Chapter 86: Fire in the hole
Just then, Night realized something he had missed earlier and asked, "Your Chosen?"
[Blaze] looked down at him with a smirk. "What a lucky kid. All it took was playing a simple board game and... bam... Chosen!" He made a dramatic, theatrical display with his hands.
Night looked at the chatterbox God, then pointed at himself in disbelief. "Chosen?"
( ﾟoﾟ)
[Blaze] nodded proudly. "Yes." The fiery red flames danced on his head as if they had a life of their own.
Night asked, just to clarify, "You are not mad that I got the game?"
[Blaze] gave an unamused chuckle. "Why would I be mad at you? If anyone, I should be mad at that damn crow."
Night sighed in relief. He didn’t know what he would do against a Primordial God. The title itself screamed absolute strength.
[Blaze] continued, "That crow was similar to the invisible cockroach that sneaked in with Sara."
Night looked at him, asking curiously, "You know about them?"
[Blaze] waved his hand, gesturing for Night to sit down on the mat while he went to pick up the popcorn. "I know about them because of a specific past incident. I never thought a Void God could be that competent. They are usually incredibly stupid, even the ones that have strength close to mine."
As he picked up two tubs of popcorn, he added, "The crow was weird. It felt like it was natively from our cosmos, but at the same time, its fire of life felt completely different. It was as if it was not from this cosmos, which should be impossible."
[Blaze] walked over and handed one tub of popcorn to Night as he sat down cross-legged in front of him and explained furthur. "It’s not that the powerhouses of the universe have never thought of leaving the cosmos. It’s a pretty basic thought: since a star system is bigger than a planet, a galaxy is bigger than a star system, and a universe is bigger than a galaxy... there must be a place larger than the cosmos."
Munch, munch.
As he ate, he casually continued his chatter. "But no one has managed to leave. I tried many times in my youth when I was full of the adventuring spirit. But it was a waste of time. The [Void] outside the cosmos is completely different in nature."
He looked at Night, gesturing for the boy to eat as well, before continuing. "After I gave up exploring outside the cosmos, I started looking inside, exploring as many hidden regions as I could. That was exactly when I encountered this crow. It looked like a mundane mortal bird, but it was incredibly smart and had a highly unique feel to it. Thinking it would make a good companion for my granddaughter, I brought it back."
Munch, munch.
Night, eating the popcorn, guessed, "Then it showed its true colors. It stole the game and ran away."
[Blaze] winced, as if remembering a personal trauma. "Yes. It was docile at the start, but when it saw the game, it looked like a switch had been flipped inside its brain. After a week, it stole it and flew away. I gave chase, but the more I chased, the faster it flew! I mean, I can cross the entire cosmos in minutes if I run at full speed, but somehow... the bird was faster!"
[Blaze] gritted his teeth in annoyance. "And just when I finally managed to completely corner it... it simply flew right out of the cosmos."
Night frowned in thought. "Why were you not able to chase it outside the cosmos?"
[Blaze] sighed heavily. "Didn’t I just say it’s not possible? When we leave the cosmos, after some time, we just inexplicably find ourselves right back inside it. It’s like a boundary. Think of a cup, where our cosmos is the water. My guess is that these bizarre beings know how to turn themselves from water into a cup, allowing them to permanently stay in the [Void]."
"I tried to do it as well, but failed. I felt I was missing many crucial things to make it happen."
[Blaze] shook his head, returning to the main topic. "So, Night, when will you actually go adventuring? You are very young, but you have that Witch and the Unique Being who are more than willing to act as your bodyguards, so it shouldn’t be too much danger for you."
Night replied honestly, "We will soon."
[Blaze] said seriously, "I am saying this because your planet’s situation doesn’t look good at all. While there are many brilliant talents down there, none of them have much of a possibility to overcome the future trials."
Night thought about it. As long as his walking-disaster self was on the planet, he doubted it would have a good future anyway.
[Blaze] encouraged him. "You should try to save the planet."
Night pointed at himself in shock. "Me?!"
( 〇 □ 〇 )
[Blaze] grinned. "It’s a good challenge! You will naturally grow stronger much faster this way, instead of just walking your evolutionary path blindly."
Night pondered this. He didn’t have much attachment to the world, except for his small circle of friends. Even Levi Rose, in his inherited memories, had very little attachment to it. The grand, heroic idea of ’saving the world’ felt incredibly remote and foreign to him.
