Somewhere on the world called Earth, a single figure strolled through the city streets. He wasn't anyone particularly famous, but if you caught a glance of his bright red hair and eyes like molten gold, you might think he was someone out of a comic book. He moved with a laid-back swagger, munching on a bag of chips as if the world didn't matter. This was Damien Cross.
Nineteen years old and a paradox of traits, Damien was goofy, charming, romantic, smart, and kind—but no pushover. He had loner vibes and a deep love of food. One thing, however, stood out: his temper. When it flared, he wasn't the guy you wanted to argue with.
As Damien crunched on a chip, he muttered to himself. "When I get home... might crash on the couch, binge some anime, or maybe cook somethin' fancy. Garlic ramen? Or tacos? Yeah, tacos sound fire."
His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the laughter of children nearby. He turned to see a group of kids playing catch on the sidewalk, shouting and tossing the ball around, each one eager for their turn.
"Hey, throw it to me next!" one boy called.
"Nah, I was open first!"
"Man, school sucked today," another groaned. "That math test? Brutal."
"Right? And Mr. Edwards gave us double homework! He hates us, I swear."
"Forget school, I'm about to make the best catch of the day. Watch this!"
The ball flew through the air, sailing over a boy's head.
"Oops! I got it!" the boy shouted, grinning as he darted after the ball. It bounced off the sidewalk and rolled into the street.
"Wait, dude, stop!"
But he didn't stop.
Damien's eyes locked on the boy.
At the same time, a truck came barreling down the street. The engine roared as it swerved through traffic, honking wildly. It was going way too fast, passing cars with reckless abandon.
"Oh no," Damien breathed. Time slowed.
"Move, kid!" one of the children screamed.
But the boy didn't see it.
"No time to think...!" Damien growled. "Just move! GO!"
He tossed his chips aside and bolted. His feet slammed against the pavement. His lungs burned. Thoughts flooded his mind.
"I can make it. Just need to grab him. One second. That's all I need. Come on, come on!"
The truck driver laid on the horn.
Damien dove forward, arms outstretched.
He reached the kid and shoved him hard.
The boy tumbled out of the way.
The truck struck Damien full-force.
Everything went black.
A distant echo. Silence. Then a dull ringing. Then nothing.
Damien stirred. His body felt weightless. His mind slowly climbed back from unconsciousness. A deep, hollow emptiness surrounded him.
He opened his eyes. Vision blurry. Then clearer. He was lying on a surface that didn't exist, suspended in a void of pitch-black nothingness.
"What the hell... where... where am I?" he mumbled.
He sat up and looked around. No walls. No sky. No ground. Just an infinite black sea.
"Is this death? Is this what happens when you die? Just... nothing?"
He stood, confused. Angry.
"This is it? No flashing lights? No clouds? No judgment? Just... emptiness?"
He began walking, though each step felt like it moved nothing. His voice echoed as he shouted, "HELLO?! ANYONE?!"
His mind spun with thoughts.
"I saved that kid, right? At least tell me I saved him. Did I die for nothing? This can't be it. There has to be more. I can't be trapped in some void. I didn't even get my tacos!"
Suddenly, a flicker of light in the distance.
"What the...?"
It was small at first, like a distant star. Then it grew brighter. Larger.
"Okay, what is that? Light at the end of the tunnel? A hallucination? A cosmic joke?"
The light surged toward him.
It wasn't just light—it was flame, alive and roaring, like a comet made of fire and purpose.
"Hey! HEY! Slow down!"
He braced himself as it screamed toward him.
"What is that thing?! Some kind of soul laser?! I didn't sign up for this!"
The light engulfed him.
Silence. Warmth.
He opened his eyes.
The void was gone.
In its place: a breathtaking realm. Rivers of magma flowed beside glowing obsidian paths. Flames floated through the air like lazy fireflies. The sky was a swirl of orange and red, pulsing with energy. It was beautiful. Alive.
Damien turned slowly.
"Okay. This is definitely not Kansas anymore."
He stared at his surroundings, eyes wide.
"One second I'm in a black void, the next I'm in some kind of fire kingdom? Am I dead or just tripping on expired chips?"
Ahead of him, a towering staircase stretched into the sky. At the top, a throne made of obsidian and flame. And on that throne, someone waited.
A woman.
