Aqua Grand Sizo – a city veiled in mist.

  I stood at the edge of the basin, rubbing soot from my eyes. The damn stuff clung to my lashes, refusing to fall. Below, cradled in a massive stone bowl, lay the city – half military outpost, half waystation for the suicidal few who dared cross the scorched lands.

  The first thing that grabbed the eye was the centerpiece: a tower, bone-white, rising from the heart of the city. Although calling it a tower was generous – it was more like a smokestack. Steam poured from the top, and I'd have bet my last coin it stood fifty meters tall, at least. Near the top, some kind of device – maybe a machine, maybe an artifact – churned out water, which flowed down carved grooves, spiraling toward the ground only to evaporate into the searing earth. That was how they made the fog. A mist thick enough to shield the city from the desert's death-breath.

  How exactly the steam turned cold was beyond me – and frankly, I didn’t give a damn.

  The descent was gentle and winding. At the entrance stood two guards in light armor – more ceremonial than functional. A bird, or something close to it, was etched onto their chestplates.

  The younger one held out a hand, signaling me to stop. The older was already stroking the wing-shaped guard of his blade.

  "Hold it. Where’re you headed?" the younger asked.

  Funny enough, he looked a bit like me.

  "Obviously he's going into the city, you moron," the older snapped at him.

  "Hey, easy, old man! This is the first guy I’m supposed to check. How the hell would I know what to ask?"

  "What did you just call me?" the old one growled.

  "In the past three days, you've eaten my whole damn brain. It’s non-stop whining with you. Your wife, your neighbors, their loud-ass dog—hell, yesterday you bitched about the apple sellers. And now I’m the next target?"

  Wait—I was the first person to come to this city in three days? Yeah... their tourism board really needed work.

  "So that's what you really think of me, you little bastard?"

  "Uh... riveting dialogue, gents," I cut in. "But can I go through now? Need to stock up before the road. Heard I could get water in the city."

  "Don’t see a canteen on you," the younger noted, scanning me.

  "I keep it between my ass cheeks. Want me to show you?" I offered.

  "Just get the hell in," the older one muttered and stepped aside.

  He clearly wasn’t interested in a pat-down. Arguing with his partner took priority.

  The place was tiny: a couple dozen buildings, a tavern, barracks, and a church.

  My stomach betrayed me with a loud growl, turning heads. Soldiers, travelers, a handful of traders – that was the entire cast of Aqua Grand Sizo. No peasants in sight.

  I stepped into a tavern called The Dry Swallow and approached the barkeep – a woman who looked like she'd died a week ago and just hadn’t noticed yet.

  "What’s on the menu today?" I asked.

  "Lizard tail stew. Lizard thighs sautéed with onions. Lizard crests. Boiled lizard eyes," she listed in a lifeless tone.

  "Sounds mouthwatering. Wish I could try some..." I said, giving her my best charming look.

  "Then try it. What’s stopping you?" she shot me a tired glance.

  "Just passing through your lovely region, haven’t a clue what lizard tastes like."

  "Buy a portion and find out. Or are you broke?"

  She was onto me.

  "I’ve got money. Just don’t wanna throw it at mystery meat. Let me taste it first, then I’ll decide if I want seconds."

  "Get lost," she muttered, her eyes slowly sparking to life.

  I argued a bit longer, but my little gamble flopped, so I left. The first thought was to swipe a few apples from a nearby merchant, but before I could make a move, I stumbled across a treasure trove. More accurately – a fountain at the base of the tower. A sign nearby explained that travelers tossed gems into the water for luck before their journey.

  Bullshit. Judging by the number of corpses I'd seen along the way, that charm wasn’t doing jack.

  I glanced around – no one. Reached into the water.

  And screamed.

  I yanked my hand back like it had touched fire. But there were no burns – not on the surface. The pain was deeper. Like my soul was being torn to shreds. It was worse than anything I’d ever felt.

  My shrieks brought the guards running. I tried to keep it together, bit down on my lip, but I couldn’t stop myself from howling.

  "Captain, what’s wrong with him?" one guard asked, watching me writhe on the ground.

