The Immortal That Wants To Die

SCARLETT ROSEHEART

The building continued to shake violently, each explosion rattling through the walls like a beast desperately trying to break free from its cage. The floor beneath me trembled with the force of it, sending vibrations through my bones. Above, the glass shattered, raining down in jagged shards that glittered in the dim light before embedding themselves into the floor with a deadly finality. Yet Adrien remained unbothered, unfazed, as if this chaos were just another inconvenience.

His golden eyes flicked toward me, sharp and calculating, appraising me in that detached way of his before turning back to his work, fingers laced together with a lazy precision that made me feel the sting of his indifference.

"Fine," I muttered, rolling my eyes and pushing myself off the wall i had been leaning on. "I'll be right back."

But as soon as I stepped toward the door, the high-pitched screech of the wyvern split the air. Its shrill cry was like a blade against my nerves, and I clenched my teeth.

Of course, Adrien had to keep that thing. A reminder of his love for anything that was useful… or, more accurately, anything dangerous.

I barely made it halfway down the hallway when I heard the frantic sound of hurried footsteps behind me. I didn't have to look to know who it was.

"Wait up!" Mai called, her voice cracking with desperation.

I stopped, turning to face her, annoyance bubbling in my chest as I observed her stumbling form. She was barely able to stay upright, swaying with every tremor that rocked the building. Another explosion sent the entire corridor into disarray, and the force of it nearly knocked her off her feet. She flailed, her body trembling as she struggled to regain balance, the effort clearly taking a toll.

"Did Adrien tell you to follow me?" I asked, my voice sharp, biting.

She nodded, her knees buckling as she tried to steady herself.

I clicked my tongue in frustration. "How useless."

Another explosion rattled the walls, shaking the floor beneath our feet. The ceiling cracked open above us, sending more debris cascading down, and the air thickened with smoke, the acrid smell of burning wood clinging to everything.

"Then keep up," I snapped, not waiting for a response as I pushed forward. "This isn't the time to slow me down."

Mai didn't speak, but I could hear her labored footsteps trailing behind me, slow and uneven.

*****

MAI HASHIMOTO

Finally, we reached the bottom floor, but the building's tremors only grew more violent with each passing second. The air here was dense with smoke, thick enough to suffocate, and I could barely see anything, let alone Scarlett. But the presence of mana… it was unmistakable. It pressed against my chest like a heavy weight, suffocating the air itself. I couldn't believe this was the same mana Zehen had told me about. Compared to the hundred eyes that had been watching us before we even arrived, her presence felt far worse....suffocating, overwhelming, as if the very space around her bent under the weight of it. It wasn't just power; it was something far more sinister, something that made my instincts scream at me to turn away, to run.

But I couldn't. I was trapped in her presence, drowning in an authority so absolute that even the flames raging before us felt insignificant in comparison.

Suddenly, a loud, panicked scream pierced the chaos, coming from behind me.

"Get rid of this smoke!" a male voice shouted, his tone thick with fear, as though he were struggling to breathe himself.

"Look at this disaster! What were you fools thinking?" a sharp voice roared from behind me, full of disgust and irritation.

I didn't need to turn around to recognize the voice. The commanding presence behind me made it clear who it was. The air grew heavier, the sense of authority undeniable.

"Clear it," she commanded, her voice cold, expectant.

"Ye...yes," a feminine voice responded, distant and shaking, as if overwhelmed by the gravity of the moment. She sounded like she was barely holding herself together but obeyed the order nonetheless. There was a brief silence that followed, thick with tension, before the air shifted.

A gust of wind surged through the room, cutting through the smoke with an intensity that left me breathless. It was as if the very air had been carved open, the oppressive cloud of smoke dissipating in an instant. The thick mist vanished, and the view ahead cleared with a shocking speed.

I turned toward Scarlett, but her expression was unreadable. Her eyes, usually cold and detached, now held a twist of something....perhaps concern? Or was it disgust? It was hard to tell. Her gaze locked onto the space ahead of us, where the source of the disturbance was now visible.

I could feel the heat before I saw him....the man standing at the center of the room. His entire body was engulfed in flames, the fire licking at the air around him like an uncontrolled inferno. The sheer heat radiating from him warped the space, distorting the view of the room in unsettling ways.

But it wasn't just the fire that had me frozen in place. It was the sight of the man himself.

His fist was buried deep into Zehen's chest, the blood already pooling from the wound, dripping in slow, heavy drops to the ground. Zehen, however, didn't even flinch. There was no cry of pain, no sign of distress. He grinned. That sickening, twisted grin that seemed out of place considering the situation. Despite the blood pouring from his body, his expression was one of triumph....like the pain was nothing.

His lips barely moved, but I could hear him, just enough to catch the faintest trace of his defiance. The words he muttered were incomprehensible, but the challenge in his voice was unmistakable.

My gaze slowly shifted back to the walking inferno, his body engulfed in flames, snarled with fury. His anger was palpable, the heat around him making the air feel suffocating. His face twisted in a grotesque expression of rage, and I couldn't help but feel a shiver run down my spine.

"Say it. Say that again, you piss of shit!" he roared, his voice dripping with venom.

Zehen, however, only grinned in response. His smile was twisted, dark, almost as if he enjoyed the torment. He let out a brief cackle and muttered something under his breath, but it was too faint for me to hear.

Scarlett, her gaze sharp and unyielding, turned to the woman who had cleared the smoke. Her voice was commanding as she demanded, "What happened here?"

The woman hesitated, her eyes flickering between Scarlett and Zehen before she spoke in a quiet, uneasy tone. "The white-haired man...he...he did...the unforgivable."