Chapter 1694: The Primordial Sun Flame
The following is an excerpt from the #($(_- Archives in regards to |||| treasures and more specifically [Primordial Elementals].
...
One of the oldest debates amongst religious leaders, scholars, and historians alike is: "How did we come to be?"
Some argue that we just happened by chance.
Others say it was due to intelligent design.
But even more say it was a mix of the two.
Lending credence to this idea are the [Primordial Elementals].
These natural treasures, found across the continents and possibly being the reason for their elemental affinities, are said to be the most ancient and form of the seven core affinities of aether...but they’re not the most powerful.
[Primordial Living Earth] isn’t as sturdy as [Universum Terra].
[Primordial Sun Fire] doesn’t burn as hot [Origin Sun Flame].
[Primordial Flowing Water] can’t heal as well as [Aqua Regia Vitae.]
However, if one were to somehow acquire one of these primordial elementals, they would be able to mimic these abilities themselves with a touch more effort and a special type of energy.
And if one had the luck to somehow acquire not just one [Primordial Elemental], they be able to host and combine natural aether treasures of opposing affinities as easily as someone born with the affinity.
Of course, this would also require that aformentioned type of energy.
An energy that has been a part of the universe since it’s very beginning.
An energy that cannot be fully pinned or understood.
[Chaos.]
Of course, the chances of someone having this type of power and coming across one of these treasures are so low, one would have a better a chance of winning the lottery several times in a row or being struck by lightning a hundred times in a row.
In other words, they would need a level of luck many would consider impossible.
________________________________________
"Alright, be honest with me."
"Yes?"
"Did you have all that planned out last night, or were you winging it?" Zhen Liu asked while stirring a little sugar into his coffee.
"Little of both. The [Sacred Flame] finished it’s transformation earlier than anticipated and showed me what information it had absorbed from the [Flame of Ambition]. That and the curators showed me footage of you doing your demon lord routine," Serena admitted before drinking from her own cup.
"I knew those motherfuckers were recording me..."
After Serena had finished her announcement to the city, she had more or less dismissed herself by disappearing in a puff of smoke alongside the hostages she had brought with her.
However, she didn’t disappear back into her inner sanctum, or immediately went to go and meet with her councillors. Hell, she had more or less blindsided them with this announcement.
Instead, the First Hearth Tender had sent Goldie and Silvie to return the Erupting Dawn Princes back to the Library of Nowhere while using her authority to have some guards take the sealed Hulna and Feroxxa in preparation to be sent to the frontier monastery known as the Hearth of Redemption. Afterwards, she donned a disguise and went to go and meet the man that made this moment possible in the first place.
On a side note, the Hearth of Redemption was a place where the theocracy’s worst criminals either earned redemeption and were able to move on with their lives, or toiled away for all eternity in its simple stone walls. Whether or not Hulna and Feroxxa were able to become a part of the former or the latter didn’t matter to Serena anymore as she had more pressing matters to attend.
Namely, settling up her debt with Zhen Liu.
The two of them looked like nothing more than a pair of young friends sharing a cup of coffee together while listening to a sermon from the outside.
It was hard to believe that they were actually discussing the matter of her relinquishing a part of their holy treasure to him.
Evidently, Serena found the setting to be...a little weird for such a sensitive topic.
"So, interpersonnel drama aside, is there any particular reason why we’re having this meeting out here in the open instead of the inside of your hypersecure library?" Serena asked before realizing that she used vocabulary that wasn’t a part of her lexicon. "Wait, why did I say it like that?"
"You still got a bit of my [Chaos] running through your system," Zhen Liu explained. "It should fade in about a week...maybe less. But if you start casually cursing more than usual, get the protokaijin to contact me."
"That...makes sense," Serena nodded before realizing that she was getting distracted from the main topic. "Wait, no, we’re getting off topic."
"To answer your earlier question," Zhen Liu interjected before Serena had to repeat herself. "We’re meeting out here because the amount of [Primordial Sun Flame] I need from you is actually so miniscule that doing it in the library feels like overkill. That and it’s because I’m fairly certain you wanted some space between yourself and certain members of my band. Not in a bad way mind you, just because I’m fairly certain you would want the space to process some things."
"That...is not wrong."
Serena and Rianna had talked for awhile into the night, trying to figure out if they were sisters or not with the curators even popping up at one point to ask if they wanted to know for certain.
Strangely, both refused.
Perhaps they both wanted to maintain some mystery, perhaps they didn’t want to get each other’s hopes up without conclusive evidence other than an adhoc DNA test being ran by a pair of questionable spirits.
Either way, the two women agreed to spend time with one another in the capacity of friends, not family.
Granted, Serena was still emotionally confused about the whole thing.
Additionally, Zhen Liu had noticed Serena was stealing a couple of glances in the direction of his cousin when she had been staying at the library.
He didn’t mind playing matchmaker for his cousin and her, but he also knew that Serena was out of Zhen Tai’s league by a wide margin. As such, he wanted to give the guy time to get to that level...or maybe lower he expectations a little.
Or at the very least, conclude their own transaction before interpersonal shit got involved and fucked things up.
"So once you hand over the mote, our initial business transaction will be resolved and then we can move on to either not knowing each other except in the vaguest of senses or friends till the end of time and space," Zhen Liu eventually said. "Unless you suddenly wish to betray me, at which point, you’ve seen what I can do."
At this baffling statement of Zhen Liu’s, Serena couldn’t help but looked absolutely flabbergasted.
"You’d really think I would betray your ass after you helped me get revenge in such a manner?"
"You’d honestly be surprised how many people in this world try to renege from a deal because they had second thoughts over it or because someone they knew decided to give them terrible advice," Zhen Liu stated matter-of-factly.
"Well, I like to think I’m not one of those people," Serena declared.
She was about to summon a small fireball right there and then, but was stopped when Zhen Liu held up his left hand, the one carrying the [Seal of the Kaijin Lord].
Once she was stopped, Zhen Liu extended the hand towards her.
"In that case, I hope the two of us can get along like a house on fire."
"Pfft! Did you make that joke because of what I’m about to pay you with?" Serena questioned with a laugh.
"Precisely."
Having enough of Zhen Liu’s terrible jokes, Serena took Zhen Liu’s into her own and gave him a hearty handshake.
During that handshake, though, she channeled a bit of the [Sacred Flame] from inside of herself and pushed it through her palm so that it could enter Zhen Liu’s left hand.
A warm feeling began to envelope both of the warriors’ arms, but there was something else entirely happening inside of Zhen Liu as well.
To be more specific, he could feel that his formula was undergoing a mutation.
One that would end up helping in figur out his cultivation path.
...
|Notice: Primordial Sun Flame has been identified. Reformating [Chaos Body Forge] in order to better accommodate. Due to the presence of the formula modification caused by the Salamander innate array and several other natural aether treasure flames, only a mild change is needed. Once incorporate, the wielder will be able to manifest, incorporate and fuse whatever natural aether flames they find and study.|
’Oh shit, I haven’t heard that voice in a long time.Sweet.’
|Additional notice due to the incorporation of a [Primordial Elemental], it is now possible to detect the others. Due to the [Primordial Sun Flame] being the first to be incorporated, the wielder shall feel immense warmth when in proximity of the other [Primordial Elementals].|
’...huh.’