The Dementor glided darkly through the city streets the empty city streets. Dementors don't think, but they do feel. This one was hungry. It had not fed for a long time and now it prowled through the empty streets, looking for something, anything. A cat, a dog, humans were best. Animals had such limited memories whereas humans were far more advanced, so much more to suck out, to feel and devour as the person slowly died from the inside out. Humans had a soul, a soul which struggled futilely even as it was drawn into the dark body of the Dementor, where it would be destroyed.
Even pondering this made the creature hungry. It drew breath in a sharp rasp, it could feel something now. The warm pin-prick of light which meant a life. A human life!
It it were possible for such a monster to smirk, the Dementor did just that. Fresh prey, young and inexperienced. Alone and unprotected.
It swiftly moved onwards, rapidly closing on it's target.
Dementors don't see. But it could sense the human now, his emotions burned with a fierce passion not seen since the Dark Lord's triumph.
This would be good. Such souls always fought back so hard, and their despair at the end was always so much more tasteful.
There! The human was close now, but he didn't turn, didn't scream or run or even try to fight back like most of it's victims. He couldn't see it, a muggle then. Even easier.
As it approached the Dementor began to get a mental picture of it's prey, formed from the creature's own image of itself.
This was just a child, maybe sixteen at most. He wore strange clothes, a foreigner, his brown hair long. He had an aura of power, untrained, unused but there. If he had been taught he would have made a mighty wizard.
The Dementor pictured his soul writhing in agony within itself, trying in vein to escape as it was slowly broken down and devoured. This would be a feast indeed. Almost time to strike now, the human began to look uneasy as the Dementor's presence took effect. Too late now.
The Dementor extended a decaying arm, intending to latch onto the boy with a deadly grip, and enjoy his slow suffering as he gave way to his despair.
But something was wrong, the boy was calm again, and the air-normally cooled by the Dementor's very presence was starting to heat up.
And then, the boy spoke: " I've seen your kind before. Soul-suckers, murderous vampires. Where I come from, there's people to deal with you. Guess what? I'm one of them."
The Dementor leapt forwards, even if this strange child was a wizard there was no escape now!
The boy didn't resist as the Dementor pried open his mouth and clamped it's own lips onto his. A deep, cold sensation spread throughout the boy's body, as the Dementor looked for the soul. There!
But it was different. Broken, torn, incomplete. Nevertheless, a soul was a soul and the Dementor was hungry. Greedily, the creature reached out to draw that tiny spark of light into itself.
Memories rushed up to greet it. This was normal. Now the Dementor would simply force the child to remember the worst events of his life. Simple and easy.
But the memories that it witnessed, belonged to no child. In one, a man sat in a long flowing robe, he talked eagerly of justice, of goodness and right. Around him there were gathered others, they doubted his words, doubted his vision.
The image vanished and a new one formed, the same man was now seen fighting for his life welding a sword of with a glowing red aura against several other warriors, easily he cut them down. Merciless, not like the first vision.
Then, a red hot fire spread throughout it's body. This Dementor was an expert, it had faced spiritual resistance before. And crushed it. This was nothing to worry about. It had devoured millions of souls in it's time.
Unfortunately, the Dementor forgot, it was not the only creature that devours souls. A massive red fire tore through the area, somehow flinging it back against the wall of the nearest house.
The man-child looked on at it, " See? You can kill weakling humans, you can kill wizards. But you cannot kill a Shaman."
He turned his back and started to walk away, but the Dementor was up and gliding rapidly at him, it would not lose such a soul!
This time, there was no barrier of flames, instead the boy's guardian emerged fully in the real world.
As tall as a giant, the massive humanoid towered above them both, its skin was red as fire. It had no face, just two eyes looking down. Long branch-like horns sprouted from it's head.
And then, it did have a mouth. Row upon row of needle teeth glinted in the light as the creature let loose a primal roar.
The Dementor felt fear for the first time. For it now knew what it faced. No mortal creature, this monstrosity. This was something from before man, from the dawn of the world. A primal-spirit. Formed from the very essence of an element. Master of it's field. This creature quite frankly was fire incarnate. A monster of destruction-and rebirth. But that it would protect a human?!
The Dementor had consumed millions of souls, it had hunted and killed wizards and muggles! All of them had yielded their souls to it, and now it was facing a thing known that shouldn't even exist! A creature straight from legends and fables, a Great Spirit. A God.
The boy didn't even turn around, " Devour it."
The spirit let out another roar. The Dementor didn't even get a chance to move before flames engulfed it, burning its very being. It would have screamed but it had no time. It felt pain though, deep searing pain as it's very existence was erased, and added to that of the spirit. It's power to the whole, its mind obliterated.
This didn't even take a second of real time, the Dementor's remains collapsed to the ground, dust and ash.
The boy smirked, and it was an old smirk. The smirk of someone who had seen many things.
" Good hunting." he said to himself, " But killing off these shades is only a diversion. We should be going after the boss."
Apparently reaching a decision, he spoke to the empty air, " Tao Ren."
At once, a boy stepped out of the shadows, as if he had just appeared! He bowed low, " Lord Hao."
The newly named Hao nodded, " I want you to track that thing and find out where it came from. This country has changed a lot since I was last here. Get me up to date information."
" And if there are more of them?"
" Slaughter them all."
" At once My Lord."
He turned and walked back into the shadows, maybe vanishing again.
" And I think," said Hao, " That we will look around some more."
He walked off as the Spirit of Fire faded back into nothingness once more.