"What is fire?"
Shui pondered this question as he created hundreds of spears from his heart flame and threw them down at the fallen. Under the persistent attacks of Shui, Alia and the group of Silver City Masters, the fallen had shrunk to half its initial size, but its health was hardly affected.
Unlike the void flame, his heart flame was focused on spiritual attacks and refining, so it could only boil the flesh of the fallen and prevent it from controlling the affected body parts for a brief period.
Fire could burn wood, but it could also boil water. It could harm the body as well as the soul. Fire could be used to kill as well as to create. It could be a poison as well as a cure. It could flow freely, or it could take the form of the myriad creatures of the world.
"It's too much."
Shui's insight allowed him to identify many aspects of fire, but he couldn't create a solid image of these often conflicting attributes. Perhaps it would be different once his comprehension deepened, but for now he had to choose the aspect of fire that resonated with him the most.
Shui summoned an ordinary flame, his heart flame and his void flame, shaped each of them into a giant sword and slashed at the fallen with them. Each fire produced different reactions once in contact with the fallen, but they all used some degree of heat. Shui considered making heat his image, but it didn't seem right. While fire was often viewed as hot, there existed cold flames as well, so he couldn't use high temperature to encapsulate his image of fire.
"I probably shouldn't focus on the physical but rather the conceptual."
As the battle continued, the fallen grew fed up with their multi-pronged attack and sacrificed a third of its flesh to create five human-sized clones. Each clone headed for one of the humans attacking the fallen so it could focus on devouring the annoying spirit. The intelligence of these clones was inferior to the fallen, but they retained its ridiculous regenerative ability, brute strength and spatial abilities.
Facing one of the fallen's clones, Shui smiled as he thought it would be easier to test his theories against it. The fallen jumped through space to appear behind him, but its claw tore through a false image.
"Fire is punishment."
Fire as a means of torture or murder was almost as ancient as the first appearance of fire among intelligent life. To burn was to suffer; to suffer was to repent.
A bright orange hammer slammed down on the clone and threatened to crush it, but its small size made it easier to teleport, so it was able to escape with ease.
Fire could be used to punish, but what about when the punishment was endured?
"Fire is refinement."
Forge masters came from blacksmiths, and they devoted their lives to using fire to erase impurities and strengthen the final product. Fire could destroy, but it could also purify.
The fallen clone appeared above Shui but was immediately captured in a cauldron wrapped in Shui's heart flame. The clone screeched, but even this cauldron could not trap it, and it escaped again.
Fire presents a choice. To endure it could bring death, but there was also the possibility of a second chance.
"Fire is rebirth."
To be reborn from the flames like a phoenix, or to be turned into ash. Fire allows one to make a transformation.
The clone used its tentacles to surround Shui and attack from all directions, but the tentacles were lit by the void flame, so it was forced to detach its flesh.
As he watched the fallen clone overcome his attacks, Shui felt that he had finally found a direction that pointed to his answer.
"Fire is adversity. There comes an insurmountable challenge. It brings 9 chances of death and 1 chance of life. Overcoming it reveals new horizons, but at the risk of being one step from death. This is a choice: to submit to earthly and heavenly punishment or to rise above it. Fire is a calamity, but it is also a miracle."
As Shui spoke, his words seemed to resonate with the natural laws, bringing a smile to Alia's face.
"Took you long enough."
Although there were no strict rules about what kind of image of fire a person was allowed to make, all successful images would emphasise an aspect of fire. However, even Alia couldn't be sure what aspect it would be until Shui used it.
As the image of fire was created in Shui's mind, the Masters noticed the fluctuation of the natural laws and its origin.
"Have they comprehended something?"
"It seems so. Push these things back! Give that one space to settle their insights."
As Masters, they were well aware of how important comprehension of the natural laws was at their level. Even among peak Masters there were vast differences in strength due to varying levels of comprehension of the natural laws. However, none of them could have imagined that this supposed Master-level figure was merely touching on the natural laws of fire.
Once the connection was made, Shui felt the natural laws wrap around the image in his head and bring it to life. At the same time, he realised what aspect of fire he had learnt and the nature of his fire intent. Naturally, the fallen's clone didn't wait for him to strike with his newfound power and charged at him, but a strong gust of wind knocked it off balance. The clone growled at the Storm Sky Manor Master, but he had already completed his mission.
"Face the trial of spirit. Burn!"
A streak of bright green flame struck the clone while it was distracted. At first the flame possessed no heat, almost as if it was an illusion, but then the heat suddenly increased and burnt the clone's very origin.
"!"
With a soundless screech, the clone squirmed on the ground, unable to make a move before being reduced to nothing by the flame. Sensing Shui's threat, the other clones turned in his direction, but by then he had already hit each of them with his green flame.
"!"
Glancing at the battle below, Alia identified the aspect of fire that Shui had grasped.
'So it's tribulation fire. Annihilation fire would be better, but I suppose that was impossible on a first try given that he's familiar with the forge.'
Of the many aspects of fire, annihilation fire had the strongest destructive power, but as a forge master, Shui wasn't able to commit to a flame that did nothing but destroy. Nevertheless, tribulation fire was also one of the most powerful fire intents and would be useful in defeating the fallen. With tribulation fire, Shui could designate an attribute that both he and his opponent shared, and based on the judgement of the natural laws, if he was superior to them in this attribute, then the opponent would be destroyed by his flame. On the other hand, if the other side were superior to him in that attribute, they would be healed. If he chose the right attribute, even True Masters could be burnt to death, but only if he had enough energy to support the flame.
"Hurry up and create it!"
Hearing that shout from Alia, Shui knew exactly what to do. First, he used tribulation fire to attack his soul, but not because he had gone crazy. When used on himself, the tribulation fire could heal or enhance him if he was able to overcome its test. The longer and harsher the test, the more benefits he could obtain. Shui felt his soul being scorched by the flame, but once he endured for ten seconds, the pain withdrew, and the lingering intents in his soul that he still hadn't been able to get rid of were finally gone.
He then used the Four Elements Technique to summon the four elements, but instead of ordinary fire, Shui used tribulation fire.
"With the four elements as the foundation of the world, I offer this sacrifice. Burn."
He had fused the void flame with his body so he could summon it at little cost, but for this flame he had to create it from scratch.
"Heavenly Void Flame"
As he was familiar with the process, Shui quickly condensed a small white flame with a light green hue. Even this amount almost robbed him of all of his divine energy, but it was enough to share with his partner.