Selle's eyes lifted—wild, bloodshot, and exhausted.
They met a gaze that held fascination instead of pity.
"After we sell you," his voice continued softly, almost dreamily, "we'll come visit."
A grin slowly crawled across his face.
"Just to watch… while they rape and torture you."
He said it like someone talking about a festival attraction.
Like entertainment.
"I can see you're hungry…" Seller chuckled as he reached down for a bowl sitting nearby.
"I can't let you die from hunger now, can I?"
The others snickered.
"I bet she doesn't even eat uncooked worms!" one jeered, his voice cracking with glee as seller yanked the cloth from my mouth.
Cold air hit my lips.
Before I could speak—
"Here, eat up!!"
Seller's hand suddenly grabbed my hair and yanked my head back.
Pain shot through my scalp.
My jaw was forced open before I could turn away.
A writhing pile of worms squirmed in his palm.
Then—
He shoved the worms between my teeth.
Cold.
Slimy.
Greasy.
I gagged instantly.
"Gah—!!!"
My body twisted violently as I tried to spit them out, but fingers clamped around my cheeks, squeezing until my mouth stayed open.
Laughter erupted around the room.
"There's a long, long road of suffering ahead, child!" Seller crowed, grinning wide enough to show every tooth.
"For now… just play with us until your new owner arrives."
My vision blurred.
The worms were shoved deeper into my mouth.
My stomach convulsed as I tried to vomit them back out.
But his hand forced them in again.
Greasy.
Stringy.
Rotting.
Reeking.
His entire hand shoved into my mouth as he tried to pry my jaw wider.
Something inside me—
Snapped.
My head jerked forward with sudden violence.
My teeth slammed shut.
Not on the worms.
On his hand.
Blue sparks flickered inside my mouth—
Then flames ignited.
A burst of blue fire erupted between my teeth.
Seller's eyes widened.
For one split second—
He didn't understand what had happened.
Then the flames burned through his skin.
He ripped his hand out of my mouth with a wet tear.
For a moment he simply stared at it.
His hand—blackened, blistered, bleeding.
Unbelieving.
Then the pain reached his brain.
"AAAAAAAGH!!"
"MY HAND—!!!"
His scream tore through the room as he collapsed to the floor, clutching the charred flesh.
"How dare you!!"
The man with the flamethrower snapped in rage, his voice shaking with fury and shock.
"You little—!!"
He lifted the weapon and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
FWOOOOSH!!
A roaring stream of fire exploded from the nozzle.
The flames slammed into me like a tidal wave.
The entire corner of the room erupted in burning light.
Heat swallowed everything.
Wood ignited instantly.
Walls blackened.
My kneeling figure disappeared inside the inferno.
"You idiot!" the man holding the bucket shouted.
"You just killed our client's toy!"
"That bitch deserves to die for burning the boss's hand!!" the flamethrower man snapped back.
Seller writhed on the floor.
His burnt hand trembled violently while he clutched it with the other.
Blood dripped steadily onto the concrete.
"Now what?" the bucket man muttered nervously.
"Our client will be here tonight…"
"What are we going to—"
He stopped mid-sentence.
Something about the flames was wrong.
They were moving strangely.
Not spreading.
Not dying.
Moving.
Like they were alive.
"…Hey…"
My voice came from inside the fire.
The man with the flamethrower squinted through the flames.
"Wait…"
His eyes widened.
"…She's devouring the fire."
The flames twisted inward.
Spiraling.
Collapsing.
Being pulled into a single point.
Into my mouth.
I inhaled deeply.
The fire flowed into my lungs like air.
Then the flames vanished.
And I stood in the darkness.
My eyes burned like living embers.
Seller froze.
Another swallowed hard.
A third stumbled backward—his pants darkening as fear overtook him.
The man with the bucket shakily lifted a flashlight.
The beam landed on me.
And all they saw—
Was fire bursting from my throat like a dragon's breath as I exhaled slowly.
Smoke curled from my lips.
My gaze was cold.
Unmoving.
"…each and every…"
My voice came out rough.
Hoarse.
"…one of you…"
None of them looked away.
"…this city… or Nova Yorka…"
The chains around my wrists began to glow.
Red.
Metal groaned under the sudden strain.
Gleek.
The sound echoed softly as the restraints twitched.
"…are really starting to get on my nerves."
The chains trembled violently.
Above me, the brackets holding them to the ceiling groaned.
Bolts strained.
Then—
CRACK.
A bolt snapped loose.
GLRK—WRRH!!
Metal tore free.
Dust and splinters rained down.
Faces flooded my mind.
Hydros.
Heroes.
Director Hargrove.
All of them burning in flames.
My fists clenched.
The restraints sparked violently.
Metal bit into torn skin.
The anchors finally gave way.
"—SO I'LL KILL EACH AND EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU!!!"
The ceiling mount ripped free with a thunderous crack.
The chain whipped downward in a screaming arc.
The entire ceiling section collapsed.
Debris rained down everywhere.
Men scrambled in panic.
Metal snapped.
Bolts sheared.
The chain lashed through the air like a furious serpent.
I Landing hard in front of them.
Stone shattered beneath my feet.
The broken chain coiled around me like a living creature.
Gasps filled the room.
Faces twisted with pure terror.
"—!!"
Chunks of plaster slammed onto the floor.
Seller stumbled backward.
Another froze completely, mouth hanging open.
I slowly stood.
"You should have killed me…"
My voice was low.
"…when you had the chance."
The chain rattled in my grip like something alive.
"So I'm not going to hold back my anger…"
"…or my hatred anymore."
The words exploded out of me.
The chain shrieked across the floor.
And the room filled with the sound of metal screaming for blood.