Night said hesitantly, "I don’t think I am suitable for this..."
[Blaze] spoke wisely, his tone shifting. "I know you feel the world hasn’t given you much reason to care about it, but you exist because of this world. To protect it is only natural. Having a much larger purpose allows you to push beyond your limitations easily."
"I am talking from personal experience here."
Night frowned. A larger purpose? But won’t I doom the world just by existing? If he followed that train of thought, he might literally have to kill himself just to keep the world safe...
But then he suddenly remembered Stan from the Inheritance Ground, the kid who entered the Alchemic Pot Legacy. Despite being a Berserker, Stan had desperately wanted to change his fate by taking up Alchemy.
Night’s mood suddenly brightened. If he was a natural disaster, then he might as well bring that disaster directly to the bad guys... Why didn’t I think of this before?!
Seeing the dangerous sparkle return to the boy’s eyes, [Blaze] was immensely pleased with himself.
So easy to trick a kid...
[Blaze] spoke righteously, "Alright then! Let’s create a bright future for everyone!"
He extended an arm. Night also extended his small arm on reflex and they shook hands.
Immediately, Night felt a profound connection form between him and [Blaze], and a surge of divine energy entered his soul.
[Ding!]
[You have received a Title: Blaze’s Chosen]
[Blaze’s Chosen: Blessed are many, but Chosen are few. One of the 12 Primordial Gods of the Cosmos has chosen you.
Reward: Fire Aspect]
[Ding!]
[You have received a Skill]
[Fire in the Hole (Divine) (???)]
[Fire in the Hole: When shit is about to hit the fan, what better way is there to respond than to scream "Fire in the hole!" and run for your little life?]
Looking up at [Blaze], Night was surprised.
[Blaze] grinned widely. "Now go! Don’t waste your time lazing around inside anymore. With my divine blessing, the others will definitely notice you soon."
Before Night could say anything else in protest, the rustic hut and [Blaze] dissolved into blinding light, and Night suddenly gasped, sitting straight up in his bed.
Looking around frantically, he saw he was safely back in his room at Nightmare Castle.
He immediately heard [Dream]’s fuming voice in his head. "That overgrown fire chimney still couldn’t keep his hands off you!"
System Girl chimed in defensively. "Well... well, at least night got some good stuff from him!"
[Dream]’s icy, terrifying glare quickly made her shut up...
....
Far away in the hut...
A beautiful woman with deep blue hair silently appeared.
[Aqua] asked with a tinge of deep worry, "Was it really a good idea to pick such a risky Chosen?"
Unlike normal Blessings, which could be generously given out in massive numbers, a God could only have one true Chosen at a time.
Until the Chosen either successfully became a God themselves or permanently perished, the Patron God was fundamentally stuck with them.
If a Chosen died, the Patron God also took a massive, permanent hit to their Records, and it was common for Gods to completely lose their evolutionary potential because of the premature death of their Chosen. But the reward were also equivalent to the risks. When the chosen became a god or accomplished great things, the Patreon God also recieved quality records in return.
[Blaze] said confidently, "He has good potential, and I doubt he will ever fail to become a God."
[Aqua] sighed. "It is not easy to become a God, you know. Unlike our descendants, who enjoy the privilege of being born into a family with you as their bloodline patriarch, the others in the cosmos have to struggle endlessly just to reach this realm."
[Blaze] nodded. "Yes, but that invisible cockroach was so similar to that thieving crow. I simply cannot miss such a good lead, especially one with potential clues to advancing further than the Primordial God stage."
[Aqua] looked at him in genuine surprise. "You still haven’t given up, unlike the others?"
[Blaze] scoffed. "Unlike what you might think, none of us have given up on breaking this barrier known as ’Primordial God’ to evolve further. We just don’t show it off openly anymore, so it might superficially look like we have given up."
[Aqua] shook her head in exasperation. "Just don’t come crying to me after you completely mess this up."
[Blaze] smiled warmly. "But the kid is not bad at all! Plus, he is technically human too now."
[Aqua] just rolled her eyes and turned to leave.
[Blaze] shrugged as she vanished. After all, he knew one universal truth: women were difficult to understand.
The fire on his head danced joyful as if it was amused by the series of events.
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