  "No clue," replied a man in a helmet with crimson feathers.

  "Think he’s infected?"

  "Impossible. Lord made sure not a single one survived."

  "Hey! Answer us! What’s happening to you?" someone finally addressed me directly.

  "I don’t know! I just wanted a drink!"

  No need to mention I was trying to rob the fountain.

  "Never seen anyone react to the Titan’s gift like this," said the feathered captain.

  "I swear by my mother, he’s infected!"

  "So what do we do?"

  A dozen soldiers gathered around me. Not one had a clue. Some started to panic at the idea of infection, but not the captain.

  "Chain him," he ordered coldly.

  "Hey! I’m the damn victim here!" I shouted.

  "Shut your mouth," he snapped, then nodded for the others to follow orders.

  And that was how I ended up arrested by a bunch of lunatics...

  The soldiers dragged me to the barracks and chained me to a wooden post stained with blood. Clearly, I wasn’t the first to enjoy their hospitality.

  On the bright side, the pain finally faded after a while. But peace didn’t last. Soon I was alone with Captain Funny Helmet. And when I saw the bucket of water next to him, any urge to laugh died instantly.

  He filled his mouth and spat the water on me.

  I couldn’t even describe the sensation. Like my very being was dissolving.

  "You can stop pretending now," he said. "I know it’s not the water. You dared to touch Midas’s gift. This is your punishment."

  Midas? He meant the gems?

  Yeah, no. I wished it was just the stones. But sadly, it really was the water.

  "I know you don’t carry a single Agni," the captain added.

  Agni? Stop throwing in new terms!

  "So what now?" I asked, forcing down the bile and staring at him. "You gonna chop my hand off?"

  "Don’t know. Only Lord Joji can pass judgment. But he’s off on a campaign, so you’ll just have to wait."

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  He set the bucket beside me and turned to leave. Just before stepping out, he added:

  "And no, don’t expect any food. Your favorite water should keep you alive for a week." He smirked, then slammed the door.

  Great. All I wanted was to see the tower and get a decent meal. Instead I landed in a madhouse.

  But knowing what I was, I always had to consider these kinds of outcomes.

  Escape wouldn’t be hard. Just needed to wait for nightfall.

  Food? I’d have to go find luck elsewhere.

  Dusk settled in, and I began prepping for escape. Dislocated my thumbs, slipped the cuffs. Now I waited for night to fall completely.

  That was when I heard two new guards taking over the shift.

  By some cosmic joke, it was the same two buffoons who let me in without a second glance.

  "Hope they off that bastard soon. I’m not doing overtime guarding his ass," the older one yawned.

  "Boss, you do realize this is your fault, right? You let him through," the younger was more polite now.

  "You’re right... I just hope this screw-up doesn’t ruin Lord Joji’s decision."

  "What decision?" the younger one asked.

  "You didn’t know? His next Mole Hunt is his last. I begged to join him last time. He said he’d think about it for the final one," the old man replied sheepishly.

  "Damn. Had no idea... What’ll happen to the city then?"

  "Beats me. Probably dismantle the artifact and bury this dump."

  "Shit… you mean we’ll have to go back to the capital? I just escaped my brother. He’ll talk my ears off!"

  "If you prove yourself, maybe Lord’ll take you too. I overheard him talking with the captain. Joji wants to cross the sea and find the Tenth Titan."

  "The one that grants wishes? I thought that was a myth," the young one said, stunned.

  "Who knows. I think it’s nonsense. But the Lord believes. He wants to rebuild South Talonia," the old man whispered, awe in his voice.

  A wish-granting Titan? I didn’t know much about them – only that they were basically gods around here. The Titan of Crimson Flame, then this Wish creature, and apparently Midas. The captain said I offended the Titans. So yeah, it made sense Midas was one too.

  But right now, I didn’t give a shit about any of them—except the tenth.

  If they were real… if I could find them...

  Would the Titan really grant my wish?

  "You’re not eager to go abroad, are you?" the younger asked.

