[It was the image of the orphanage; that wide hall with dark walls and just a pale light shining above. There were a few children playing around. She was just sitting in a corner, avoiding them. She was afraid of interacting with them.

Suddenly, a little girl walked towards her and lend her a hand. She had a big smile on her face.

“Hi! I’m Xanii Akira. Do you want to be my friend?” she said. She sounded so happy. She seemed so confident.

“Well… why would you want a friend like me? I am a freak, everybody knows that…” mumbled the other girl.

“Hey, I don’t care about what others say. They always say my eyes represent the Devil or the Evil, but I don’t care. I keep looking at them like this…”

She opened her eyes wide and got very close to the girl’s face. That smile looked rather creepy than adorable now. The other girl pushed her away gently. She smiled.

“Your eyes are beautiful…” she said, as she was admiring Xanii’s golden eyes. They had a tint of green in them and red pupils. They reflected a friendly character. Then, her simple outfit: a large, black T-shirt and red leggings. She was so simple.

“Hey what’s your name?” asked Xanii all of a sudden.

“Nether…” responded the other girl. “Nether Nakishima…”

Xanii giggled. “That’s such a nice name. Plus, I really like your wings!” Nether smiled. For a few minutes, she spent time with Xanii in the dark corner. They laughed and played nicely until a bunch of other kids came to them. There were two boys and three girls. They had mischievous smiles on their faces. Those were the privileged kids who would pick on anyone in their way. They were worse than other bullies; Not even the caretakers could handle them…

“Oh, would you look at that! The freaks became friends!” laughed a girl. “Merely out of prison, right, Nether?”

(Poor girl had been imprisoned because she was considered a demon…

It didn’t happen too long ago. There had been a demon breakout in the region she was living in. Explosions destroyed the homes of the civilians and the flames engulfed the whole area. Nether and her parents were almost out of the chaos; a rescue team of Devil Killers came to rescue any survivors.

No one really knew why, but Nether just wouldn’t leave. The chaotic dance of the flames had her hypnotized and she couldn’t help but walk towards them. She looked inhuman. Her eyes were glowing brightly with a tint of red and she was smiling evilly… Her mother tried to stop her and drag her away, but when her daughter looked into her eyes, she didn’t see ay child… She saw nothing but a demon. She attempted to get away and abandon her, but the girl gripped her shirt. Those words were still tormenting her even in the present day…

“Why do you want to leave me alone, mommy…? Don’t you want to play with me…?”

Her mother pushed her away into the flames and tried to run, but a long spike of hardened lava pierced through her body and killed her in an instant… And little Nether rose from the fire looking just like a real flame demon- one horn on her right side and burning, dragon wings… Her hair was waving into the powerful winds, it looked like a river of lava… And her maniac smile terrified even the Devil Killer…

And then, there was no escape. Her flame powers were awakened and took control over her. She lost all contact with reality and began stirring the chaos… She flew highly above the Section and sent gigantic lasers of plasma towards the earth, causing powerful blasts that shook the ground… She watched everything burn. Everyone in that town had died, consumed by her powers… Those were not ordinary flames. They were more powerful even than those of the flame demons…

It took more than three days for everything to settle down and she had fallen unconscious right after the awakening of her power. When she woke up, all back to her senses, she was horrified… Devil Killers were surrounding her, throwing spiteful gazes at her. They blamed her for the destruction and had her imprisoned at a demon restraining facility. They didn’t listen when she told them it hadn’t been her fault. After all, what child who had no control over their powers could open a gate of Hell and cause a demon outbreak? But no one would listen… And they just kept treating her like trash until they got tired of her. And what they did was send her into an even worse place… They knew that orphanage was in a totally isolated region of a small Section where only the poorest people lived… For that was the exact place she used to call home… It had been rebuilt, but no one cared if it looked fancy anymore, so they just let it be forgotten…)

Xanii jolted up. She was standing in front of Nether, defending her.

“Say one more word and I’ll send you to Hell!” she growled.

She didn’t have time to think her next move because one of the boys punched her in the stomach. He laughed hysterically, looking satisfied as Xanii fell to her knees, groaning in pain. As a matter of fact, those brats were so sadistic that only seeing the others suffer and yell in pain while collapsing at their feet would make them happy. They went around calling Nether a demon when the real demons were them… And they knew that.

Xanii was not giving up though. She got up and jumped at that boy and bit his neck so hard that he started bleeding. He yelled in pain as Xanii scratched him brutally. She knocked him down. Not satisfied with how soft she had been so far, she climbed on his back and started breaking his bones. She showed no mercy and took great pleasure in it… Then, she smashed his face on the concrete floor and let him slowly die choking on his own blood. Her hands were soaked in his blood and she couldn’t help but laugh; laugh so casually, like a little child, as if it was something so funny.

“The one who will adopt you now will be the Devil himself!” she hissed. She turned her gaze on the other kids, who were now sitting in a corner, terrified. Xanii had a hysteric smile on her face and a devilish look in her eyes. Now she showed them the true nature of someone they called Devil. “Anyone else wants to mess with the freaks?!” she growled.

The other kids ran away in fear. There had been no one so far that was able to put them in their place, but it was at that moment they knew they screwed up. Badly. It never ran through their head to mess with Xanii again, let alone trigger Nether’s rage and have the whole place burnt to ashes once again.

Xanii turned to Nether, who had a bit of a smile on her face. Maybe she wasn’t as innocent as before considering she had to stay at a demon restraining facility. She grew to enjoy displays of cruelty, especially brutal murder. She had been made to watch other demons get executed and had been threatened about being next, yet she had already had in mind to kill herself ever since the destruction of the town.

She looked at her new friend and hugged her.

“Thank you so much… I never thought anyone would do this for me…”

Xanii’s hysteric smile was replaced by a cute smirk. She giggled. They both burst into laughter. They seemed to have so many things in common. They began to grow so close to each other… Inseparable friends. Xanii’s face, rather her eyes were where she found her comfort… That flicker of joy in them brightened her up as well…

Suddenly, everything around went black and all the sounds faded away. She was left all alone, floating into that endless darkness.]

Xankaria slowly opened her eyes. She distinguished the familiar image of her room. She sighed.