I woke up. Those two were already looming over me, waving their textbooks around.

  — "Hey," Poverty poked a finger at a page. "It says here in black and white: to make water flow, you have to recite an incantation. With specific feelings and intonation. Your 'method' doesn't have any of that."

  I sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. — "What I do is called silent casting. Why waste breath on words when you can just direct the mana? Anyway, I’m hungry. Fix some breakfast."

  The Demon of War didn't argue. Her tail flicked sharply; a bone needle shot from the tip, pinning a passing bird to a tree trunk. The demoness retrieved the carcass and tossed it at my feet. — "There. Eat."

  I started building a fire. — "And what did you two eat while I was asleep?" — "We saw some cows and sheep back at the pasture," she replied lazily. "Ate a couple. You humans spend way too much time sleeping. A completely useless activity."

  I looked at my neighbor. — "Poverty, I see your fourth arm has finally taken shape?" — "Yeah," he wiggled the new limb.

  War stretched, her muscles rippling beneath her skin like living snakes. I found myself staring at her transformation involuntarily. — "What are you gawking at?" she growled.

  I didn't get a chance to answer. From the direction of the city came an ear-splitting:

  KABOOM!

  The ground leaped. We rushed to a clearing and saw a gargantuan pillar of smoke rising over the City of Alchemists. Then, another blast thundered. The second explosion was so powerful that the entire settlement was simply wiped off the map. The shockwave reached us in seconds. If War hadn't grabbed me by the collar and pinned me to the ground, I would have flown away with the dead leaves.

  We scrambled onto the horses and tore toward the ruins.

  The city was gone. Only smoking craters and molten chunks of metal remained. In the very center of the chaos stood Mira. She was gripping her massive hammer.

  — "What happened, Mira?" I jumped off my horse, surveying the wasteland. — "The Demon of Time," she didn't even turn around. "Turned out to be more complicated than I thought." — "And so you destroyed the whole city? Thousands of people?" — "Yes," she finally looked at me. Calmly. "It was necessary. All the residents here were his puppets; their wills belonged to him. I had to cut out the tumor along with the organ."

  The ground beneath our feet began to crack. Thin streams of lava seeped from the fissures; stones began to melt, turning into a viscous slush. — "Seems I let someone out," Mira muttered.

  The Demon of War instantly recoiled. Her body tensed, muscles bulging, and terror froze in her eyes. — "It’s him..." she whispered. "The Primal Fear of Fire." — "How do you even tell them apart?" I asked, feeling the heat begin to sear my face. — "The scent," the demoness snapped. "You can't mistake this one. I fought him once... I didn't win. Barely escaped with my life."

  The heat became unbearable. From the molten earth, as if from a pool, a creature composed of pure white flame leaped out. It didn't look human—more like a clump of violent energy. The Fire Demon froze, pointing a flaming finger at us. He spoke in a strange language that made my ears ring. Every word was accompanied by a burst of sparks.

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  I felt my internal mana begin to boil in response.

  Mira shoved me back violently, leveling her hammer. In that same instant, the heavens split. A torrent of blinding fire struck us—so bright that the world around us simply ceased to exist, turning into a solid yellow haze.

  I didn't even have time to blink. The heat hit like a wall. Mira activated the hammer’s shield—a translucent sphere that began to tremble under the elemental pressure. Within seconds, the hammer in her hands became red-hot; the air inside the protection zone grew thick and dry, scorching my lungs with every breath.

  Mira acted fast. She hurled the shield and spear to the Demon of War. — "Hold these!" she barked.

  KABOOM!

  The shockwave tossed me, but clawed hands intercepted my body in mid-air, pinning me to the ground.

  I saw Mira’s fingers smoking as they gripped the hammer's handle. The artifact was no longer red—it glowed with a deathly blue light, absorbing the enemy's energy. The Fire Demon hovered over the ruins, primal power oozing from his body, his mouth spewing jagged, whistling phrases in a language that sounded like the crackle of a forest fire.

  Mira lunged forward. One devastating strike of the hammer into the ground—and deep chasms tore through the ash. The demon was blown back but immediately soared higher, drenching my sister in tongues of flame. She spun like a whirlwind, moving through space so quickly the fire touched only her shadow.

  Finally, she appeared next to me. Breathing heavily, her palms burnt to the raw meat. — "I'm sorry, Zenhald..." she looked into my eyes. "But without your power, this will drag on." — "And how am I supposed to get it back?" I managed to ask.

  Mira simply pressed a finger to my forehead.

  CLICK.

  The world exploded.

  An insane, piercing pain shot through my spine. The rage I had hidden for so long beneath layers of laziness and apathy surged out like a bursting dam. My body grew heavy and superhumanly light at the same time.

  I felt my eyes changing. The white sclera vanished; the iris dissolved. All that remained was absolute, light-consuming darkness. My aura was no longer hiding—it oozed from my body, settling on the ground as a heavy black fog.

  The Fire Demon froze. He looked at me, and his flame flickered for a second. He shouted something—a threat or a greeting.

  I stood up. Gravity no longer mattered. I looked at the burning creature and spoke. The words tumbled from my lips—guttural, hot, ancient. The Language of Fire.

  — "DEATH."

  POP.

  Teleport. I appeared directly in front of him. My fist smashed into his white-hot chest. The energy-being was sent flying back like a common sack of flour. I appeared next to him again. Another strike—and I slammed him into the earth with such force that he went several meters deep, punching through the bedrock.

  A blinding fountain of flame erupted from the breach. Straight at me. I didn't block. I just opened my mouth and... inhaled.

  All that violent fire, all that mana flowed into me, filling the void within. I devoured his essence, feeling a conflagration ignite inside me.

  I pointed my index finger forward. Energy began to concentrate at a single point. A white spark. A second.

  PEW!

  A thin beam of absolute white flame sliced through space. Within a hundred-meter radius, every living thing instantly turned to nothing. Stones evaporated, and the soil fused into smooth, gleaming glass under the temperature.

  The Fire Demon staggered. He no longer emitted light—only black, acrid smoke.

  I appeared beside him. I grabbed him by what served as his shoulders and began to methodically tear him in half. He screamed. The sound wasn't human; it was the moan of a dying element.

  I ripped through his shell until I saw It.

  The Core. A bright crimson, pulsating, concentrated heart of fear. I grabbed it with my bare hand. Scathing cold and unbearable heat at once. Without a second thought, I simply swallowed it.

  CRUNCH.

  — "HA-HA-HA-HA!" I burst out laughing, feeling the power overflowing my veins. "Yes... I feel it. It's not enough. Not nearly enough! I want more!"

  I turned to Mira and the demons. In my pitch-black eyes, there was nothing left of that boy.

  The Hunger was only just beginning.