  "Not at all. My old bones won’t take a long journey. Between the stupid currents and the World Judge, sea voyages stretch on for years. My daughter’s about to have a baby. My mother-in-law’s nearing the end. My brother plans to visit this winter. Time I settle down. Clara’s been begging me to stop getting deployed. Looks like she’s finally getting her wish," the old man said with a soft smile.

  While waiting for nightfall, I kept thinking about the Titan of Desires. I had to find them—nothing else really mattered.

  Well, that was a lie. There was still this damned water. What the hell was it doing to my soul? I knew I wasn’t like the rest of them, but even then, I couldn’t figure out the connection. This world had more secrets than I thought. At least it wouldn’t be boring.

  So, time to see it.

  With that thought, I kicked the door off its hinges and rushed out, not bothering to look back. The guards clearly didn’t expect me to break free—none of them were ready. Outside, it was pitch-black, with fog thick enough to smother the torches dotting the street.

  I had a rough idea of the way out, so escaping shouldn’t have been hard.

  At least, that was what I thought—until everything went black. It happened so fast, I couldn’t even tell what killed me. Probably got my head lopped off mid-sprint.

  ...

  “Ah...aaa...a...”

  If I really were the main character of this story—what would it be about? What message would the author want to send? What meaning would they assign to all this suffering? What did I do to deserve an existence like this?

  “Aaaaaa!”

  There had to be a reason for everything, right? And if there wasn’t—then why did I keep coming back? I begged for oblivion, begged for mercy—and got nothing but more pain.

  “A...a?”

  I learned to live with this cursed existence, but now something had changed. It was the soul... In this world, the Higher Powers had found new ways to screw with me.

  This was real hell.

  ...

  I woke in a pitch-dark space, pain flaring throughout my body as ice-cold water came crashing down. It pelted my face, filled my nose, my mouth, my eyes. Apparently, those assholes didn’t feel like reporting back to their boss, so they dumped my “corpse” into a pipe to get rid of the evidence. I knew the drill—I wasn’t the first. There were bones under my feet.

  Water hit the burning ground and turned to steam. Hot, corrosive steam rising in clouds, wrapping around my body. Skin blistered and peeled like wax on a flame. The bare muscle underneath curled back, pulling away from the bone. My eyes? Cooked. My lungs? Boiling from the inside. I tried to scream, but my vocal cords had long since burned away—only steam came out.

  I wasn’t human anymore. Just meat, stewing in my own broth.

  For some reason, regeneration kicked into overdrive. I couldn’t even die... Not that it mattered.

  Even in death, I’d feel my soul being shredded—into dozens, hundreds, millions of pieces.

  No end to it.

  This story was just a pile of shit. Suffering without purpose. Pain without reason.

  Whoever was doing this to me... they weren’t driven by some grand plan. The Higher Powers just got off on watching me suffer.

  A thousand years later, someone finally opened the pipe and found me. Not whole. Not exactly alive. But still breathing.

  Okay, fine. I didn’t know how much time passed. Could’ve been a day. Could’ve been twenty years. The whole thing felt like a never-ending bath from hell.

  In that time, my regeneration really did grow stronger. Probably the water’s doing.

  I wasn’t fully aware of what was happening when they dragged me out. But once my mind came back, I saw a hundred soldiers, kneeling with their eyes glued to the ground.

  Only one stood.

  A golden-haired pretty boy in gilded armor, ruby eyes shining. Tears streamed down his face as he looked at me like I was a god.

  “Lord Crimson Flame...” he whispered, falling to his knees. “The true Phoenix... No matter how many deaths fell upon your fate, you always rose again from the ashes...” He dropped so hard his nose smashed against the stone.

  Was that Joji? Wait... who the hell did they think I was?

  “Forgive us, my Lord! Forgive us, my Lord!” they chanted like a bunch of lunatics.

  “Lord Cicicrium, have you descended to test our faith?” Joji asked, forehead still on the floor.

  My brain wasn’t fully booted up, and I wasn’t sure if I was hallucinating or if they were really this stupid. They thought I was their Titan? Were they some kind of cult? They worshipped me just because of my regeneration? Shit, if I’d known earlier that the Titan of Crimson Flame was a phoenix and these morons worshipped him, I’d have played that card long ago. Would’ve saved me the—

  I shivered uncontrollably, teeth chattering.

