The heat was unbearable, as if hell itself had opened beneath my feet. The smell of burning wood and the sound of destruction were the only things I could perceive, while my body was immersed in pain. I was lying on the ground, the fire around me taking everything I had ever known. The orphanage, the only home I had ever had, was being consumed by flames and, with it, any hope I had of escaping that life.
My body was weak, my strength slowly fading as the fire burned and consumed everything around me.
The pain was intense, but somehow, it seemed to have already dissipated. I didn't know if it was because of the adrenaline or if simply the loss of sensation had caused my body to stop reacting, but the truth was that the hellish pain I felt before was no longer there. I was lying there, just waiting. Waiting for something, maybe death, maybe liberation. I didn't know what to think anymore, I just let the darkness take over me as I watched the flames engulf everything.
Trying to close my eyes, the vision of the fire seemed blurry, but what I saw before I could actually pass out made me freeze.
Something began to rise before me, something I couldn't comprehend.
The heat increased as the figure formed, a mass of flames and embers that moved, writhing like a creature born from the depths of fire and despair.
The monster was like a storm of fire, its body made entirely of living flames, molding itself into liquid, unstable shapes, as if it were a fire sculpture that was constantly recreating itself. The skin, if it could be called that, was a combination of magma and coal, with cracks that exposed an intense red glow, almost impossible to look at directly.
It was as if I was staring at the very heart of a volcano, ready to explode at any moment.
The creature's arms were long, disproportionate, with sharp, flaming claws at the ends. Every movement it made left a trail of sparks in the air, and where its claws touched the ground, it was immediately marked, burned, turned to ash. The creature seemed to feed on the destruction it caused, and its eyes, black as the abyss, glowed with a malicious red light. Its eyes were not just eyes; they were like black holes that sucked in the light around them, and I knew, without knowing exactly how, that within them there was no mercy, only an insatiable hunger.
Its mouth, if such a creature could have one, was formed into a distorted smile, and from within it oozed a black vapor, a viscous substance that smelled of sulfur and death.
"grrrrrrr-CRACK-sss!"
The sound it made when it growled was not a simple roar, but the crackling of flames, like wood breaking in a fire, the sound of something burning inside.
I was paralyzed, the fear was so intense that my body refused to move.
The creature was before me, and there was nowhere to run.
The heat was unbearable, and the air was filled with a pungent smell of sulfur and soot, making breathing almost impossible. I felt like the very oxygen was being consumed by the monster's presence, making the environment heavy and suffocating. Each breath it took made the air vibrate, and small flames emerged from its body, burning everything around it. It was as if it were the epicenter of a volcanic eruption, and everything within its reach was destroyed.
That monster was not just a creature of fire; it was the very personification of destruction.
It was not just a being that burned; He was a predator, a force of nature destined to consume and destroy all that existed. He was the pure embodiment of fire, and the world around him was merely fuel for his fury. But as I stared at the monster, I felt something strange. It wasn't just fear or despair, as I would have imagined. There was something else, something I couldn't understand. A tingling in my chest, a feeling of something, as if something inside me was awakening. I didn't know what it was, but the sensation was strong, as if my body was preparing for something greater, something I couldn't control.
Then, amidst the chaos, a screen appeared before me. It appeared out of nowhere, as if the air itself had become a portal.
In large, clear letters, a series of information appeared, like a warning to me.
Name: Atlas Orion
Race: Human
Ranking: G
Ability: Energy Manipulation
Warning: Invincible (Partial)
The last one that left me confused: INVINCIBLE (PARTIAL)
What did that mean?
What was happening to me?
I was in shock, unable to process what was happening, but something inside me was telling me to act, to not just wait for death. It was as if a voice, a force, was pushing me to fight, to do something.
I didn't know what that immunity meant, but the monster in front of me seemed to be the only obstacle, and somehow, I knew I had to face it.
The monster, which until then had been standing in a fetal position, began to move. Its eyes looked at me with indescribable malice, and I felt the weight of its presence as if I was being pulled into the darkness.
"grrrrrrr-CRACK-sss!"
It growled, the sound a mix of fire and destruction, and the heat increased even more. But something strange happened. I no longer felt fear. I no longer felt the pain of the burns. My body was in a strange state, as if the wounds had started to heal instantly. I was stronger, more energized. My skin was still red, but something inside me was awakening.
