Author Romeru
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Chapter 46: The Wrath of the Master of Shadows
🕑 Added 2024-11-05 15:36:15 +0000 UTC“Your death will not even be enough to quench my wrath!”
The icy flame that gripped Julian’s neck grew tighter by the second, almost reflecting the wrath that was seeping out from the flame spirit’s lips. Her face which was veiled in a flickering frost, twisted into a deep scowl as she glared at Julian—the disgust in her deep eyes, almost drowning.
“You…” She hissed, her voice even colder than the flames dancing around her, “You foolish mortal.”
“Hm…” Julian slightly tilted his head to the side as the Avatar of Searadyn’s burning hands tightened even more, her fingers like a cold and sharp iron, “Tell me, what gave you the audacity to touch my flames? Do you even understand who you’re dealing with?”
“I was only hoping to—”
“Silence, child!” The flames dancing atop her head exploded. She stared at Julian for a few more seconds before her grip finally loosened, her deep eyes now looking at Julian like he was some sort of insect that she could crush at any moment.
“What exactly are you trying to accomplish here?” She continued, the disgust in her voice even more prevalent now, “Do you think this ridiculous act of… stoicism and ridiculous self-confidence can get you through a trial of fire? Where blacksmiths more skillful than you have failed?”
“I’m… not here to accomplish anything, or to prove myself better than those that came before.” Julian sighed, “I am only here to ask for your help… that your flames might assist me in making a weapon I need.”
“Huh…?” For a moment, the spirit was silent, her flames dancing and crackling as she stared at him in disbelief.
“Help you make a weapon?” she repeated, a hint of mocking amusement dripping from each word, “A simpleton who hasn’t even earned the title of [Blacksmith] has the nerve to ask a spirit of frostfire for help? Pathetic.”
“I know.” Julian once again sighed, this time a hint of a smile crawling on his face as he spoke to the fire spirit, “It’s just—”
“No.” The Avatar of Searadyn raised her palm, cutting Julian off as her eyes narrowed; the flames dancing around her, now hissing wildly, “What even made you think you could ever possibly deserve my power?”
“Uhm…” Julian scratched his chin, “...Please?”
“Please…?” The Avatar of Searadyn’s eyes twitched at the word. And soon, her flames erupted in a wild, icy blaze, “You truly have no fear, do you?”
The Avatar’s voice lowered, turning into an ominous whisper. “Then I suppose it’s time I teach you the cost of such arrogance.”
The Avatar of Searadyn did not let Julian respond at all. She suddenly flew toward him, embracing him with her frostfire, literally. The chill bit into Julian’s skin, the icy burn crawling through him like a trillion ants.
And yet, Julian did not pull away at all. Even as the flames surged over him, even as he found himself engulfed by the frozen inferno, Julian did not pull away. Instead…
…he even welcomed the flames and embraced the Avatar of Searadyn back.
***
“Julian!?”
Back in the smithy, Cyrus and Juliet both gasped as they saw a thin trail of smoke curling up from Julian’s body, his skin paling as if freezing from within.
“Julian!” Juliet’s voice broke through the tense silence as she reached out to him instinctively, but the old guildmaster held up a hand, blocking her path.
“Stay back!” the guild master warned, his voice sharp. “That fire isn’t something mortals like us could handle. If you touch him now, you’ll only burn along with him!”
“But we can’t just leave him there!” Cyrus protested, his usually calm demeanor gone. He even almost turned off the chat there and then. After all, who wants to see their idol burn alive… even if it was just a clone? “There has to be something we can do!”
<LifeLies: Do something cyrus! WTF!?>
<PicklePirata: gg. been a good run. RIP Sword Junkie>
<DanteGulapers: F>
<SwordJunkieNo.1Fan: You think the Sword Junkie will end here!? Then you do not know him at all!>
<PepeTheThragg: i dont like this guy since he’s so perfect, but i dont want him to die!>
<PicklePirata: lol. Chill. He can still stream IRL>
“No.” The guildmaster shook his head, eyes dark with resignation. “It’s too late for the boy—he has been doomed by his hubris.”
