CHAPTER 31: SACRED FLAME

"It’s not a serious problem, but I’m concerned. This ritual is extremely painful, involving wicked souls—it could be enough to make even a good-natured person turn hot-tempered," Aldric replied.

"Ohh..." Richard showed an uncertain expression upon hearing that.

Personality changes might be natural, but only when they came after various experiences.

Richard couldn’t say he was willing for his personality to suddenly become short-tempered.

"In the end, the Black Heart Soul wants a person to become a butcher in order to gain power. Although slaughter itself isn’t necessarily a grave problem, if it happens because we can’t control ourselves... are we still truly ourselves?" Aldric chuckled as he went on, while Richard felt he was right.

"This is something I avoided," Aldric added, tossing the book aside.

Then, he fixed his gaze seriously on Richard.

"Richard, your soul is undoubtedly extraordinary. While you could make it more versatile by having two different types and thus enhance your talent further, I advise you to choose another soul type—not the Black Heart Soul."

Richard furrowed his brows at that, then asked, "Is there a way to overcome its side effects?"

"Yes, of course there is. The Sacred Flame—fire that does not burn hot, but can consume all forms of evil. With it, one could easily purge any unwanted evil side from oneself. However, to fuse with the Sacred Flame requires a 90% affinity with the Fire Element."

"Grandfather, where can I find the Sacred Flame?" Richard asked immediately.

For him, the requirement was almost too easy.

His very first elemental affinity was fire. It was also the first to reach 90%.

Richard’s quick response surprised Aldric.

"Boy, don’t tell me you have a 90% Fire Affinity?" he asked, clearly scolding him for jumping straight to where it could be found.

In answer, Richard released an Aether, shaping it into a fist-sized fireball.

This one had no violet streaks anymore—it was pure flame. Most astonishing was its brilliance: even under the bright midday sun, the fire’s glow stood out strikingly.

Richard himself felt no heat from it—but Aldric could.

The heat was evident in the way nearby leaves began to dry and curl.

"My affinity with Fire is indeed 90%," Richard said casually.

"You—" Aldric’s mouth hung open, struggling for words.

Of course, he had never known exactly what Richard’s elemental affinities were.

Usually, even those with great talent didn’t start with 90% affinity. Only a rare few were born that way—most people had to train diligently to raise it.

Since Richard was his descendant, and seemed to have inherited his clan’s gifts, Aldric assumed his talents lay only in Darkness, Shadow, and Lightning.

And even then, he never imagined Richard had a 90% affinity with any of them.

Yet here he was—with Fire at 90%.

"Wait, boy—the Fire Spirit Queen has the Sacred Flame. I’ll take it from her body," Aldric said, standing abruptly before striding toward the unconscious red-haired old woman.

"Ohh..." Richard grew curious, recalling how his ancestor once said the Fire Spirit Queen’s body was an extraordinary treasure. Was it because she possessed the Sacred Flame?

But he still wondered—how could something be taken from another person’s body?

At that moment, Aldric forced the Fire Spirit Queen upright, though she remained unconscious.

With her body tied to the tree all the way up to her head, the old woman was made to stand.

Then Aldric pried her mouth open and sent his Aether inside.

"Aghh..."

Suddenly, her slack mouth let out a raspy cry.

Richard then saw a white light shine forth.

"Hahaha, so easy! Truly, without strength, anyone becomes helpless," Aldric laughed heartily.

Right after, Richard saw a serene white flame emerge from the Fire Spirit Queen’s mouth.

It floated gently, settling into Aldric’s palm.

"Richard, the Sacred Flame is something born of nature—a fire that never dies. It’s an external power, and can also be considered an artifact. Although fusing with it is extremely difficult, its uses are many. People sometimes use it to purge poison, or to eradicate all kinds of evil power. It can even be merged into weapons of justice. Once it has fused with you, it can still be taken by others, just as I did now. That’s why you must guard it well—never let it be stolen," Aldric said.

Then he tossed the white flame toward Richard, and it floated slowly like a drifting balloon.

"Swallow it," he added.

Richard didn’t wait for it to reach him. He opened his mouth and inhaled sharply, sucking the flame in.

It wasn’t his power that did it—but it wasn’t hot at all.

Instead, it filled him with comfort as it entered his mouth.

Though it had just come from the mouth of an old, now-ugly-looking woman, he didn’t hesitate to swallow it.

Gulp!

He felt it fall into his stomach, then begin merging with every cell of his body, filling him with a mysterious sensation.

DING!

(You have fused with the Sacred Flame, fire that can burn away all evil!)

[External Power:

Sacred Flame]

As Richard bonded with it, he realized he could transform his Fire Element into Sacred Flame, or merge it with his own fire.

He released some Aether onto his palm, immediately converting it into Sacred Flame.

In an instant, a calm white fire appeared above his hand.

’Not fire for destruction... but for support,’ Richard thought.

"How do you feel, boy?" Aldric asked, approaching him.

"Incredible. Grandfather, does that old woman still have things like this inside her?" Richard asked in return.

"Don’t think there are many like it. This woman has various other flames in her body since she’s the Fire Spirit Queen. Some come from her bloodline, some are fires she cultivated herself. But they’re not things you can just swallow like the Sacred Flame," Aldric explained.

Richard smiled wryly because he was indeed too hopeful.

"Of course, I wouldn’t say there are no other useful things from her body for you. After all, in the previous era, she was the strongest in terms of fire power. But, for now you are still too weak for stronger things. Not everything you can get just with an elemental affinity that reaches 90%," Aldric said again.

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