I didn't think about the consequences.
I didn't think about how much stronger that monster was than me, or how impossible it would be to defeat it.
I just acted. I advanced towards it with the fury of someone who had nothing left to lose, someone who, deep down, knew that this was the only chance to escape. And, luckily, the creature didn't seem to be able to move quickly, remaining there, only releasing occasional waves of fire.
The first wave of flames hit me in the leg, burning my skin and making my vision blur for a moment, but at the same time, something ignited inside me. The pain was muffled, as if something was protecting me.
The Invincible (Partial), I thought.
I didn't know how long it would last, but I knew I had to seize this moment. I attacked the monster with everything I had. My punches were fast, strong, and the kicks I threw were charged with energy I didn't know I had.
I didn't know how I was doing it, but it felt right. I was attacking with a strength that wasn't my own, but that manifested itself from somewhere deep inside.
I didn't stop. Punches, kicks, headbutts. Everything I knew about fighting, everything I had seen in the games and books I had read, came flooding back in that moment. I was losing track of time, just punching and punching the fiery creature, trying to destroy its seemingly unbreakable form.
'PAH'
'PAH'
"grrrrrrr-CRACK-ssssss"
Finally, after one last blow, the creature writhed and, with a final roar, began to disappear.
Its form dissolved as if it were made of smoke, dissipating until there was nothing left. There was only emptiness, and the feeling that I had won. But as the monster disappeared, something remained. On the ground next to me was a small object, a red ball, pulsing gently.
I approached the ball, still panting and exhausted, but the effect of the immunity was starting to wear off. The pain returned with full force, and exhaustion hit me like an overwhelming wave. I knew I no longer had the strength to continue. Before I could understand what was happening, darkness took over me, and I fainted, falling to the ground, not knowing what would happen next.
'EEEEE-EEEEE'
'EEEEE-EEEEE'
'EEEEE-EEEEE'
...
Distant sounds of sirens and flames all around, muffled by my cloudy mind, were the only sounds I could make out as darkness took over me, the flames slowly dying out.
I was somewhere, but I didn't know where.
The smell of smoke was still in my nostrils, and the sensation of heat, of fighting that monster, was still fresh on my skin. But all of this seemed distant, as if I had lived it in another life. I wanted to scream, I wanted to get up and understand what was happening, but my body was so tired, so exhausted, that it simply didn't respond. I could no longer distinguish what was real and what was a nightmare.
It was then that something pulled me back to reality.
A bright light invaded my eyes, and I woke up with a start. The feeling of disorientation was immediate. I was lying down, but not on the hot, devastated floor of the orphanage, not in the middle of the flames and destruction. I was in a cold, clean, silent place. The smell of disinfectant and medicine replaced the smell of smoke. When I looked around, what I saw was white. White on the walls, on the sheets, even on the ceiling. My body was immobilized by wires and tubes, and the pain was still there, but it was more bearable, like an uncomfortable pressure in various parts of my body.
"Where… where am I?", I thought.
I tried to speak, but the words wouldn't come out. My mind was confused, and my body didn't have the strength to move.
I sighed, but soon I felt the weight of exhaustion take over me again. The memory of the battle against the monster, the sensation of fire and pain, the images of those flames consuming me, they all came back at once. I didn't know what had happened, I didn't know how I had survived. But something told me that, by some miracle, I had managed to get out of those flames alive.
I closed my eyes, trying to process everything, trying to understand what had happened. But it was at that moment that a screen appeared before me. A bottomless square, as if it were a digital projection floating in the air, the only written message.
"Welcome, you have been chosen among many to receive a great power, use it wisely"
"What the hell is going on?", I thought.
I blinked, trying to understand what that was. I remembered the games I played, the books I read. It seemed like something out of a game, something that only existed in the fantasy world. No. I knew it was real, as real as the pain I still felt.
Without thinking, without knowing what else to do, I murmured, almost involuntarily: "Status".
Immediately, the screen lit up, displaying the information I already knew:
Name: Atlas Orion
Race: Human
Rank: G
Ability: Energy Manipulation
Warning: None
I stood there, still, staring at those words for what seemed like an eternity. My name was there, of course. But the rest was what confused me the most. Race: Human. It was obvious, I had no doubt that I was human, but the rest? Rank G?