Her presence radiated power and elegance. Her molten-red eyes sparkled with gold. Her hair flowed like an eternal flame, cascading in waves of red, orange, and gold. Her skin glowed with an ember-like brilliance, and her gown shimmered with fire and obsidian silk, runes glowing faintly across its surface.
She smiled, slow and knowing.
"Hello, my little flame."
Damien took a step back, stunned. "Wh-who are you...?"
She stood and approached with the grace of a goddess and the heat of a star.
"Me? I am Ignara. Goddess of Eternal Flame. Welcome to my personal domain."
Damien blinked, heart pounding.
"Goddess? What? Am I supposed to bow or something? What is this place? Why is she talking like she knows me? Is this some divine joke?"
His thoughts raced, swirling like the fire around him.
"If I'm dead, why am I here? Why her? And why does everything smell like cinnamon and brimstone?"
He looked up at the goddess as the firelight danced in her eyes.
Ignara looked at Damien and giggled softly, her voice like fire dancing on silk. "No, this is real, my little temper flame."
Damien blinked, a little surprised. "Wait... how did you know what I was thinking?"
The goddess tilted her head, her glowing eyes glinting with amusement. Damien sighed, clearly annoyed. "Okay, fine. Why am I here? Are you really a goddess or is this just some elaborate hallucination?"
Ignara giggled again, gently amused. "Oh, the doubt. The confusion. It's cute. Yes, I'm a goddess. Everything here is real. This realm, me, even you. And you, Damien Cross, have been given a second chance at life."
His jaw tightened. Shock flickered through him. "Second chance? But... why me? I'm not important. I'm just some guy with bad grades and worse temper."
Ignara smiled as if she was watching a fire dance into life. "You saved a child knowing it would kill you. That moment... that flame of yours, it caught my attention."
Damien narrowed his eyes. "Okay, great. So I'm a martyr. How the hell am I supposed to live in this... whatever-this-is without any skills or powers?"
The goddess rose from her throne. Each step she took down the obsidian stairs echoed like distant thunder. Her aura flared with intense heat, bright and hot, sending shockwaves through the air. The flames around her bowed and parted as she passed.
Damien staggered slightly, eyes wide, feeling the pressure of her presence. He thought, "What is this? What is happening right now? She's not just powerful, she's... overwhelming. She's fire incarnate."
She stopped right in front of him and smiled. "I will give you power you can't even imagine."
Damien narrowed his eyes. "What kind of power?"
The world around him trembled. Floating embers froze mid-air. The flames stilled. Even the very heat seemed to pause, awaiting.
Ignara stood before him, the living embodiment of divine flame. Her eyes, glowing molten red with golden flecks, locked onto his. There was something fierce in them. And something... tender.
Damien felt it. In his bones. His soul. Something was about to happen. He was nervous. Intrigued. His thoughts swirled. "She's going to do something. What is this power? What is she really offering me?"
Then, without a word, Ignara raised her hand to her chest.
Damien's eyes widened. "Wait—what are you—"
She plunged her fingers into her heart.
He flinched. "WHAT THE HELL?!"
No blood. No pain. Her skin parted like molten gold, glowing brighter with each motion. It wasn't gore. It was light. Blinding. Pure.
Reality itself seemed to crack, groaning under the weight of what she was pulling from herself. A low hum filled the air, like a divine choir screaming and singing in harmony.
And then she pulled it free.
A sliver of flame. Jagged and ever-shifting. It flickered between molten gold, deep crimson, solar white, and edges of black smoke. It was like glass, lava, and lightning fused together. It felt alive. It radiated power.
Damien dropped to his knees. Not in pain—but from the sheer weight of what he was seeing. It was like staring into the first fire ever created.
He gasped, whispering, "What... what is this? What is happening to me...?"
Ignara stepped closer, her voice low and thunderous. "This is no blessing. This is my flame—raw and untamed. It has burned angels, devoured kings... and now, it chooses you."
She held it forward.
The shard floated from her hand, slowly moving toward Damien's chest. He couldn't move. Couldn't speak. Could barely breathe.
"This is the Sliver of my God Flame."
He tried to back away, but his body wouldn't respond.
It slammed into him like a meteor.
Fire burst from his mouth, his back, his eyes. A corona of divine flame engulfed him, but it didn't burn him—it remade him.
His body glowed, cracked, pulsed. The divine fire raced through his veins, reshaping him.
The last thing he heard was Ignara's voice.
