Chương 170: Chapter 166: He Who Burned The World

As the flames decimated the underground world, Priam felt a surge of power engulfing him. [Horseman of the Apocalypse - Conquest] had been activated, and every enemy slain bolstered his momentum. [Temporary Boost: 86 Rabhorns (T0) defeated (PHY +43%). Aether Reserve: 217/239 Conquest Timer: 4 min 59s] From the boost Priam received, his assistant could calculate the number of vanquished adversaries. With a solemn expression, he flooded the tunnels with devastating flames.

Eyes closed, he sensed the fire born from his concept exploring every nook of the underground galleries in search of oxygen. Consuming the latter and the ambient aether, the flames multiplied. Mentally, his add-on crafted a map of the rabhorns' territory. Luminescent points descended into the depths of Elysium or fled northward. Despite the unbearable temperature, some rabhorns survived long enough to escape. Tier 1s. They could be Tier 2s, but Priam doubted it.

He had struggled to defeat two Tier 1 creatures—the Brood Mother and Skull— and they were likely not among the most powerful Tier 1s. After all, they had been defeated by a Tier 0. If a Tier 2 rabhorn appeared… Priam's hand trembled as the image of the necrowolf overlaid itself on that of the rabbit. The Tier 2 creature had given him no chance.

"Sphinx."

"Hmm?" his friend responded, pawing the captured rabhorn.

"If a Tier 2 appears, I want you to flee."

"Why?"

"Because we are too weak. If one of us has to die, it might as well be me." He had hesitated to speak the truth but felt the duty to educate his friend. He didn't want to lie to Sphinx, even if some truths were hard to hear. She was young, not foolish.

"Makes sense!"

"And be careful when eating, their flesh is poisoned." Only the rumbling of Sphinx's stomach answered him. Smiling faintly, Priam refocused on his concept. It was the first time he had created so much fire, and he felt a special connection forming between him and the unleashed inferno. It was an opportunity to better understand his concept, and he wanted to seize it. Without wasting time, Priam delved deep within himself.

A flame danced vividly at the core of his soul, resonating with the hell roaring beneath the earth. Feeling his attention, it flickered more intensely. Its radiance warmed him, and its intensity enchanted him. Priam's consciousness melded into the blaze, and the Fire Concept opened its arms, recognizing a Sage: a soul with perfect affinity. His perception merged with the flames, and Priam began to comprehend them. Affinity, Harmony, Symphony, and Unity were the four stages leading to the understanding of a Concept.

Priam felt a natural and instinctive affinity toward the eruption roaring in the depths of the earth. Flames devoured oxygen and aether to spread even farther. Affinity was necessary to grasp a Concept, but it wasn't enough to govern it. The Fire Sage vibrated in harmony with the furnace, its heat, light, and destruction. With closed eyes, he felt the multi-headed fire hydra raging, imprisoned in the depths. He heard the earth charring and the sand vitrifying.

The fire monster continued to expand without ever extinguishing. In its wake, its wrath consumed organic matter and liquefied rock. The hydra grew even more, but the mass death of rabhorns heightened his perception. Priam's consciousness stretched to follow the rampant destruction. Next came the Symphony. For Priam, this stage translated into music, emotion, and direction. He observed the fire, its blossoming, release, and will. Reciprocally, the Fire observed him.

The Fire Sage revealed itself, sharing his emotions. His rage, anger, joy, and desire for freedom mingled with the flames, enhancing their power and passion. Like an orchestra, the blaze accelerated, seeking to devour its prison. In Priam's soul, the flame grew, illuminating his consciousness and consuming his identity. Unity came at a price. Priam, or rather the Fire Sage, heard the whispers and desires of the Concept.

The conflagration continued to grow, and the Fire Sage felt some creatures brave the flames in search of the invader. It was madness. The rabhorns had fled, and it was too late to turn back. Fire surged over their kingdom like an avalanche. The heat seemed boundless, continually increasing to create pockets of magma in some places. The flames fought against the world that birthed them. If Fire couldn't break its chains, then it would melt them.