What did that mean?
And the ability: Energy Manipulation?
That seemed so…
out of the ordinary.
I didn't know what to think. I was in a hospital, stuck to a bed, and I was seeing something that looked like a game interface, something I never thought I would experience in real life.
At that moment, confusion took over me. "This can't be real," I thought. But at the same time, I felt that it was as real as what was happening around me. The smell of the hospital, the sound of the ventilation, the sensations in my body. But what about the screen? And the feeling of power, of strength that I felt during the fight against the monster? How did it all fit together? Was I delirious? Was I having a nightmare? I really didn't know anymore.
"Am I crazy?", I thought.
"Status" again.
This time I tried to summon a sense of control, as if I were trying to force some kind of response. But once again the screen appeared, with the same information.
Name: Atlas Orion
Race: Human
Ranking: G
Ability: Energy Manipulation
Warning: None
And nothing more.
Nothing more.
No explanation, no extra details. Just the same words, which kept repeating themselves, as if they were there to torment me. I wanted to understand what was happening, how I had survived the fire monster, how this had all started. But every time I tried to think about it, my mind became even more confused. I wanted to scream, I wanted to find an answer, but it seemed like the darkness was taking over me again.
With a sigh of frustration, I let my eyes fall to the side, and a feeling of deep exhaustion took over me. I no longer had the strength to fight it. Every muscle in my body ached, every thought seemed like a futile effort.
Without realizing it, I was being consumed again by the darkness.
When I woke up for the second time, the room was quieter, darker. The sound of the sirens seemed more distant, as if the chaos had moved away from me. I was more aware now, more lucid. The memories of the orphanage and the fire monster were still vivid, but now, clearer. I knew I had fought that monster, I knew it was related to the fire, but what it was, how it appeared, why it attacked… all of this was still shrouded in a haze of uncertainty.
I looked around again, trying to make sense of what was happening. The room was simple, the walls a light beige tone. A monitor was on next to the bed, with several signs of life flashing. I was in a hospital, I knew that, but the feeling that something was wrong, the atmosphere was heavy as if some conspiracy was happening in the shadows, I don't know why but something bothered me.
When I tried to move, the pain in my body was immediate. The burns were more controlled now, but my body was still covered in wounds and bandages. Everything hurt. The feeling of exhaustion made me wish I didn't have to deal with anything. I wanted to forget what happened, forget the monster, forget the screen. But I knew that wouldn't be possible. Something was different, something inside me had changed.
As I tried to comprehend the reality around me, a nurse entered the room. She looked at me with a worried expression, but she didn't seem surprised to see me awake. Maybe they already knew I would wake up. As if what happened to me was something predictable, or maybe I was starting to understand that things weren't as simple as they seemed.
"How are you feeling?" she asked, her voice soft.
"I... I don't know," I answered, still trying to process everything that had happened.
"Where... where am I?"
"You're at the city's central hospital. You were found at the scene of the fire. A good Samaritan brought you here after the flames were out," she explained.
"You suffered severe burns, but you're recovering well. What happened, Mr. Atlas?"
I didn't know what to say. The words felt stuck in my throat. What happened?
"I fought a monster, should I say that?" I thought, but it's completely crazy.
I saw and fought with a fiery monster that looked like destruction itself, but I couldn't tell her that. I couldn't tell her that there was something unexplainable, something that told me that things were beyond my comprehension.
I looked at the nurse and forced a smile, although it was a failed attempt.
"I don't know. I don't remember everything. I just... I know it was just a fire," I said tiredly.
She watched me for a moment, but didn't insist. Maybe she was also aware that the explanation for what happened there was beyond logic. Or maybe she was just doing her job, not really knowing what to say.
What I did know was that I couldn't just stand there and wait. Something inside me told me that there was more to be discovered. Something beyond that. I needed to understand what this ability I now had was, how the monster related to all of this, and why I was seeing screens and information as if I were in a game.
But for now, all I wanted was rest. Maybe, in time, I would be able to understand what was happening. But for now, my eyes closed again, and darkness consumed me once more.
"Congratulations, you have been blessed by a miracle and now you have a second chance, enjoy it." was the last thing I heard from the nurse.