"From this moment on, Damien Cross... the world will never again know peace where you walk."
Minutes passed.
Ignara watched in silence, eyes intense, mind churning.
"The Embercore Flameheart is inside him now. What will he become? A savior? A destroyer? Perhaps both..."
Then—a burst of flame erupted skyward. Smoke and fire burst into the heavens. The very ground cracked beneath where Damien stood.
When it all cleared—
a silhouette stood amid the smoke and debris.
It was Damien.
Flames rose from his shoulders and arms, his very presence pulsing with heatwaves. His hair, now a deeper crimson, flowed like living flame. His eyes blazed crimson and gold.
Ignara nodded slowly. A smile tugged her lips.
"Yes... he feels it. His potential. His chaos. My flame..."
Damien looked at himself, breath shaking. He lifted his hand—and flame erupted from his palm.
He whispered, half in awe, "I feel... amazing. Light. Like the weight of everything is gone. But... I can still feel it. The power."
Ignara smiled. "How do you feel, my little temper flame?"
He looked at her, grinning. "I feel... like myself. Like who I was always supposed to be."
He opened both hands. Flame spiraled from them in elegant, controlled arcs.
Ignara nodded. "He's already adapting. Excellent... this will be fun."
Damien's mind buzzed. *"I feel powerful. Real. Like this fire is part of me. No... it is me."
Suddenly, something shimmered in front of him.
A screen of pure flame materialized from thin air, text glowing across it.
He stepped forward. "Okay... now what the hell is this?"
He began to read.
[SYSTEM WARNING: ERROR: BALANCE SYSTEM DETECTED UNCLASSIFIED CORE. FORCING STATS TO RE-CALIBRATE...]
[WARNING: DAMAGE OUTPUT EXCEEDS RECOMMENDED WORLD LIMITS. INITIATING EMERGENCY MODERATION...]
Damien flinched as a harsh, mechanical voice echoed in the air like cracking static and burning metal. "What the hell was that?!" he muttered, scanning the fiery realm.
"Balance system? Unclassified core? What kind of game world BS is this? Did I just break something by existing?"
Before he could finish that thought, another screen of fire erupted into existence before him, blazing brighter than the last. This one had glowing text—lines and stats unfolding in real-time.
Damien leaned forward, eyes narrowing. "No way... Is this seriously a status screen? Isekai style?"
STATUS SCREEN
Name: Damien Cross
Age: 19
Race: Human (Reincarnated)
Level: 1
Class: Overpowered Fire Mage
Titles:
Flameborn of Ignara
Ashbringer
Reincarnated Anomaly
Godflame Vessel
Enemy of World Balance
He Who Burns Paths
Health Points (HP): MAX
Magic Points (MP): MAX
Strength: MAX
Agility: MAX
Endurance: MAX
Mana Core: Embercore Flameheart (Living core of divine fire; self-evolving)
Luck: MAX
Charm: 67
Normal Skills:
Appraisal: Allows Damien to scan enemies, items, skills, and their history instantly. Can bypass illusion and anti-detection spells.
Danger Sense (EX): Preemptively alerts Damien to any form of threat or hostile intent within an enormous radius.
Enhanced Reflexes: Reacts at speeds faster than human perception; can dodge point-blank projectiles and lightning.
Flame Resistance MAX: Complete immunity to all forms of heat and fire-based attacks—even divine or cursed.
Pain Resistance MAX: High pain threshold. Can continue fighting even with life-threatening injuries without flinching.
Night Vision: Perfect sight in darkness; infrared and heat-vision adaptation.
Enhanced Vision MAX: Sees across miles, perceives energy and heat signatures, motion prediction at extreme detail.
Ability Skills:
Flame Adaptation: Damien can rapidly adjust to any fire magic used against him, nullifying repeated techniques.
Flame Overdrive: Temporarily doubles all combat stats; body becomes partially flame-aspect during activation.
Battle High: The longer Damien fights, the stronger and faster he becomes; adrenaline feeds his magic core.
Ember Dash: Teleport short-to-mid range with flaming aftereffects that damage enemies on arrival or exit.
Magic: Fire Skills:
Fireball: A basic spell amplified by his divine affinity—explosions rival siege weaponry.
Flame Lance: Condensed flame projectile that pierces through magical defenses and regenerates mid-flight.
Inferno Wave: Sweeping tide of flames that can reduce entire battlefields to ash.
