants; the mountains afar trembled with their screams, screams almost as loud as the wind and his voice.

He was mad, he knew. The insanity at his mother¡¯s death overwhelmed him.

Mad.

He beat the ground with his fist, and the earth tolled like a gong. He bruised his hands on stony soil, and the earth trembled. Ripples ran through the ground ahead of him in ever-rising waves, waves of dirt and rock towering over the enemy, breaking over them as the mountains shattered from the strain of power exploding from within Allizarin Phyre. A boiling mass of flesh and rubble churned across the dark cloaked figures.

The seemingly ever-deep and vast core, the core of his spirit, unleashed its last horror then was empty.

The wind died. The screams died. The earth was still. Dust and smoke swirled back down the hills to surround him.

He was fighting consciousness now. His limbs were weak from the draining of his core power.

Tired.

As the haze surrounding him parted, leaving a dome of clear, clean air ten feet high, walled by billowing smoke and dust. Allizarin looked the death and destruction around him. The earth was ripped, mountains were shattered, fires burned the forests, and dead bodies littered the floor. He had caused this. He was the reason this had happened.

Allizarin felt the arms of darkness finally get a firm grip at him. As he failed the fight for consciousness, his knees folded without him telling it to; Allizarin fainted before he hit the ground.