I woke up gasping.
My shirt was soaked with sweat. My heart thudded so hard it felt like it was trying to punch its way out of my chest.
The dream still clung to me like smoke.
"To finish what we started."
What did that even mean?
Who was that thing?
He had my face—but darker. Twisted. Like he was me without all the fear.
And those flames… they didn't feel like magic.
They felt like memories.
The academy was quiet that morning. Too quiet.
No shouting. No practice bells. No swords clashing in the training yard.
When I walked outside, every student turned their heads.
They didn't laugh.
They didn't mock me.
They didn't even whisper.
They just stared.
Like I'd grown horns overnight.
At breakfast, I sat alone. Like usual.
But this time, people didn't sit near me because they didn't dare.
Even Kairen kept his distance.
I stabbed my fork into a dry piece of toast.
Great. I finally get power… and now everyone acts like I fart black fire.
Maybe I did. I dunno. Wouldn't surprise me at this point.
I looked at my hand again. Still no burns. No scars.
Just skin.
But I could feel it—that thing still inside me. Waiting.
Breathing.
Later that day, Instructor Margo called me to her office.
Which was strange. She barely spoke to me before this. Usually just yelled.
Her room was filled with weapons, scrolls, and weird old relics. A demon skull sat in one corner, smiling at me with broken teeth.
"You're not in trouble," she said before I even sat.
"Oh, good," I said. "I thought this was the 'surprise expulsion' talk."
She didn't laugh.
"Rai," she said slowly, "we ran a scan on the magic you used."
I leaned forward. "And?"
"It isn't listed in any of our archives. Not under human, elf, beast, or demon records."
My mouth went dry. "So… what is it?"
She looked me in the eyes.
"It's old. Older than this continent. Maybe older than the gods."
I tried to breathe, but my chest tightened.
"How the hell did I get it?"
She shook her head. "I don't know. But someone sealed it inside you—long ago. And now… it's waking up."
That night, I couldn't sleep.
My thoughts wouldn't shut up.
Why me? Why would something so powerful be inside a nobody like me?
I'd always been weak. Always lost. Always laughed at.
And now I had a power strong enough to scare a demon into running?
It didn't make sense.
So I did what I always do when my brain hurts.
I snuck out.
The academy grounds were dark and quiet. No guards. No students. Just the wind whispering through the trees.
I climbed the old tower—the one no one goes near anymore. Too tall. Too broken. Too cursed, apparently.
Felt fitting.
At the top, I sat down and looked out over the sleeping city.
Lights flickered in the distance. Somewhere, normal people were probably sleeping peacefully.
Meanwhile, I was here with a god-level flame in my chest and a demon's voice still echoing in my skull.
Cool.
Then I heard it again.
That voice.
"You feel it, don't you?"
I jumped up. "Who's there?!"
But no one was there.
Just the wind.
Then again—louder.
"The fire... you've kept it locked away for years. You pretended you didn't hear me. But now you can't ignore it."
I gritted my teeth. "I'm not going crazy."
"You were born crazy. That's why you survived."
I clutched my head. "Get out!"
And then—
He appeared.
Right in front of me.
The same guy from my dream.
Tall. Dark. Wreathed in shadow and fire.
But this time, he wasn't smiling.
"You're not real," I said.
He chuckled. "I'm you, idiot."
"No. You're something inside me. A curse. A voice in the fire."
"Call me what you want," he said, stepping closer. "But I've been protecting you. You just never noticed."
I backed up. "Protecting me? You nearly killed me!"
He shrugged. "Yeah, well, you were about to die anyway. I just gave you options."
"Then what do you want now?"
His eyes burned brighter.
"To burn it all down."
I froze. "Burn what down?"
"The world that made you feel like nothing. The system that laughed at your name. The people who spit on your dreams."
His words hit harder than I expected.
Because deep down, some part of me… agreed.
"But I'm not a killer," I said.
He smirked. "Then why did your fire scream with joy when that demon ran?"
I didn't sleep that night.
Too many voices.
Too many questions.
But one thing was clear:
Something inside me had woken up.
And the world would never be the same.