Chapter 347: Test Drive
Loud, echoing cracks rang through the Infernal Armory. The crystals covering Verdant Inferno shuddered and shifted as the metal surrounding them bubbled. Flashes of magma burst from within the weapon, licking out like sunspots, casting the room in molten light.
Arwin took a step back and raised his hands before his face. Waves of heat drove into him with such force that they threatened to singe his eyebrows. Each one was like a physical blow.
Pressure emanated from Verdant Inferno relentlessly. The crystals changed to a deep, shimmering black that was more akin to polished obsidian than their former form. Lines of lava wrapped up the handle.
The very shape of the weapon changed, turning squarer and stouter. Intricate designs made from patterns of still-glowing lava worked themselves into the surface of the weapon like it was a relic from ages past.
But Arwin could do more than just see the weapon. He could feel it. Something deep within him reacted to the presence of the hammer. This didn’t feel like he was seeing something new. It was more like he was finally witnessing what one of his oldest creations was always meant to be.
What could have been described only as existence passed between him and the hammer. It was familiarity and experience and thought and emotion — and yet, it was none of them. There were no words or images or sound.
It simply was. Like an extension of his own body with desires of its own, the hammer took the final step into reality. And in that moment, before the Mesh could even intercede with any information of its own, Arwin knew his hammer’s true name.
Caldera.
Arwin lifted his hand. The hammer slammed into it, and a wave of heat rolled through his body like he’d come down with a massive fever. It worked deep into his muscles and shook his very bones.