MLTNL P7- "Bravery"

"Bravery" is the seventh Part of "Miracula Luxia: The Northern Lights". It was released on 15.03.2020.
== Plot ==
Jared, the hero everyone needs in this troubled world, has almost reached his goal- the goal towards absolute power and clarity of the mind.
However. The last challenge is going to be the hardest out of the previous six.
The reason is because the final and most important trait of Jared will be tested- the ability to show bravery, even in the most risky situation.
Will Jared finally reach the last light and succeed? Or will he plummet into the darkness below? There is only one way to find that out...
== Story ==
The spirit stares at Jared blankly, unsure what to say to him about his last Challenge.
"Look Jared."- He begins- "I know that you have been very entusiastic about completing all of the Challenges (And you actually completed most of them!), but I've got to warn you that this last one will be the hardest of them all. The challenge that will test your moral abilities, but not quite like the last one."
"What do you mean?"- Jared wonders.
This time, the spirit opens a portal instead of emitting a bright light. He shows the young hero what is on the other side of the portal.
From what he sees, Jared manages to notice a fire in the distance. There are many firefighters trying to stop it from spreading, but so far the strategy is not working.
It is up to a single hero to stop this madness once and for all, for the good of everyone around the house.
Jared nods.
"I understand."- He says and approaches the portal.
Before he enters, the spirit pats him on the shoulder. For good luck.
"I know that you can do it. Don't... ask me why I do so. I just do. Go ahead and show them that you care about them."
Jared smiles, nods and enters the portal to help.
He runs towards the burning house and sees what is truly happening.
Apparently, the fire has started on the third floor, having spread on the other two not long after. However, the fire with the most intensity remains on the third floor.
Jared notices a grieving man and approaches him as the firefighters around him fight valiantly against the raging fire.
"Are you okay, sir?"- Jared asks him.
The man shakes his head and tears up even more.
"How can I be okay, stranger? Of course I'm not! My wife died in the fire, trying to save our son, who remained there with our pet. We were unable to save them, so she just said "I'll go get them". But, later they found her dead. Died while burning in the fire."
Jared nods.
"My condolences, sir. If you don't mind me asking, is there something in there, other than the fire... and the firefighters?"
The man nods tearfully.
"My Goodness, yes! Yes, I did! I noticed one of those fiery things before I fled from the house for the second time. It tried to shoot fire at me, but I barely evaded it."
"I should have died back there! Why was I so foolish... "
Jared thinks about the current situation for a few seconds.
"It looks like the fire is not caused by the humans, but rather by the creatures. From what the man told me about them, I came to the conclusion that they are Flame Sprites- very dangerous creatures, who have no problem burning things... and people... around them. And they also attract each other. One sprite can get the attention of at least five (and a maximum) of eight sprites in the vicinity with minimum effort. That... is what makes it truly dangerous."
"If I want to save the kid and the pet (if they are still alive, that is), I will have to bypass the firefighters' barricade and enter the house. From there, I will go ahead and slay any Fire Sprites that try to kill me and go to the second floor. From there, I must find an emergency extinguisher and use it, along with my water abilities to extinguish the fire that blocks the second staircase. Finally, once I am on the third floor, I will search for the child and the pet, using what little of the extinguisher I have left, call the father and the firefighters to help me climb down and the task is done."
Without thinking twice, Jared bypasses the makeshift barricade and enters the house.
"Hey kid, what do you think you're doing?!"- One of the firefighters shouts at our hero.
Jared doesn't react. He simply says:
"Don't worry about me. I will handle this.
Jared enters the house as some of the firefighters watch him, confused by his sudden bravery.
"What is he? Some kind of a hero?"- One of the firefighters asks their boss.
The boss recognizes Jared and smiles.
"He's not "some kind of a hero". He is a hero! This is the son of Aleks Kaos himself- the legendary kid Jared Kaos. He's been helping people for so long. So many people know him."
The other firefighter nods.
"Jared Kaos. Maybe he'll turn the tides of this battle with the fire and those... things?"
The boss nods.
"He can do it. I believe in him."
He coughs to correct himself.
"We believe in him."
Jared enters the first floor of the house and encounters three Fire Sprites that immediately attack him. With a few swings from his sword, he manages to push the fiery blasts back to their senders, causing them to become briefly stunned, giving Jared the opportunity to put them down for good.
Once the three sprites are dead, Jared notices that two more have managed to hear him fighting in the commotion that is happening and attempt to silently approach him from behind. After a few more swings (and a single, painful burn inflicted by one of the Sprites), Jared manages to slay them.
Jared runs towards the first staircase, but finds out that it is trapped by the fire. He quickly swings his sword to create a small wave of water. Once the wave is finally done, he releases it on the raging fire, putting it out and opening the staircase.
He quickly goes on to the second floor and notices that the way to the fire extinguisher is blocked by two of the Fire Sprites- one on the left and one on the right of it. Somehow, the creatures know that someone will probably come to get the fire extinguisher, so they stay near it to make sure that it does not happen.
As for the stairway to the final third floor, well... it looks even worse than it looked on the outside. Not only is there a fire blocking the way, but there is also a huge chunk of the ceiling, which has fallen off and blocked the way completely.
"It's showtime."- Jared says and approaches the Fire Sprites.
The Fire Sprites reach aggressively to his approach, immediately shooting at him when he comes at shooting range.
The boy swings his sword around him, effectively managing to parry the fireballs and sending them back to the blazes. A stab from the blade for each one of them, and their miserable lives are over.
