Chapter 13 : Pain.

Chapter 13

The world was burning.

No, that wasn't quite right.

The world was being erased.

White fire devoured everything.

It did not crackle. It did not rage. It did not scream.

It simply existed.

And existence itself could not survive it.

The shadows—the abyss that had once swallowed Ignis—fled.

They did not fight. They did not resist. They did not dare.

Because to exist in the presence of this fire… was to die a death beyond death.

The fire did not consume bodies. It consumed souls.

It was wrong.

This flame was not of this world.

And so the world rejected it.

TIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTTT—

Reality screamed.

Space fractured.

It was not meant to bear this flame. It could not heal. It could not mend.

And so—

The first wound appeared.

A black abyss opened in the sky, like a gaping mouth, as if the world itself sought to vomit out what it could not contain.

It was not a portal.

It was a scar.

A gateway, waiting… calling… daring someone to fall in.

Lucas's POV

Pain.

Pain in his body.

Pain in his soul.

Pain so deep it did not feel real.

His fingers dug into his skull. His nails clawed into his skin. His teeth clenched so hard they might shatter.

But it wasn't enough.

Nothing was enough.

Because the pain inside his chest—

The pain in his heart—

It was worse.

It was so much worse.

He could feel them.

His father—burning himself beyond limit to fight against an opponent who can cut everything. 

His mother—fighting while specifically protecting his room and so she is at a disadvantage. 

And the rest?

Gone.

Orion.

Selena.

Caius.

And…

Annie.

"Annie…"

His breath hitched.

His vision blurred.

His fingers trembled.

She was gone too. 

The girl who always followed him since he came to this world, laughing with the sun in her hair. The girl who always made him smile. 

Dead.

And soon, his parents will follow her. 

He can see it. 

His eyes can see it. 

Their end. 

His shoulders shook.

The agony crushed him.

His stomach twisted.

His throat closed.

The weight of it—

It was too much.

A sound escaped his lips. A broken, shattered sound.

He tried to breathe.

But there was no air.

Only fire.

Only hatred.

Only rage.

His vision—

It blurred.

No—

It whitened even more. 

The world became nothing but white to him. And so would the other. 

His body, his soul, cannot bear this whiteness. 

And so 

His soul—fractured.

And then—

BOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!!

A pillar of white fire erupted from his body.

The ground cracked.

The sky trembled.

The world wept.

It was no longer a flame.

It was a force of nature.

No—

It was a force of destruction.

…

The white fire spread.

The Ignis estate collapsed into its wrath.

The sky itself bled light.

And the world could no longer bear it.

More fractures appeared—black wounds in space, opening like cracks in shattered glass.

And then—

A single one, just beneath Lucas's feet.

A gaping void.

And in his grief.

In his madness.

He fell.

…

Iris's POV

Iris froze.

Her silver eyes widened.

Her breath—stopped.

Because she felt it.

The fire.

The pain.

The loss.

And then—

Nothing.

Lucas—

Gone.

Her fingers trembled at her sides. Her jaw clenched.

Her nails dug into her skin until blood dripped onto the ground.

Too late.

She was too late.

Grit—

Her teeth ground together.

Her silver eyes——froze over.

Cold.

Colder than ice.

Colder than death.

And Suddenly…

A voice behind her.

"Let's go."

Her mother.

A woman who looked just like her. Silver-haired. Silver-eyed.

Not unshaken. But unreadable.

"This is not our battle. But ours will come soon."

She looked toward the burning estate.

"They have done something that they will regret forever."

Her voice was calm. Too calm.

"They have made someone who would have been a hero…"

A pause.

Then, a whisper.

"Their worst nightmare."

Iris swallowed.

Her body trembled.

Not with sorrow.

With rage.

Her silver eyes sharpened.

Her mother's voice was quiet.

"Come, Iris. If you ever want to see that monster again."

Silence.

Then—

A breath.

A decision.

Iris closed her eyes.

Then she turned.

And walked away.

But in her heart—

A promise burned.

This empire would pay.

…

In a land of eternal darkness.

In a land where the dead reigned.

In a land where the living did not belong.

A figure fell.

A young man, with bleeding eyes and broken body. 

His fire—snuffed out.

His grief—festering.

At that moment..

[Ding! Quest completed!]

[Ding! The rewards have been placed in the inventory.]

[Ding! Congratulations Host!]

[Ding! Due to the impossible achievements of forcefully awakened a fire beyond the capability of this world. You have been rewarded with : Death Affinity( Grade : Primordial)]

And as his body hit the ground, the darkness welcomed him.

Not as prey.

But as one of their own.

End of chapter 13. 

END OF VOLUME 1 : HEIR OF FIRE.