[Vol. 9] Chapter 16: Black Flame
Even though his words sounded reasonable, Violet still had a faint feeling that things weren’t as simple as Exmont said. Maybe He was still hiding something. But since He clearly didn’t plan to explain, asking further would be pointless.
It seemed this guy hadn’t shared his thoughts with the rest of the council and had instead chosen to meet her secretly, probably because he wanted to keep this matter hidden. She wasn’t sure what his strange behavior was really for, but Violet wasn’t the kind of person who didn’t know when to stop.
“Fine then. Go ahead, tell me, what do you want me to do?”
[Hmm, I want you to help me find something in the Origin Realm.]
“That’s all?”
The priestess tilted her head, looking surprised.
She had been prepared to scold him if he started spouting riddles again, but since he gave such a direct answer, she actually felt a little unprepared.
“Sure, council members can’t directly enter the Origin Realm. But with your power as the God of Paradox, shouldn’t it be easy for you to find something there? Why bother asking me?”
[Well, cough…]
For some reason, the God, who usually seemed calm and unmoved by anything, actually muttered awkwardly and turned His head slightly, looking almost embarrassed.
[Because… ordinary people can’t handle her. Even if they find it, bringing it back would be nearly impossible.]
The priestess frowned, even more confused at His strange reaction.
“Not even Timos Young?”
[He can’t.]
“Oh…?”
Now that was something.
On the surface, Timos Young looked like just a very ordinary Transcendent, someone who would run away at the speed of light whenever he faced danger. But the fact that he had once fought Lucine, who wielded the Godslayer Spear, without being at a disadvantage already proved how deep the power of the Immortal Magician ran.
If even Timos Young couldn’t bring back what Exmont wanted, then whatever it was must be alive. And across the whole Origin Realm, there probably weren’t many who could succeed. In that case, it made sense why Exmont came to them for help.
“I get it now. You created some strange new experiment, and then it went out of control, right? Judging by your look, this thing is even connected to us?”
Exmont gave a small nod. Whether it was because He found it hard to explain or just too troublesome to put into words, He simply raised His hand. The gray mist floating in the grand hall quickly gathered under His control and condensed into a blurry, but still recognizable, image.
[To be exact, it’s related to your dragon.]
Under the God’s control, the misty image shifted rapidly.
The image was rough and incomplete, without any detailed background. It probably happened right here, in this very temple. But with just one glance, Violet could see nothing except blazing black fire.
The black flames burned wildly, violent and unstoppable. From the hundreds of statues in the temple, beams of light shot upward, weaving together into a vast net that covered the whole sky. The net tried to suppress the flames, while the flames pushed back with a furious will to burn everything to ash, hammering again and again against the glowing web.
The great battle seemed to last a long time. The terrifying black flames slowly weakened after being worn down, and in the end, they were once again suppressed. But at the very last moment, the flames used all their strength to tear open a small gap in the glowing net. A tiny spark slipped out, shot out of the temple at incredible speed, and disappeared without a trace.
Anyone could see that this was its “origin power.”
When the image finally faded, Violet’s face showed a very strange look. As someone very close to the Dragon God, if she couldn’t recognize what that fire really was, then all her years of experience would have been for nothing.
“They all say you’re obsessed with experiments, and it looks like that’s no exaggeration. You actually dared to make a knockoff of the Primordial Flame. Why not go all the way and copy the Primordial Light too?”
Hearing the girl’s half-joking but helpless tone, Exmont looked at her with slight surprise.
[I thought you would be furious.]
The priestess calmly shook her head.
“My mindset has always been pretty good. It won’t be easy to make me angry. If you dared to lay a hand on Xiao Guang or hurt her, of course I wouldn’t let you off easily. But…”
“The essence of creation is nurturing, you could even say it’s about giving. Since my dragon wasn’t harmed, then the only one who must have paid the price is you. To build something new out of nothing is no easy thing. The original may be important, but if anyone could casually copy the Primordial Flame, that would make its power look far too cheap.”
As she spoke slowly, analyzing the divine power before her, the black-haired girl’s eyes sparkled sharply, while Exmont’s aura rippled faintly.
“The so-called reversed law is nothing mysterious. At its core, it’s just using unique methods to observe, analyze, and understand things that already exist, then trying to recreate them based on your own comprehension. There’s nothing as magical about it as the legends say.”
“If I’m not wrong, in order to create this flame, your true body was seriously injured. That’s why you didn’t fight in person and instead had your creations set up defenses. Not only that, but every time you create one of these reversed beings, you must spend a very long time recovering from the loss. That’s why, even after tens of thousands of years, you’ve only managed to produce a little over a hundred results. Am I right?”
For the first time, real emotion appeared in the God of Paradox’s aura. His attitude was very complicated, fear, surprise, caution, and something indescribably subtle.
[How do you know all this?]
The priestess gave a faint smile.
“Because I’ve always believed in one truth, everything in this world is about balance. Nothing can truly appear out of nowhere or be given for free. Even if so-called primordial creation does exist, it’s just another form of cost and transformation. You and I are both bound by this rule.”
“As for the rest, it’s just careful observation, bold guesses, and cautious verification. Judging by your reaction, it seems I wasn’t wrong, was I~?”
[……]
After a long silence, the God of Paradox nodded.
[You really are an interesting one. Not joining the council was the right choice. That path may be a way forward, but it’s also an invisible shackle and limit… Don’t worry. Cooperation should be equal. I won’t let you help me for nothing.]
After pausing for a moment, as if preparing for something important, He spoke again.
[At our level, ordinary objects can no longer serve as bargaining chips. So I’ve prepared three pieces of information. Unless I’m mistaken, these are the things you need and care about most, and they will serve as the payment for this task.]
“Oh?”