The Fire Sage continued to produce more and more aether to fuel his flames. The more numerous and intense they became, the more his consciousness bathed in them with delight. Unity was within reach." Enemies are coming," Sphinx whispered mentally. The Fire Sage looked up. At the edge of his mist—an inferior concept to Fire in his opinion—a hundred rabhorns observed them. Every second, dozens of enemies were added to the ranks of the army. The Fire Sage, an expression of disdain on his face, remained motionless.

Gathering his will, he called his flames. The ground trembled as the earth prepared for a cataclysm. In absolute silence, the enemy horns began to glow. The Fire Sage, the embodiment of Fire, opened his mouth, and his vocal cords screamed the roar of an explosion. The impetuous flames obeyed. The forest lit up as hundreds of light spears shot toward them.

"Priam!" Seeing her friend immobile, consumed by his concept, Sphinx transformed. In an instant, she regained her size and wrapped herself around Priam. The light spears pierced her fur, wings, and back. Roaring in pain, Sphinx hurriedly closed her eyes upon hearing Priam's roar. The ground bulged before exploding. As if a volcano had been born from Priam's will, a pyroclastic explosion erupted in the center of the rabhorn army. A pillar of fire rose into the air hundreds of meters high.

The calamity disintegrated most of the enemies. The proud column dominated the forest for several seconds before descending as a firestorm. Each drop ignited the forest like a tear from a fire elemental. Incandescent meteors were falling from the skies, crushing the few surviving rabhorns. Sphinx grimaced as she stood up, then widened her eyes. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it. Waves of fire advanced toward the enemy territory.

Each individual was engulfed in a sea of flames. A few seconds later, the fiery torrents left behind charred skeletons. Burning air currents were rising, carrying with them the toxic fumes emanating from the rabhorn's poisoned flesh. Priam, displaying incandescent hair, stepped forward. His hand held a terrible power that easily pushed Sphinx aside. Clearing the path, he headed toward the smoking crater. Sphinx tried to follow but winced in pain and heat. She was too injured to move.

"Priam!" she cried out. Her friend turned around, and Sphinx shivered. In his eyes, only a promise of destruction gleamed.

[Temporary Boost: 438 Rabhorns (T0) defeated (PHY +219%) 175 Adult Rabhorns (T0) defeated (PHY +175%) 3 Despotic Rabhorns (T1) defeated (PHY +9% MENT +9% META +9%) Status: Strength 420 > 2113 (temp) Constitution 775 > 3898 (temp) Agility 432 > 2173 (temp) Vitality 668 > 3360 (temp) Perception 652 > 3280 (temp) Aether Reserve: 127/261 (temp) Conquest Timer: 4 min 59s Warning: Mental state affected. The Fire Concept is influencing the host's personality.... [He Who Eludes Death] being primed, the process of merging with the Concept can continue.] The radiant horizon was like a warm cloak enveloping the Sage. Before him, a colossal and wounded creature gazed at him sadly. A sphinx. The Sage briefly considered igniting it before coming to a halt. His instinct roared, finding within him a rage burning with a different fire. A spark begged him to spare the creature, and the Sage obeyed.

Pleased to know that his Concept extended beyond the material world, he turned toward the crater. Walking on the ashes, he savored the sound of embers crackling beneath his feet.

"Priam..." mewled the sphinx behind him. The Sage didn't turn. Smoke swirled around him, filling his nostrils with the scent of coal and heat as he descended into the excavation. At the bottom, a hole resembling the gates of Tartarus had opened. Flames licked the Sage's naked body as he ventured into the depths of his creation. Suddenly, he stopped, an annoyed expression on his face. The intensity of the flames became so devastating that they were beginning to burn him.

Fire was not a concept meant to last or preserve. It was impressive because it was ephemeral. It turned the world to ash before disappearing in a spiral of self-destruction. The philosophical thought was simple, but the Sage smiled. Thanks to his Concept and affinity with this element, he gained a deep understanding of this lesson. Now, he had to experience it. The Sage taught Fire, and Fire taught him in return. In the core of his soul, the flame grew, and Unity approached.

