Chapter 45- The legendary Ancient Flame, Surtr’s Fire.
The next day, Leo reached the border of Muspelheim.
It was like stepping toward a living wall of heat. With every stride closer, the temperature climbed relentlessly. He could literally see shimmering vapors rising from the cracked ground, the air warping and twisting in the intense thermal haze.
Pressure mounted alongside the scorching heat. The farther he walked, the heavier the atmosphere grew, until even drawing breath became a labored struggle.
Eventually, the ground sloped downward, guiding him into a vast valley of molten rock. Rivers of liquid fire flowed between blackened stone islands, the air thick with the acrid scent of sulfur and superheated stone.
Leo pulled out the charm Elder Thrain had given him. The moment it touched his palm, it pulsed with warm energy. A soothing, sizzling coolness spread through his body, stabilizing his core and calming the Eternal Flame that had begun raging wildly within him.
With a determined, solemn expression, he stepped into the valley.
---
Deep within the crater, molten rock bubbled and churned everywhere except for a single solid platform at the center. Hovering just above it was a small ember of flame.
It was tiny—no larger than a pebble. Black at its core and edged in brilliant white, it pulsed with quiet, ancient light.
Surtr’s Ember.
The flame showed no reaction to Leo’s arrival. It simply hovered there, utterly indifferent, as if he were no more significant than an insect.
Leo stopped about twenty feet away, standing on a stable rock directly before the ember.
This is Surtr’s Flame? he thought.
The one said to have ended the old world? But...
"Why is it so tiny?" he muttered aloud without realizing it.
The ember recoiled as if insulted. A sudden wave of searing energy erupted outward, slamming into Leo and hurling him backward.
His HP dropped by thirty percent in an instant. He crashed hard into a jagged stone outcrop, shattering it on impact.
"Ouch..." Leo groaned, pushing himself up. "Looks like it has a temper."
He turned back toward the flame—only to find it gone.
Blinking, he scanned the area. The molten valley had vanished. He was somewhere else entirely.
He rubbed his eyes and looked again. The landscape had completely shifted. Now he stood in the middle of a blood-soaked battlefield. Bodies lay strewn across the ground while the sky burned a deep, infernal red. The earth itself was dyed crimson.
A world of nothing but red.
A towering figure loomed before him: a humanoid giant wreathed in black and white flames, two great horns projecting from its head. In its hand, it wielded a massive sword of pure fire. Wherever it walked, annihilation followed.
Ragnarök?
Leo realized with dawning horror, Am I witnessing Ragnarök?
The flaming giant raised its sword. On the opposite side stood a radiant woman—Freyr, the god of fertility—gripping a weapon blazing with golden light.
They met in the center. Sword clashed against blade in absolute silence. No sound accompanied the cataclysmic impact. Leo watched as Freyr was swiftly overpowered and defeated.
The fire giant stood over the fallen god.
...
The vision shifted again.
Now Leo stood amid ashes. The world had been reduced to gray dust. Trees, mountains, oceans—everything had been consumed.
The sky was pitch black.
No sun, no stars, no moon. Only endless darkness remained.
At the center of the desolation stood the fire giant, its sword still burning brightly.
The vision shifted once more.
...
"You are nothing."
Surtr’s voice resonated like the void itself speaking. Darkness swallowed everything. Hopelessness, despair, and crushing emptiness flooded Leo’s mind without warning.
"You, a mere blacksmith, dare approach the edge of the world?"
The pressure intensified, forcing Leo to his knees.
"You lowly being think you can tame me? Contain ...’this’?"
As Surtr spoke, the darkness pressed closer. Leo’s mind fractured under the assault. His memories blurred; his sense of self began to dissolve.
"You are nothing but a flickering candle before me—one soon to be burned to ash. You are dust. You are—"
"NO!"
The word tore from deep within Leo’s soul. His will surged upward like a defiant flame.
I am Leo Stone, he thought fiercely. I am a blacksmith.
The darkness laughed, a cold, mocking sound that reverberated through the void.
"A mere blacksmith? Hahaha... Creator of things? And what does a blacksmith do when faced with the Destroyer?"
Visions intensified. Leo witnessed not mere memories, but pure *concepts*—the essence of destruction itself.
Civilizations crumbling into dust. Oceans boiling away. Stars winking out of existence. The absolute void left behind when everything ended.
"This is what I am," the darkness declared. "The end of all things. The silence after the last song. The darkness after the final light. And you... you are simply another thing to be ended."
Leo’s memories faded rapidly. His name, his purpose, his identity—all were being devoured by the encroaching flames of annihilation.
"Who am I?" he whispered into the void. "Who was I?"
Just before he could lose himself completely, something deep inside him stirred. The Eternal Flame ignited with renewed vigor. Its indomitable will flowed into Leo, washing away the despair and darkness like a cleansing fire. It purified his mind and restored his sense of self.
"I am Leo Stone," he declared, voice growing stronger. "I am a blacksmith."
Memories of his childhood and his father flooded back, bolstering his resolve. He clung to them fiercely, standing against the overwhelming darkness.
---
The darkness faltered. It could not consume him.
Slowly, it receded.
---
Leo found himself back in the molten valley, the ember once again floating above the central rock. His entire body trembled. He could barely remain standing.
That was too close, he thought. If I had lost myself... I don’t know what would have happened.
"You did not lose yourself," the same ancient voice spoke, this time from the ember itself. "You possess a strong will. I will grant you that much."
Leo startled so badly he fell backward onto the ground. He stared at the flickering flame.
"But strong will alone will not be enough," it continued.
