Chapter 2 Flame Master Part 2

Just then, Baya the Fire Spirit suddenly leaped forward and devoured the dragon's burning breath in a single motion! Then, perched on Alex's shoulder, he started muttering in an unknown language, directing his words toward the Golden Dragon.

Suddenly, a mystical symbol lit up on Baya's forehead-a mark that bore a striking resemblance to the one on the dragon's head, yet it was even more radiant and powerful!

The Golden Dragon, which had been consumed by rage just moments ago, suddenly fell silent. For a few long seconds, it simply stared at Baya. Then, a white glow flickered across its forehead.

The next moment, the massive dragon let out an agonizing roar, almost as if it were begging Baya for help!

Baya listened carefully and responded in the same mysterious tongue. Alex couldn't understand a word, but Baya soon turned to him and explained-

"It's the dragon language!"

Just then, something unbelievable happened-

The Golden Dragon's soul split into two halves-one dark and sinister, the other radiant and pure!

Alex narrowed his eyes. The white spirit radiated a powerful energy, something eerily similar to Kain's aura. However, the black spirit exuded a twisted, malevolent force-dark and suffocating.

The white soul trembled in pain, while the black soul howled in fury.

"Impossible! How did you escape my grasp?!" the dark shadow screeched, its voice trembling with panic. "If I had absorbed the energy of just a few more Supreme warriors, your soul would have been completely devoured!"

The white soul let out a deep, rumbling laugh.

"Enough of your twisted games! This ends now!"

The black shadow sneered.

"Still holding onto your old ideals? If you just accept me, we could achieve limitless power and glory! Why waste your strength on this pointless struggle?"

The white spirit's eyes burned with defiance.

"Power? Glory? I know all about your vile ambitions!"

"Then suffer!" the dark shadow hissed before lunging forward in a vicious attack!

"Fire Spirit, help me!" the white soul cried out to Baya.

Baya immediately stepped forward, standing between them, and the mark on his forehead flared even brighter.

For the first time, the dark spirit's face twisted in fear.

"No! That's the Rebirth Seal!"

Baya's overwhelming energy pinned the black shadow in place. It struggled, trying to escape, but it was too late.

"No! We have to run-!" the black shadow shrieked, but Baya's energy engulfed it completely.

The white soul smiled in gratitude.

"Fire Spirit... I will never forget this favor."

Alex, still trying to process everything, suddenly felt the world around them start to collapse.

A powerful vortex formed, threatening to swallow everything.

Baya's expression shifted.

"Why are you still here?" He turned toward the Golden Dragon, realization dawning on him.

The dragon's eyes gleamed with urgency.

"There's no time! This dimension is about to collapse! Follow me-I'll explain everything later!"

Without hesitation, the Golden Dragon raised its claws and formed a seal, tearing open a dimensional gateway. A shimmering pathway emerged in the fractured space.

Alex noticed the dragon's energy had weakened considerably. After that intense battle, it was clear that opening this portal drained it even further.

"Let's go!"

Without waiting for Alex's approval, the dragon's spirit merged into his ring.

The surrounding void shattered completely, pulling them into the new path.

A few moments later, they emerged before an ancient gate.

The Ancient Gate of Flame Mastar Terrence.

A familiar scent filled the air.

Suddenly, Alex's divine energy trembled violently, as if it had just found a long-lost companion!

His eyes widened.

"What is this place?"

He turned to the Golden Dragon, who gazed at the gate with tear-filled eyes.

"Ten thousand years... I've finally returned." The dragon's voice trembled with emotion.

"Terrence... where have you gone all these years?"

Even Baya stared at the ancient gate, the mark on his forehead glowing even brighter.

The Golden Dragon took a deep breath.

"Come, Fire Spirit. I need your help to open this door."

He muttered something under his breath, and the mark on Baya's forehead detached-floating toward the gate like a beacon of light.

The ground trembled.

The massive gate creaked as it began to open.

A blinding surge of energy burst forth.

It felt like a slumbering dragon had awakened.

For a moment, Alex struggled to breathe, overwhelmed by the sheer pressure of its presence.

But strangely, amidst the suffocating power-

He felt something else.

A sense of belonging.

"What is all this?" Thousands of questions flooded Alex's mind, but he suppressed them and slowly followed Baya and the Golden Dragon inside.

The sight within was rather simple. There were no treasures, only a stone staircase leading to an old man sitting calmly at the top. He was dressed in black robes, his face unremarkable-except for his strikingly multicolored hair. Aside from that, he looked like an ordinary elderly man.

