The entire underground cavern shook violently as the colossal beam of fire engulfed Arthur and the barrier completely. The destructive flames surged outward like a volcanic eruption, melting the surrounding rock instantly and turning parts of the cavern floor into flowing magma. The sheer heat from the attack distorted space itself while shockwaves continuously blasted through the underground chamber.
Inside the barrier, Arthur's expression twisted slightly from the overwhelming pain assaulting his soul.
The moment his divine sense connected with the Fragment of Origin True Fire, it felt as if countless burning needles had pierced directly into the core of his existence. This was not physical pain, the agony existed on an entirely different level, one that directly attacked his consciousness.
Arthur's body trembled slightly while sweat poured down his face. The phantom of a golden crown which he termed as Soul Crown appeared on his head but even his Lord Soul felt it was on the verge of giving up beneath the flame's terrifying heat. And yet… he refused to stop.
His divine sense remained tightly wrapped around the bluish flame as he slowly attempted to pull it toward himself but the fragment resisted violently. The tiny golden core within the flame pulsed repeatedly, releasing waves of scorching heat each time Arthur tried forcing it to move. Which caused his skin and muscles to burn but it also regenerated instantly.
"Damn it…" Arthur muttered through gritted teeth.
The dragon outside the barrier roared furiously seeing Arthur continue attempting to refine the flame despite its attacks.
ROOOOOOOAAARRRGGGHHHH!!!
Its gigantic claws slammed downward next.
BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!
The barrier shook violently again. Several more spirit stones instantly turned to dust as enormous amounts of energy were consumed maintaining the formation. Cracks spread across parts of the translucent shield before repairing themselves moments later through the runic arrays feeding energy continuously into the structure.
Arthur ignored all of it as his focus remained entirely on the flame.
He could feel it now. The fragment truly possessed traces of sentience exactly as the system warned. It wasn't intelligent in the normal sense, but it carried a primitive survival instinct born from a primordial cosmic law.
It rejected his intrusion, the Origin True Fire's fragment viewed his consciousness as an invader trying to dominate it. And its response was simple, to burn him and his soul.
Arthur's consciousness shook violently again as another wave of soul-burning heat surged into him. His vision blurred momentarily while blood leaked slowly from the corner of his mouth.
At the same time, the dragon outside grew even more enraged. The lesser dragon clearly viewed the flame as something sacred. Its massive body radiated terrifying spiritual pressure as lava-like patterns spread brighter across its scales and prepared for another attack.
FWOOOSSHHH!!!
The dragon opened its mouth again and released dozens of smaller fire spheres toward the barrier and each orb exploded upon impact like nukes.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The entire mountain range shook repeatedly beneath the barrage.
Arthur finally frowned slightly, the barrier would not hold forever.
Even with thousands of spirit stones fueling it, the difference in raw power between him and the dragon remained significant. At this rate, the formation would eventually collapse before he successfully refined the flame.
Still… stopping now was impossible. Arthur inhaled slowly despite the pain and strengthened his divine sense further.
Immediately, the bluish flame reacted violently. The golden core within it glowed brighter than before, Arthur felt his consciousness slipping and suddenly found himself standing somewhere else entirely.
…
Darkness.
Endless darkness surrounded him.
Arthur slowly opened his eyes and immediately realized his consciousness had been dragged into an illusionary space created by the flame itself. Or perhaps… memory was a better description.
Before him floated an endless sea of fire. Massive stars burned and died in the distance while worlds collapsed beneath oceans of flame. Countless suns appeared and disappeared continuously throughout the void like sparks drifting through an infinite furnace.
Arthur's pupils contracted slightly. "…What is this?"
Then suddenly… the flames moved. The endless sea of fire condensed rapidly toward the center of the void, gradually forming a gigantic humanoid silhouette made entirely of blue and gold flames.
The figure had no face and no features, there were only two burning eyes resembling miniature stars. Dead planets surrounded it and the whole void was pitch dark except for the flaming figure, as if all the energies of the surrounding stars had been consumed by it.
Arthur immediately understood, this was not a real consciousness of the Origin True Fire. It was merely the instinctive will remaining within the fragment.
And right now… It was judging him. The fiery figure slowly raised one enormous arm and flames suddenly exploded out from its body towards.
Arthur's soul trembled violently as unimaginable heat crashed into him from every direction. It felt as though his consciousness itself was being melted apart molecule by molecule.
Pain unlike anything before flooded his mind. Even his thoughts became sluggish beneath the heat, yet he remained standing. His expression twisted slightly, but his eyes never wavered.
"…If you think this is enough to scare me," he muttered hoarsely, "then you picked the wrong person."
The flame responded immediately.
BOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!
