Chapter 75: Aberrant Flame: Wrath Flame
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"Let's begin."
Lucian stepped onto the altar, instantly feeling the scorching heat radiating from the Flame of Heaven.
Fortunately, the heavenly flame generally didn't release its energy of its own accord. Of course, that was only "generally."
During its first loss of control, the heavenly flame had consumed the residents of Olympia. Only those who had scattered to other regions or managed to flee into the temple in time survived the disaster.
Fifty thousand people died that day. Their souls were trapped within the Flame of Heaven, denied release.
When night fell, they would transform into Flame Beings, constantly thirsting to devour the living.
Now, the heavenly flame was on the verge of complete corruption, set to trigger a second eruption sixteen years from now.
This second eruption would likely be uncontrollable. When that time came, the entire surface of the world would be wiped out.
Because the Flame of Heaven was cast down into the Lower World three thousand years ago, it was never registered by the world's underlying laws. The World Correction Force might not activate against it. If that happened... the Gods probably had a backup plan, anyway.
None of that was Lucian's concern. He was going to solve this lingering threat right now.
"Reality Marble: Divine Court."
Lucian materialized his Mental Landscape. Swapping the scale of himself and the world, he trapped the Flame of Heaven within his projected dimension.
"Reality Marble: Displacement."
Before the heavenly flame could react, Lucian swapped the Reality Marble with the actual Divine Court, directly displacing the Flame of Heaven into his true domain.
The combined power of the entire realm bore down upon it, locking the Flame of Heaven inside the altar.
BOOM!!
A terrifying roar echoed out as the heavenly flame flared violently, fighting against the altar in a desperate bid to destroy it.
Feeling the entire World Bubble tremble, Lucian's expression turned serious. He had no choice but to utilize the power of his mind.
"Mental Power."
An invisible fluctuation radiated outward, and the heavenly flame quickly quieted down.
This was a cage specially forged for it, presided over by the World Will. Naturally, the heavenly flame's outbursts were entirely futile.
This was especially true since the output of Lucian's mental world was no longer any weaker than that of a God.
"Extract."
The newly added function began to continuously extract the corruption from the Flame of Heaven.
Massive waves of negative emotions, along with tiny wisps of flame, were siphoned out and condensed together.
"Construct."
Lucian wasn't merely extracting the negative emotions from the heavenly flame; he was simultaneously drawing out its fiery power, using the world's rules to condense it into a seed of flame.
As the rules continuously perfected the process, the corruption within the heavenly flame was siphoned away. The flame seed gradually shifted from a tainted hue into a pure, absolute black.
Aberrant Flame: Wrath Flame.
As the Flame of Heaven was purified, Lucian withdrew his mobilized mental power. By this time, the heavenly flame had completely calmed down.
Through the altar's central control hub, the souls bound within the Flame of Heaven were finally liberated.
"Go."
With a casual wave, Lucian released them back into the Danmachi World.
He had already made his decisions regarding the selection of Divine Court residents; he had no need for these souls.
Countless souls soared into the sky, so dense they almost seemed corporeal.
Two clusters of fire appeared in Lucian's hands: one pure flame, and one dark flame.
"A bountiful harvest."
Not only had he acquired the Flame of Heaven as a power source, but he had also completely analyzed its structure.
A normal God was composed of four elements: a divine body, a divine soul, divine power, and Authority.
The Flame of Heaven was composed of two: divine power and Authority.
The core of a God was their Authority. Having completely analyzed it meant that Lucian could replicate it through Rule Creation.
These two flame seeds weren't new Authorities. The Seed of Heavenly Fire was a direct copy-paste, while the Wrath Flame seed was formed from the qualitative mutation of the corrupted Flame of Heaven. Both could only be considered 'Seeds of Authority.'
If nurtured carefully, with the World Will perfecting the rules and sufficient energy invested, it wouldn't be long before they grew into power sources equal to the Flame of Heaven itself.
