Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo

Let's chat about the past, about how I became a supernatural power user.

Before I became a supernatural power user, I often did certain things that seemed to be eccentric. But perhaps I was just projecting, as I believed that what I did wasn't as unconventional as others said. I thought maybe others had done similar things, just rarely shared with those around them.

That is, I would place a pen or an eraser, or any other light object within reach, in front of me and then stare at it intently, imagining that my spiritual intent could invade physical reality and cause it to move.

It didn't need to move violently, just a bit, as long as it was visible to the naked eye. As long as I was sufficiently focused, devoting all my mental effort, a tiny miracle as a result wasn't too much to hope for.

Of course, I didn't really believe in this sophistry; it was more out of interest. From a young age, I was fascinated by concepts like magic and supernatural powers. Those stories would occasionally concoct a setting drawn from Mysticism, telling readers how to cultivate and glimpse the path to enlightenment. After reading, it was only natural for me to feel inspired to imitate. It was impossible for me to truly go deep into the mountains to find the right "Spirit Vein" and "cave abode," but meditating on the bed with arms and legs spread was easily within reach.

Even when I first started this practice in elementary school, I was very aware that no matter how long I kept at it, it was unlikely to really help me tap into the "spiritual energy between heaven and earth." I just wanted to get as close as possible to the world of fantasy stories. While mimicking the characters' meditation, I too felt like a member of a fantasy world.

The last attempt was in the third year of junior high school, where I read a certain idea in a book. Allegedly, ancient monks in their quiet rooms would prepare an unlit candle, then focus intently on the wick, imagining the scene of their gaze igniting it.

This wasn't done with the actual belief that one could ignite the wick with a look, but to clear one's mind of other thoughts, facilitating entry into the profound meditative state afterward. After reading, I found it quite reasonable and was eager to try it. While the monks' meditation itself showed no Divine Skills, it was still a kind of mystical experience, and I was extremely curious about it.

For some time afterward, I carried a candle with me every day, taking it out during my free moments to gaze at the wick, imagining it catching fire.

Unexpectedly, over time, although I never successfully entered the mysterious meditative state, I triggered another absurd phenomenon.

It happened on an ordinary school day. After the teacher announced the end of class and left with materials, the classroom became noisy with the break between lessons. No classmates approached me to chat, so I took out my candle as usual, staring at it to pass the time in my boredom.

One minute, two minutes, three minutes... about five or six minutes passed, and I was still unable to enter the so-called meditative state. This was expected. I continued to empty my mind, gazing at the wick as I always did.

But this time was different from any other.

Under the gaze of my eyes,

the wick caught fire out of nowhere.

-

The Demon caught fire out of nowhere.

As if its entire body had turned into a giant matchstick phosphorus, it heated from friction with the air while charging toward me at high speed, then exploded into flames.

Rolling waves of heat swept around with crushing force, leaving trees and bushes by the roadside wilted and twisted. I was caught up in the heatwave too, but suffered no burns, retreating two steps with the momentum and turning my body to avoid the Demon's path of attack. The Demon, like an out-of-control car, crashed embarrassingly into a charging station not far away.

It let out a sharp, manic scream, in so much pain it couldn't even stand, flailing on the ground desperately trying to extinguish the flames.

At the same time, the shadows around me began to stir, and a dozen shadow blades launched swift, deadly thrusts at me from all directions.

But before they could touch my body, flames burst forth from me. These shadow blades encountered my flames and crumbled as quickly as cotton burns, unable to cross the barrier of fierce fire.

The Demon didn't stop there in its crucial moment; some shadows didn't attack me but instead rushed toward itself.

It's said that in some firefighting tactics, sand is used instead of water. The principle is the same, covering the burning material to cut off oxygen, thereby halting combustion. Presumably, these shadows intended to do something similar, enveloping the agonized Demon like a cocoon.

However, before the flames were suppressed, the shadows themselves ignited. Not only did they fail to extinguish the fire, but they also became new fuel, causing the Demon even greater agony.

"Zhuang Cheng—" it cried from a blazing hell, with a voice filled with negative emotions, "—Zhuang Cheng, aaah!!!"

As it roared, its body leaped from the ground, attacking me at close quarters in the blink of an eye.

But I didn't blink, my gaze still fixed on it.

Its speed was very fast, and its strength was formidable. With my normal movements, I wouldn't even have the chance to twitch a finger before it ripped through me. But my attack didn't require the twitch of fingers. If it thought I had to gather a fireball nearby like a Flame Ability User in some combat game before personally hurling it, then it greatly underestimated me.

