There are things that live in the dark.
Not under beds.
Not in forests.
But inside names.
And now that I've spoken mine…
They've started watching.
Midnight – Guild Dorms
I couldn't sleep.
Not because of nightmares.
Because something was waiting for me to close my eyes.
I lay there, staring at the ceiling, heart thumping like a war drum. The window creaked softly in the breeze. The moonlight painted silver scars on the wooden floor.
And still, I didn't blink.
Because every time I even almost did—
I saw him again.
Me.
But not me.
Eyes like a dead sun. Skin glowing with flame cracks. Grinning like someone who had lost everything and decided to burn the world as payback.
That night, I wasn't scared of monsters.
I was scared of what I was becoming.
Morning – Guild Hall
"You look like death," Lunelle said, handing me a black coffee.
"Thanks. I stayed up all night earning the look."
Doru walked past, armor clanking.
"Hey, Flame Freak, did the bed bite you, or are you just built to suffer?"
I smiled. Weakly.
"Both."
He chuckled, but I noticed he didn't meet my eyes.
He had seen that thing too—what lunged from the mirror shard.
And it haunted him.
Maybe not with screams…
But with silence.
Guildmaster Elion called us in for briefing.
A new demon nest had been reported.
South marshes.
"Rotfiends," he said. "Ten of them. E to C-Class. Nasty buggers. Fast, hungry, and immune to fire."
He looked at me.
"Still want in?"
I paused.
Nodded.
"I'm done hiding."
South Marshes – That Afternoon
Marshes are hell.
Your boots sink every three steps.
The stench of rot clings to your soul.
The air buzzes with flies… and worse.
And today?
It was silent.
Too silent.
We crept forward. Doru on point. Lunelle close behind.
I stayed back, trying not to let the anxiety show.
But the whispers in my head were getting louder.
"Let me out."
"You saw what I can do."
"You're tired. Let me burn for you."
I bit my tongue until it bled.
I wouldn't let it out.
Not again.
Then the marsh exploded.
Rotfiends. Dozens.
Not ten.
Thirty.
Elion was wrong. Or maybe they bred fast.
Either way—
We were surrounded.
Doru shouted. His blade flashed.
Lunelle's arrows sang death.
I raised my hand, flame flickering weakly.
But they weren't scared of me.
Why would they be?
I was E-Rank.
Just a joke with fire hands.
One of them lunged at me.
I tried to dodge.
Too slow.
It tackled me into the mud. Fangs snapped.
Claws dug into my chest.
I screamed—
And something screamed back from inside me.
Then it happened.
Not a spell. Not a cast.
A release.
The flame wasn't orange this time.
It was black.
And silent.
No heat.
Just hunger.
It wrapped around the Rotfiend like a snake.
Then devoured it.
Not burned.
Erased.
Not even bones remained.
Just a scorch mark… that pulsed.
The others stopped.
The air changed.
Like God had entered the room.
Or maybe a demon posing as one.
Doru shouted. "What the hell did you just do?!"
I stood slowly, black flame still dripping from my arms.
"I… I don't know."
Lunelle aimed her bow—at me.
"Rai," she said, voice shaking. "Whatever that is… it's not magic."
I didn't argue.
Because she was right.
That wasn't a spell.
That was something older.
Something alive.
The Rotfiends lunged again.
This time at all of us.
The fight blurred.
Steel, screams, fire, blood.
I saw Lunelle fall, shoulder slashed open.
Doru stood over her, barely holding them back.
I clenched my fists.
The black flame pulsed again.
It whispered—
"Let me save them. Just this once."
I hesitated.
Then nodded.
"Fine. Just once."
And then the world burned.
Except it didn't feel like burning.
It felt like deletion.
The Rotfiends froze mid-air, mouths open.
Then vanished.
All of them.
Gone.
No remains.
No cries.
No ash.
Just silence.
And then—
My body collapsed.
Hours Later – Guild Infirmary
I woke to bandages, pain, and Lunelle glaring at me.
"You passed out again," she said. "You burned through your soul like it was coal."
I didn't reply.
Elion walked in, arms folded.
His eyes were cold.
"Do you want to tell me what happened in that marsh?"
I looked at my hand.
The black flame was gone.
But I could still feel it.
Like a second heart beating behind my ribs.
"I didn't cast anything," I whispered.
"I just said my name."
Elion froze.
Lunelle's face went pale.
I continued.
"And something else answered."
He leaned in, voice low.
"Do you know what that makes you, boy?"
I nodded.
"A threat."
He sighed.
"Worse."
Then turned to the wall, where a dusty plaque hung.
Five names engraved in black stone.
Five titles.
Each marked as Rank Zero.
Each one… erased from history.
Except one name, barely visible anymore—
Ashmael.
"Your flame's name," he muttered.
"But not just a name."
He looked at me.
"It was a title once. Belonging to the last soul who almost ended the world."
Silence.
My throat tightened.
"So what do I do now?"
He answered without blinking.
"You survive long enough to control it."
I stood, dizzy.
"And if I don't?"
He walked away.
"You'll end us all."
As I sat alone in the infirmary, heart still hollowed out…
The whisper returned.
And it didn't scream this time.
It laughed.
Soft. Cold. Patient.
"You think this is the power of a god?"
"We haven't even opened the first seal yet."
And just like that, I stopped feeling tired.
Because how could I sleep…
…when Gods don't sleep — they watch.