However, Lucian currently had no intention of doing so. He planned to absorb these two flame seeds himself.
As for the cultivation direction for new power sources... weren't there plenty of stars in the sky?
He could split the Flame of Heaven into smaller seeds, alter their properties to match the stars in the Firmament, and embed them within. They would absorb the stars' power and eventually replace the original celestial bodies entirely.
That way, every single star within the Firmament would become a brand-new energy source.
If combined with Annihilation Maker, he could even create Star Gods.
The Flame of Heaven was strong, but it still required mobilization. If a God unsealed their power, they could easily contain and control the heavenly flame, not to mention that their divine bodies and souls were inherently powerful as well.
"I've taken the Flame of Heaven. I should probably notify the people of Olympia."
I might as well take the Sword of the Flame Eagle while I'm at it.
With that thought, Lucian teleported high into the air.
This place was an isolated island surrounded by an endless ocean horizon. The scenery was quite beautiful.
After taking a couple of minutes to admire the view and watching the remaining residents of Olympia flock toward the temple, Lucian descended from the sky.
Utilizing the Wall Passing technique from his Three Secrets, Lucian phased straight down through the roof.
"Hello there."
Lucian smiled faintly, greeting the crowd gathered inside the temple.
With the Flame of Heaven contained by Lucian, the shrine maidens and soldiers who were previously blessed by it naturally lost that power.
"Who are you?" Epimetheus asked, his gaze fixed intensely on Lucian. "The disappearance of the heavenly flame... does it have something to do with you?"
Hearing Epimetheus's question, the crowd focused their gazes squarely on Lucian.
"I am Lucian. I'm the one who took the Flame of Heaven."
Lucian added, "The souls that were consumed by the heavenly flame have also been liberated by me. They've returned to Heaven."
Hearing his words, the shrine maidens and soldiers initially looked at him in disbelief, before falling into a heavy silence.
"Do you have any other questions?"
Seeing the crowd's silence, Lucian turned to Epimetheus and asked.
"Who... exactly are you?" Epimetheus clenched his fists, feeling a mix of frustration and profound loss.
He had lived for three thousand years; his lifespan had long since reached its absolute limit.
With the Flame of Heaven taken by Lucian, he had lost his divine blessing. It wouldn't be long before the energy sustaining his life completely dissipated.
Although he no longer cared whether he lived or died, the fact that he hadn't done anything, that he hadn't been able to accomplish anything—the sheer regret in his heart made it impossible for him to let go.
"Who I am isn't important."
Lucian stepped forward, looking up at the towering man. "But you seem very lost, great hero Epimetheus."
Epimetheus's expression turned ugly. The others noticed the tension and snapped out of their daze.
"What are you trying to say?"
Epimetheus asked.
"You should face me with a calm heart. After all, you probably won't get another chance in the future."
Lucian said, "You should be able to tell that I'm not mocking you in the slightest."
Epimetheus remained silent. Lucian's words made it clear to him that his death was imminent.
If he held onto his prejudices now and refused to listen earnestly to Lucian, he might never get the chance to hear anything ever again.
"I know the Heroic Epics spread in the outside world aren't the original texts. To be honest, I've never read that kind of stuff. I only know that the world calls you a 'Fool'."
Lucian stated, "Standing from an objective bystander's perspective, I'll only speak the facts."
"Three thousand years ago, the era of heroic mythology hadn't even begun, yet the surface was already overrun with monsters."
"If the great hero Epimetheus hadn't appeared back then, humanity might have been entirely wiped out."
"Despite being a mere mortal, you accomplished the great deeds of a hero."
"And having completed your mission long ago, why are you still feeling so lost at this stage?"
Lucian spoke seriously, his words coming straight from the heart.
He genuinely admired people like Epimetheus. He also felt that a hero being treated so poorly by the very people he protected was a tragedy of the era and of humanity itself.
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