I stretched out my hand slowly…
The voices inside me clashed; some shouted at me, "Take the fire! Burn them all!"
Another whispered, "No, summon the dead… make an army from their blood."
A third wept, "Choose speed… fleeing is better than annihilation."
But I did not retreat.
My heart was aflame.
My eyes did not tear — they burned.
I grabbed the first vial — the black curse.
The black flame seemed alive, crawling onto my fingers, coiling around my skin like a hungry serpent.
My body screamed.
I knelt, gasping, while the fire seeped into my veins.
I saw my past burn before me: images of my family… their faces… melting like paper in hell.
The merchant laughed in a foul voice:
"You chose well, boy… you chose the merciless fire. But remember… every spark you unleash will take a part of your soul with it."
I lifted my head slowly, and smiled with hatred:
"Take what you want… so long as it gives me what I want."
The tent trembled.
The air grew heavy.
Even the guardian beasts at the entrance stepped back.
Inside me, I heard the shadow laugh and cry out:
> "Here is the Kim I sought… the Kim who will show no mercy… the Kim who will burn this world!"
I extended my hand, and the first black flame formed in my palm.
I felt its chill more than its heat… as if it froze my blood, yet it awakened me.
I smiled.
For the first time since my family's death, I felt ready to write a new beginning…
A beginning filled with blood and fire.