Aflame

Unbeknownst to historical records, a growing civilization was placed on the border of the human world. It perished without any traces as if it had never existed, devoured by the fury of scorching flames. What remained of a once-prominent habitation was a huge darken mark on the rusty ground and nothingness. Many years passed, yet everything remained the same. The passage of time went unnoticed.

Eventually, a hand emerged from the ground akin to a worm on a rainy day, its silhouette reaching the sun. Thereafter, bending, it clenched onto the surface, dragging the rest of the body from the depths. Immediately after, the existence knelt, then fell on his stomach, seemingly losing all the life force they had.

Three days and nights have passed since. The miserable figure fidgeted, catching a glimpse of the burning sunshine and gave an agonizing gasp.

"Stas… saa… ssstattuss" They rasped through their charred lips.

A melancholic voice echoed in their head "You've fulfilled all the requirements for the domain creation - Tower Of Flame."

The existence, whatever they may be, were on the last strings of life, slowly losing consciousness. Yet, they were too persistent, for death itself could not stop their will. They gave half of the last bits of energy left in their ruined vessel to chuckle, and the other half to murmur the words.

"Flame Tower."

The sky shook as the heavens trembled, the ground halved as the world broke, and when the disaster halted, standing unhinged as if unperturbed by all the madness was a tottering obsidian skyscraper. While its wideness covered the entire black mass left by the ruined city, the colossus's turret could not be seen from below as it tore the heavens apart on its way up, while rising from the slumber.

*****

"The flame... condemns forevermore..." Far-away from the calamity, a pale, scrawny boy started out of his nightmare, reflexively grabbing onto the dirty feet in front of him. He had a rather long face with a small nose, neighboring a noticeable birthmark on his right cheek. His cat-eyes were of the same color as his straight hair - darkest black.

"Kani!" Disgusted by those actions, a little girl stomped his head. She had an oval face with puffy cheeks, supported by a glassy pair of green eyes, framed by wavy mid-length purple hair. Compared to the boy beside him she would be considered a terrific beauty. Not that the boy was ugly but his image paled in comparison to hers.

"Noooo.." He moaned in a lazy tone.

"Oy Kani, wake up!" The girl could not bear with this nonsense anymore. She kneeled over and slapped his face a few times.

"Huh?" Kani stood up looking at the girl in bewilderment.

"It's time to head to work, I'm done babysitting you when you're older than me!" The girl said, her anger eating her out.

"Then don't," Kani snorted.

"Ah, oh dear God Of Ethereal Beauty, why did you leave me with this bumpkin." The girl prayed mournfully, staring above.

"... It seems to me you crave death, Layla," Kani said while opening his hands and pouring mana into his palms. He then pressed them hard against each other and promptly but slowly unstuck them. In an instant, a weak fire materialized.

"Stop! We will get caught if you keep doing that! How many times do I have to tell you the same exact damn thing? Do you have poo in place of your brain or you just hate me? Do you enjoy seeing me suffering!?" Layla shivered in anger

"The latter one. Also, you are too brute for a noble, I wonder if that is why you are on the streets with the said bumpkin, milady" The boy retorted in a calm manner.

"Anyways, we have to search for something else. We can't just get by with collecting branches in the nearby forest and delving in trash in hopes of something valuable." Kani changed the topic seeing that Layla was about to go on a rampage. "If we keep staying in the slums there is no guarantee to open our eyes the next day. Well, I can at least protect myself but the same can't be said about you. Moreover, the sunny days are going to end soon."

Living in a tiny damaged tent surrounded by miscellaneous stinky garbage by all the sides, accompanied by an annoying "noblewoman", was not one of the greatest experiences he had been through. If he had to compare though, more than the slums, he could not bear with this witch.

She had too much energy for the fallen noble. Sure, she was vastly knowledgeable about everything since she got a proper education as a noble, but her temperament is beyond Kani's patience.

In normal circumstances they would never talk to each other but, well, things happened and in a strange turn of fate they became quite close. Layla would arrange the daily tasks and work with Kani, he on the other hand, would assist with the physical work.

At night, Kani would learn from Layla "the basic knowledge every human being should have'' subject, which had the Empirical alphabet, simple math, and whatnot. To Layla's shock Kani wasn't hopeless, in fact, he was quite a quick-witted guy.

They could not risk grabbing the fruits and plants from the forest since none of them were knowledgeable enough to determine what could be poisonous, and could not delve deeper to explore since there were monsters lurking in the shadows. There were other kinds of monsters living in the city opposite to the forest though. Humans had no mercy and no remorse. All Kani and Layla could do was being left to the pity of those people and that is how by doing the work they could scrape by till this very day.

"Ugh... I think I have an idea." Layla spoke with a dark tone and continued, her voice getting lower. "I can just sell my body... that'll make enough money to outlive the winter."

Kani widened his eyes in shock, then quickly regained his composure and responded."Not happening."

"Wow, you actually care about me, hehe." Layla grinned. Her smile did not last before it was gone. "No other options. We will die soon enough. In these circumstances, you have to utilize all you have to linger on some hope. Sure, feels bad, but I doubt there is anything worse than death. I am quite the beauty, so I'm sure gonna hatch a good price. That's..."

Kani interrupted. "Layla, you're only 14. I have no idea as to where you got these ideas but this is not the matter you can take on lightly. We're not going to die just yet, trust me." He lingered for a moment and carried on "I've been in way worse types of situations, and look at me, still standing. Furthermore, no need for you to take on all the weights. I have a better option."

Layla did not speak for a moment, after contemplating for a bit she struck. "Who said I would share that hard earned money? You're gonna end up dead in the streets anyways, you slug. Whatever, what's that other option?"

Kani's mouth widened, forming an ominous smile. "Simple, really, we go all or nothing."

Layla got slightly excited for a second but after gazing at the expression Kani was making, her face contorted.

Kani continued without a care.

"Thievery."