I could have done it. If I had been given the duty of slaying the dragon, I would not have run as he did. I would have stood my ground, given my mighty battle cry and driven my iron sword deep into the beast's great belly. I would have been a hero. The screams I hear are not in celebration. I would give all my pride and all my happiness to change the world in this instant, to change my world. My pride does not matter so much as the fact that none of this would have happened to me had I gone. Were I to have gone and failed at my task, I would be dead. I would not have to watch my village burn, as though the place I was raised and taught, the place I built my dreams upon was nothing more than a pile of twigs, as though it had no other purpose.

There is still a few screams to be heard over the blaze, but I am too far to help them. Instead, all I can do is stand here, right where I am, numb to the lethal heat. Numb to everything. I no longer belong to my body. It can not obey a mind that can not work. All my senses, emotions and instincts have fled from the desolation that consumes me.

A building to my right crashes down, scattering its sparks into the street, throwing them at us- at me. They ignite in Lilly's hair. I do not try to put it out. Lilly is beyond pain, she is in a happy place, and this body I hold is no longer her vessel. I will be with her soon enough. I let the corpse fall to the ground. One single thought pushes its way into my head. At first, I can't distinguish it in the blackness, but it grows steadily, fighting to gain access to my conscience. It burns small, like a far off beacon. My brother. The boy who failed.

Suddenly, my insides are burning brighter than any of the flames around me, I can not die here. I will find my brother, my only remaining family, and I will slay the beast if I must devote the rest of my life to it!