The Seeker Of The Flames

Adin was walking beside Angelo in the dryland. The dust raised in the air as they kept stepping forward. He just followed him without understanding where they were actually going.

He looked so thrilled and excited. Hearing Angelo saying the word "flame" made him incredibly interested. He had finally found a clue about the flames, though he wasn't so sure about it. That white flame could simply be anything. Adin couldn't just jump into the conclusion that it's related to the four flames. Yet it was better than doing those boring quests.

Although he appeared smiling softly with a normal face, his real expression would be an eager, passionate grin in an unorthodox manner. Seeing such an eager smile on Demon King's face would be a one-in-a-thousand thing.

Following Angelo's immense Magical Pressure, Adin thought about his utmost d.e.s.i.r.e. "Finally, I've finally found something. The funny thing is that it's white. There was nothing like that in Ena's visions as long as I remember. There should only be red, green, blue and black flames. Why's there also a white one? I can't wait anymore; I want to get there."

Angelo's footfalls ceased to be heard; he had stopped. "Wait," Angelo said, watching the surroundings, "there should be something over there. I can feel a magic force."

He was right as Adin could also feel it. An evident source of Magical Pressure could be sensed from their east.

Watching the place with their eyes, nothing except pure desert came into view. They moved closer to the source, reaching its exact point. That spot had no difference from other parts of the desert, covered by the same sands as the other spots. They didn't notify any strange thing either; everything looked to be normal except the magical pressure in that place.

"Then..." Angelo looked down, staring at the ground concealed by sands, "There can only be one answer..."

He spread his right hand and focused his magic on a single point. His pupils started getting bigger and becoming brilliantly golden. Adin could feel his magic getting intensified steadily.

"I pray to you, the only source of dignity and truth. Spare your bright light of judgement upon the unknown and reveal the truth to your servants. Show us what's hiding under our feet and let us enter the gates of Heaven."

The sands suddenly began spreading around, causing Adin and Angelo to move downward as the terrain itself was going down. The grains of sand formed a dust storm and kept circling around them rapidly, stopping the nearby sands on earth to get in the way.

Their feet eventually touched a hard ground after standing on those soft sands, a solid lapis lazuli vitreous surface.

The source of that Magical Pressure resided right under their feet. Adin could see a woman frozen under the glassy surface and shrouded by a thick layer blue crystal.

"What is that? Where's the Thunder Key? Where's the White Flame?" Angelo exclaimed, looking so confused and puzzled.

Adin also felt the same way, but he had put on a thoughtful expression.

—What's it supposed to mean? There's no doubt that this woman has to do something with the White Flame.

Adin turned his looks toward Angelo. "Hey, let's first get her out of this glass."

"All right," Angelo replied, preparing his magic again. "Listen to our prayers. Answer us with your power. Let all the world know that you are the one and only source of strength. Guide us to your dignity and gift us the key to your door."

The vitrified ground started to melt, allowing them to bring out the crystalized figure. Adin grabbed the female figure and threw her on his shoulder, getting ready to get to the surface.

"Now," Angelo called Adin, stopping his magic while directing his looks at him. "We've come so deep. Stick to me so I can jump up to the surface using my—"

Before Angelo could finish his sentence, Adin himself jumped from that depth to reach Earth's surface, leaving a temporary but strong wind behind.

Angelo raised his eyebrows. He looked above and put a suspicious look on his countenance. Following Adin's high jump, he also left the glassy spot, reaching the ground after passing through the circling sands.

By the time both Adin and Angelo reached the sandy terrain, the land got its usual shape back, and the dust storm stopped.

Adin put the figure on the ground. "All right Angelo, do you have any idea how to destroy this crystal layer?"

Angelo moved to stand beside Adin. Since Adin was too absorbed about finding White Flame, he didn't notice the change in Angelo's behavior toward him.

The way Angelo looked at him had changed. He used to treat Adin as a weak, albeit not an infidel, adventurer from when he had seen him in the town. But everything changed as he saw him jumping such a long depth. It'd require a lot of magical power to put on one's feet to jump high like that.

Angelo got closer to the crystalized figure, trying to use his magic to break the protective crystal layer. "Let me see..."

The moment he touched the crystal, a swift bright flash of lightning caused a sharp pain in his hand.

"Ouch!" Angelo g.r.o.a.n.e.d in pain. "Damn, it hurts! What's this? It's protected by some high-level magic. I can't touch it."

Adin once started pondering, showing a contemplative expression through his pensive looks.

—A protection layer? Angelo must possess an immense amount of magical power, so if he can't break it, using force might not work. Wait, if I remember right, he said that Zeus sent Thunder Key along with White Flame as its Guardian. But how's it work? Isn't there any information about how does this "judgment" thingy work? He said something like we're going to get judged whether we deserve to have the key to enter Olympus or not. It's not that I really care about that key or Olympus, those are boring anyways, but how are we supposed to contact that White Flame? If it's the Guardian, shouldn't it be here before everything starts? Wait a second, we have no information about it, so maybe it can be something else? Maybe this layer is the White Flame? Or maybe this woman inside it?

Adin had an unprecedented situation before him, which was related to the four flames. It was the adventure he wanted to have all this time. He didn't know anything about it. He had no idea what's going on. And most importantly, it could provide him with a clue on how to die.

And thus...

—He was not bored—