Lord of Prayer

Chapter 152: Chapter 119: You’re Awake…

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“Robert, it’s the 21st century. You can’t make a living with traditional blacksmithing anymore.”

In the forge, filled with blistering heat, his girlfriend, Lisa, teased the sweat-drenched young man.

“It hones my focus, calms me down, and keeps me fit,”

Robert replied in all seriousness, striking the red-hot piece of metal with his hammer and sending a shower of sparks flying.

His family had been a renowned line of blacksmiths for generations, and he had inherited the craft. However, in this modern, technologically advanced age, steel-forged melee weapons had lost their original purpose, becoming little more than collector’s items.

The blacksmithing profession rapidly declined. Aside from a few hyped-up Master Forgers, most families of blacksmiths had moved on to other trades.

Take him, for example. He was currently a graduate student in computer science at Oxford University—a world away from his family’s blacksmithing legacy.

But he hadn’t cast the craft aside. Whenever he was on break, he and Lisa would return to his hometown, and he would find time to forge a few small items. It had become a habit.

“Just don’t forget what tonight is,” Lisa reminded him.

“I won’t forget.” Robert smiled at her. “Our seventh anniversary.”

Their eyes held happy smiles. To have met each other and walked this far together was the greatest fortune of their lives.

But the more precious this happiness was, the more despairing its loss would be.

What should have been a beautiful night was instead met with a world-shattering cataclysm.

Though it was night, the sky burned as bright as day. A deafening roar, like the great flood from the Holy Bible, tore at everyone’s eardrums. By the time people could react, the apocalypse was already upon them.

In his last moments of consciousness, Robert, standing on the street, saw a fireball like a meteorite hurtling from the sky toward him and Lisa. Then, in a blinding flash of light, he lost consciousness.

Endless Darkness enveloped everything.

When Robert opened his eyes again and struggled to his feet, the surrounding scene stunned him into a stupor.

An apocalyptic twilight, a sundered earth, the ruins of a city burning with blood and fire…

The entire World seemed to be dead. All was silent.

And beside him, his girlfriend, now a pile of ash.

Letting out a heart-wrenching cry of despair, Robert passed out.

When he awoke, he had been carried by other survivors to an underground bomb shelter built during a past war. It was stocked with a large supply of food and fresh water, enough for them to live on for a long time.

During this time, Robert was in a stupor. The death of his family, the death of his girlfriend, and the Fear of the apocalypse constantly eroded his will. It was only with the encouragement of the other survivors that he gradually began to emerge from his grief and despair.

A week later, the scouting party returned with bad news.

All electronic devices in the city had lost their signal, making it impossible to contact the outside world. Worse, a mysterious fog had enveloped the entire city and the vast mountain range nearby, acting like a barrier that completely cut them off.

It was as if they had become the last humans on Earth.

Another week passed with no sign of the fog dissipating. The good news was that some survivors had inexplicably developed Superpowers. Some gained superhuman strength, while others could unleash lightning or control fierce winds.

The bad news, however, was that the animals had evolved along with them, becoming more ferocious and brutal. Some special individuals also gained Superpowers, and a considerable number of people died horribly at the hands of these monsters.

That period was undoubtedly the survivors’ darkest time. Hunted and surrounded by monsters, many gave up all hope of survival.

Then, half a month after the apocalypse, Robert’s body began to mutate. He grew to a towering two meters tall, broad and muscular, and his body temperature stabilized at over fifty degrees Celsius, though he felt no discomfort.

The Extraordinary Ability he awakened was related to blacksmithing—any Weapon he forged could inflict significant damage on an Extraordinary Creature.

And so, he immersed himself in his Forging, creating sharp blades to help the survivors protect themselves, trying to burn away the sorrow in his heart with the fire of the forge.

With the Extraordinary Weapons forged by Robert, the survivors fought several brutal battles against the mutated animals and finally won a decisive victory, establishing a safe base in the city ruins.

「Time flew by. A month, two months, half a year, a full year…」

「Five years, ten years…」

The original survivors had established a new town and began to grow and multiply, but the mysterious fog never dissipated. For ten years, they had been completely cut off from the outside world. Fortunately, the fog-covered area was immense, containing vast mountains, forests, and several freshwater lakes—enough for them to be self-sufficient and survive indefinitely.

Robert’s body continued to grow. He was now five meters tall, and his body temperature was frighteningly high—hot enough to cook food on. Many people joked that he would become a Fire Giant from the myths.

After ten years of Extraordinary Forging, Robert possessed an uncanny skill that surpassed any Master Forger. Yet, the sorrow in his heart hadn’t eased in the slightest. Every night, he would remember his beloved girlfriend, his family, and the long, peaceful, beautiful life he was supposed to have.

Twenty years later, the monsters in the mountains returned with a vengeance. Some of them had evolved to an incredibly powerful degree, inflicting severe damage on the city and causing countless casualties. Humanity paid a heavy price to finally exterminate them all.