24 • SHE/HER • INFERNAL CURSE

A human's vengeance and fury can go so much farther.

Honobi, an infamous fire alchemist wielding a cursed flame that is extracted from the depths of the underworld itself. Extremely proficient in curses and the art of fire, her power has reached to near apocalyptic levels. Although her mastery is terrifying, her demeanor is even more so. Cold yet bitter, wrathful but calm, she is the epitome of anguish and hatred.

And yet, she only ever uses this magic to protect herself. When the day of her family's death had arrived at her doorstep she hadn't been able to let herself rest. Haunted by the atrocities committed by their executioners and by her own volition, she believes herself to be too far gone. Though that much is true, there is also another side that she doesn't confront. Her own fear of everyone. Of everything that could put her in danger.

She can't stop. She'll never stop. She has to protect herself. Whatever it takes.

"Did you think you could fool me?"

At first glance, Honobi appears to be a pure, burning force of nature. A personification of destruction. From her constant scowl on her face to the aggressive stances she puts on, it is no surprise that so many fear her, including those who have been saved by her in the past. Intending to use her fire to clear away the vileness of the world, she sees little reason why she should trust humans of her own kind.

And yet, deep down, Honobi isn't just a vengeful witch that wants to enact her revenge upon others. She is scared, terrified. Afraid that the entire world is out to get her and that it will take advantage of her. She is constantly honing her magic arts to better protect herself and to burn away all those that try to impose her. Her turst only lies within her family, who have since long passed with their ashes forever in the wind.

Even though she may have tried to turn back on her actions, she knows she has come too far to stop now. There is no freedom for her and her own sins will forever follow her to the grave, as well as her fear and hatred against the world. Unless a miracle finally stepped in her way, there is nothing she can do to break this self-impose cycle. With her one comfort and safety gone, she is left a shell filled with tears and fire.

"Give them back... GIVE MY FAMILY BACK!"

It can be surprising to those who learn, but like so many, she was only a young child with an innocent curiosity towards the world. Her family, though only two parents, came from a long line of people who were proficient in wielding dark arts in the form of fire, directly sourced from the underworld. Although this prospect was terrifying to many, to Honobi wielding such a fire was a dream. She wanted to be a witch of her own, to be a magician and show off her flames. She hadn't exactly figured out what she would do with it but she hoped that it was something that brought joy to herself, her family and many others. It was surely a blessing when at the age of 13, they finally decided to teach her how to wield it.

This flame was cruel and powerful, a wild beast that won't even leave ashes. But their mastery over it showed that even though its wild nature can never be tamed, they can work with it. Use it for more benevolent purposes. Many lessons were taught to Honobi on the importance of kindness and stability, to find a balance between her emotions and inner darkness.

But to the townsmen around them, the family were little more than heretics who to them believed in devils and dark beings. They frequently casted stones at their home but never once did her parents ever retaliate, only doing so much as to lock their door and reinforce their windows whenever they could. Honobi never understood why they'd treat her like this and why her parents never used their magic to protect them. When the protests and discrimination towards them reached an alltime high, Honobi confronted her parents and asked: "Why do you never fight back!? You have these cool magic powers and you never use them to show their place! Why do you let them do this to us!?"

To that, her father answered, "To hold a grudge is to cage yourself from the world. To be blinded by it is a life not worth a kindle." And to that her mother answered, "We must not let anger cloud our minds, for it will burn our path in a rage."

She never got their advice and to this day still thinks about it.

One particular evening, Honobi had been sleeping in her room when all of a sudden, she heard screams of both terror and joy from outside. Irritated by the noise at first, she opens her window only to find a scene most horrific to her.

Her own parents, burning away on wooden crosses.

Their bodies were covered in sacks tightly wrapped, sealing away their screams of pain and agony. And yet to the townspeople, this was satisfaction. To others however, even for their tastes this was utterly horrific. A crime that should not have been committed and yet they stood there, completely complacent and fearful of the fire before them.

With the quick understanding that those were her parents inside those sacks, she immediately rushed out to try and save them. She screamed and begged for the townspeople to let them out but none of them had listened. Some were aggressive enough to shove her aside, those who were cruel kicked and peeled her eyes open to the scene. The bystanders could only watch, whether out of fear for punishment or they simply couldn't care less.

Forced to watch the scene unfolding in front of her, it felt hours had passed. It was complete torture and she couldn't even bear the sight and yet, her eyes were open anyway.

And at the end, her screams had went unanswered. Never to be heeded again.

She was finally let go and the townspeople only cheered in joy at the deaths of these witches, leaving Honobi to crawl over and grasp at their ashes. Those ashes were theirs. Her father, her mother. Taken away by the townspeople.

Her grief turned to rage, and that rage turned to anger. She only turns her head towards their executioners, her eyes red and stained with tears.

"You sought us as monsters to be vanquished... taught your very children that our existence were inherently monstrous... you even had the GALL to force me to watch them die... right in front of me... and you still think... you have the higher ground?"

Flames were spurring around her. Then they grew into a cage of fire. A hell created just for them. They were left with no exits and as their pleaded, the girl who was once the innocent, curious daughter of two stood up to finally face them.

"Burn."

It was only down from there. They too began to suffer the fate of her parents but these flames were so much more different. They were cursed, unholy in nature. Monstrous bestial flames that once knew no master, bowing down to the witch who lost everything. Granting her her ugly, sharply turned horns on her forehead, she furiously yet silently watched as everyone around her screamed in nothing but agony. A song of regret, fear and brutality. To them, this was nothing more than an unjustified punishment. But to her, they became the pinnacle of just how wretched humanity could be.