His body, bathed in heat and light, transformed into a torch as he continued on. With his constitution and vitality boosted, the Sage knew he could burn for a long time. The moment of extinguishing would come, of course, but before that, he would illuminate the world like a pyre in the night. His consciousness ravaged by flames, the Sage descended into the furnace. Reaching the edge, he jumped into the hole as his own ashes mixed with the scorched earth. His skin had already partly disappeared.

Twenty meters below, he arrived in a pocket of flaming gas, magma, and rabhorn bones. The toxic vapors of their evaporated blood and harmful gases were ineffective against [Poison Body]. Suddenly, the colors vanished. The Sage smiled as his eyes calcined. Surrounded by his flames, his vision was useless. After all, he saw nothing but shades of solar white. The purgatorial ambiance resonated with the Sage's fiery soul.

A few centimeters below the magma puddle was the indestructible rock that seemed to make up Elysium's mantle. Even the terrifying explosion had left no trace. There was only one path to the center of the rabhorns' territory, and the Sage ventured into it. The tunnel must have been created for Tier 1s or 2s as it was wide enough for Priam to pass without stooping. Preceded by an ignescent tsunami, he contemplated the nature of fire while manipulating his flames.

Like serpents, they twisted to reach the end of each adjacent tunnel, sometimes hiding a terrified rabhorn. With both the surface and the underground flooded by flames, no creature escaped his wrath. Suddenly, the Sage felt an individual ahead approaching rapidly. Without hiding his smile, he focused his flames to incinerate the intruder. The temperature rose quickly, and the last vestiges of the Sage's skin disappeared. Despite this, the rabhorn still approached.

Frowning, the Sage understood he had been too lenient. Fire never showed restraint, exerting its full power to crush any insect. Unleashing his conquest aura strengthened by the massacre, the Sage naturally applied it to his flames. Fire, too, was a conqueror. As if a switch had been flipped, the flames froze before radiating a silvery aura. When the fire resumed its course, the combustion chemical reactions accelerated. The flames had merged with Conquest to produce a terrifying weapon.

A scream echoed in the tunnel as the Tier 1 perished. Two seconds later, the Sage passed by its bones, horn, and core. That was all that remained of the Tier 1. Its aether and body had disappeared to fuel the fire, while its spirit enhanced the Sage's aura. The incident repeated several times in the following minutes. Like a conqueror leading an invincible army, the Sage finally arrived in a vast cavern. At its end, hundreds of terrified rabhorns had taken refuge against a wall.

Other galleries existed, but they had been conquered from the surface, cutting off any escape. The Sage assessed his opponents before he felt a disturbance and dodged to his right. A light spear traversed the spot he had occupied a moment earlier. Unfortunately for the creatures, the incarnation of Fire's perception and agility were too high for even Tier 1s to pose a danger. Fifteen other spears followed, and the Sage didn't bother to avoid them. The attacks crashed without effect on his charred muscles.

Only his fire was destructive enough to erase him. With a single thought, the flames gathered into a cyclone that drowned his enemies. For the rabhorns, the apocalypse lasted only an instant. A new wave of power invaded Priam, strengthening his flames and attributes. Satisfied with his action, he allowed himself a smile: fire was truly unparalleled.

"Squik." The Sage squinted. In the middle of the sea of flames bathing the cavern stood a rabhorn abnormally calm, indifferent to the violent burning waves crashing against the rock and shaking the world. Fire couldn't find a grip on the creature's fur. As frustration penetrated the Sage's hearts, the monster oriented its ears toward him. The next moment, his body was catapulted backward. At the end of the cavern, a wall halted his flight. The cave shook just as the violent impact created an impressive crater.

A groan escaped the Sage's mouth just before his body fell to the ground.

"Squik?" [Tier 2 detected.] Crossing the flames like a conqueror, the Tier 2 advanced to crush the Sage's head. Its right front paw settled on the human's skull and pressed. The ground shook. The rabhorn blinked, surprised by the lack of resistance. Under its toes, it found no blood. At the other end of the underground hall, the inferno took the form of a winged man. In his veins, the blood of the phoenix and the dragon accelerated. He roared, and fire responded. The Sage had achieved Unity.

Status: (Average value for a Homo sapiens male before integration: PHY 10 / MEN 10 / META 0) … Consciousness partially shattered. Log downloaded by the Assistant.