Kaivaan stood at the edge of the school courtyard.
No one welcomed him back.
No one even looked at him the same way.
They used to laugh at him — "Magic-less Kaivaan,"
But now, they didn't know what he had become.
What he had lost.
The sun dipped low. Shadows stretched long.
Three boys, older than him, stepped in his way.
"Back already?"
"I heard you begged that monster... still got nothing?"
"What will you do now? Cry?"
Kaivaan didn't reply.
He simply stared — cold, empty.
No fear.
No anger.
No emotion.
Just silence.
The air around him felt… wrong.
He raised his hand slowly — and in that moment...
A black flame bloomed from his palm.
It didn't flicker like ordinary fire.
It twisted. It consumed. It whispered.
"W-What is that?" one of the bullies asked, stepping back.
The flame surged forward without warning.
It didn't burn skin.
It burned emotion.
One boy fell to his knees, screaming.
Tears rolled down his cheeks — not from pain,
but from emptiness.
"I… I can't feel anything," he whispered.
"Why don't I care about my brother? Why… does nothing matter anymore?"
Kaivaan looked at his hand, silently.
The fire dimmed, then vanished.
He turned away.
From the rooftop, a man in a black cloak observed everything.
"Interesting…"
"Dark Flame… born from emotion sacrificed."
He stepped down silently and landed in front of Kaivaan.
His eyes were covered with a cloth.
Yet, he saw more than anyone.
"Your magic... it is rare. Dangerous."
"You gave up emotion?"
"You've given up your humanity."
Kaivaan didn't reply.
"Tch," the man smirked. "You'll need a teacher. Or a leash."
"Who are you?" Kaivaan finally asked.
"Oryan," the man said. "I've already given my eyes to that monster. In return, I see everything through darkness."
A pause.
"You? You're either the world's salvation... or its ruin."
---As Oryan vanished into the dark,
Kaivaan stood alone in the courtyard.
The flame had vanished.
But the hollow inside him had not.
For the first time, he whispered to himself:
"I'm not weak anymore... But I'm not Kaivaan either."