B5 Chapter 39

The world around me faded away. There was no distortion of space, but I was no longer in Dracos. The sea of magma beneath my feet, the Red Dragons and Wyverns soaring through the sky, and the active volcano made that fairly obvious.

I popped up in a very familiar realm, facing an even more familiar face. A humanoid being clad in the purest of flames I’d ever seen before appeared before me. He floated above me, maybe to show that I was beneath him, or maybe just because he liked looking down on others. But I did not mind, not as much as last time.

Volca, Spirit of Fire, and the owner of this fiery dimension, was as powerful as he used to be, yet I no longer felt as helpless looking at him. He was still stronger than I could ever hope to become, but even if the Fire Spirit had only pulled my consciousness into his domain, I felt stronger than ever.

Releasing my Insignia, swirling my spirit power, the magma beneath me split. The ground stirred, and a plateau made of hardened stone formed underfoot.

“It appears you learned how to use your Insignia.” Volca said, and while he did not have a smile it felt like the Fire Spirit was smiling at me. “We sensed the resurrection of Earth. Congratulations.”

They sensed Aureus’ ascension? That was a surprise. Then again, it was likely more surprising that the Spirits didn’t intervene.

“Thank you.” I called out cautiously. “But… you do not mind the rise of a new Earthen Spirit?”

“If we did, we wouldn’t have allowed you to live. Or Aureus, for that matter.” It almost sounded like Volca wanted to say more, but he changed the topic instead. “You are growing faster. Your connection to the Earthen Spirit seems to have nourished both you and Earth quite a bit. He is still a young Spirit and has to learn a lot, but you and your companions should be strong enough to fight the Thousand-year-old Spawns by now. That is pleasant to see.”

A tinge of worry seeped into the Spirit’s voice, which was all I needed to hear to know what was happening here. The Fire Spirit called for me to join the hunt of the Spawns.

I didn’t feel like beating around the bush, so I got straight to the point. “More Spawns have been sighted in the last few months. That’s why you’re here, aren’t you?”

The Fire Spirit’s form grew and expanded into a human-like torch of pure fire the size of a small house. “Yes. The Spirits talked about it, and we came to a decision. We want you and Earth to hunt more Spawns. You and the young Earthen Spirit need to accumulate more experience with our nemesis. The Insignia is the key to stopping the Devourer’s invasion, which, of course, means you need to learn more about the Spawns as well as the Insignia.”

That sounded reasonable enough. Although it was also a little annoying because it didn’t sound like the Spirits would make a move either. This talk about combat experience and studying the Insignia was more of an excuse, wasn’t it?

“You mentioned that I’ve grown a lot, but I know a way that’d help me grow even stronger.” I voiced, my heart skipping a beat. Was this the right time to ask, or would it have been better to wait it out?

There goes nothing. I mused before adding out loud, “The Elemental Phoenix. Volix, I need him to grow stronger.”

Volca didn’t respond right away. I felt him size me up from head to toe for a while before saying, “Is that really it? To grow stronger?”

The Fire Spirit waved his hand and a tiny flame appeared within it. At first glance, the flame resembled Volca. It burned as brightly as Volca, yet there was something different about it. Something so very familiar.

The sight put a smile on my lips.

Volix, once more sealed in his own flames to recuperate for the decades and centuries to come. But there was more to it, for I felt a part of myself within him.

My hand reached toward the distant flame resting in Volca’s hand and pulled. Spirit power flowed out of the Insignia en masse, to which the flame responded in kind. It floated toward me with surprising eagerness, only to be stopped by a burst of fire-aspected spirit power. Volca stopped the process without a word, which was reason enough for me to pull even harder. After all, the Fire Spirit hadn’t said anything. He resisted, but no words to stop me had been uttered.

Alas, Volca’s resistance grew stronger and he retrieved Volix’s flame.

“What do you want?” I gasped, ignoring the beads of sweat pouring down my temples and back. “Is it because you’re afraid that Volix will ascend to a Spirit like Aureus did?”

“I am not afraid of the phoenix’s rise. If anything, I welcome the rise of the New Order. As long as that means we can remove the threat of the Devourer, I am willing to do anything.” Volca said with conviction. He sounded dead serious, yet I could not help but wonder how serious the Fire Spirit truly was.

Was he really willing to do ‘anything’ to stop the Devourer? What about dying? Would he sacrifice his life to end the Devourer?

“You don’t seem convinced. That is acceptable. I do not need to convince you or anyone to know how I feel.” Volca chuckled mirthlessly. “As for what I want from you… Isn’t it obvious? I want you to eliminate more Spawns and start focusing on closing Fractures. You focused long enough on your own growth and that of your Soulkins.”

“You do not have to kill the Devourer. Nobody expects you to fight a being strong enough to emerge victorious against the Gods. It consumed them, further strengthening the Devourer. Not even the Primal can defeat such a grotesque being.”

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In a way, Volca’s request was not all that unreasonable. I possessed the power to defeat Spawns without having to use the power bestowed upon the Vowed. The Vowed or Blessed used their life force to wield the Spirits’ power, which was not a problem I faced. But Volca never truly mentioned the end goal. What was their final goal? To kill the Devourer… was unlikely considering that he himself mentioned that not even the Primal or the Gods could kill it.

“Why me, though? Is it because I have the Primal Fragment? If so, there should be more than one, right? I’m pretty sure I remember someone mentioning that the Primal split himself up into many Fragments before dying. I shouldn’t be the only Primal Heir, let alone the one with the most potential to stop this nonsense.” I certainly didn’t feel like a hero in shining armor, nor was I particularly happy about the prospect of fighting a god-devouring foe.