---
[Ding~]
[SURTR’S EMBER: CONSCIOUSNESS DETECTED]
[Ancient Primordial Flame — Will NOT submit easily]
[Warning: This flame has destroyed worlds. Proceed with extreme caution.]
[Mental Trial: PASSED]
Mental trial? Leo thought incredulously. That was the trial? I almost fucking died.
While he processed the notification, the ember began to move.
It lashed out with terrifying speed. A wave of black-and-white fire surged forward faster than Leo could track. He instinctively raised the Eternal Flame as a shield.
The impact sent him staggering back six steps. The ground beneath his feet cracked under the force. Thankfully, the Eternal Flame neutralized the worst of the attack.
It works, he thought with relief.
The ember struck again, even harder this time. A fiery fist slammed into his chest. Pain exploded throughout his body. The flames carried the property of pure annihilation—they sought to erase him at a fundamental level.
His Eternal Flame activated immediately. Logi’s Wildfire tried to consume the invading energy while Eldhrimnir’s Fire worked desperately to restore his HP, MP, and stamina. But the damage refused to heal properly, and his HP continued to drop.
[Ding~]
[WARNING: Surtr’s Twilight is ANNIHILATION fire]
[Standard absorption ineffective]
[Eldhrimnir’s Fire regeneration reduced by 80%]
[Logi’s Gluttony cannot consume — target too pure]
The ember expanded rapidly—from pebble to fist-sized, then to a blazing orb, and finally into a humanoid figure the same height as Leo. Shrouded in black-and-white flames, it appeared ancient, withered, and weary.
It pointed a finger at him. Terrifying energy gathered at the tip.
Before Leo could mount a proper defense, the blast struck him dead center.
Annihilation tore through his flesh and essence alike. His Eternal Flame flickered dangerously. Eldhrimnir’s regenerative fire failed. Logi’s Wildfire collapsed.
[Ding~]
[CRITICAL DAMAGE: Spiritual Integrity dropping]
[90%... 80%... 70%...]
[ETERNAL FLAME: WARNING — Host may perish]
Leo dropped to his knees, gasping.
Blood trickled from his nose and mouth. His flames burned weakly.
This is the difference in power, he realized. A gap no blacksmith can simply bridge. This is the force that once destroyed the world.
At this rate, I will die.
Gathering every last ounce of his will, Leo poured everything he had into his three flames. He directed them to fight back in perfect harmony: Logi’s fire consumed what it could of Surtr’s energy, Eldhrimnir’s fire regenerated what was lost, and the Eternal Flame shielded his body, pushing back the destructive flames.
As the clash continued, fragments of Surtr’s memories began flowing into Leo through Logi’s consumption.
---
A young fire giant stood in a forge deep within a cavern of molten rock. Rivers of lava illuminated the space. For the first time, he lifted a sword. It was heavier than expected, yet it had chosen him. The blade hummed in his grip, resonating with his very soul.
He swung it experimentally. The air split. Stones shattered.
"I am Surtr."
---
Another memory: Surtr sat alone in Muspelheim, the burning sword resting beside him. No one approached. No one understood.
"I am the end of all things," he thought. "Who would befriend the end?"
---
Leo felt profound sadness and loneliness radiating from those fragments. In the earlier vision, he had sensed reluctance behind Surtr’s actions—especially when facing Freyr.
Now he saw the rest.
After defeating the god of fertility, the flaming giant knelt, gazing at the burning sky.
"Another life ended... another world dying," Surtr had whispered with no trace of triumph—only deep, aching sorrow.
Leo also witnessed the final moments: Surtr standing alone in the ashes of the world, sword still burning.
"Why must I destroy?" the giant had asked the empty sky. "Why is this my purpose?"
Tears streamed down Leo’s face. He could feel the immense pain and misery the primordial flame had endured for eons.
It doesn’t want to destroy, Leo realized. It never has. Its power is simply too great for it to control.
The visions faded. His three flames continued their desperate defense.
Understanding bloomed within him.
Leo forced himself to his feet despite his protesting body, depleted mana, and flickering flames. He walked slowly toward the ember.
"You don’t want to destroy," he said softly. "I know you never wanted this."
The ember pulsed uncertainly. Anger flickered through it.
"You know nothing, human," it retorted.
"I can feel it," Leo replied aloud. "In your memories, every world you burned, every life you took—you have carried that weight all this time."
The flame trembled as if reliving the burden.
Leo stopped just three feet away. The heat was overwhelming, as though he were already burning alive.
"Submit to me," he said.
The ember flared with indignation.
Before it could lash out, Leo continued, "I will redefine you. You will no longer be a symbol of destruction. I will make you a symbol of creation... a symbol of protection."
The flame’s light flickered. "Creation? Protection...?"
"Yes," Leo affirmed. "I am a blacksmith. I forge weapons. I give purpose to things that have none."
"You believe you can give me a purpose beyond destruction?"
"I know I can."
---
The ember remained silent for a long time. It did not attack.
Finally, it spoke.
"No."
Leo’s heart sank. If the flame unleashed its full power now, he would surely die.
But the ember continued, "I am not just fire."
Its form pulsed with ancient weight. "I am a sword as well."
The ember shifted and elongated, transforming into a majestic blade of black-and-white fire—ancient, powerful, and humming with lethal intent.
"You may be able to endure my flames thanks to your unique fire and attuned physique... but the sword is different. Its energy, its Dao, its will—the concept of the weapon itself—will tear you apart. Your body is not built to contain such absolute destructive purpose."
Leo’s fists clenched. He could feel it: the sword energy was far heavier, denser, and more absolute than the flames alone.
But I can’t give up. Not now.
"Then I will bear it anyway," Leo declared, eyes burning with resolve.
"Come. Come to me."
"I shall free you of your burdens."