Burning Man

On the top floor of the tallest tower in New York City.

The entire floor was an empty concrete space, with concrete pillars ten feet apart in a fifty-foot wide room, with mechanical one-way windows that surrounded on all sides, looking out over the city.

A man in bloodied bandages sat in a golden chair in the center of the space.

He sat staring out straight, his black hair sticking out the top of his head, his golden eyes. He looked through the small bandaged slits to see his four servants in their golden outfits walking toward him.

They each held out their gloved hands. And one by one they pulled off the bandages. His body was scorched, burned, bloodied. Slowly one by one the four servants pulled out jars of vaseline. They scooped the goop and slathered its white glittery formula across his bumpy sizzling skin.

Ding!

The elevator on the other side of the empty space opened up. A woman walked in. Her long rose-colored jacket hanging over her thin rose-colored tight pants. She took off her rose-tinted sunglasses.

"Yeesh. Mr. Chain, what happened to you?" asked Miss Eiko.

Mr. Chain slowly looked up, his eyelids burned to a crisp.

"What do you want?" he asked in a sour pissed tone.

Miss Eiko slowly strutted over, "I have a favor to ask."

"Another favor? I've had enough trouble with traitors and your antics. Your gonna need a little-"

Rattle...

She tossed a pair of keys across the concrete room.

Slllliiiiddddeeee...

They scratched across the concrete until they reached Mr. Chain's wrapped feet.

He leaned forward picking up the keys, "what is this?"

"Keys to a warehouse. We caught all of your little traitors. They're stashed there."

"All of them?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yes, all of them..."

Mr. Chain stood up, his upper body sticky and covered in vaseline, his lower body still wrapped in bloody bandages.

"This favor... What is it you want? You Immortals never ask for favors unless-"

"I want you to kill an Immortal."

"An Immortal? The new one you recruited? Did they go rogue?"

Miss Eiko tossed a picture. One of the servants picked it off the ground and handed it to Mr. Chain.

"The Immortal is here? This is a hospital?" he asked.

"Yes, your target is inside there, along with a Creation Witch, and a Gravity Witch."

"Eiko... You have enough forces to deal with this on your own? Why send me?"

"This job is top secret. You will be taking all the credit for it."

Mr. Chain looked out at the surrounding windows. He looked out into the darkness of the city. It's never-ending flickering lights. Never sleeping, never dreaming.

"I see. So you don't want this to go on the record."

"Yes..."

"Well... The Immortal. The others Witches too. Are they skilled?" he asked.

Miss Eiko chuckled, "not at all. But the Immortal is another story, he is not in our record books. He is a man named Damon. I can't pinpoint his age or strength, but he is strong, I'd say think of him as a one-hundred-year-old Immortal.."

"A one-hundred-year-old Immortal is nothing special."

"I meant one hundred years minimum. We have no information on him, so take everything he does with a grain of salt, don't underestimate him."

"So you're saying he's a mysterious Immortal man who has the possibility to be older than you?"

Miss Eiko scoffed at the possibility, "heh, no one is older than me. No one! That man is definitely not older than me. There can be no possibility."

One of Mr. Chain's servants walked over and bowed down in front of him.

Snatch!

He grabbed their head, "so I guess I'll use my Eternal Flame to smoke this guy. See how long he lasts? Then report back."

"Yes. And make it painful. Us Immortals hate pain more than death."

Mr. Chain closed his eyes. He gripped tighter on the servant's head.

X Spell: [Reverse Sacrifce]

"AHHHHHHH!"

The servant screamed out in pain as Mr. Chain sucked her body dry from his fingertips. Her skin rubbery and flat, her bones shrinking and disintegrating. The longer he held on the more he drained her life force, her internal flame, all until she turned to dust.

Poof...

Mr. Chain released his hand from the disintegrated ash. He stepped forward, his burned skin was now regrown, like a baby's bottom, smooth and glistening.

He turned to the windows looking over the city.

Snap!

He snapped his fingers opening up all the windows in the open space. All around, in the full circle. The city air high in the sky flushed through. Blowing everything everywhere. Mr. Chain stepped forward.

Burn Spell: [Ignite]

Fwoooosh!

A flicker of flame burned from the tip of his finger to the edge of his skin. He looked out at the wide city below. The wind blowing against his naked burning body.

He pointed out into the distance.

"Is that the hospital?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied.

"Good, I'll get this done in half an hour."

He closed his eyes, his body burning up into orange flames, his skin melting, disintegrating, the pain he felt, the world around him, the air against the sizzling skin.

The three remaining servants stepped back.

Miss Eiko stepped back, "you know your one hell of an anomaly, Mr. Chain."

He looked across the night light horizon. His flaming body scorching the concrete floor and ceiling.

He turned his head toward Miss Eiko, "I know I am."

The wind blowing against his flames, he stepped through the open window. The one thousand foot drop.

He dropped.

Burn Spell: [Rocket Explosion]

Boom!

He released his flames in one huge burst of power, launching him across the sky, like a rocketship.

Miss Eiko watched as he disappeared into the darkness, like a flicker of a flame in the dead of night.

"I guess that's why they call him the Burning Man... Cause he's always burning."

---

Meanwhile back at the hospital.

Five hours later, Aria had finally finished her surgery and all the doctors had left.

Damon and Aria were now in the hallway, waiting patiently. Waiting and waiting. As the flames grew closer. Waiting.