Blazing Wings: Conjures wings of fire; grants flight and boosts all aerial stats.
Hell's Roar: Emits a sonic eruption of flame from Damien's body that disrupts magic and stuns enemies.
Fire Clone: Creates independent flame-formed clones that explode on defeat or command.
Unique Skills:
Phoenix Rebirth: Upon death, Damien resurrects from his own ashes stronger than before. Cooldown: 24 hours.
Firestorm Incarnate (Battle Mode): Transforms Damien into a walking inferno, exponentially increasing all fire-related stats and burning the land around him.
Flame Sovereign Domain: A battlefield-controlling zone of godflame that weakens enemies and strengthens all flame magic exponentially.
Crimson Judgment: Damien channels divine wrath into a single blast—a burning judgment that erases targets from existence.
Blazing God Fist: A divine melee skill. His punch becomes wrapped in primordial flame, shattering magical defenses and causing shockwaves across miles.
Weapons:
Blazefang (Living Flame Blade): Shifts form based on Damien's emotions and will. Can cut through dimensions.
Ember Gauntlets: Amplify hand-to-hand fire skills and allow mana manipulation through touch.
Items:
Fire Goddess's Crystal: A gift from Ignara. Stores one divine intervention.
1 Billion Coins
Damien's jaw dropped. "Okay. Uh. That's a lot. That's... ridiculously broken. I'm level 1?! With this?!"
His mind spun. "I have a freaking Flame Sovereign Domain and a skill called Blazing God Fist. That sounds like a final boss move, not a starter kit. What am I supposed to do with all this?!"
Ignara watched with an amused, almost proud expression. "Impressive, isn't it? This power is your reflection—wild, beautiful, and dangerously limitless. The world may not be ready for you... but it will have to learn."
Damien took a breath, eyes still scanning his screen. "Phoenix Rebirth? Firestorm Incarnate? I could probably roast an army with this... but should I? What kind of world am I walking into? Should I hide my power? Or burn my way through everything that gets in my way?"
The goddess stepped forward, her voice calm and knowing. "Your journey begins soon. The new world awaits, but it will not welcome you. It will fear you. Honor you. Hate you. Love you. Prepare for all of it, my little temper flame."
Damien stared at the burning screen, then clenched his fist as flame curled from his fingers.
"I don't know what this world is yet... but I know this: I'm not dying again without doing something that matters."
Ignara watched Damien closely, her molten-red eyes gleaming with ancient knowing. She saw the way his shoulders squared, how his eyes burned with anticipation. He was ready.
"You look ready, my little temper flame," she said, her voice warm and powerful, like a fire on the verge of roaring.
Damien turned to her with a confident smile. "Yes, my goddess."
Her lips curled in satisfaction. "The world you are about to enter is called Elarion. A realm of endless wonder and chaos. A place where kingdoms rise and fall by flame and steel. Show them your fire, Damien. Show them your overpowered flames."
Damien's smile widened. His heart pounded with excitement. "Oh, I plan to. If they think they've seen power before... they're in for a surprise. I'm hyped. I want to test it all—the flames, the strength, everything."
Ignara chuckled, clearly pleased. "Good. Then let the world bear witness to your rise. Now, are you ready?"
He nodded without hesitation. "Yes, Goddess. I am ready."
"Then go," she said, raising her hand. "Good luck in the new world. Show them your power, my little temper flame."
"Yes, Goddess. Thank you."
With a snap of her fingers, Damien vanished in a burst of golden-red flame.
Ignara stood alone again in her fiery domain, gazing at the place he had just been.
"He will shake the balance of that world. He will challenge fate itself. And I cannot wait to see the firestorm he becomes."
In a flash of light and heat, Damien reappeared—no longer in Ignara's domain.
He stood beneath a massive, ancient tree, its golden-green leaves shimmering in the sunlight. Around him stretched a beautiful, mystical forest. Mana hummed in the air, vibrant and alive. A soft breeze kissed his face, carrying the scent of blooming wildflowers and ancient magic.
Damien looked around, wide-eyed. "So this is it... Elarion. I can feel it. The magic. The freedom. This world... it's mine to burn, mine to explore."
He inhaled deeply, stretching his arms. "I'm ready for my new life. My adventure begins now."
With a smile of fire and purpose, Damien took his first steps into the unknown.
To be continued...