Jared grabs the fire extinguisher and notices that it is only half full.
"Ugh."- He says- "Not good. Not good."
"But it's still better than just using raw water. Especially against a fire of this size!"
He takes the fire extinguisher and uses it, with a combination of his water spells to put out the huge fire.
After about five minutes of hard work, Jared finally manages to do so.
But there is one last obstacle left before Jared finally manages to reach the third and final floor, and that is the chunk of the ceiling.
Jared realizes that he has to use his Earth abilities to move the chunk out of the way, as he is not strong enough to do so with just his own muscles.
He summons a huge stone hand and commands it to move the huge piece out of the way.
After a few minutes of struggling, he finally manages to throw it away for good.
He retracts the hand and goes upstrairs to see if anyone in there is still alive.
From a first glance, it seems like there are no survivors out here. There are many pieces of broken ceiling all around the floor and it is very likely that whoever survived was crushed by it.
Jared finds the corpse of the man's wife and sighs.
"She didn't deserve this."- He says to himself and keeps looking around.
The fire suddenly spreads, preventing him from getting any further than where he currently is.
With a sinking heart, Jared decides to go back to the grieving father and tell him the sad fate of his son and their pet.
But, before he can get downstairs, he hears the cry of a child coming from nearby.
In fact, it is very close.
Jared realizes that the child is still alive and continues to search for him, suffering some severe burns in the process.
Eventually, he finds him, mostly safe in his room, tucked in his bed along with the family pet, which Jared realizes is a cat.
Staring at the cat, Jared has little hope that it will survive.
"It looks like it has suffered a few very severe burns on its fur. But... sadly, there is nothing I can do about it. It is too hurt to continue."
Jared grabs the child and goes outside the room, but before he can flee with him, the child grabs his arm and shakes it.
"Kitty! Kitty!"- It says.
Jared understands what it means. The child wants him to save the cat, even though it is in a very critical condition.
Jared nods, understanding what he wants him to do. He quickly goes back into the room and saves the cat. Then, the three of them flee the room, just as a huge piece of ceiling falls and narrowly misses our hero.
With a sigh of relief, Jared goes down the stairs, unaware that the last of the Fire Sprites is behind him.
The young hero notices the creature just as it is about to fire at him.
With a single blow, he manages to push the fireball away and with another slays the creature.
The child giggles excitedly. Apparently, it has never seen such action before.
"Let's go. I will take you two to safety."- Jared says and runs back to the first floor.
Just when he thinks that he is about to get out with the child and the pet, Jared gets hit by falling ash.
Suddenly, his right eye gets really hurt. He barely gets out of the mess and gives the child back to its father, along with the pet.
"They're... safe now."- Jared says as he sits to rest.
The man smiles.
"I can't thank you enough, young hero. What you just did... it was amazing. I thought that you were dead, too!"
"Well, it did not happen. True heroes never give up."- The boy says and closes his eyes.
When he opens them, he finds himself in the same room with the portal. The spirit watches him, amazed by what just happened in front of his eyes.
"... Incredible."- He mumbles- "Everything that you did, just to save the grieving father's child from the fire. You truly are the hero that everyone has been expecting for so long."
Jared touches his eye. Somehow, the injury from the fire is gone.
"Don't try to find the injury. It was just an illusion."
"Everything around you was an illusion."
"So... it was all just... to test me?"- Jared wonders.
The spirit nods.
"Indeed it was. Now listen closely, because a great evil is within our temple. That evil must be eradicated, and you will be the one to do so. Are you ready?"
Jared raises his eyebrow.
"Ready? I am more than ready to defeat this fiend once and for all!"
The spirit shakes his head.
"This is the worst task of all that I could have given to you, Jared. You will have to fight yourself. Are you sure that you are ready for this?"
Jared nods.
"No matter if the evil is within me or within someone else, I will keep fighting against it until there is nothing left of them. The evil shall not be spared!"
The spirit smiles.
"I see. Your dedication shines in this situation, young hero. And that's why I am more than sure now that you will be able to defeat Vanitas."
He opens another portal.
"Then go ahead. Defeat the evil that resides within you and show him that your Light is much more powerful than your Darkness."
"Oh, and... thank you. For showing me that even the younger ones can be true heroes. For... making me feel human again."
"What do you mean?"
"Well... "
The spirit looks up.
"When you completed all those Challenges, I felt something that I only felt when I was alive. Emotion. Anger, excitement, fear, and even happiness. You made me feel all of it.
Jared raises his eyebrow.
"So, um... is that a good thing?"
The spirit nods.
"Of course it is! Well... yes. I felt like a human once again. That is something amazing."
"And for that, I thank you, Jared Kaos."
Jared Kaos.
"I was glad to help. It always feels good for me to do so. Doing good is a necessity, after all."
The spirit nods.
"Yes. Now, it it time for you to go and defeat this ancient evil once and for all. We can talk more about this later."
Jared waves at the spirit. He waves back. Then, he steps into the portal, eager to take on his evil self and take him down, for the good of everyone around the world.
== Trivia ==
* The Fire Sprites are a reference to a mob in Minecraft known as a "Blaze", who also spits fireballs at the player when they get too close and those flames can cause a severe fire, if not put out. In the "Miracula Luxia" case, the Fire Sprites attack any friendly human who happens to attack them, or at least be close to them.
* This episode describes the final Challenge that Jared has to complete in order to become a true hero. Out of all seven Challenges, the Challenge for bravery is possibly one of the hardest, forcing Jared to decide whether to put the fire in the house out or save the child within.