Unfortunately, Volca didn’t bother responding. That was understandable in more than one way, but I also wanted to know what the Spirits talked about.

“I know that look, and I agree.” The Fire Spirit spoke slowly in a low voice. “I think you deserve some answers.”

Even when he said that, Volca hesitated. “You should know that the Primal Spirit is not dead. Not exactly, at least.”

He wasn’t dead? That… made no sense. Like less than zero sense, actually. But given the discomfort radiating from the Fire Spirit, which, for all I knew, was a first, made me swallow the comments that were coming to my mind.

“The Primal is alive but dying. He fused with the Realm he ruled a long time ago when the Devourer arrived. Knowing all there was to know about the enemy, the Allfather prepared for the inevitable. He split off a portion of his power, materialized in what we now call Primal Fragments, before activating his trap, sealing himself and the Devourer in the Primal Realm when he descended.”

“Truth be told, the Primal is as good as dead. The Primal Realm is being consumed, and all the Primal can do is endure and stall for more time. However, time is against us. It moves tirelessly and allowed the Devourer to create small gaps in the fabric of reality. He cannot leave the Primal Realm until the last of the seals has been removed, but with an effort of will, he creates Fractures and Spawns. Every Fracture and every Spawn created by the Devourer gives us more time, but only if neither Spawn nor Fracture are given enough time to return to the Devourer with the life and energy they consumed. The more power they channel back to him, the weaker the seals restraining him become.”

A heavy sigh escaped the Fire Spirit, “But closing Fractures is not all that easy. Eliminating Spawns, eradicating their very existence, can be done with little to no spirit power depending on the power used. However, to close a Fracture, Spirit Essence is needed. And that drains us. It weakens us permanently. We’re growing weaker with every Fracture we close, except if we consume Heart Essence.”

That was why they consumed humans. Why Thyria was so obsessed with our race. At least, that was the reasoning I came up with.

“If we can stop the Devourer from coming over, eliminate the Spawns before they can devour anything, or possibly even close the Fractures before they fully form, we can gather the power needed to seal him away forever.” Volca continued to explain. “Or so was the initial plan. Nowadays, with the seals growing weaker with every century, the situation is even worse than predicted.”

He stared deep into my soul. “You need to grow stronger, Adam Savier. To stop the Devourer. It is a heavy burden, and you are correct to assume that there were a lot more Primal Fragments, but most beings succumbed to the power resting within the Primal Fragment. Those carrying them either died young, before we could find them, or they were found by the Devourer’s Spawns first. The only Fragments that remain are in Death’s possession. She collected them over the centuries and promised to give them to you, if you continue to help us. If you go through with this until the very end.”

That part sounded important to Volca or maybe all the Spirits, but I could only nod numbly. All I’d wanted was to get the Elemental Phoenix back. Stopping the Devourer with my meagre power was simply impossible. It was important that someone stopped the Devourer, but was I really the right person for that?

And what if the Devourer could be sealed away? What then? I could… No, I really didn’t know what I wanted to do once this all was over.

Survive. Then fight!

Nox exclaimed, but that wasn’t it. Sure, survival was crucial, but the fighting part… I wasn’t too sure about that anymore. Ever since I arrived at Dracos, I felt a little different. Killing the Ruler had been necessary, and I knew the same could be said about the Devourer and the Spawns, but what then?

You could rest. Enjoy yourself.

Aureus pointed out. That I would do. Rest for a while, maybe even a few months once the Devourer was dead. And after that?

You can always explore Razarn. Is that not what you wanted to do anyway?

Sapsie said excitedly.

Visit other races, learn about their culture, befriend them.

That sounded exciting. Promising even. Definitely something I’d do… Right.

“What do you want me to do? Defeat Spawns and close Fractures?” I could do that easily enough. Sealing away the Devourer may be above my pay grade, but a bunch of Spawns sounded like no problem. As for the Fractures, I was fairly sure my Insignia could do something about them. Probably?

“Or do you want me to bind the Spawns and use them against the Devourer?”

Binding some of the Spawns would probably be quite helpful, especially since they all possessed the power to devour all life and ether. Maybe they could feast on each other. But I was not too sure what would happen once they did.

“Yes, yes, you can do all that…” Volca was happier about my approval than the content of my words. But he slowed as the words registered until he came to a full stop. “Bind them?”

He stared intensely as if burning a hole into my World. “What are you talking about?”

Did he not know? Wasn’t that part of the reason Volca and the other Spirits considered my power so important?

“I can bind Spawns. At least, I am pretty sure I can. My World responds to them as much as it does to other beasts.” I explained matter-of-factly, silencing whatever response Volca had prepared.

No more words were exchanged for several minutes, until my patience finally ran out. Then, without explanation, I felt a familiar pull. Volca’s power embraced me, not to pull me into his dimension but to throw me out of it.

“Oi! What about Volix!?” I reached for the flame in Volca’s hand once more, and it trembled. I could feel its desire to come to me, but it was to no avail.

The last I saw before getting whisked away was Volca staring into the distance.

“I need to tell the others.” He muttered. “This changes everything.”

A moment later, the space around me faded away, and I woke up in my room.

“That… was a waste of time.” I grumbled, cursing Volca once more for keeping Volix away from me.

Shaking my head, a grimace spread all over my face. The Spirits’ expectations weighed heavily on my shoulders, but there was a saving grace. I was not alone. Never had been. Never would be.