  “Yes... My name is Circus,” I said, narrowing my eyes.

  “You mean Cicicrium?” the red-eyed one asked.

  “You correcting your Lord?” I snapped.

  “Forgive me! Forgive me! Forgive me!”

  “Shut the fuck up already.”

  He actually did. For a while. “Please, just tell us how we can atone. Anything you desire, we will provide.”

  There was no one else around. Just the soldiers. It seemed the blonde had already decided regular people shouldn’t gaze upon their Titan or they'd age and go blind. Funny, since he looked at me earlier just fine. But now he was scared to even peek.

  They weren’t worried that nothing happened the last time they looked?

  “I’ve got one request... No, an order. You failed your duties, and for that—I want you all dead,” I said calmly.

  “But... we’re ready to serve you,” Joji protested.

  “You disobeying me?”

  “Lord Crimson Flame... I’ve followed your Path since childhood. I’ve healed hundreds of the suffering, slain thousands of enemies—all in your name. Don’t I deserve one more chance?”

  Healed, huh? Maybe I should spare this one... No. He was the most dangerous of them. Eventually, the golden boy was gonna smell the lie and come hunting. That was if they even let me leave this place.

  And if any of them were innocent? Didn’t care. After all I’d been through, I was done trying to make plans that worked for everyone.

  They could all go to hell.

  “No,” I said flatly.

  “Is my faith... not enough?” Joji asked, wiping away tears with trembling hands. A swirl of emotions crossed his face. “I hope, in my next life, I can meet your expectations...” But even then, he accepted his fate.

  The soldiers removed their helmets and raised their blades to their throats without hesitation. Fanatics were easy to control.

  “For your sins,” I said, voice like thunder, “I order you—die.”

  “For the Titan!”

  “For Lord Phoenix!”

  “For the Crimson Flame!”

  One by one, they stabbed themselves in the throat. Collapsing in heaps, choking on their own blood. Even Joji, who never did me any harm, joined them.

  Then I heard something—a quiet sob from the back.

  One soldier hadn’t finished the job.

  “Please... Lord Crimson Flame... please... I will serve you...” It was the old guard. “I’m waiting for a grandchild... My wife’s waiting for me at home...” he sobbed, stammering, begging.

  Stepping over the corpses, I picked up a sword.

  “Doesn’t sound like you’re too loyal to this dumb bird,” I said, tapping the phoenix on his chestplate with the blade.

  “Huh?” He looked up, confused.

  “Can you believe they actually thought I was their lord?” I laughed. “Even Joji bought it. And he was a big fish. Though they say even the biggest fish has a tiny brain.” I gave him a sad smile.

  “You...” he started to get angry—but quieted down when he felt my sword at his throat.

  “Spare me... I beg you... my daughter...”

  “Spare you?” I laughed, harsh and cold. “You’ve got the balls to say that word?”

  “It wasn’t me who took your head... That was the captain. It was his idea to dump you in the pipe,” he tried to defend himself.

  “I’m not blaming you for that. I just remember something else. You said, and I quote, ‘Hope they off that bastard soon. I’m not doing overtime guarding his ass’,” I mimicked his voice. “I wasn’t the first, and I wasn’t supposed to be the last. I don’t know how many people you’ve killed in this shithole of a city, but I do know one thing—you never gave a damn about human life.”

  “Please...” he whispered, eyes shut, tears streaming again. “My daughter...”

  “I don’t give a fuck about your daughter. Or your grandkid. Or your wife, your mother-in-law, your whole fucking bloodline,” I snarled and rammed the sword into his throat. “And you know what? Even your death doesn’t stir anything in me. Your actions brought you here. That’s all. A logical end to a pointless life, right?” I asked, watching the light fade from his eyes.

  There was nothing left for me there.

  Hopefully, beyond the desert, I’d find people who didn’t want me dead. But just in case—I’d keep my expectations low.