Let's talk a little about the past—about how I became a superpowered human.
Before becoming a superpowered human, I often did things that seemed unconventional. Perhaps I was projecting my own thoughts onto others, but I felt that the things I did weren't actually as unconventional as people claimed. Surely everyone had done more or less the same things; they simply rarely shared them with the people around them.
I would place a ballpoint pen, an eraser, or some other lightweight object within reach in front of me, then stare at it with complete concentration, imagining that my mental will could invade physical reality, affect the object, and make it move.
It didn't need to move very much. Just a little—enough for the naked eye to see. If I could clear my mind completely and bring all my mental power to bear, expecting to exchange all that effort for even the slightest miracle shouldn't have been too excessive, right?
Of course, I didn't truly believe that line of sophistry. It was more a matter of personal interest. Ever since I could remember, I had loved concepts like magic and superpowers. Those stories occasionally concocted elaborate settings based on the occult, telling readers how to cultivate themselves and glimpse the path to immortality. It was only natural that I would want to imitate them after reading. Back then, I obviously couldn't go deep into the mountains and forests to search for suitable "spiritual veins" and "cave abodes," but meditating on my bed with my five centers facing the sky was easy enough.
Even when I first did it in elementary school, I knew perfectly well that no matter how long I persisted, it couldn't really help me come into contact with the "spiritual energy between heaven and earth." I simply wanted to get as close as possible to the world of fantasy stories. Whenever I imitated a character from a story by meditating, I felt as though I had become a member of that fantasy world.
My last attempt was in my third year of middle school. At the time, I read an account in a collection of miscellaneous writings. It said that ancient monks would prepare an extinguished candle in a quiet room, then stare intently at the wick and imagine their gaze setting it alight.
They didn't actually believe they could ignite a wick with their eyes. Rather, this method was meant to eliminate their other distracting thoughts and make it easier to enter the mysterious state of meditation that followed. After reading it, I found it quite reasonable and yearned for that experience. Although a monk's meditation did not manifest any supernatural powers, it was still a kind of mystical experience, and I was deeply curious about it.
For some time afterward, I carried a candle with me every day. Whenever I had free time, I would take it out, stare at the wick, and imagine it bursting into flame.
What I never expected was that, after a long time, although I failed to enter that mysterious state of meditation, I somehow triggered another absurd phenomenon without warning.
It was an utterly ordinary school day. After the teacher announced the end of class and walked out carrying some materials, the classroom erupted into the bustle of break time. No classmates came to talk to me, so as usual, I took out my candle and continued passing the time by staring blankly at it.
One minute, two minutes, three minutes... About five or six minutes passed, and I still hadn't entered the so-called state of meditation. That was exactly what I had expected. I continued emptying my mind and stared at the wick out of habit.
But this time, it was different from every time before.
Under my gaze,
the wick suddenly burst into flame out of thin air.
-
The demon suddenly burst into flame out of thin air.
It was as if its entire body had transformed into a gigantic match head. As it charged toward me at high speed, friction with the air generated heat, and then it exploded into flames with a deafening roar.
Rolling waves of heat swept in all directions with overwhelming force, sending the trees and bushes by the roadside bending wildly. I was caught in the heat wave as well, yet suffered no burns. I merely took two steps back with the force of the blast and twisted my body, avoiding the demon's path. The demon, meanwhile, crashed into a charging station in the distance like a car that had lost control.
It let out a sharp, frantic scream without meaning to. The pain was so intense that it couldn't even stand, and could only roll helplessly across the ground, trying to extinguish the flames on its body.
At the same time, the shadows around me began to stir. More than a dozen shadow blades launched swift, deadly thrusts at me from every direction.
But before they could even touch my body, flames erupted from me. When the shadow blades encountered my fire, they collapsed as quickly as cotton catching fire, unable to cross even a single step of that blazing defensive ring.
That wasn't all the demon did at the critical moment. Some of the shadows didn't attack me at all. Instead, they swiftly surged toward the demon itself.
It was said that in some firefighting operations, sand rather than water was used to put out fires. The principle was the same as with water: once the burning object was covered, oxygen was cut off and the combustion could no longer continue. The shadows were presumably intended to serve a similar purpose. Like a silkworm cocoon, they completely covered the demon in agony.
Yet before they could suppress the flames, the shadows were ignited by them. Not only did they fail to extinguish the fire, they became additional fuel, making the demon's suffering even more unbearable.
"Zhuang Cheng—" It sounded as if it had been cast into a blazing hell, its voice thick with negative emotions as it emerged from that inferno. "—Zhuang Cheng aaahhh!!!"
Roaring, it suddenly sprang from the ground and attacked me in the blink of an eye.
But I hadn't blinked. My gaze remained fixed on it.
Its speed was astonishing, and its strength was formidable. In my normal form, it would have torn my body apart before I could even move a finger. But my attacks didn't require me to move a finger. If it thought I had to act like a Flame ability user in certain fighting games—first condensing a fireball beside me, then personally throwing it—then it was underestimating me far too much.
