The mont Vermyros was thrown out of the trial, a heavy and unnatural silence filled the entire space.
There was no dragon’s roar, no ancient heartbeat, not even the trembling of the ground.
Only one person remained.
Daniel.
He stood where he was and did nothing. His gaze was fixed on the three flas in front of him. Now that he was the only one left, he was thinking about what the final phase of the trial would be.
The air around him cracked like glass. The sky above split apart, the ground beneath his feet shattered, and the world of the trial broke into thousands of pieces like a mirror struck from within.
But he was not thrown out.
His body remained suspended in the void, as if an invisible force was holding him in place.
Then the fall began.
Not downward.
Not upward.
But toward sowhere beyond direction itself.
Absolute darkness swallowed him.
There was no mana flowing here, no elents, not even a tangible sense of ti. Laws did not exist. Sounds were muted. He could not even hear his own heartbeat.
Only one thing existed.
A heartbeat.
It seed distant and calm, an incredibly soothing sound.
He narrowed his eyes. In the horizon of darkness, a point of light was shining.
It was not red. Not golden. Not black.
Its color could not be defined, as if it contained all colors and none of them at the sa ti.
A small fla.
Yet greater than any sun he had ever seen.
"...The Primordial Fla," Daniel muttered unconsciously. He did not know how he knew, but he simply did. This was the fla born from the fusion of the three flas.
The sa fla that existed before the first dragon was born. The fire that played a role in the creation of the world, a fire that even took part in the creation of concepts.
The heartbeat ca closer.
Then suddenly, a voice echoed in the darkness. It was neither male nor female. Neither kind nor cruel.
Just... ancient.
"This fla cannot be inherited. This fla cannot be stolen. This fla chooses a host only once in each cycle."
It was not the Goddess’s voice. It was completely different.
The Goddess had a beautiful feminine voice. This one had no resemblance to hers.
Daniel frowned.
"A host?"
He took a step forward, even though there was no ground. Still, he advanced. The distance shortened. A strange warmth touched his skin.
Not a burning heat, but a warmth that felt like it was burning concepts themselves.
"To touch it, you must burn three things," the voice continued.
"Existence."
"Soul."
"And body."
"If I burn all three... how am I supposed to survive?" Doubt flickered in Daniel’s eyes. If he burned all three, how could he possibly stay alive?
Existence, soul, and body were everything that made him who he was. If he burned them, he would truly die. Even with his extra lives, he would not be able to co back.
So what exactly was he supposed to do? Was there sothing hidden in this? Another thod? Because he also did not want to give up on the Primal Fla.
A short silence followed.
"There will be no problem," the voice said, as if smiling.
That answer was neither an explanation nor reassuring.
Suddenly, his surroundings lit up, not with light, but with mories. His ho and family. The monts he fell. The tis he was called talentless. The mont he stood up for his family. Even mories from his past life.
Celestial Domain unfolded before him. The powers he had gained. The enemies he had defeated. Even the blood that had dried on The Heavens Honor.
"If you want , you must accept that everything can burn," the fla whispered.
The images began to burn. His family was swallowed by flas. His powers turned to ash. His na faded into the darkness.
For a mont, Daniel clenched his teeth.
If everything burns... then what remains?
Maybe that was the real test.
"If I’m going to burn..."
"...then I’ll burn by my own will."
He took the final step and reached his hand toward the fla.
The mont he touched it, the world exploded.
His body imdiately cracked. His skin ignited, but not with ordinary fire. His veins lit up. His blood turned into vapor. His bones made cracking sounds.
His soul scread. It was burning and disappearing, and he could do nothing to stop it.
His existence began to fade, as if every mont he had ever lived was being erased. The na "Daniel" was being removed from the mory of the world.
"This..." his breath broke. "...is madness..."
But he did not pull back.
The fla entered his heart.
His heart beat once.
Only once.
And everything went dark.
Then, when it seed like everything had truly ended—
In the absolute darkness, a spark appeared.
From the ashes of his body, a new structure was woven. Not rely flesh and bone. Not rely mana.
Sothing more fundantal.
His body was rebuilt, purer than before. His skin had a faint glow.
When his eyes opened, their color had an indescribable depth, as if they contained both beginning and end at the sa ti.
He was no longer simply human.
No, he could not even be called human anymore. He had beco sothing completely different. Sothing that should have gone extinct. Sothing that should not exist.
[ Nirvana process successfully completed ]
[ Trinity of existence, soul, and body achieved. Ascension complete ]
[ Your racial identity has been completely burned. You are no longer human ]
[ You have beco an Innate Primal ]
System notifications echoed one after another inside his mind.
Innate Primals.
The first and most ancient race in the world.
The Primal Fla settled inside his chest, but its calmness was threatening.
This fla did not follow the elent of fire. It could turn any energy into conceptual fire. It could burn mana. Reduce corruption to ash. Even burn divinity itself.
But there was a heavy truth.
This fla did not accept an owner. It only accepted a host.
If one day he beca weak, if his will wavered, the fla would be the first thing to burn him.
At that sa mont, the Dragon Valley outside the trial trembled. The Elders rose from their seats. The air cracked. The sky changed color.
And for the first ti in centuries, the Dragon Empress held her breath.
Sothing had been born.
Sothing even dragons feared.
What exactly was happening? What was going on inside? What had occurred that caused the entire Dragon Valley to tremble?
In the entire history of this place’s existence, they had never seen the whole Dragon Valley shake, let alone with such intensity, as if the sky and earth were about to tear apart.
Evangelin’s eyes flashed with worry. Could sothing dangerous have happened to Daniel?
The Power of Eternity shone in her hands. If necessary, she would intervene and save Daniel no matter what.
"Do not worry."
Suddenly, a voice echoed in all of their minds, a voice that sounded old and extrely ancient.
Evangelin recognized it.
A voice that made even her soul tremble.
The voice of a False God.
And in the collapsed darkness of the trial, Daniel stood calmly. He could feel a power beyond his understanding, a power wandering inside him, a power that perhaps even went beyond this world.
What had he truly beco?
What exactly had happened to him?
User Comments
0 comments from readers