All this chaos and supernatural massacre may look normal for most but for me, this was now the norm.
The cause of it all, You ask? Well it's the weird system screen that pops up in front me, guiding me—
Actually, it all started 3 Years ago, As all great things start — With a Bang!
"Welcome to West cost news, I am reporter Wesley Andrews reporting to you from City of St. Valeria," The rather plump-looking man said in a mic in his hand, just another rookie reporter from another money-hungry corporate news channel.
"Behind me is the St. Valery Orphanage, Ablaze. The cause of which is believed to be a gas leak." The man said before he was pushed out of the way by hard-working fire-fighters making their way to the scene.
It was 9:00 Pm and the night had fallen yet the streets were filled with light and noise as if it were in middle of the day.
Saint Valery Orphanage, Once a Former mansion gifted to the state by the monarchy of a European nation, Now the Home for over 300 Orphans, or should I say former home, was now burning like a pyre, made solely of wood and other highly flammable materials It was truly a wonder that it hadn't burned down to the ground earlier.
"Thankfully, no one was at the orphanage at the time of the incident, Did you say it was because of an outing?" A man in blue police uniform asked. "Thankfully, everyone is safe and accounted for."
"Well, Not everyone" The Nun said with a hint of guilt in her voice. "One of the children was present at the scene."
Her voice was almost a whimper as she was shook with this incident.
"What! How! Who!" The officer asked without giving the Nun a chance to answer; after all, it was their top priority and the Nun was only telling them this now.
"We-Well, Ember… He is the oldest child in our orphanage, We usually send children older than 12 to different orphanages around the city and try to find foster homes for them. But Ember is paralysed from Neck down... He can't go anywhere without his wheelchair and help of someone... Also, the room he sleeps in is already full in flames. "I am afraid he is no more."
The Nun burst into tears as got on her knees and started praying, She knew she shouldn't have left him; she knew she should've done more. The worst of it all... Ember, the poor boy, was a regular victim of bullying and the Nun wasn't able to do anything for him before his death.
"YOU! Are you even human anymore! Not only you leave a paralysed boy in the orphanage without any supervision, But you also tell me this after the whole building is basically charcoal!" The officer roared with fury; the anger was apparent in both his face and voice.
Around 3 Hours Ago, The Start of Fire
A boy devoid of any happiness, Ember. Poor bastard didn't even have a last name. A boy with with with nothing to his name—not even his own body—was sleeping on his wheelchair, unassuming of the death that was approaching him.
BOOM!!!
A massive explosion rocked the building, Ember slowly opened his eyes, his whole body covered in blood and his room burning in flames, He could do nothing but wallow in his sorrow; tears came streaming down his eyes, He realised that the explosion has rocked him off his wheelchair and knocked him against the wall.
It had been around 2 hours and 45 minutes since the original explosion and while he was passed out, the fire had spread. He was bleeding as the shards of nearby window glass had dug into his flesh, although he didn't know if he should be thankful for the shrapnel for not hitting his veins and causing him death by blood loss because the pain from the glass was unbearable. And eventually even he caught up, as his clothes started to catch on fire while he was helpless to do anything.
"Why! Why me! I can't live! It hurts! It hurts! It burns!" The boy screamed on top of his lungs, his body filled with glass shrapnel and flesh melting with the searing heat of the flame. "WHY DO I HAVE TO SUFFER, WHAT IS MY CRIME TO DESERVE THIS!? I DO NOT WANT TO DIE! I DO NOT WANT TO DIE!"
.
.
.
.
"Do you really want to live my child?" A somewhat feminine voice sounded in his head; all the pain was gone, all that burning sensation no more. He felt as if he were swimming in the warm and peaceful ocean current.
"I want to live, I do not want to die, I do not want to give up, not anymore, not anymore." Ember, the boy who didn't even have control on what food he ate or the clothes he wore, definitely didn't have control over his life. He had thought it countless times... to end it once and for all, but the answer he always came to was —
No, No he wouldn't; even if he had the choice, he would never waste his life.
He wanted to live, No matter how harsh the reality or the world. He would never give in.
"I too want to live, my child. But I can't; my time has long since passed... so I pass unto you, My last Embers." The disembodied voice said as a bright golden flame engulfed Ember, But it didn't hurt; it didn't hurt at all. Instead, it felt pleasant, as if the the flame was healing him truly. All of his wounds were being healed in real time. The glass shrapnel melted and dripped down to the floor as if it were mere water. He felt full of energy; the flame all around him started to close in on him — But more importantly.
"My-My legs! I can feel my legs! I can move my legs! I can. I can." All the happiness in the world had surrounded Ember as He stood up, on his own two feet, without help from anyone.
[Congratulations! Descendant of the Great Phoenix, you have successfully Inherited the last remnants of the Phoenix.
[The Will of Phoenix Acquired]
[The Will is undergoing change]
[The Will is bonded to the new master; The Will has adapted it into a Modern shape.]
[The Phoenix Rebirth System is now Online]
[Welcome Ember, The last descendant of the Phoenix race]
[You have gained the attribute 'Remnant Phoenix']
[You have gained the attribute 'Fire Affinity: Maxim']
[You have gained the Skill 'Flame Control.']
[You have gained the Skill 'Flame Absorb.']
[You have gained the Skill 'Flame Generation.']
[You have gained the Attribute 'Wind Affinity: Pure' due to your ancestry.]
[High Intensity flames detected, Mana level: Critically depleted.]
[!! Forcefully activating the Skill Flame Absorb !!]