Pain was the first thing I felt when I woke up.

Not memory.

Not fear.

Pain.

My body was strapped down on a cold metal bed. Tubes pierced my skin. Machines surrounded me, humming softly like predators waiting for permission to strike again.

Every breath burned.

I had screamed so many times that my voice had disappeared. No one came. No one ever would.

Because I wasn’t a patient.

I was an experiment.

A lab rat.

And the worst part?

The people who sold me here… were my family.

My parents died when I was sixteen.

After their accident, my uncle and aunts took me in. They told me to call them “mom” and “dad.” I didn’t.

I respected them.

They were cold, distant—but they fed me, housed me. I thought that was enough.

Then the apocalypse arrived.

Everything collapsed overnight. Cities fell. Governments vanished. Monsters filled the streets.

We ran together, searching for a base.

That was when my cousin pushed me.

Straight into a zombie horde.

Not by accident.

Not in panic.

She looked me in the eyes while doing it.

I remember falling.

I remember their backs running away.

And I remember something awakening inside me.

Fire exploded from my body.

Flames stronger than anything normal humans possessed. The zombies around me turned to ash. The heat cleared the street.

When my family saw what I could do… their fear disappeared.

It was replaced with greed.

They apologized. They cried. They said it was a mistake. They called it a misunderstanding.

I believed them.

That was my first mistake.

When we reached the survivor base, I was registered as an ability user. I was given a small house.

They moved in with me.

And I worked.

Every day, I accepted dangerous missions outside the base. Killing zombies. Clearing territories. Gathering supplies. Trading points for food.

I fed them.

I protected them.

I sustained them.

Meanwhile, they stayed home.

Months later, my cousin awakened a water ability.

My uncle awakened earth.

Still, I was the strongest.

Still, I was the one risking my life.

But I told myself it was my duty.

They raised me.

They saved me.

Right?

Two years passed.

One day, I returned from a mission exhausted.

For once… they welcomed me warmly.

They cooked a special meal.

They smiled.

They treated me like family.

I felt something I hadn’t felt in years.

Hope.

I ate without suspicion.

Then the world went dark.

When I woke up, I was here.

Tied down.

Experimented on.

They told me the truth calmly.

They had sold me to scientists in exchange for protection and resources.

My flames were valuable.

Too valuable.

They wanted to study my power.

Use it.

Weaponize it.

And keep me alive only as long as I was useful.

There were others here too.

Five of us.

Now four.

One couldn’t survive the pain.

The screams never stopped in this place.

Then one day, I heard a voice.

Familiar.

I opened my eyes.

And saw her.

My cousin.

Standing there.

Smiling.

Mocking.

“Are you enjoying your new home?” she asked softly.

My throat was dry. My voice barely worked.

“Why…?”

She laughed.

“Why? Because you were never family. You were profit.”

Her words hit harder than any experiment.

She explained everything.

The inheritance.

The black card.

The blocked marriage contracts.

The plan to drain my parents’ wealth.

The staged accident.

The push into the zombies.

They wanted me dead that day.

But I awakened instead.

And became useful again.

So they kept me alive.

Used me.

Sold me.

She leaned closer, eyes gleaming.

“Oh, and your parents are alive.”

My heart stopped.

“They’re searching for you. Mom told them you were dead. They believed her.”

My body trembled.

“They’ll come here eventually,” she continued. “Maybe we can lure them in. The scientists would love that.”

Her laughter echoed in the room.

That was the moment something inside me snapped.

Power erupted through my veins.

Not flames.

Something deeper.

Something unstable.

Space bent.

In an instant, I was in front of her.

My hand locked around her throat.

The shock in her eyes was priceless.

For the first time…

She looked afraid.

I tightened my grip.

I was going to kill her.

And I would not regret it.

Pain exploded in my chest.

A blade pierced my heart.

She was still smiling.

Blood spilled from my mouth.

My strength drained instantly.

The world tilted.

I fell.

So this was how it ended.

After everything.

Used.

Discarded.

Betrayed.

My vision blurred.

I thought about my parents.

If only they knew the truth.

If only I hadn’t trusted them.

Regret was heavy.

But regret changes nothing.

Then—

The door exploded open.

A force slammed my cousin into the wall.

The room shook.

Someone lifted me gently.

I forced my eyes open.

And saw her.

My mother.

Older.

Crying.

“My baby… I’m sorry. Mommy is late.”

Her voice broke.

I tried to smile.

Blood filled my mouth.

“I love you… Mom.”

My vision darkened.

Her tears fell onto my face.

My father stood behind her, shaking with rage.

But I couldn’t stay.

The pain faded.

The sounds disappeared.

Everything dissolved into darkness.

If this was my last moment…

Then I hoped it wouldn’t be the end.

Because if I ever got another chance—

I would never trust so easily again.

And I would burn the world before letting anyone use me again.