As my finger traced the symbol, the trail of ink turned to one of fire. The paper burst into flames in my fingers, then fell away in ashes as I reached the end of the Augmentation.
From those flames, a figure appeared, small at first but growing larger with each passing second. Its raging heat forced me back as sweat streamed from my every pore. The air tasted of ashes.
At last, the fire golem stood before me. It was a figure of pure fire, like the ones I had fought to gain my powers but more heavily set. Nearly nine feet tall, it towered over me.
“What is thy will, master?” it asked in a voice like the crackling of a house fire.
I looked down at Hamon on the arena floor as he struggled to his feet. Fear coiled in his eyes as he stared at my summoned golem. With this creature at my side, I could easily beat him, ensuring my own survival. It was the obvious choice.
But what sort of man would I be if I saved myself while my friends were in danger?
“The men in green tabards.” I pointed at the Wysaro soldiers in the arena. “Fight them until they are beaten or flee.”
“Yes, master.” The golem left scorched footprints on the battered planks as it strode down the seats. The giant launched into the middle of the Wysaro forces and lashed out with flaming fists. The guardsmen’s line waved, then collapsed as the tide of battle turned once again.
“Fool,” Hamon snarled. “Now, I’ll destroy you.”
Fire flew from his weapons, from his eyes, from his mouth, until it was hard to see the body beneath the flames. Augmentation was no longer a tool under his control. It had taken control of his body and now rode him like a beast.
Against such an inferno, I had one answer. I closed my eyes and called upon the power of ash. It ran through my flesh, as cold and lifeless as a corpse. My skin went pale at the chill, then gray as the ash Vigor filled it, making me immune to fire.
Hamon slammed into me, his swords discarded, his whole body a weapon and a channel for his rage. I fell hard, and my skull bounced off the edge of a seat. Hamon landed on top of me and pinned me down. The Sundered Heart Sword fell from my hand and clattered against the planks before it fell through a gap to the ground below.
The fire flaring around me should have been agonizing. Even through the Augmentation, I could sense its heat, could tell that it should have been blistering my skin, boiling fat, and burning muscle. But I felt none of that. Even my robes were untouched by the heat. Fire Immunity had encased me in a thin, protective barrier made of ash.
Though the ashen armor kept me safe from Hamon’s fire, it didn’t protect me from his strength, which had been been vastly increased. He hit me in the face, and my head spun as stars danced across my vision. I raised my arms to fend off the next few blows while I regained my senses. He had the advantage from above and delivered punches where my arms couldn’t block them. My ash armor held, but pain flowed through me as swift and intense as any magical power. I hoped like hell that the worst I’d face afterward would be bruises.
Once my vision had returned enough to see what I was doing, I threw a punch of my own straight into his face. It was hard to get my full force behind it while lying down, but I caught him right in the nose. There was a crunch, and blood sprayed from his nostrils as it landed in dried, black spots as flames evaporated the liquid.
Hamon howled in pain and rage, but there was no letting up in his attacks. He pounded at me remorselessly, and it was all I could do to fend off the worst of the blows.
Beneath us, the seats had caught fire from Hamon’s magic. Wood was consumed from the edges in and fell away in blackened chunks. The bench beneath us creaked, bent, and then, gave way.
We fell through the seats before we landed on the ground in a shower of ashes and broken timber. The fall knocked the breath out of me, and I laid gasping for a long moment, too long to take advantage of the opportunity. By the time I got moving, Hamon was on me again with his fists flailing.
I couldn’t win this by force, not with such power flowing through him. Worse, the heat was becoming uncomfortable against my skin as Fire Immunity started to fade. It took too much Vigor for me to summon it again so soon. Another minute, and I would be frying like bacon on a hot pan.
I forced myself to stay calm and reached out with another of my powers.
Hamon gasped as a cloud of ash appeared around his head. He waved his hands through it as he tried to brush it away, but more ash came back in to fill the gaps. With a cry of frustration, he jerked to his feet and emerged from the cloud.
This was my chance. I scrambled clear of where he had trapped me and grabbed a fistful of ash as I went. Hamon lashed out with his foot and kicked me in the ribs, but I rolled with the blow and landed against one of the poles that held up the arena.
I focused on my hand as my fingers and Vigor squeezed tight around the ash. As magical energy flowed into the substance, it compressed into something new.
Hamon strode over, his cheeks smeared with soot. He kicked me again, but this time, I was ready. I grabbed hold of his foot, pulled, and dragged him