“No.” Juliet clenched her fists, refusing to look away from Julian’s smoldering figure. “It’s not over. Julian can handle this.”
Meanwhile, within the strange blue domain, Julian was groveled to the ground, completely engulfed in frostfire, his body burning under the Avatar’s pettiness. Yet, even as the flames licked at him, biting into his skin and crackling with deadly intensity, he made no sound.
“What’s the matter, child?” The Avatar watched him closely, irritation twisting her features as she noticed his calm expression, “Are you too weak to even scream, child? Where is your confidence now!?”
“Why…” Julian glanced up at her, his eyes steady even through the scalding cold. “...Why is your kind always so violent and unreasonable? This… this is the second time I’m being… harassed like this.”
“What would you know about my kind?” The Avatar’s flames faltered slightly, her face contorting in frustration as she heard Julian’s words. And then, with a sharp wave of her hand, the flames around Julian extinguished in an instant.
His body, however, was left completely charred and battered.
“Enough,” she snarled, her gaze piercing. “I will ask again. Tell me, mortal… what makes you think you are worthy of wielding my flames?”
“I’m…” Julian slowly rose to his feet, his charred skin crumbling and flaking—snowing ash on the blue ground beneath him. He couldn’t even feel any of the pain anymore, “I’m not worthy. I came to you because I want to make something I’ve never had before. A cold flame, that’s something I’ve never even heard before—and when I heard you crackle in that forge…
…you sounded lonely.”
“Huh…?” The Avatar’s eyes narrowed as she examined him, her flames flickering slightly lower; her voice a mixture of disbelief and restrained anger, “You think… I’m lonely?”
“Yes.” Julian hummed, “But also so… beautiful.”
“W…what are you even saying!?” The Avatar’s flames flickered.
“And it’s not that I don’t possess a [Blacksmith] class—I’m actually also here because of a quest. It’s for a [Unique] Blacksmith class, and when I saw you for the first time… I knew already that you could help me achieve that with ease.”
“You…” The Avatar of Searadyn stared at him in silence for a moment before her laughter erupted again, louder and harsher than before. “A quest for a [Unique] Blacksmith class? You… a mortal without even a Class… dare dream of something so grand? Do you even understand the depth of your own ignorance? What…
…What sort of imbecile would even give someone like you, a simpleton, a quest!?”
Her laughter reverberated through the blue domain, but soon, a ripple spread across the azure space, the light around them dimming as shadows began creeping up from beneath Julian’s feet.
“Hm?” Julian blinked, watching as the shadows crawled throughout the domain.
And of course, the Avatar’s laughter ceased there and then.
“What… what is this?” the Avatar’s voice grew uncertain, her flames flickering erratically as she glanced around, “What did you—”
[You dare call me an imbecile!?]
Julian’s eyes widened as words suddenly materialized in the air before him. He didn’t even need to guess, he instantly recognized the presence that filled the space.
“W…what!?” And although the words only came to Julian as a message in his mind, the Avatar actually seemed to hear it as she clutched her flaming ears, obviously in pain.
“Who… who are you!?” The Avatar of Searadyn’s flames dimmed further, the once blinding light of frostfire turning into a faint glow under the consuming darkness of the shadows. She stumbled back, her hands clutching her head as if the voice physically hurt her.
“What have I done to deserve your wrath?”
[I am the Master of Shadows, puny spirit. And you have shown me insolence.]
“The… the Master of Shadows. Could it be…” The Avatar’s form trembled, her once proud posture shrinking under the oppressive weight of the words.
“But… you’ve perished eons ago.”
[And yet here I am.] The shadows rippled violently in response, the surrounding darkness now coiling around the flaming silhouette of the Avatar of Searadyn.
