Born with only the slightest capability to control flames, Envidia was anything but powerful.
Among elementals, one's strength came from their elemental magic. Because physical elements which were not imbued with magic couldn't harm elementals, an elemental with a weak sense for their own magic was considered to be the weakest type of elemental.
Despite being made from molten rock and flames, Envidia's flames were weak.
She could not fight back against those who took her on. Doing so would be like a rabbit trying to slaughter a stomping elephant.
"Oh, we're gonna make you cry alright."
Three girls surrounded Envidia.
"We couldn't help but notice that you seem to be following behind us in the mornings. You seem to think that just because you're Evelyn's sister that you're allowed to casually walk the same path as her."
The girl before Envidia was a water elemental who held out her liquid hand, slapping Envidia's face and causing the magma which formed her own face to harden into rock in the shape of a hand.
"You speak back to the teacher like you're more important than everyone else, and you always give your sister a shitty look.", a different one stated- this one being an elemental which appeared to be formed from a swirling tornado.
"Don't you understand your own position relative to her? She's better than you. In every way."
"That's why she's going to become the Captain of the Knight's one day. Not you."
The one who said this was a girl that appeared to be made from a black smog that had yellow bolts of electricity jolting from one place to another- a storm elemental.
The three girls laughed as Envidia looked up at them without saying a word.
'So sister gets these minions too? Is it just because of her own body? Of the way she was born? Is it because I was born looking like father, and she was born looking like mother?'
"So she's just better than me? I'm supposed to just accept that? Is that what you're telling me? She gets everything because she's better than me?"
Envidia spoke these words and the three before her immediately stopped laughing.
"Looks like you do get it.", the water elemental stated.
As she said this she thrusted her own foot into the stomach of Envidia, putting out her flames and hardening the magma into solid rock.
Falling to the ground while gagging for air, Envidia began to choke.
It was then that an onslaught occurred.
The other two joined in, and Envidia was bombarded by attacks to the point where she lost all sight of everything.
Her vision went black, and her hearing went numb.
The only thing she felt was pain.
Pain.
She was kicked and kicked and punched and spit on, over and over.
Envidia didn't know how much time had passed, but her entire body felt like it was going to explode over and over. Just when she believed the pain would stop, she was met with another kick.
"Cough.... cough!!! Ughh!!!"
Gasping for air, the three before her didn't pause for a moment to allow Envidia to breathe. Flames need oxygen to light, but even the storming winds which assaulted her only weakened the light flames which surrounded her body.
Her hair disappeared from her head as she was unable to sustain the flames.
"Don't ever put yourself on the same scale as your sister!!!! Hah!! The only reason why I believe the fact that you two are twins is because it makes sense that all the good could go into one of you, and all the bad into the other one!"
The girls continued their blatant abuse, however eventually the punches and kicks came to a halt.
"Hey Envidia.... don't you dare tell anyone what happened to you here. And especially don't tell your sister. If she found out that we did something like this, then she'd probably feel sorry for you.... but we did it for her sake. I feel bad for her that she has to live under the same roof as you."
The voice came closer as Envidia barely opened her eyes, her sight hazy and her ears ringing as she heard these words.
"And just to make sure that you don't tell anyone that we did this.... we have a little secret that we found out."
With a smug grin, the girl looked down on Envidia with a mocking expression.
"We heard that your father was a traitor to this city."
"If you tell anyone, we'll spread the story about the traitor to everyone in the school, and soon there won't be a person in the city who doesn't know the story about the flame elemental who entered this city only to lead an army here."
"You'll be driven out just like the scum you are. So you better not say a peep to anyone."
As Envidia heard these words, she felt as if her heart had stopped.
Envidia knew well the story of her own father's betrayal.
She knew well the reason why her mother and father had died years before.
"Why...."
With a cough, Envidia sat up with flames in her eyes.
"Why..... why does she get everything?"
The three girls before her stepped back, frightened at the new expression which Envidia had taken.
"A-anyways.... you'd better not tell anyone!!"
"Y-yeah!!"
The girls soon rushed off, leaving Envidia staring at them with a horrible anger.
"Why..... is she the one who get's the position of Captain?"
"Why.... is she the one who the Knights all respect?"
"Why.... is she the one who Misticia loves?"
"Why..... is she the one who the teachers and the students love and respect?"
"Why.... is she the one who gets everything?"
Looking down with madness, Envidia began to scratch the icy road below her.
"WHY... IS SHE THE ONE WHO WAS BORN WITH THE LOOKS OF OUR MOTHER?!?"
"WHY AM I THE ONE WHO GOT THE LOOKS OF THE TRAITOR!?!? OF THE DAMN FLAME ELEMENTAL!!"
Envidia began to scream out, however nobody was around to take note of her.
Not a single soul passed by this area- which had been selected as an ambush spot for the exact reason that not many would come here.
"WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY!!!!! ITS ALWAYS SISTER THIS, SISTER THAT!!! Sister gets everything, and I don't get shit!!!! Why the hell is this damn world so unfair!?!?!? Why am I the only damn one in the entire village who has to go through this shit!?!?!? HAH!?!? FUCK YOU!!! FUCK SISTER!!! FUCK EVERYONE!!!! Why does everyone in this damn world.... have a better life than me?"
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Slamming her molten fist to the icy ground, the roadway beneath her begun to slowly melt.
"Why..."
Envidia placed her hand on her face in an attempt to hold back her emotions.
"Why was I even born? If sister was given everything.... then why was there anything left at all?"
[Are you envious?]
As Envidia broke down, a female voice made it's way into her head.
Envidia looked around to see if someone was nearby and had seen her own fit, but there was nobody.
"And now.... I don't even know if anything around me is real."
[Are you envious of your sister? Of the people around you? Of the world?]
"Of course I am!!!! I'm sick of everyone having more than me!!! Why the hell did I have to start the race 2 miles behind the starting line!?!"
[Do you wish to..... control that envy?]
These words resounded within the heart of Envidia.
They repeated themselves in her mind over and over and over.
[Do you wish to.... control that envy?]
"Yes."
Without hesitation, Envidia begun to laugh as she answered.
"Hahahah.... hahahaha!!! Hahahahahahaha!!!! Yes!!! Of course I fucking would!!!! Do you think I haven't tried!?!?!? FUCK YOU!!!"
With the laughter of a madwoman, Envidia's eyes became crazed and her expression went from a twitching smile to a bitter frown in moments.
She began to claw at the ground, scratching it without meaning.
"I want..... something.... I need.... something..... I...."
[Come.]
[I will show you the power of your envy.]
A beat struck into her heart and a smile came across Envidia.
Information had been implanted into her mind.
She was instilled with the knowledge of a location.
She did not know where it was or why she was given this information, but having been driven to the point of madness she grabbed onto this final thread.
"Fine.... fine!! I'll go to wherever that is!!!! Just shut the hell up!!!"
With twitching eyes and lips Envidia picked herself up, her own body numb from the beating as she swayed back and forth.
Her wounds were beginning to heal, given that elementals had innate healing properties- however given the weakness of her own internal energy it would take Envidia longer than most elementals to fully recover.
Slumping through the city, Envidia eventually approached the gates which led outside the city, where she found a couple of knights.
"Oi... that's...."
"The twin...."
"The flame demon...."
The knights whispered to one another as they saw the beaten young girl slouch her way over to them, before Envidia looked up at them with mad expression.
"Let me through, soldiers. Hahaha.... my sister is the Captain, after all. Isn't that right? Can I use her authority here? Probably not, right? Isn't that disrespectful or something? HAHAHA!!!! I don't care. Let me the hell through here!!!"
The knights looked at Envidia with disgust and disturbance as she yelled at them.
"Why you little brat..."
"Do you think you can just...."
"Wait."
One man stood forward, whispering into the ears of his comrades.
"Isn't this the perfect chance to get rid of her? We let her out of the city and claim we don't know anything about it, then if she comes back she won't be seen as an insider, but rather some stray flame elemental. We can drive her off then and nobody will know the better."
The men looked to one another with nods and agreed.
"Whatever you say, sister of the future Captain."
The men opened the gates and Envidia walked out into the snow, her weak flames melting only the slightest portion of the white substance as she trekked forward.
"All the way up.... you sure are taking me on a long journey, aren't you?"
Envidia's comment wasn't met with a response, and she begun to climb the mountain.
A young girl, with no equipment, no food, no light, just her own body and the flames which enveloped her to survive- climbing a mountain.
It was a ridiculous sight.
Any decent person would have run by to stop her, making an attempt to find out what on earth the child was doing.
Yet no such person appeared.
Envidia climbed and climbed until the mountain became covered with trees, and eventually she came to the peak.
Looking off the edge of the top, she saw two things.
On one side of her was the city of ice which she was raised in- Iciclaris.
The city which considered her as an outcast, and never once had shown her a lick of kindness.
The city which had placed her sister above her in all things, and the people thereof.
On the other side, was a void of darkness.
A place where no sunshine fell upon.
An abyss of the unknown.
Yet even this unknown abyss, to Envidia, was better than the hell she had just emerged from.
She began to descend the peak, eventually coming into another forest clearing.
It was there that she came upon a shack.
It was a wooden shack, and inside it was a light. There was somebody living there.
With a mad grin, Envidia approached the home.
"So this is the place where you are, voice?"
----
Envidia entered the home without the slightest bit of restraint.
Bursting into the door with a mad expression, she violently entered the home without a care in the world.
She had lost it.
Without a doubt, she had given up all sense of reason.
Throwing aside any rationality left within her, Envidia followed this voice blindly as she entered this shack.
Before her, sitting at the table, was a wind elemental.
"Is barging into someone's home something normal for you?"
Looking at the man before her, Envidia merely laughed.
"I'm not here for you. I'm here for what's under you."
The man before her thinned his eyes.
"I see. So the crystal has selected a new host?"
"I don't know what the hell you mean by that.... but get out of my way."
The man closed his eyes, standing up.