Alex had seen this man before. The power he had inherited from the Legendary Flame Master had come from this very old man.

"This is the ancient Flame Master, Terrence!" Alex whispered in awe.

The old man slowly opened his closed eyes and gazed at Dhruv.

"Disciple Alex greets the elder!" Alex bowed respectfully.

If it weren't for Tarishi's Flame Master legacy, Alex wouldn't have made it this far. Since he had inherited his power, calling himself his disciple wasn't wrong.

"You have great potential, young one."

The old man sighed and looked at the Golden Dragon with a somber expression.

"Little ghost, you have endured unimaginable suffering all these years..." Terrence said, exhaling deeply.

"Baya, come here." Terrence smiled and extended his hand, releasing a soft white light toward the Golden Dragon. The dragon's soul, which had been flickering weakly, gradually became more solid. Baya, perched on Terrence's shoulder, seemed to be trying to remember something.

"Is that... the Rebirth Seal?" Terrence murmured as he observed the glowing mark on Baya's forehead.

Alex, still processing everything, finally spoke up. "Elder, when I reached the Flame Master Rank, I felt an increasing resistance to remaining in the lower world. But why were we attacked while transitioning to this new world?"

Terrence sighed deeply. "Every warrior who ascends from the lower world is usually received by someone here. However, the pathway between our world and this one was destroyed ten thousand years ago in a great war..."

Alex felt a weight settle in his heart at those words.

"Elder, what exactly is this mysterious mark on Baya's forehead?" Alex asked, concerned.

Terrence's expression turned serious. "That is the Rebirth Seal. It is a mark left by ancient warriors, granting the bearer access to their immense power when the time is right."

Alex looked at Baya, who now had a strange glint in his eyes. "Don't worry, I will never let anything happen to you," Alex promised.

Terrence continued, **"The war ten thousand years ago was beyond devastating. The mightiest warriors of the universe joined forces against the Dark Tyrant, Mo Tianyin. The battle lasted for a decade, and in the end, our greatest heroes sacrificed their entire life force to seal Mo Tianyin and his followers. But they were never truly destroyed.

Now, after ten thousand years, Mo Tianyin's minions are attempting to free him once again. To stop them, we must unite all the Supreme Warriors once more. However, even if you reach the Flame Master Rank, you can only suppress dark Tyrant Mo Tianyin-you cannot destroy him. If you truly wish to kill him, you must ascend to the Grand Flame Master Rank, a level I was never able to achieve in my life.

Alex, my presence here is merely a fragment of my soul, preserved so that if a Flame Master from the lower world ever arrived, they would learn the truth about Mo Tianyin's threat.

To defeat him, you must find the three Supreme Warriors. One of them is you, and I can sense that another has already awakened in Plutonia. That means only one remains to be found.

As for reaching the Grand Flame Master Rank, perhaps I can offer you some help. You are already aware of the Flame Mantra, but what you possess is incomplete. Would you like to learn the true, complete Flame Mantra?"**

A series of shadowy figures stood near the colossal stone gate.

"The true Flame Mantra!" Alex had built his success in the lower world upon the Flame Mantra's cultivation techniques. Though his own efforts and determination had played a key role, he couldn't deny that the Flame Mantra had given him a foundation.

"Elder, please guide me!" Alex said resolutely.

Though he didn't fully understand what the true Flame Mantra was, he knew one thing: in this unfamiliar new world, power was the only thing that mattered.

He needed to revive his ancestor, find his lost companions, and reunite with his beloved.

For that, he required absolute strength. Without hesitation, he agreed.

"Boom!"

A mysterious ancient scroll suddenly appeared in Terrence's hand.

The moment Alex laid eyes on it, he felt the divine light within him shudder violently, as if it were resonating with the scroll. Even his Flame Mantra reacted restlessly.

It was as if this single piece of parchment held an unfathomable truth that could shake the very core of his existence.

"Elder, what is this?" Alex asked, his heartbeat quickening.

He knew one thing for certain-Terrence would never harm him.

"This is the True Flame Mantra," Elder Terrence spoke in a calm voice.

"The True Flame Mantra?" Alex's mind was shaken to the core. Back in Markas, a part of his soul had once told him that everything he had achieved was thanks to the Flame Mantra. But even then, Elder Terrence himself had said that he didn't know who had created the Flame Mantra. And now, he was holding the complete technique in his hands! How was that possible?