“Uhm…” And Julian watched in confusion as the Avatar’s flames wavered, her power seemingly shrinking under the relentless shadows.
The Avatar of Searadyn’s fierce flame dulled to a faint flicker, her once blazing frostfire now subdued and trembling in the presence of the Master of Shadows. She fell to her knees, casting a fearful look toward Julian, then to the shadows, her hands reaching up as though to shield herself.
“Please… forgive me,” she stammered, her voice stripped of all its previous confidence. “Master of Shadows… I… I had no knowledge that you… you have touched this mortal with your primor—”
[Submit or perish.] The Master of Shadows did not let the Avatar of Searadyn finish her words, the shadows that now veiled the entire domain, trembling in rage, [You, not even a spirit herself, only an Avatar… actually dare to question my only acolyte?]
“I… I truly did not know. I—”
[Silence! Submit or perish!]
“I…I…” The Avatar’s gaze moved toward Julian, her once disdainful expression now a mixture of fear and confusion. And with hesitant, trembling hands, she held out her palms to him in a gesture of surrender, her flickering now radiating submission instead of authority.
“Uh…” Although Julian somewhat had an idea of what was happening, he was still completely confused about everything. The only thing he could really do was step forward, glancing at the Avatar’s outstretched palms, “What am I doing?”
He hesitated, unsure if he was supposed to shake her hand, pat it, or do something else entirely. And so, with a quiet sigh, he simply placed his burnt hand against hers.
“Kh…!?” The moment their hands connected, a surge of power shot through him, the dark domain around them starting to ripple and crack as the Avatar’s flames crawled and melded with his charred skin. The blue hue of the realm intensified, and the cracks spread over his body like molten lines—the blue hue violently seeping out of each crack and line.
Julian felt a strange heat engulf him—not the intense, scalding pain he’d felt before, but something warm and cold at the same time, healing, as if the fire was becoming part of him.
His burnt skin began to flake and peel away along with the darkness that shrouded the domain, revealing smooth, untouched skin beneath.
And very soon, the darkness that had swallowed the realm faded back into the light blue hue, restoring the tranquil atmosphere.
“Okay…?” Julian looked around, lightly humming as he felt the change.
The Avatar of Searadyn was still kneeling in front of him; her head, fully bowed down in submission. Her entire form, now radiated a calm and subdued pain.
[Congratulations, Julian Winters.]
And before he could actually speak with the now subdued Avatar, a message flashed before him in a soft, calming manner—obviously the [Guidance of Artemia].
The words hung in the air for a moment, then another message popped up,
[You have tamed an Avatar of Searadyn, the Spirit of Frostfire. As the first [Classless] to accomplish such a feat, the gods have granted you 10 Free Points as a token of their admiration.]
Julian stared at the words, his expression a mixture of bewilderment and amusement as more notifications began piling up in front of him.
“Uhm…” Julian shook his head, scratching the back of his neck as the congratulatory messages kept popping up,
“...But I did nothing?”
[LAST CHAPTER] <-----> [NEXT CHAPTER]
Guys, did you get alerted when this became available to Tier 1? Or only when I edited it and said to update?
AUTHOR NOTES
Master of Shadows probably trying to court Julian after what he did to him last time they were in the empty space. lol
Comments
Rommel Sabido
Yeah. Patreon's not too good at notifying too much T_T
IdolTrust
Weird. I don’t get any alerts for chapter updates. I forgot this novel. I just noticed I had a membership when I was reading it on RR
Rommel Sabido
Master of shadows probably trying to redeem himself lol. Thank you!
MavTech
Great chapter. Chills and cheers for this interaction of spirit, avatar and MC. Well done!
Manpapper
I only got a mail, no notification on patreon.
Rommel Sabido
Oh, thanks for that! By the way, did you get notified when this chapter was released from the Tier 2? Or was it when it was updated?
Manpapper
She suddenly flew toward her It should be him not her Thanks for the chapter
