Tri-lac followed close behind Niall as he strutted through the Tydarian royal palace. His face darkened with sadness as he looked upon the deserted interior of the palace; the world he knew in his youth and rule had vanished, replaced by the broken and distraught Tydaria that exists now.
Niall froze mid stride, as if forbidden to move past by some unseen force. As Tri-lac caught up to him, she saw why he stood frozen: three bodies, two parents clenching a small child, lay dead against a wall, holding onto dear life as it was pulled so forcefully from them. The child seemed to be the most severely injured, a bolt clean through her heart, with her parents' smaller but more numerous injuries across their bodies, their limbs dark as if tainted.
The Pyromaster clenched his fists as a tear rolled down his cheek, his eyes unwavering from the little girl's expression, peaceful and emotionless, as if unable to comprehend the terror and sadness her parents both shared, their cheeks dry but show obvious signs of tears.
"Niall?" Tri-lac muttered, her voice low. She gripped Niall's arm caringly and tried to pull him away, but he stood firm.
"I knew these people…" he spoke so quietly, in contrast with the confident and charismatic leader outside, he seemed like an entirely new person. "They lived on the outskirts of the city, they didn't have much, but they were happy. She would have just turned 8 years old." His voice trailed off, his voice catching and weakened with every moment that passed.
"Niall…" Tri-lac's voice faded, her grip tighter on Niall's arm, but her pull lessened and she stood by his side, waiting for him to respond, her face down-cast and sympathetic.
"Could I have made a difference?" he asked, his voice weak. "Could I have saved them? Could I have saved them all?"
"You weren't there, you couldn't have known." Tri-lac's voice was as quiet as her companion's, worry weighing heavily on her face.
Niall rapidly turned to face her, ripping his arm from her grasp, leaving her trying to grasp a limb that was no longer there, eyes filled with tears, "Exactly, I wasn't there!" His voice was raised slightly to mask his pain, which still threaded itself into his tone.
"And you didn't know, you couldn't have known" Tri-lac hugged her friend tightly, before pulling him away from the corpses. Despite her youth, Tri-lac was considerably stronger than the Pyromaster, easily dragging him down the corridor.
"Come on, we have a world to save." Mid stride, Tri-lac broke the hug and grabbed Niall's arm again, continuing to drag him until he caught her pace, but she retained her grip of him arm as a comfort to them both.
Niall continued behind Tri-lac to a grand set of double doors, pulled beside her, she quietly said "Are you ready?" "As ready as I'll ever be," he said, and pushed on both doors. At first the heavy wooden doors resisted but swung open, revealing the room that contained half a dozen people. "Here we go." He muttered before he strode through the doorway.