It was a night that rained ash instead of water.
The cursed city was drowned in the shadows of guns and bargains; the only sounds were the creak of iron and the cries of regret.
I stepped into the narrow alley, my heart beating to a cadence I'd never known before—not fear, but a hunger for blood. The black fire still slept in my hand, waiting for its first prey.
Across the way, a hulking man appeared, his eyes the color of burning embers. He sneered: "You're the new arrival from the deal tent? Looks like the curse picked a fresh victim."
I did not answer. I watched his breath, the rhythm of his steps, the movement of his fingers. Pain had taught me that every detail meant survival or death.
He moved first. He lunged at me with a rusted dagger that sliced the air like a scream. I raised my hand.
And in that instant… the darkness burst into flame.
A black blaze sprang from my palm, coiling around his body, screaming with him, devouring him. I heard only the sound of flesh burning… then silence.
I dropped to the ground. My breath broke, my body trembled. I felt something being pulled from within me, as if the fire were sucking from my soul its sustenance.
The shadow inside my head laughed in a deep voice:
> "See? This is your new power… each life you take, you snuff out a piece of yourself."
I whispered through gritted teeth: "Let what's left burn… if this is the price of revenge."
I rose and stared at the ash that a moment ago had been a man. I felt no guilt. I felt nothing.
Only then did I realize I had crossed the line. I was no longer entirely human.
—
At the end of the alley, a girl in a gray cloak appeared, watching me from afar with a mysterious smile. She said in a cold voice: "Finally, I've found the heir of the black fire."
I looked at her sharply: "Who are you?"
She answered softly: "I am the one who will lead you to the first world beyond this hell."
Then she vanished… as if she had never been there at all.