"So that's why my divine light is restless! No, to be precise, the Flame Mantra within me is reacting to this true technique as if it were incomplete!" Alex realized that what he had obtained in Markas was like an unfinished map, whereas Elder Terrence held the complete picture.

Elder Terrence observed Alex with a faint smile, as if he could read every thought running through his mind.

"Does all of this seem unbelievable?" he asked.

"The soul fragment in Markas was created when I had just reached the Archmage rank. You inherited my divine light platform, but not the complete cultivation method. After ten thousand years, the knowledge of my technique had been limited to what I had achieved back then, and due to the passage of time, much of it had become incomplete.

"But now, I am here with my full soul consciousness, my last remaining fragment before I departed from the world," Elder Terrence explained slowly.

Alex finally understood! When he had inherited the elder's legacy in the House of the Archmage, Terrence had hesitated to say something. It was because his memories were incomplete!

"Alright, come and feel this technique carefully." Elder Terrence smiled. With his soul power, he knew that Alex was the right successor to carry forward his legacy.

Alex looked at the black scroll in the elder's hands and then smirked slightly, "I don't know what lies ahead, but it seems our fates are quite intertwined."

Without hesitation, he grabbed the black scroll.

The moment his palm touched the scroll, a searing pain spread through his body.

"Hmm?" Alex looked toward Elder Terrence. He had already obtained multiple divine Flame, so this burning sensation couldn't possibly harm him, but he still cast a questioning gaze at the elder.

"Don't worry, the Flame Mantra is analyzing what divine lights reside within you. The true Flame Mantra requires multiple divine lights for cultivation," Terrence explained.

A tiny flame emerged from the scroll and darted into Alex's body. At first, it felt as if it was frantically moving around inside him, but soon he realized that it was actually scanning him.

When the flame reached his reservoir of powers-where all his divine lights were stored-it suddenly became still. At that moment, all the secrets of his body lay bare before the tiny flame.

Moments later, the flame exited his body, and suddenly, a dazzling light burst forth from the scroll! A powerful energy surged out, forcing Alex to bend slightly under its pressure. Even the Golden Dragon and Baya could feel the overwhelming force emanating from it. Then, a message echoed in Alex's mind.

"This cultivation method is called the Flame Mantra! It is divided into Four stages! The first stage-Burning the Foundation! The second-Burning the Soul! The third-Burning the Body! The fourth-Burning the Sky! where you can create an entire dimensional world! It was created by a deity using all his strength, and it is my greatest achievement! Whoever inherits it will face both immense power and deadly dangers! I hope it will be used for the greater good of the world."

Alex's eyes widened. The image he had just seen bore the same symbol as his clan!

"Elder, how is this technique connected to my clan?" Alex asked immediately.

"To uncover that truth, you must become stronger," Elder Terrence said seriously. "But there's one more thing you must do. You must gather as many divine lights as possible. The more divine lights you acquire, the better. This is connected to your clan and the battle ahead. And remember, until you reach the Grand Flame Master rank, do not use your clan's symbol!"

Alex took a deep breath and engraved the Flame Mantra into his mind. The path ahead was about to become even more challenging, but he had no choice but to move forward!

"One more thing... I have a request," Elder Terrence suddenly said with a hint of sadness in his voice. "Have you met the Golden Dragon?"

"Terrence, you and I are brothers. You don't need to blame yourself like this!" The Golden Dragon spoke to him, his piercing gaze locked onto the elder despite his current state.

"When our kingdom was on the brink of destruction, had you not brought the Dragon Clan to our aid, I wouldn't be alive today! Victor, you defied your entire clan and bore the accusations of betrayal for my sake. I deeply regret that. Now, my disciple Alex will be the one to repay this debt."

"I am truly ashamed!" Guilt flickered in Terrence's eyes.

"Brother?" Alex muttered under his breath. It seemed there was a deep connection between the elder and the Golden Dragon. However, he chose to remain silent and listen.

"Victor, stop arguing and listen to me! My master and I placed a reincarnation seal upon ourselves, and we will awaken for the next great battle. But for now, the most important task is yours! You must first rebuild your physical body, then return to the Dragon Clan and clear your name. After that, you must regain your full strength to face the impending calamity. Before falling into deep slumber, Master had foretold that what is to come could be the ultimate end."

"My brother, having you in this lifetime has been my greatest fortune. This time, my disciple will be the one to protect you." Elder Terrence's voice resonated in Victor' mind. The emotions between these two brothers were beyond words.