For thousands of years, I burned
Not metaphorically.
I was fire, living, breathing, divine flame. I split mountains, turned cities to ash, and made gods kneel beneath my heat.
But in the end, even fire grows tired.
And so, I chose to sleep.
"RINNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!"
The shriek shattered my peace. Something sharp 'probably a flying slipper' slammed into the side of my head.
I groaned.
Warm blankets, Morning haze, Drool on the pillow.
And an angry sister banging on my bedroom door like it owed her money.
So this was humanity, huh?
Ten thousand years of divine flame, reduced to a sleepy high schooler with bed hair and a meat bun stuck to his cheek.
"You're going to be late again, you deadweight pyromaniac!"
"Ten more minutes," I mumbled.
"You set the microwave on fire last night!"
"She insulted me first..."
The door burst open.
There she stood Itsuhara Aoi, my older sister. 18 years of rage packed into a 5'3" package with the fury of a firestorm.
She was already dressed in her school uniform, ponytail bouncing, a slipper in one hand and a rolled-up math textbook in the other.
The Slipper of Judgment and the Book of Pain, a familiar combo.
"Up. Now," she growled.
"The gods are dead," I muttered, rolling over.
"They will be if you don't get to school and pass your exams."
I sighed into my pillow.
Just once. Just one reincarnation cycle, I wanted to live peacefully.
☀️ Tokyo Prefecture, Year 20XX
My name is Rin Itsuhara. Age: 17. Status: sleepy. Occupation: third-year high schooler.
Also, secretly, the reincarnation of Incendios, the Fire God.
Yes, that Fire God. The one in all the old myths that ended in apocalypse.
I don't like to brag, but… okay, I used to be terrifying.
But that was eons ago.
These days?
I'm just a guy who wants to eat melon bread, nap through homeroom, and maybe raise a goldfish.
If fate allows.
Spoiler: it doesn't.
🏫 8:43 AM – Shiroyama High School
I shuffled into class with a yawn, hoodie up, headphones on.
Some students gave me a glance. Some ignored me completely.
Perfect.
My reputation as a harmless slacker remained intact.
"Hey, Rin," whispered Yuuto, the class rep. "There was a fire drill last period. Did you sleep through it again?"
"Was there?" I blinked.
He sighed. "They thought it was real because the storage room actually caught fire."
"…Huh."
I felt a slight heat on my fingertips. Not enough to burn. Just… a flicker. A twitch.
No way. I've had everything sealed.
For seventeen years, I've suppressed it. My soul, once a supernova, now barely a candle.
It was supposed to stay that way.
But deep inside, something shifted.
🔥 That Night – Rooftop
I stood under the stars, staring at my hand.
No spark, No flame.
Just silence.
But the world wasn't quiet.
Not anymore.
The air carried the scent of brimstone.
Something was coming.
Or someone.
And they were searching… for me.
👁️ Elsewhere…
A circle of shadows flickered.
In a dark dimension where screams whispered like wind, seven thrones floated above a black sea.
"He's awakened," a voice hissed.
"The Fire God returns."
"And this time," said another, "we claim his power."
A low laugh echoed through the realm.
The Hunt had begun.
The Next day
My first real enemy of the day wasn't a demon.
It was gym class.
And worse, today was track day.
The sun beamed down like a vengeful old god. My shirt stuck to my back. Sweat trickled down my neck.
If I used even a fraction of my divine fire, I could evaporate the field in five seconds.
But no. I had to play the role of normal, Harmless, Mildly allergic to exercise.
"Itsuhara! Pick up the pace!"
Coach Sato's voice cracked across the field like thunder.
I waved half-heartedly from the back of the running group. "Trying my best, sir…"
Which was a lie.
I was walking, Barely.
"Man, you suck at this," said the guy next to me, Toru Mizushima, track star, abs, student council, and all-around golden boy.
He smirked as he lapped me for the third time. "You breathing, or just dying slowly?"
"Both," I replied without blinking.
"Should've stayed in bed, huh?"
"Always."
He jogged off laughing, which was fair. If I had lungs made for cardio instead of firestorms, I might've cared.
But I didn't.
I just needed to survive long enough to fake exhaustion, collapse near a vending machine, and pretend I belonged in society.
That was the plan.
Until the sky cracked.
⚡ BOOM!
A ripple of pressure slammed into the field.
Everyone dropped to the ground, some screaming, some stunned.
The clouds above twisted, black veins spreading through the sky like ink dropped in water.
The air shimmered with heat… but not mine.
This wasn't natural.
It wasn't even magical.
It was infernal.
I stood slowly.
Somewhere behind me, Coach Sato was yelling about "emergency evacuation protocol" and "earthquakes."
But I wasn't looking at the ground.
I was looking at the thing floating thirty feet in the air.
It wore a student's uniform, Shiroyama High, third-year jacket, gold buttons, the whole deal.
But its body was wrong.
Too thin, Too long, Limbs stretching like smoke, Eyes like open furnaces.
Its mouth cracked open and let out a gurgling, molten screech.
"Found you, Fire God," it rasped.
My heart didn't race.
My breath didn't quicken.
Instead… I yawned.
"Great," I muttered. "Demons already?"
The creature dropped toward me like a falling meteor.
I raised one hand, Not to fight.
Just to catch it.
And I did.
With a single palm to its chest, I stopped it mid-air.
"Wrong school," I said.
Then the seal on my wrist glowed.
A single glyph. A forgotten symbol etched into my soul.
The Demon screamed as my hand turned white-hot, searing through its fake human skin like butter.
I didn't use fire.
Just the echo of what I used to be.
The monster exploded into black ash and vanished.
Silence.
The air went still.
Clouds reformed, Time ticked back to normal.
Students lay on the ground, dazed, unaware of what just happened.
I had wiped out an infernal being… without releasing flame.
Good.
I didn't want to burn again.
But then I noticed something on the field.
A piece of the demon that hadn't burned away.
A fragment.
Faintly glowing. Dripping liquid darkness. Humming with divine resonance.
I felt it before I touched it.
A fragment of me.
The demon had consumed one… and it had survived.
Which meant
"Rin."
I spun around.
There, standing at the edge of the track, was a girl with jet-black hair and ice-blue eyes.
She wore the same uniform as me, but her aura was all wrong.
Sharp, Cold, Watchful.
She tilted her head. "Your seal leaked Hellfire. That's not normal."
I blinked.
She didn't introduce herself.
She didn't smile.
She just walked up and picked up the divine fragment like it was a coin on the ground.
"Interesting," she said, slipping it into her pocket.
Then she looked up at me and smiled.
"Found you."
📘 End of Chapter 1