"Fire does not always burn... sometimes, it gives birth to a legend. "
And who among us has not heard of the Furnace Girl?
In another realm—vaster than the mortal world yet nestled within every human being, small as a spark—countless events unfold, and strange entities are born.
This elusive realm is the ultimate longing of every seeker, one who yearns to break free from the ordinary, to sever the chains of the mundane and dive into the eternal freedom of thought.
A world that, despite its vastness, occupies only a tiny corner within each of us. And for the fortunate ones like me, it settles between their ribs and claims the throne of their heart.
There… the Furnace Girl shall be born.
So I beg you—do not forget her. Do not let her be buried.
I do not know where to begin her tale—
From the moment she was conceived within the womb of the Furnace,
or from her end… scorched amidst its darkness.
But perhaps that matters little, for neither birth nor death holds as much splendor as what lies between them.
What matters… is life.
The life of our little one—our protagonist—
the Furnace Girl.
That is what her grandfather called her.
And that… is how I came to meet her.
You might wonder about her bond with the Furnace.
At first, you may think she was a cook who spent her days beside it,
preparing delightful meals until fate consumed her in its blazing flames.
Or perhaps your imagination strays further, whispering a different end—
that she perished beside it, devoured by its raging fire.
Maybe you pause and consider yet another possibility.
Your thoughts drift toward childhood innocence and suddenly,
you imagine she was named so because she slept beside the Furnace like Cinderella,
seeking its warmth for her frail body,
and when its fire went out… so did she,
lost in its darkness, rolling in its ashes.
But the truth… is far simpler than all of these.
She was a girl born within the sacred Furnace's womb,
and there she fell once more at the end—
or perhaps mere moments before a new beginning.
Yet beware—her "moments" were not like the blink of an eye as we know it.
In her realm, moments were epochs,
and lifetimes were but embers burned away.
You might think me delirious,
struck by madness or possessed by fancy.
Rest assured… it is neither.
It is simply the truth.
A truth I stumbled upon by chance.
Not here…
But in the Heavenly Kingdom,
where all beings seek immortality,
the highest desire of all.
There, souls ascend in purity,
leaving no room for darkness—or even the slightest misstep.
All strive to conquer their desires,
to cast light upon their inner abyss—
All but her.
Our little one.
The Furnace Girl… or as I named her: Huo Feng.