The entire sea of fire surged toward him like a collapsing dam and his consciousness was swallowed by it instantly.
…
Back in the real world, Arthur's body suddenly convulsed violently. Blood spilled from his nose while cracks spread across the floor beneath him from the unstable pressure leaking from his soul.
The dragon noticed the change immediately and roared triumphantly.
ROOOOOOOAAARRRGGGHHHH!!!
It believed the flame was killing Arthur. Without hesitation, the beast lunged toward the barrier again, this time using its full physical strength.
Its gigantic claw slammed downward like a meteor.
KRAAAAAKKK!!!
A large crack finally spread across the barrier. Hundreds of spirit stones shattered into dust instantly and Arthur's eyes snapped open briefly.
"…Shit."
The barrier would not survive another direct hit. If it was some other time he would not have been worried about dying, but if he dies now that might give the will of the Origin True Fire a chance to destroy his soul and it would lead to him permanently dying without the chance of revival.
And at the same time, the soul battle inside the flame was reaching a critical stage. His soul with the help of the Soul Crown resisted the attacks from the flame as he gritted his teeth hard enough to crack them.
When he was on the verge of breaking, suddenly a strange golden pulse echoed from deep within his Sea of Consciousness. Arthur froze slightly, he had encountered this unknown golden energy during his Soul metamorphosis, after getting a vision while undergoing the metamorphosis he knew this unknown energy was provided by his Soul Origin.
He believed his Soul Origin had achieved this ability by fusing with the unknown orb which took the shape of a massive black hole while he was transmigrating but that was up for debate as he was not powerful enough to determine that, only, it was a possible reason for him gaining his abilities.
The instant the origin flame sensed the presence of the unknown golden energy everything changed. The Origin True Fire fragment suddenly became unstable. The sea of flames surrounding Arthur fluctuated violently while the gigantic fiery silhouette paused for the first time.
Arthur noticed it immediately, the flame instinctively recoiled slightly from the traces of the golden energy leaking from his soul.
He was amazed that this unknown energy could compete with and even overpower a flame that was birthed during the creation of this universe.
He slowly smiled despite the pain he was feeling. "Well then…"
He raised one hand inside the sea of flames. "…Looks like this isn't as impossible as I thought."
Without hesitation, he guided traces of the golden energy using his divine sense and directly toward the flame. The reaction was immediate, the entire sea of fire exploded chaotically.
The gigantic fiery figure released a soundless roar as the blue golden flames started shrinking uncontrollably. It was resisting desperately now, but unlike before, the balance had completely shifted towards him.
Arthur's consciousness surged forward instantly. This time, instead of merely wrapping around the flame carefully, he forcefully grabbed hold of the fragment with his divine sense strengthened by the golden energy.
"SUBMIT."
BOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!
And the entire illusionary world shattered.
Back in reality, Arthur's eyes snapped open glowing faintly with bluish golden light.
And before him was the Fragment of Origin True Fire floating peacefully as if it wasn't trying to kill him just a second ago.
The lesser dragon noticed it immediately, its eyes widened slightly for the first time.
ROOOOOOOAAARRRGGGHHHH!!!
Genuine panic filled the beast's roar, the dragon attacked madly and slammed both of its claws against the barrier at full force.
KRAAAAAAAAAKKKK!!!
This time the barrier shattered completely. Thousands of spirit stones exploded into dust simultaneously as the formation collapsed.
The dragon's gigantic jaws opened wide while immense fire gathered once more inside its mouth. But Arthur no longer paid attention to it.
Because at that exact moment, the bluish flame finally moved. The Fragment of Origin True Fire shot toward Arthur before sinking directly into his forehead.
"ARGHHHHHH!!!"
Arthur screamed as unimaginable heat flooded into his Sea of Consciousness. The endless white world erupted into flames instantly. The bluish golden fire spread wildly throughout the empty space.
Arthur's soul shook violently from the pressure. But before the flame could fully rampage a deep hum echoed throughout the white space.
Then countless chains made entirely of golden energy erupted outward from somewhere unknown and wrapped around the Origin True Fire fragment instantly.
The bluish flame struggled violently, but it was useless. The chains dragged it downward relentlessly before sealing it at the centre of the white space just beside where the SOH was located, and all this happened in a fraction of a second.
Silence followed. Then… A terrifying wave of heat exploded outward from Arthur's body in the real world.
FWOOOOOOOSSHHHHH!!!
Bluish golden flames erupted around him like a storm. The dragon's incoming fire breath collided directly against those flames and got devoured instantly. But the fire storm didn't stop; it engulfed the dragon and continued to engulf the whole mountain range inside a dome of fire.
A few moments passed and the fire dome slowly started converging at the centre where Arthur was floating.
***
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