Chapter 187: The Fire (2)

A drum echoed in the dark theater.

Thump...

No, it wasn’t a drum.

Thump...

It appeared to be footsteps, but no one was stomping their feet, at least not from where the audience could see.

Thuuump. Thump. Thump.

Ilric, Yumar, and Sakum were already on stage. They quickly turned their heads in the direction from which the sounds were coming. There I was, crawling out to the stage, engulfed in flames. I was the Fire Emperor. The actors trembled, their voices quivering too, like snakes in the shadows.

“

Wagar...

”

“

Kar...

”

“

Ke.

”

“

Karkasa...

”

“

Shee.

”

“

Lakh.

”

“

Gur.

”

These words were not part of today’s vocabulary. They originated from a long time ago, back when the Terras were gathering acorns in the primordial forest.

The actors hissed, whispering an ancient language from the time when noises and speech were indistinguishable.

Shee.

Lakh.

Gur.

Shee.

Lakh.

Gur.

The disturbing whispers made the audience close their mouths. The Terras couldn’t understand the language of their ancestors, but they held their breath, feeling the ominous nature of the sounds that made them respond instinctively.

“

Shee.

”

“

Lakh.

”

“

Gur.

”

Scared, the actors circled me. With each step they took, my aura resonated and played music. When the actors slowed down their pace, the rhythm of the music also slowed down.

Shee.

Lakh.

Gur.

As they got closer to me, the music gradually became louder. Fire spread across the dark stage. I moved on all fours like an elegant savage.

“

Wagar

.”

“Yes.

I am the Fire Emperor.”

A growl flowed from my mouth. The actors stopped approaching me, afraid of what I would do.

“I am the fire of the world.”

I was speaking using my aura, even letting out an animal-like growl.

“I am successful.”

The stage shook, and even the air in the dark theater trembled. My aura smelled like blood. My mysterious and strange song reverberated around the theater walls.

Shee, lakh, gur.

Shee, lakh, gur.

I let out a sneer that insulted the world and ridiculed everyone around me. The audience sitting in the front row shrank back.

“Envy me. Be jealous. Worship me.”

What came out of my mouth were simple hissing sounds. There was no need to say anything more than that. I spoke using my aura, not my voice.

Shee.

“The world is merely firewood for me to burn a little brighter.”

Lakh.

“I find your jealousy annoying because I want you to grasp how annoying I can be. A fire cannot burn without fuel, so insignificant beings like you will have to become my endless supply of firewood.”

Gur

.

“I laugh at my success so I can laugh even louder at your incompetence. I mock your interest in me so I can ridicule you louder for your inability to receive attention.

“I am humble. I calmly watch everything life throws at me with indifferent eyes. Even my success loses its flame before my eyes. However, I constantly remind you of my success because I’m more successful than anyone else.

“My indifferent eyes and my calm face render your success null and void. Your hard work is worthless because you aren’t successful like me. From your greatest hardship to your smallest success, everything is insignificant before me.”

I took a step forward. The fire blazed harder, startling the actors, who turned to scatter and flee. A grin hung on my face.

“

Wagar!

”

“You Terras may act like humans, but there is only one true human in this world: me.”

The fire grew stronger and blazed, engulfing the stage and the audience seats. Terras in the audience groaned. Some reflexively ignited their own aura to counter my fire. I laughed louder, and the music also got louder.

“Only I am human.”

My fire simply grabbed the audience’s aura and twisted it. Six flaming strands gently caressed the audience’s necks.

“

Ugh...

”

One of the audience sitting in the front row shivered. From what I remembered, he was the Rank 21 warrior of the Fire Water Council. He opened his eyes, sweat dripping down his forehead. The theater had already been plunged into hell.

“I say my success is insignificant. What does that make you? You guys haven’t achieved anything. Can’t even call it nothing. Dust is less than nothing.”

I laughed, waving my arms around, and grinned like the Fire Emperor. One-Eyed Ilric, whose eye met mine, flinched. He ran away, screaming.

“I love animals who expose their tender necks. These innocent animals always place their trust in others, willingly leaving themselves vulnerable. They’re soft enough to be swallowed in one bite!”

Fire rose in the direction Ilric was trying to escape. Gasping, he turned and ran the opposite way, but I blocked him once again with a curtain of fire, cornering my prey.

Ilric kept opening and closing his mouth, but he couldn’t actually make any sounds.

“Please save me!”

Just as one could make sounds with their aura, they could also use it to block them. I locked down Ilric’s scream and crushed it.

“Why are you running away?”

“Please don’t kill me! Please...”

“Do not run away. I am your father.”

Until his voice went hoarse, Ilric shouted,

“Please! Save me, don’t kill me... Don’t kill me!”

But his voice didn’t reach the audience. From the audience’s perspective, Ilric was just opening and closing his mouth, struggling in his misery. The spectators were watching while holding their breaths.

I prowled over to Ilric.

“Child, I won’t hurt you.”

I trapped Ilric tighter with the curtain of fire, leaving him less space to escape. He collapsed on the floor like a helpless child.

“Don’t kill me...”

“It’s okay.”

“Please... Save me, Mom...”

I opened my mouth and bit Ilric’s neck. My canines didn’t dig into his skin. Instead, my aura seeped into his flesh with bloodlust.