My gaze, my voice, my breath—these ordinary things were all mediums through which I transmitted power.
My flames were my spirit. Therefore, anywhere my spirit could reach was somewhere my flames could destroy. People sometimes used phrases like "If looks could kill..." to describe the strength of someone else's killing intent. But my gaze really could kill.
Just like now.
The demon was ignited again. This time, I made the flames erupt only from the front of its body. The enormous heat wave sent it flying backward, forcing it to continue struggling desperately within the fire.
"This is impossible..." It seemed only then to realize what was happening to it. "You just... just looked at me... Aahhh!!"
"It's only Flame Manipulation. It's not exactly some earth-shattering ability." Compared to my own power, which I had long since grown accustomed to, I was more interested in the demon's true abilities. "What about you? Don't you have any other more novel... more bizarre abilities?"
The demon seemed to have no energy left to answer. It could only manipulate its shadow power again, trying to extinguish the flames on its body, but it was completely useless.
The flames continued disintegrating its body without pause, but I could see its flesh and blood regenerating at a speed that defied reason. Whenever part of its flesh carbonized and crumbled, new flesh regenerated to replace it. Overall, its regeneration still couldn't keep up with the destruction. Even so, judging by the rate of change, burning it to death would still take some time.
It wasn't impossible to burn the demon to charcoal in one go. The current situation was partly due to me deliberately holding back. In truth, I didn't know the maximum temperature my flames could reach. Their destructive power didn't depend on physical temperature, but on the thoughts I infused into them. As long as I imbued them with murderous intent, even rock could evaporate on the spot. Without that intent, I could also wrap a human body in them without damaging it in the slightest.
At first, I had genuinely intended to kill it. Since my opponent wanted to kill me, no one could blame me for killing it first. Yet at the crucial moment when I was about to deliver the killing blow, I hesitated.
It wasn't because I cherished even the lives of my enemies. If my opponent had been human, there might have been something to discuss. But it wasn't even humanoid, so I had no psychological burden about burning it. Still, wouldn't it be a little wasteful to burn it to death on the spot?
Perhaps I shouldn't kill it. Perhaps I should capture it alive instead, imprison it somewhere, and question it about more strange phenomena. Of course, it might still have other bizarre and dangerous trump cards capable of putting me to death. But I felt that risk was worth taking.
Speaking of "risk," there was something extremely important I hadn't had the chance to do yet. I might as well do it now.
"Struggling like that is useless." I took the initiative to explain my ability. "As long as you're within the range of my vision, my flames won't disappear. Even if you really find a way to put them out, I can reignite them countless times."
Villains in many battle manga would take the initiative to explain their abilities to the protagonist while they had the upper hand. Although I also believed that doing so was anything but wise, it was one of my obsessions.
If I were to write a bucket list now, one item would absolutely be: "Demonstrate my abilities in front of my opponent while explaining how they work." I hadn't been able to find the opportunity beneath the cave, and I had deeply regretted it.
Even if this behavior really got me into trouble later, I could accept it calmly. My experience beneath the cave had shown me my true self. I was now completely certain that I possessed that kind of mental strength.
It was obvious that the demon had no intention of surrendering obediently. Just as I was about to explain more, it suddenly let out a roar of humiliation, then sprang from the ground once again and charged.
Only this time, it wasn't trying to approach me. It was trying to get as far away from me as possible.
Its fleeing figure was as fast as crooked lightning. In the blink of an eye, it vanished from my sight.
Perhaps this was the best strategy it could think of under the circumstances. It had realized that I could ignite objects with my gaze. Since neither its shadow nor its body could touch me, the wisest choice was to disappear from my field of vision as soon as possible. Otherwise, I would simply keep burning it until it died in agony.
But I had never said that leaving the range of my physical gaze would make it safe.
Running away halfway through someone's explanation was a bad habit.
I closed my eyes, and an image of the place where the demon was appeared in my mind.
The demon had quickly reached a riverside one kilometer away after escaping the residential compound. My flames were still burning it. When it saw the river, it plunged into the water without hesitation. The instant the river water touched the flames, a great amount of white steam erupted.
Even my flames couldn't evaporate an entire river. At least, I had never personally tested whether they could. The demon was trying to use a large amount of water to extinguish the fire, but it was still futile. My flames didn't need oxygen to appear from thin air, so they naturally wouldn't disappear from a lack of oxygen either.
Besides, fleeing from me was a mistake. No matter how far it ran, it couldn't escape my gaze. Admittedly, there was no Firefly beside it now, but Firefly could share its vision with me because it was my flame—my dispersed spirit. The flames burning on the demon now had also become my eyes.
Wherever the firelight reached, my gaze reached as well.
Once I ignited something, even fleeing to the ends of the earth couldn't free it from my flames. Unless I permitted it, those flames would never go out.
Before you continue