Apotheosis

Questioning the lack of sensations thoroughly confused Zen, and his eyes flew open so he could see. When he looked down, he saw that although he was nude because his clothes were turned to ashes, his body was intact. Not only that but, his hair wasn't even singed! Zen was thoroughly confused!

"Is it because I am not afraid of the burning fire?" he whispered.

An idea came to mind suddenly. It was a long shot, but Zen was desperate since he thought he was going to die. He filled his heart with ecstasy.

Although he wasn't sure, what he was witnessing now was related to the unbelievable scene that happened the day he was in the cellar. Zen knew something incredible occurred after that. 'Is it because I am actually a mysterious weapon, that the fire is not burning me?'

He wondered as the fire outside of the furnace grew higher.

Golden flames were constantly shooting through the air, shifting into large invisible hands and pummeling Zen as they neared him. More flames were doing the same to the Hell Fire Sword lying on the table simultaneously. The greater the fire grew, the hotter Zen was, and yet, oddly, he still only felt a twinge of irritation.

Unlike Zen, the Hell Fire Sword was affected and as the body and hilt of the sword glowed red as the metal heated, the black and white runes along the sword's length sparkled with a peculiar gleam, as though it was absorbing the fire's energy.

'While refining a weapon, the most important element of the process is controlling when to burn it with fire, and then infusing the fire's energy into the sword while it is red hot. What an interesting and unique method! Now, the flames are engulfing the Hell Fire Sword, here and there...' Zen contemplated silently. It was notable to mention that although Zen was within the furnace, engulfed in flames himself, he was watching the refining process in its entirety with interest.

While Zen stood there in the midst, mesmerized by the refining process, Evil Lan's surprised voice came from outside the large kiln. Clearly, he sensed something unusual.

Since the process had continued long enough for the hot flames to burn the Hell Fire Sword into malleable glowing metal, Evil Lan expected Zen to be ashes, but, when he looked in and saw an unscathed Zen, Evil Lan wondered, 'How can the young man still be alive?

Although the boy is human, he carries the scent of a mysterious weapon. Something must be wrong. I wonder, could it be that the boy is as strong as a piece of mysterious weapon?'

Thinking of the possibility excited Evil Lan, and his face lit up. Given the fact that he never used established techniques, preferring to employ more sinister methods, Evil Lan relished this. The more bizarre the material, the more he savored it.

As a matter of fact, he incorporated the hard and

soft raw elements into his beloved Hell Fire Sword. Now, considering that 'hard' and 'soft' were opposing principles by nature, weapon refiners would usually avoid combining these two materials together. However, Evil Lan went against the well-known procedures and supplies, to refine his first-class mysterious weapon, and his method proved suitable, luckily.

All due to his hope for the best!

Seeing the strange power Zen possessed thrilled him that much more. While the fire he had burning was second grade, it was still ten times more powerful than a general fire. Even his fire didn't harm the young man! Evil Lan was absolutely thrilled.

Observing the young man standing there as flames continued to lick his unharmed skin, Evil Lan was both pleasantly surprised and depressed at the time. Obviously, Zen's body was a great treasure that didn't fear the fire, or had his black magic failed him? What should he do now?

After pondering over it for a while, Evil Lan reached into his pocket and he took a pill out. The pill was blue-gray with striations reminiscent of flame on the surface of the medicine.

"The Fire Melting Pill!"

Evil Lan exclaimed. This third-grade pill was worth a city, and it could raise a fire to the next level in a short period of time. To get this one pill, he exchanged a top rate mysterious weapon which disturbed him for a long time.

Not willing to waste the precious Fire Melting Pill, Evil Lan had kept it for many years now.

Hesitation filled his eyes as he turned it over, and he knew utilizing it today could be quite a gamble as he rolled it between his fingers and considered whether or not he should. Reminding himself, Evil Lan thought, 'Each time I took a big gamble, I successfully forged a prime mysterious weapon. This time, if I win the bet, it will raise the Hell Fire Sword to a higher level. Hmmm, possibly, even making it a spiritual weapon...'

As soon as the thought popped into his mind, Evil Lan's heart thudded hard against the walls of his chest in anticipation. Evil Lan didn't need any further encouragement to pop the Fire Melting Pill into his mouth, excitedly, believing he would be as successful this time as he had been previously.

As soon as Evil Lan swallowed the Fire Melting Pill, his throat was as hot as the blazing fire. While fire spurted from his eyes, ears, nostrils and mouth, he roared. The fire within now flowed through his body until it jetted from him and into the weapon refining furnace.

Thanks to the power of the Fire Melting Pill, Evil Lan's fire was much stronger and had increased by one rank. As it blazed, the entire cave was full of exceptional heat, and the living people in his many cages far from the heat burned, filling the cave with the screams of tortured victims and smells of flesh crisping.