The mayor crumpled to his knees, trembling uncontrollably as the oppressive heat in the room rose. Lucius took a slow, deliberate step forward, the crimson flames surrounding him crackling and hissing like the voice of a vengeful demon. With each step, the room seemed to warp under the searing heat, the wallpaper curling, the wooden floor beneath him blackening.

"Please... mercy," the mayor stammered, his voice barely a whisper. Sweat poured down his face, stinging his eyes as he clasped his hands together in desperate supplication. "I... I didn’t know—"

Lucius stepped closer, his burning figure looming like a creature from the depths of hell. His pitch-black eyes bore into the mayor's, silencing him with their fiery malice.

"You didn’t know?" Lucius repeated his voice a low, guttural growl that reverberated through the room. He took another step forward, and the curtains caught fire, the flames spreading rapidly along the walls. "You didn’t know?!"

The mayor scrambled backward, his mind racing for a way out. In a fit of blind panic, he grabbed a metal candleholder from the floor and swung it wildly at Lucius. The moment it struck Lucius's flaming body, the weapon glowed red-hot and the mayor's hand blackened, his skin cracking and peeling. He screamed, clutching his now-charred hand as the candleholder clattered uselessly to the floor.

Lucius tilted his head, his lips curling into a cold, joyless smile. "You’re a failure, a blight, a mistake, just like the rest of them."

Before the mayor could react, Lucius lunged, his fist crashing into the man’s jaw with enough force to send him sprawling. The mayor screamed in agony as the flesh on his face sizzled where Lucius's hand had struck.

"Was it worth it?" Lucius snarled, his voice cutting through the mayor's cries. He grabbed the mayor by the collar and dragged him upright, punching him again and again. Each blow left a charred imprint, the smell of burnt flesh filling the air. "Destroying my home, my mother, my life—was it worth it?!"

The mayor whimpered incoherently, his words drowned out by his sobs. Blood mixed with soot ran down his battered face as Lucius threw him to the floor.

"You wanted to cleanse the village, didn’t you?" Lucius said, his voice dripping with venom. He stomped down on the mayor’s leg, the flames searing his flesh. The mayor shrieked as the smell of his own burning body overwhelmed him.

Lucius stood over him, his blackened hands trembling with fury. "Tell me, are you happy now?"

The mayor coughed, his voice hoarse from screaming. His broken body twitched as Lucius grabbed his ankle, the flames instantly scorching it. The mayor wailed in fresh agony as Lucius began dragging him across the floor, his burned skin leaving a trail of ash and blood.

The front door burst open as Lucius pulled the mayor outside. The moment they emerged, the mayor’s eyes widened in horror at the scene before him.

The village was a nightmare. Almost every building was ablaze, the roaring flames licking hungrily at the dark sky. Villagers ran screaming, their bodies consumed by the slow-burning crimson fire that refused to reduce them to ash. The air was filled with their cries of torment, their desperate pleas for salvation.

Lucius stopped for a moment, his fiery gaze sweeping over the destruction. His breathing was heavy, his fists clenched at his sides as he surveyed the mayhem. He turned to the mayor, who lay sobbing at his feet.

"Look at them," Lucius said, his voice eerily calm. "They’re not dying quickly, are they? They're suffering. Just like I did."

The mayor’s broken sobs were drowned out by the crackling flames and the agonized wails of the villagers. Lucius tightened his grip on the mayor’s ankle, dragging him further into the chaos as the fire burned on.

He dragged the broken mayor up the scorched path leading to the charred remnants of his home, the blood-red flames from the still-burning tree casting an unholy glow over the scene. Each step was agonizing for the mayor, the scorched ground scraping against his raw flesh. Lucius’s grip on the mayor’s ankle was unrelenting, his strength almost inhuman, as if fueled by something far beyond rage.

"Such a shame," Lucius said coldly, his voice devoid of empathy. He didn’t even look at the mayor as he spoke. "You have no children. No wife. No friends. No one to mourn you or for you to mourn."

The mayor whimpered, his voice too weak to respond.

Lucius tightened his grip, dragging the mayor harder. "If you did, I’d have set them ablaze from the inside first. Just so you could watch. Just so you’d understand what it’s like to lose everything you love and still be alive to feel the pain."

The mayor’s breath hitched in terror, his eyes darting around desperately. Amid the ruins of the village, he noticed something strange. There were no charred bodies of children among the burning remains.

He coughed, forcing his words out. "W-where are the children?"

Lucius stopped for a moment, turning his head slightly to glance down at him. His eyes gleamed with cruel amusement.

"They’re gone," Lucius replied simply.

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The mayor stared at him, confusion and disbelief mingling in his gaze. "Gone? What do you mean?!"

"They didn’t suffer for long like the rest of you," Lucius said, his voice calm and measured. "I didn’t let them. They’re just kids, like I am or...was. I turned them to ash quickly."

The mayor's heart sank at the horrifying realization. He attempted to appeal to Lucius, grasping at any semblance of humanity left in the boy. "How could you? They were children like you said! Like you! How can you kill them and feel... nothing?! You really are the monster you say aren't?!"

Lucius stopped again, his expression darkening. He turned fully to face the mayor, his fiery eyes narrowing.

"Don't you start spouting nonsense, you fat prick? Who do you dare call a monster?! Who came to an innocent house and began killing?!"

"No one forced them to come," he said sharply. "No one dragged them out of their homes. They stood there, watching. Watching you murder my mother. Watching you tie me to that tree and burn me alive. Maybe they didn’t understand everything, but they still came."