“Aaaah

!” Ilric struggled, crying out in pain.

I no longer muffled the sound, letting the scream erupt and echo in the theater.

“

Aaaaaah

!

Aaaaaaaaah

!”

The audience, who had only watched him struggle in silence until now, shrank away at the sudden eruption of noise. They did not think this was mere acting. Ilric was truly dying in their eyes.

“What...”

“I-Is that...”

Some swallowed their saliva or groaned. A couple of Terras in the back row ran out of the theater, thinking the actor was actually getting murdered. However, most of the audience was entranced and stared blankly at the fire taking over the stage.

“I am the fire of the world.”

The hunt never stopped. Surrounded by the blazing inferno, I became a beast high on blood, running for my next victim. Yumar and Sakum screamed, running away. The music kept playing.

“Save me!”

“A monster! A monster is chasing me!”

I wasn’t at fault. If there was anything wrong with me, it was the world’s fault for birthing me. The world made me this way. People just fell in the world’s curves, living the way they had been created. What was there to blame me for?

“Let’s dance!”

Shee.

Lakh.

Gur.

“The whole world is my stage!”

Shee.

Lakh.

Gur.

“You shouldn’t blame me. You and I are the same. Just like you, the world birthed me. I’m simply stronger than you. It’s the law of nature that the strong eat up the weak. It’s the world you should blame, not me.”

The fire blazed in its full glory. I became one with it and ran around, burning everything I touched and sank my teeth as much into my prey as much I wanted.

“

Aaaaaaaaaaah!

”

Yumar fell. Sakum was defeated. It was okay. They were animals. To a human, animals were nothing more than meat, so this wasn’t murder, but mere butchering.

Thump!

The drumming sounds became louder.

Thump!

The bloody red fire burned the theater. Even after all three actors fell to the floor, I never stopped roaring.

Shee.

Lakh.

Gur.

The audience trembled as they watched the boiling aura’s dance sizzling the stage. A young spectator gasped and fainted. Foaming, he fell onto the shoulder of the Terra next to him, but he was unable to help at all because he was also frozen in place.

Thump!

The song finally reached its climax. A group of Terras barged into the theater, swarming around the audience.

“Everyone stop! We’re the Fire River Council Police!”

“Everyone stop! Stop!”

“We’re here because we heard reports of mass killings and arson! Anyone who ignores this warning and tries to run away will be considered a threat and be arrested!”

They cut the tension in the air like a knife. Only then did the audience manage to let out the breath they had been holding until now. Spectators collapsed like pillars that gave away, slipping off their seats after all their strength left them.

My immersion also broke, so I looked at the security guards with my eyebrows furrowed. I didn’t know how serious the reports were for them to barge in. However, the Terra police officers were on guard, scanning the entire theater.

“Rescue the victims first!”

“Where is the arsonist?”

“There are people collapsed on stage!”

The officers rushed toward the actors. When they saw Ilric, Yumar, and Sakum lying on the floor, they thought the actors were dead. Of course, no one had actually died during this performance.

“Hey, wait a second.”

“Y-You don’t need to help me stand up. I’m fine!”

The actors stood up one by one, shaking their hands.

“Are you hurt anywhere? How are your heads?”

“I-I’m not hurt at all! I’m totally fine!”

“I heard that a mass murder has taken place here. Where is the criminal? Were you held hostage?”

Ilric looked bewildered. “What...? What mass murder? Held hostage? That’s not what happened.”

“We’re acting, you crazyheads!” Yumar shouted.

The police officers came to a halt.

“Acting?”

“Yeah! This is a play! We’re a troupe! Troupe Yapper! This is our theater, and we were in the middle of our play!”

Some of the police officers were holding me down, thinking I was the criminal they were looking for. If I wanted to, I could break free, but I was so dumbfounded that I just let them do whatever they wanted.

The officers slowly turned to me.

“We received a report that there was a fire...”

I nodded. My aura lit up from my fingertips.

“That is my aura. It looks like fire.”

“They said some beast bit innocent people to death.”

“I played the role of that son of a bitch the Fire Emperor, and my fellow actors over there played the role of victims. Of course, I had to defeat them during the play.” I shrugged. “It looks like someone reported our play because our acting felt too real.”

Even the police officers realized something was wrong. Their vigilance and belligerence were replaced by embarrassment, leaving them at a loss for words.

The spectators were muttering among themselves. The buzz quickly turned into an uproar.

“What?”

“Who reported this to the police?”

“What about the play?”

“Is it just going to end like this?”

“What happened?!”

“Those idiotic cops!”

“Did you barge in without asking questions yet again?!”

As the audience complained from all corners of the theater, the police captain’s face rapidly darkened.

I approached him with a smile on my face. “What should we do? Sir, I think today’s performance is ruined.”

“

Uhhhh...

”

“My apologies to everyone in the audience! Due to an unfortunate incident, today’s performance is going to end here! Troupe Yapper will faithfully follow the police’s warning and put an end to our play! Everyone, please follow the police’s instructions and exit the theater in an orderly manner...

Oh

, by the way...” I beamed at the police captain. “Are you going to refund us for the tickets?”

The audience exploded, and so did the city’s theater industry, all because of our play which had been reported for feeling too real.