Fire, it was every where, choking me. I could feel the hungry flames pull at my clothes, the soft material smoldering where I had slapped away the fire. The land was burning, killing everything trapped in the unforgiving inferno. Some where in there were the ones I loved, my family and Joushua. The wind whipped oppressive heat through my charred hair. Blood covered the left side of my face, smeared from my forehead to my chin.

"Mother! Mother! Oh god how could, you monster!"

"HAHA, well, well. What do we have here? Fresh meat I believe. Come with me little girl, I'll take away your pain."

"You creep. I'll never let you touch me. I'll take that sick smirk off your fat face. Bastard!"

The house, I could just make out the house through the blinding light of the fire. Trees snapped from the heat, falling around me, threatening to take away my life at any moment. But He knew better, to not take my life yet. I still had to satisfy my thirst for revenge. Blood would flow in rivers for what they did to her, to him. My body shook with memories of earlier. If only I had come home sooner, If only I hadn't stopped to see him, they would all be alive. Tears burst past my eyelids, attempting to escape to the ground. The heat from the fire, being so intense, evaporated them before they could flee. I would make the whole world tremble in fear of my wrath, not even the gods were safe from my anger. The fires whipped into an ever-accelerated frenzy, mimicking the rage within me.

Tonight, the world will experience the full force of my fury and cower in fear of a true god. The crimes that took place will not go unpunished.

"I'll see you tomorrow Joushua, and next time I'll win, got it?"

"Ha, sure you will. You say that every time but I still kick your butt."

"Yea, well tomorrow will be different! Bye!"

"See you squirt, stay safe."

"Jeez Jou, you don't have to worry about me, nothing ever happens here."

I should have listened, I should have been more cautious. I should have done a lot of things, but I didn't, and now here I was. Standing beside my assailant's dead body, my own covered in blood and dirt. All I could do was watch as the flames consumed their tortured bodies. This was the end of my existence and the beginning of Shiva's. A god respected by all others and powerful. A beautiful creator and destroyer. I was to become something that was to be feared by all, not just by my enemies. Time was not for me, as I decided that death was not a path to be chosen. This is how I became to be.

"Believe what you will Folken, but there is no way that some gothic girl that just fell from your ceiling can defeat an enemy that has thwarted us for years."

"She didn't fall, she appeared in a pillar of light, just like the winged goddess did. And we know that the winged goddess is very powerful, being able to amplify the power of the Escaflowne."

"But the winged goddess is from the sacred moon. This little toy of yours is from somewhere unknown, and claims to be powerful. Why should we put our faith in this, freak?"

Folken smirked

"I wouldn't let her hear you say these nasty things about her"

A new voice had joined the meeting. Dilandau pushed himself off the pillar he was leaning on and strolled nonchalantly over to the generals.

"Dilandau, when did you return and why would you defend that wretch?"

He flashed his characteristic smile at the generals, "I'm not defending her, I'm just telling you not to let her hear you saying those things about her. She might just kill you if she so pleased."

"Dilandau, how did everything go today. Was your mission successful?"

"Oh yes Folken, it was wonderful. That bitch you gave me works wonderfully, and quickly. She wiped out the whole territory in an hour."

"Did she kill every one?" Folken had a feeling that he already knew the answer.

Turning slowly to look Folken strait in the eyes he chuckled, "Oh yes Folken, she killed every last one of them. Women, children and soldiers, they all died the same. She even brought me the head of the king."

The generals' faces had turned very white when he had finished.

"Thank you Folken, for this new toy of yours has entertained me immensely."

And then he left, laughter trailing behind him as the old men in the room questioned Folken in desperation.

'Is she under his control?'

'Will she listen to our commands?'

'What if she turns on us? We should kill her while we have the chance!'

All their questions were fueled by the new fear that Dilandau had skillfully planted inside of their pitiful hearts. Even as Dilandau laughed at them, he wondered mildly if he too was afraid of her immense power, and rage. Such was the carnage he witnessed that he wasn't sure of his own strength at this point.

"Nonsense! I'm Dilandau Albatou! The General of the Dragonslayers! I fear nothing!" Satisfied, he turned and headed off to his room.

But Dilandau still had a tiny shred of doubt in him. Did he, a descendent of the dragon clan, have what it would take to defeat Shiva? What was her power, and how did she come to have it? Was she a god like him too?