"They are always overtaken with madness at first, aren't they? I suppose that is the very type of person which the crystal selects to bestow it's powers on.", he whispered to himself.
Turning to Envidia, a bulb lit in the mind of the man.
"Ah, you are related.... to that flame elemental. Aren't you? The one who entered this city.... how many years ago was it? It was a long time ago, that is for certain. He claimed that he wanted to see the world.... what ever happened to him, I wonder?"
"Are you.... are you speaking of my father?"
On hearing the words of the man, Envidia was reminded of the story which was told to her years ago by her own mother.
The story of how her father entered the village to explore, but ended up taking her heart instead.
"I speak of a man named Jorris. He looked somewhat similar to you, and you somewhat reminded me of him... though your expression is very different."
The man pointed a finger towards the cellar door in the other room.
"I don't know what has happened to you to bring you to this state, but it isn't my place to interfere with the will of the stone."
The man closed his eyes and placed his hand on the shoulder of the girl who had gone mad with jealousy.
"But I'd rather not see you devolve into a monster. If possible, take control of your own emotions.... and become someone respectable. Unlike that King."
With this statement, Envidia felt an odd warmth from the man.
Despite the harsh nature of his words and his clear attack on her mental state, Envidia felt a kindness which she hadn't felt from any of the people in the city of Iciclaris.
Her eyes twitching, she walked forth to the cellar without a word.
Entering the cellar, she lowered herself to witness a large stone.
The stone was bright green and hovering above the ground, spinning around an axis.
As Envidia witnessed this stone, she felt something strange.
[You have come. What do you wish?]
"I..... am sick of sister getting everything. I'm sick of her being gifted.... I'm sick of everyone loving her.... I'm sick of people sucking up to her due to her position. I.... wanted to be the Captain of the Knights. I wanted them all to look at me.... the same way they looked at her."
[Your desire has been considered. The last one who I granted power was killed because he did not fully understand his own capabilities, so I will explain to you.]
Envidia looked forward at the floating crystal before her as it spoke. She didn't know who or what it was, but she felt a strange affinity with it, as if it understood her.
[You perhaps are too driven with madness to understand.... so I will first ask you to calm yourself.]
Envidia stared at the crystal with a strange look.
"What do you mean?"
[There. That there is the look I wanted to see.]
The voice spoke with confidence, satisfied with the person before it.
[Listen closely, Envidia. I will grant you the power of Envy. Through the ability granted to you, you will be able to control fate itself.... however, you must take care to understand your limitations. Envidia.... if you are envious of someone, fate will twist itself in order to remove that jealousy from your heart.]
"Eh? Remove the jealousy from my heart?"
Confused at this proclamation, Envidia stared at the system strangely, having come to her own senses.
[Yes.... your envy will be removed. However, this can happen in one of two ways. Either you will obtain the object of your jealousy..... or the person who you are jealous of will lose the object of your jealousy. When you activate this ability, without exception, your jealousy will be fulfilled in one way or another in due time, and as a result of this fate will not allow you to die until all has been obtained. However.... take care in understanding that this ability will only come into play if your own jealousy actually exists. It was for this reason that my former host died, believing that he was invincible.... when he had already killed the person who he was envious of.]
With a motherly voice, Envidia felt as if she was being caressed by the one who spoke.
[But I see much greater potential in you than the former host.]
With a smile, Envidia grinned as she stared at the crystal.
"Heh..... are..... are you serious? Is all that true?"
[Of course it is true.]
"Hah...hahaha.....HAHAHHA!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!!!!!! I.... I'll make them all pay.... I'll..... I'll take everything from them... HAHAHAHAHAHAAHA!!!! I'LL MAKE IT ALL MY OWN!!!!! EVERYTHING THAT I NEVER HAD!!!!!"
Envidia was overcome by a fit of laughter, further pushed into her own madness.
[It is this..... this expression.... this level of envy which I was hoping for.]
At that moment, the molten girl before the crystal blew up in flames.
With explosive force, the hut burst into flames in the middle of the forest.
Sitting in a tree from afar, Berstil couldn't help but let out a sigh.
'Ah.... I knew that a storm was coming, but my entire hut? Well..... I suppose I can always rebuild.'
Closing his eyes, he watched as a crater formed in the ground.
The crystal remained untouched, yet in the entire area it was the only thing that went untouched- the girl aside.
Smiling as she looked at her own hands, the girl giggled to herself over the power which she held.
'But even if you can rebuild a home, you cannot simply restore a mind.'
Berstil jumped away from tree to tree, escaping the area.
'I've done my task now, crystal. The rest is up to you.'
----
Envidia felt power flow into her body.
[It seems that one of the objects of your jealousy has been obtained.... but that is not the only thing, no? Your jealousy still remains..... and that is why I have chosen you..... your jealousy is so deeply rooted that so long as your sister lives, it will not run dry.]
"Heh..... heh.... heh.... I.... I have power..... I.... can I gain everything she has?"
[Do not kill her. So long as she lives, that is enough to save you.]
"Hahahahaha..... perfect."
----