The Test of Fire

This is the test of fire, a man in a long black cloak says to me. Remain sitting at this desk for as long as you possibly can. After twenty seconds I feel the chair heating up. This is horrible, I think. What kind of test is this? After another thirty seconds, the heat becomes unbearable. I jump up from the seat, checking my back and my legs for burns. But there are no marks, and the pain has disappeared. – The chair was not hot at all, I say to him. The man nods, and embraces me. We burst into white flames. I can smell my clothes burning and my skin melting but there is no pain at all.