A woman with messy hair curled up in a room that was dark because the windows were covered with curtains. Her teeth continued to grind and her body continued to tremble. However, the trembling was not because she was afraid or because her body felt cold, but because she had an immense desire.
"Burn…. Burn…. Burn…. I want to burn…." She hissed softly.
The door to the room opened suddenly. The woman winced in surprise and immediately stood up. The man finally came. Yes, it's a figure with a dark robe and face that can't be seen because it's covered by the shadow of the hood he's wearing.
"You prefer dark, don't you?" The robed figure turned on the light. He spoke in a deep, buzzing voice.
The woman looked at that figure with eyes so haggard and red. She was clearly sleep-deprived.
"The best light comes from fire." The woman raved like a drunk. "So, can I use my power now? I can't wait any longer! I've been waiting for days!"
"What if I said not yet?"
Making a sound similar to a beast's growl, she approached the robed figure.
"Remember, I can take your power, Grace!" The figure said sternly, forcing the woman to stop with a savage expression. "How about you thank me first? Isn't this kind of power that you want? Ah, don't forget to also thank her for releasing you from prison."
Lexi appeared beside the figure. The blonde-haired woman's eyes looked arrogantly at the woman named Grace.
Grace glanced back at Lexi. Lexi was not affected at all and instead displayed a cynical smile. Grace was already leaning forward as if she was about to attack, but she managed to hold herself back and finally gave a deep bow.
"Thanks to this power, I can burn as much as I want. And thank you for releasing me from prison. " Grace said in a muffled voice.
"Huh, you don't sound serious." Lexi laughed derisively.
Grace lifted her head with an even more savage gaze.
"Just leave it, Lexi." The cloaked figure said, then shifted his body to make way for Grace. "Please do what you want, flame girl. Just don't do it near here."
A wide, terrifying smile formed on Grace's lips. She rushed out of the way without saying goodbye.
"I really don't like her. She is like a wild animal and has no manners." Lexi complains when Grace is out of sight. "The way she eats is also very messy and what's worse, she doesn't want to take a shower."
The figure chuckled as he lowered the hood on his head, then removed a device that was attached to his ear and had a mic that extended all the way to his mouth.
"It's because everyone stays away from her who is obsessed with fire. They are afraid, so they don't want to interact with her, including her own parents. Therefore, her life has become adrift." The cloaked figure said again, this time in a normal male voice.
Lexi folded his arms across his chest. "I still wonder why you want to wear such a stupid costume, Dovi."
Combing his long hair with his fingers, Dovi chuckled again. "Well, you could say I wanted something a little more dramatic. By wearing this costume, I feel like a real villain…."
Dovi has not finished his words, but Lexi hurriedly walked away.
***
Sitting on the floor of Evan's room, Kara and Shane continued to stare in amazement at Loblob who was still stretching his arms intensely and shouting silently. Meanwhile, Evan lay down on his bed and let out many deep sighs.
"I hope there are no monsters today." Evan yawned for the umpteenth time. Remembering something, he sighed again. "But, I promise to train with a member of the special forces this afternoon."
"Train? You? Train? Did I hear correctly? Evan wants to train!?" Shane asked in an exaggerated and contrived tone.
"Shut up, Shane," Evan grumbled in a lackluster tone. "Even though it wasn't me who was fighting, I was told to train…. But, I don't know what will be taught to me."
Shane giggled. "Why do I have the feeling that the training will be similar to our beloved country's Education curriculum?"
"What do you mean?" Kara's eyebrows rose.
Evan got up and sat on the edge of the bed. "Our country's curriculum includes a lot of lessons, but in the end, many of them are useless…. Well, they are all useful actually, but it depends on the major that will be chosen later. For example, the physics lesson we learned since junior high school will be useful if you become a scientist later, but it is not used at all for those of us who are majoring in economics."
"Therefore, in my opinion, we should have been given a choice of subjects from an early age. But it shouldn't be too early either. Elementary school children are not too mature to make decisions about their future…. " Shane scratched his hair. "Fuck, why our conversation getting so serious?"
"Go on." Kara chewed the chocolate bar that had been in her hands for some time. "I prefer to enjoy this almond-filled chocolate instead of listening to the conversation between the two of you."
"How could you not understand our conversation? Evan and I don't use difficult words ..." Shane stopped his words when Kara pinched his thigh.
"We will see later." Evan shrugged. "If the training is useless, I will stop."
Realizing something, Evan turned his head towards Loblob. The lobster man had stopped doing that absurd pose. Now, he got his hands on his hips while nodded his head. "When I was alive, I only had the skills to survive. I didn't learn any other skills, Master. Maybe that's what got me captured and ended up in the kitchen."
Evan looked at Loblob with a flat expression for a few moments. "First, lobsters cannot practice any other skills because of their small brain capacity. Nobody wants to open a lobster training ground either. Second, your words actually support my argument and Shane's. If you really want to learn any other skills, you will still learn other skills that are useful for survival, right? There's no way you want to learn to paint beautifully so that you can be called Van Gogh of the new era."
"Hmmm …." Loblob folded his arms across his chest. His eyes were slightly upward. He seemed to be thinking.
There was a knock on Evan's door, followed by a male voice. "Evan, are you there? It's me, Bob."
For the umpteenth time, Evan sighed. He got up and opened the door. Yes, it's afternoon training time.
"Just a moment." Bob, wearing a tight T-shirt that shows his muscles, is standing outside the room. The sharp-eyed man was checking his cellphone.
"There are monsters, sir!" Mimi's voice came from Evan's cellphone.
Evan let out another tired sigh. He turned limply. "I'll get ready in a moment."
"Fine, I'll wait." After talking to Evan, Bob went back to using his cellphone.
Evan was about to pick up his cell phone at the study desk when he saw something he thought was very strange. It was something so odd that it shocked him that his body stiffened. He saw Kara looking at Bob intensely. Her eyes sparkled and her cheeks flushed red.