-Flashback-
Looking out of a window was a very small child with dark curly hair, she watched as other children played in the grassy fields beyond the glass. "Why can't I play outside with them?" Her big chocolatey eyes sparkled as the light from the sun fell on them.
"Because, you aren't like them. You are special." A woman with peppermint green eyes, standing about 5'8", answered plainly, tapping her wand onto a crystalized wood. Her light auburn hair was slightly wavy & hung well below her waist; on her head sat a very large & very pointed. She made a few different symbols with her wand in the space above the crystalized wood & a fist sized flame erupted as she completed the last words of enchantment.
"Is it really alright that I stay here?" The girl looked back towards Minami. She wasn't from here. She didn't know where she was from, all she could remember was that they had found her 2 months ago.
"Of course Eden, you belong with us now." Minami glanced over at the girl & gave her a warm smile.
The small child, elated at this answer, happily twirled her way from the window to her mentor's side. As she got closer, the flames grew stronger.
"It's pretty." The child was mesmerized by the flames before her. "I wanna make my own!"
"You will, but I'm not certain you are ready."
She huffed, beginning to pout, "Oh please please please? Pretty please, Miss Minami?"
This caused her mentor to smile, "Go on then, give it a try Eden."
The girl swiftly took on the stance she had been taught, taking in a deep breath. She let her hands pass one another, as if to pull something from thin air. In the place where they had crossed came a brilliant flame. It quickly grew bigger than her tiny frame, threatening to swallow her whole. Minami hastily pinched her fingers together, swiping them in front of the flames in an attempt to weaken it. But they only flickered for a moment before growing larger out of her control. Minami felt a sense of panic as she looked over at the small girl who had previously been overwhelmed. Eden, in the blink of an eye, had shrunk the flames to a manageable size & now played with them with ease.
The days were pleasant for the child, she was treated favorably by all the adults & Elders around her because of her incredible aptitude for magic. But soon she would have to pay the price…
At the top of a lush hill stood an intricate platform, on this platform was the young girl, now no older than 6 or 7. The child was nailed to a dark wooden cross, her dark curls were matted & her skin was covered in cuts & bruises. Black blood spilled from every wound, the most visibly gruesome injury being the empty socket where her right eye had once resided, now gouged out. Tears streamed from her left eye, down her flushed cheeks as she looked helplessly into the crowd.
The High Elder Munde stepped forward, a great smile upon his face, "My people, today is a day of celebration!" He then stretched his hand out, gesturing to the small girl hanging on the cross. "With the death of this child!" He shouted confidently, "We shall rise in power & keep what is ours!"
Cheers erupted from everyone at his words.
"Please!" The girl cried loudly, begging for someone, anyone to help her. But there was no answer, save for their cheers. There was no salvation to be had.
"Let the Cosmic Witch burn!" He declared, igniting the bottom of the cross.
Flames quickly made their way up the wood, Eden could feel the heat as it grew closer. Her heart tightened, as the flames began singing the dress she wore. Her tears seemed to be swallowed by the hill. The echo of vicious cheers rang in her ears, as the flames threatened to devour her. Her eye darted anxiously over the crowd, landing on Minami, who froze before quickly turning away.
Eden cast her eye to the ground, realization settled in, that not even the one she had loved as a mother would come to her rescue.
A bitterness welled up within the child, as her tears mixed with her blood. She closed her eye. Was this where her devotion had got her? Black tears rolled down her cheek, as she bit her lip. No god would help her, there was no peace to be had. The zeal with which the crowd cheered drowned everything else out. Eden tilted her head back, the gentle orange glow of the setting sun fell upon her, like terrible mockery. She closed her eye, yearning for freedom, but there was none to be had. Her quiet tears turned to screams of agony, causing the wind to rage & the ground to violently quake.
Panic sprouted in the hearts of everyone on the hill, but still their fervent cheers grew louder. The sound of her chilling screams was like a haunting melody filling their ears. As the ground beneath them shook ferociously, the crowd began to call for her death with frenzied excitement; their panic, now a sapling feeding on their nervousness. The flames had made their way up her legs, searing her skin. The warmth & light of sunset was cruel as her screams & cries of agony were rendered barely more than a whisper before the deafening roars of the mob.
The girl began to tremble, cursing those who rejoiced powerfully for her death, those that had dared to call themselves her family. The weight of their betrayal was unbearable. The flames that tore into her, blackening her flesh, would never let her forget. Her bloody tears were like a river as they poured from her eye. Another scream erupted from her vocal chords as Eden threw her head towards the sky once again, still yearning desperately for freedom.
The flames that were consuming her, reacted to her cries & began to rage violently. They mirrored her desire to live as though they themselves were alive. The flames seemed to reach towards the sky, in a way that was almost human, as if calling out for help. Another painful shriek of agony rang from the child, as the flames ate away the fabrics of her clothing & made their way up her stomach. The crowd was mesmerized by the vile & brilliant glow.
'Humanity is cruel…' The girl thought, her cries growing softer. 'I don't belong here… There was no true place for me after all…"
She could feel the hopeless & devastating truth clawing at her, as the emptiness finally swallowed her. She embraced it, as she had once embraced the beauty of their lies, realizing that in the end, life & death was all the same. With this final thought, the flames devoured her.
It was in this instance that silence fell over the hill, engulfing everyone as the flames had done to Eden.
"And with that, it is done!" Munde called, throwing his arms open, like a proud father.
Soon everyone left, joyfully returning to their lives. Only Minami remained. She stared blankly at the seared corpse of her former protege who hung charred, on the cross.
It was on that day that humanity sealed its fate, doomed to be punished for their sins, not by a god… but by a child whose heart & soul was taken from her.
Minami's PoV:
I felt a sharp pain stab my heart as the smell of her burnt flesh filled my nostrils. My throat closed up.
Why…?
All because of our obsession with power & fear of the supernaturals. We sacrificed a child to satiate our sick human greed. These thoughts would remain with me forever – to be human was to be a monster capable of monstrous atrocities, without hesitation. The flames that she had found so beautiful became her final judgment.
They leave her body here, as if she is nothing at all. But that's the way it is, we take what we want & discard the rest…