"To me you all are monsters. Monsters that need to be purged."

The mayor tried to speak, but Lucius silenced him with a harsh glare. "And if someone did force them to come? I don’t care. They were there, and they did nothing. Just like the rest of you."

Lucius resumed dragging the mayor, their grim journey ending at the top of the hill. They were met with the sight of the completely burnt-down remains of the house and the still-blazing tree. The tree burned brighter than ever, its crimson flames licking at the darkened sky as if reaching for the heavens.

With a feral growl, Lucius lifted the mayor with unnatural strength and impaled him onto the burning tree. The mayor screamed in agony as the flames began to consume him, their heat searing his flesh and bones.

Lucius stood before him, his voice cold and merciless. "Look down, Mayor. Look at what’s left of your village. The ashes, the flames, the screams. That’s your handiwork."

"I don't know why you came to my home. To destroy what I loved. And I don't care. So watch as everything you've built burns in agony."

The mayor writhed in pain, his hoarse voice barely able to cry out.

Lucius suddenly froze, his expression shifting as the ancient voice returned, its words reverberating in his mind.

"Inflict more pain."

Lucius’s lips curled into a sadistic grin as he obliged. He grabbed a jagged piece of metal from the wreckage and drove it into the mayor’s stomach, twisting it slowly. The mayor’s screams pierced the air, echoing across the desolate hill.

"Yes," the voice whispered, dripping with malice. "Gut him. Break him. Make him wish for death and deny it."

Lucius followed the voice’s commands with chilling precision. He tore at the mayor’s flesh, inflicting wound after wound, each more gruesome than the last. Blood poured from the mayor’s body, mixing with the ash and soot beneath him.

The mayor’s cries grew weaker, his voice breaking as the flames crept higher. Lucius stepped back, his chest heaving with fury and satisfaction. The mayor hung limp on the burning tree, his eyes glazing over, but the flames refused to let him die.

Lucius stood silently before the blazing tree, the mayor’s charred, broken body still writhing within the merciless flames. His fury had not subsided, but a strange calm settled over him. He looked down at his hands, noticing the flames that enveloped him, flickering with a life of their own yet causing him no pain. It was then that he felt it—a connection, as though the fire was an extension of himself.

He closed his eyes and concentrated, willing the flames to subside. Slowly, the fire on his body extinguished, leaving faint wisps of smoke rising from his scorched skin. His clothes were singed and tattered, but the oppressive heat was gone.

"Haah...hah"

He felt weak and drained. Like he had worked for hours without break and finally had a chance to stop. But obviously, he wouldn't let that show in front of the mayor.

"What now?" he muttered under his labored breath.

The ancient voice slithered into his mind, cold and calculating. "What now? Have you forgotten so soon, boy? The one with the silver gauntlets. The one who took your mother's head."

Lucius’s eyes narrowed, his fists clenching at the memory. He felt his blood boil again, the faint glow of embers returning to his fingertips.

"I’ll find him," Lucius growled. "I’ll find him and make him suffer."

The voice laughed, its sound like molten metal dripping onto the stone. "And what then? That man is no mere mortal, and despite what you’ve accomplished today, you wouldn’t survive against him as you are now."

Lucius froze, glaring into the air as if he could confront the disembodied voice. "Then what do I do?"

The voice grew darker, its words resonating with an almost hypnotic cadence. "Set off. Burn everything that stands against you. Grow stronger with every flame you kindle. This world is full of those who would seek to destroy you, just like that village. Don’t stop with them. Burn everything. Cleanse the world of its filth and use the ashes to grow in strength."

Lucius turned his gaze back toward the ruins of the village, and the devastation he had caused. The suggestion was tempting, the voice’s dark logic weaving through his mind like smoke. Slowly, he nodded. "Fine. If this is what I have to do... then so be it."

He glanced toward the still-burning mayor, whose hoarse cries continued to break the silence. For a moment, Lucius considered extinguishing the flames that consumed him, but instead, he turned and walked toward the remains of his home.

The house was little more than a collapsed ruin, but within the debris, he found a tattered set of clothes. They barely held together, but they were enough to cover him. Emerging from the wreckage, Lucius looked out over the other side of the hill. In the distance, he saw the outline of a massive forest, its dark expanse stretching endlessly. Beyond it, faint but visible on the horizon, lay the silhouette of a city.

He started walking toward the forest, his steps slow and deliberate. The mayor’s weak, broken voice called after him.

"Please... stop... please..."

Lucius paused. For a moment, he glanced back at the tree. The flames continued to devour the mayor, growing brighter and hotter as the night deepened. He turned away, his figure vanishing into the ashen haze.

The voice in Lucius’s head grew sharp, almost questioning. "Why did you stop? Have you grown stupid from the burning?"

The mayor wept openly, tears streaking down his soot-covered face. Relief washed over him as he whispered to himself, "He’s gone. It’s over..."

Then he heard it. Lucius’s voice, low, distant, and dripping with relentless malice, carried on the wind like a death knell.

"Ignite."

The flames roared to life again, fiercer and hotter than before, devouring the mayor’s flesh with renewed hunger. His screams pierced the night as despair overtook him, realizing the cruel trick Lucius had played.

The ancient voice erupted into laughter, rich and full of malevolent glee. "Well my mistake, boy. You are perfectly fine."

Lucius didn’t look back, didn’t acknowledge the chaos behind him. He disappeared into the night, leaving only destruction and despair in his wake.