My gaze, my voice, my breath—these everyday things are all mediums through which I transmit power.

My flame is my spirit, so wherever my spirit reaches, my flame can destroy. Some people use phrases like "If looks could kill..." to describe the intensity of someone's murderous intent, but my gaze can quite literally kill.

Just like now.

The Demon was ignited once again. This time, I caused the flames to erupt only on its front side. A huge heat wave flipped it over, forcing it to continue struggling desperately within the fire.

"This can't be..." It seemed to realize what was happening to it, "You just...just looked at me... Agh!!"

"It's just manipulating flames, not really an incredible ability," I cared more about the opponent's true capabilities than my own power, which I was already accustomed to. "But what about you? Don't you have any other more novel, more bizarre abilities?"

The Demon seemed to lack the energy to respond, busying itself with an attempt to snuff out the flames with Shadow Power, to no avail.

The flames relentlessly disintegrated its body, yet I could observe its flesh regenerating at an unnaturally rapid pace. As bits of flesh carbonized and shattered, new flesh regrew in their place. On the whole, the rate of regeneration couldn't keep up with the destruction, but based on this trend, it would still take some time to burn it to death.

It wasn't impossible to turn this Demon into ash in one go; I was deliberately holding back. I'm not exactly sure about the maximum temperature my flames can reach. The destructive power of my flames doesn't depend on physical temperature but on the intent I have when using them. As long as my intent is lethal, even rock can vaporize instantly, while without such intent, I can envelop a human body in flames without causing any harm.

Initially, I truly intended to kill it. Since we were both out to kill, it couldn't blame anyone if it ended up dead by my hand. But when the critical moment to actually kill arrived, I hesitated.

It wasn't because I valued even an enemy's life; if the opponent had been human, it might have been a different story, but lacking even a human form, burning it brought no psychological burden. However, wouldn't it be a waste to kill it on the spot?

Perhaps I shouldn't kill it, but capture it alive. Then I could imprison it somewhere and interrogate it about more strange matters. Of course, it might still hide other strange and dangerous powers enough to threaten my life. But I considered the risk worth taking.

Speaking of "risk," there was a very important matter I hadn't yet attended to. I decided to take care of it right now.

"Your struggle is futile," I began to explain my ability, "As long as it lies within the range of my gaze, my flames will not disappear. Even if you somehow find a way to extinguish them, I can reignite them countless times."

Many antagonists in battle manga would reveal their abilities to the protagonists when they held the upper hand. Although I also believed this to be unwise, it was one of my fixations.

If I were to write a bucket list right now, one item would definitely be "to demonstrate and explain my powers while facing my opponent." I had regretted the lack of opportunity to do this in the cave below.

Even if this tactic led to my own predicament later on, I would accept it without complaint. The experience in the cave made me realize my true self; I was completely convinced of my own spiritual power.

It was clear that the Demon wasn't ready to surrender just yet. As I was about to explain further, it suddenly let out a roar of humiliation and bounced off the ground, rushing in a sprint.

But this time, it wasn't trying to close in on me; rather, it was trying to get away from me as quickly as possible.

Its fleeting escape was swift like jagged lightning, and in the blink of an eye, it vanished from my sight.

Perhaps that was the most sensible strategy it could conceive of at the moment. It had realized that I could ignite objects with my gaze, and that neither its shadow nor its physical attacks could reach me. The best course of action was to disappear from my view promptly, otherwise it would just continue to burn and suffer until death.

However, I never said that escaping from my direct line of sight meant safety.

Running away mid-explanation is not a good habit.

I closed my eyes, and the image of the Demon's location surfaced in my mind.

I saw it, after fleeing the vicinity, quickly reaching the riverside a kilometer away. Its body was still scorched by my flames; upon seeing the river, it plunged in without hesitation. The water touched the flames, and immediately a large amount of white steam erupted.

Even my flames couldn't evaporate an entire river—at least I had never tried to see if it was possible. The Demon must have thought to extinguish the flames with a large amount of water, but it was a futile effort. My flames can appear out of nowhere without needing oxygen; naturally, they wouldn't vanish into thin air due to the lack of it.

Fleeing from my presence was also a mistake; no matter how far it ran, it couldn't escape my gaze. Indeed, there were no "Fireflies" around it now, but the reason "Fireflies" could share their vision with me was because they were my flames, an extension of my spirit. Now, the flames burning on the Demon had become my eyes.

Wherever the firelight reached was within my gaze.

Once ignited by me, the flame would keep on burning relentlessly, no matter how far you fled, until I permitted it to extinguish.