The Flame Nest, a place of bitter cold in the north.
12-year-old Evelyn curled up in a corner of the training ground, wearing nothing but a thin training suit.
The winter here was bone-chillingly cold, and without any heating in the facility, her hands and feet had already turned purple.
But she didn’t dare move.
The instructor had announced that today’s session was cold-endurance training.
Whoever moved first would be denied dinner.
She had already gone two days without eating.
“Stand up, trash!”
The instructor’s whip cracked against the ground, letting out a piercing sound.
“If you can’t even handle this little bit of cold, how will you fight the monsters here? How will you protect the city?”
Evelyn gritted her teeth, forcing herself to stand.
But her frozen legs refused to obey.
The moment she straightened her back, she collapsed to the ground again.
“Tsk, down again,” a girl several years older than her sneered from the side.
“As expected of a mongrel. She can’t even handle this level of training.”
Evelyn lowered her head, her fingernails digging deep into her palms.
‘Mongrel.’
That was the name she heard most often at the Flame Nest.
It was because her magic wasn’t pure fire, but a mixture of flame and some unknown energy.
The instructor called it an unclean power, and her peers claimed it was proof of her being a mutt.
She didn’t know who her parents were.
Since her earliest memories, she had been training here.
The instructor said she had been abandoned because her power was abnormal.
“That’s enough for today,” the instructor announced coldly.
“Evelyn, you get no dinner. Everyone else, dismissed.”
The doors to the training ground opened, and the other children rushed out in a swarm, heading toward the warmth of the cafeteria.
Only Evelyn remained curled in the corner, motionless.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to move, but that she couldn’t.
Her body had gone completely numb from the cold.
Just then, a lighthearted voice drifted down from above her.
“Oh my, why is a child wearing so little in such freezing weather?”
Evelyn looked up.
A beautiful woman wearing a long dress patterned with stars was crouching in front of her, a gentle smile on her face.
The woman had long, lilac hair and eyes the color of the deep, starry sky, looking as though they could pull a person in.
“…Who are you?” Evelyn asked.
“My name is Flora, a passing Magical Girl,” the woman said with a smile.
“Little sister, you look very cold. Do you want to come with me and eat something warm?”
Evelyn shook her head.
“The instructor said not to go away with strangers.”
“I see.”
Flora thought for a moment before pulling a piece of candy from her pocket.
“Then how about a piece of candy to warm you up first?”
It was a pink candy that gave off a sweet aroma.
Evelyn swallowed hard, but she still shook her head.
Flora didn’t get angry.
Instead, her smile widened.
“You’re very alert. Not bad, not bad at all. However, I’m not a bad person. Look — “
She reached out, and a ball of warm flame ignited in her palm.
The fire wasn’t a standard red, but carried a faint golden hue.
It was warm without being scorching.
Evelyn was stunned.
She could feel a power within that flame that was similar to the energy inside her own body.
“Are… are you a mongrel too?” she blurted out.
Flora paused, then burst into laughter.
“A mongrel? No, no, no. I call this being a Mixed-blood Genius! And a particularly powerful one at that!”
She extinguished the flame and looked at Evelyn.
“Little sister, your power isn’t ‘abnormal,’ it’s special. Your flames are mixed with the power of light. That is a very rare attribute. If you’re trained properly, you’ll become an incredible Magical Girl in the future.”
Evelyn stared at her blankly.
“Really?”
“Of course it’s true.”
Flora extended her hand.
“Do you want to come with me? I can teach you how to control your power and make you stronger.”
Evelyn looked at that hand and hesitated for a very long time.
Later, Flora took her away from the Flame Nest — a place deliberately named to represent overcoming the cold.
She bought Evelyn clean clothes, treated her to the first proper meal of her life, and taught her how to control the power within her.
“Your power is strong, but being strong doesn’t mean it’s bad. Fire can burn everything, but it can also warm hearts. What matters is what you want to do with it.”
“I want to protect people, just like Aunt Flora!”
“A grand ambition!”
Flora happily ruffled Evelyn’s hair.
“But before that, you have to learn to control it. Come, I’ll show you…”
The following months were the happiest times of Evelyn’s life.
Flora taught her magic, taught her how to read, and taught her how to distinguish between good and bad people.
“Evelyn means Fire of Life. It suits you well,” Flora said with a smile.
Evelyn nodded vigorously.
One day, after their training session ended, Flora suddenly pulled out a photo album.
“Little Evelyn, let me show you a secret,” she said mysteriously.
The album opened to reveal various photos of a young girl, ranging from a toddling infant to a little girl with pigtails, and finally a young girl whose features were just beginning to bloom.
“Who is this?”
Evelyn asked curiously.
“My little Tianyou.”
Flora softly caressed the album, her voice incredibly tender.
“She is my most precious treasure. I would give everything for her.”
Looking at the bright smile of the girl in the photos, a strange feeling suddenly welled up in Evelyn’s heart.
‘How cute.’
‘I want to protect her.’
Flora suddenly sighed.
“But, little Tianyou might face a lot of trouble in the future. She inherited my power, but her personality is too kind. She’ll be easily bullied.”
She looked at Evelyn.
“Little Evelyn, would you be willing to do me a favor?”
“What favor?”
“When little Tianyou grows up, if she needs help, and if she’s willing… would you be willing to become the person who protects her?”
Evelyn froze.
Protect… the girl in the photos?
Flora pulled a small box from her pocket and opened it to reveal a pendant with a starry sky pattern.
“Take this. Consider it a Pledge Token. When little Tianyou grows up, if you meet and find that you like one another, then the promise shall begin.”
Evelyn took the pendant and gripped it tightly in her palm.
It felt warm.
“Then… how does the promise begin?” she asked.
Flora thought for a moment before a sly smile suddenly crossed her face.
“According to ancient Magical Girl tradition, if someone has the sincere determination to protect another for a lifetime, their first kiss should be the Vow of Protection Kiss, representing the oath to protect!”
As she spoke, she even imitated a kneeling posture.
“Just like this: ‘Beautiful lady, please allow me to swear with a kiss to protect you by your side for the rest of my life.’ — Isn’t that romantic?”
The 12-year-old Evelyn nodded hard, carving those words into her heart.
A Vow of Protection Kiss.
A kiss that represented protecting someone for a lifetime.
***
Later, Flora left.
She said she had some matters to handle and told Evelyn to go study at the Magical Girl Academy first.
“I’ll come see you when I get back,” Flora promised.
Evelyn waited and waited.
She waited for one year, then two years…
But what finally arrived was the news that Flora had gone missing and was later confirmed dead.
Evelyn kept that old promise in her heart, repeating it to herself over and over.
Until this very moment, as her knee touched the ground and her heart hammered against her ribs.
“Miss Tianyou, please kiss me as the start of the promise with Aunt Flora.”
“Miss Evelyn, isn’t this a bit inappropriate? We’ve only just met…”
Luo Tianyou was caught off guard, looking somewhat dazed.
“But I have been waiting for this moment for ten years. Besides, Aunt Flora said that if you were willing to accept my protection, you would give me a kiss as a response. If you are unwilling… then never mind.”
Evelyn lowered her eyelashes, her voice growing soft.
“Though, I suppose I will be quite sad.”