Mystery: The Undead Don't Die from Linking the Fire

Chapter 214 Reforging the Dragon's Glory

tread!tread!

Yu Jin stopped and stood in front of the tall furnace, gazing silently at the raging flames inside.

If you just knock over the stove, you can set the whole world ablaze.

Roselle was the first to discover this place and built a city here named "Terra Palace" to conceal the existence of the church. He undoubtedly knew of its existence, but the Steam Church may not have known.

The embers want to burn this world, and no one will stop them.

But that was not his goal.

Ember slowly reached out towards the furnace, placing his palm into the flames that were enough to incinerate an entire world.

The next moment, the raging flames inside the furnace instantly 'boiled,' like a dancing fire phoenix, frantically converging towards the embers' palm. The flames throughout the furnace were swirled up, like a raging firestorm, but this storm was absorbed by an invisible vortex the instant it appeared, without spilling an inch.

Snapped!

Yu Jin withdrew his hand, and the once raging flames were now reduced to a tiny flame at the bottom of the furnace.

The Steam Church clearly lacked understanding of the world of painting, and even had considerable misconceptions.

They even used the painted world as a specific venue for demigod ascension ceremonies, causing a significant decline in the world's "vitality." This ritual, which plundered vitality, not only caused the land to become barren and the lakes to dry up, but also accelerated the world's corruption.

The flames inside the furnace were already raging, and soon they would burst forth, engulfing the entire world in flames. Of course, burning wasn't necessarily a bad thing, because only the burning of the old world could bring hope for the birth of the new.

However, the Steam Church clearly lacked a Painter, and the destruction of this painted world would mean utter annihilation. But the embers absorbed the almost overflowing power of the flames, returning the fire to its nascent state, which could be considered a way of extending the life of this world.

Of course, as time goes by, the world will inevitably continue to slide into corruption. If this trend cannot be reversed, destruction is inevitable. Embers can at most delay destruction, but they cannot stop it; the flames will eventually reignite!

The reason why Ember did this was partly to pay for the admission fee to the Steam Church.

On the other hand, he himself also needs the power of the spark.

Ember's gaze drifted toward the back of the fireplace, toward the far end of the chapel.

Inside the central niche is a statue, posed as a person wearing a fur coat and sitting cross-legged on the ground. But upon closer inspection, one can see that what is coiled is not legs, but a thick, long snake tail, and even the 'face' under the cloak is a snake's body covered in scales!

Unfortunately, there was no campfire below the niche, and it was impossible to get to the settlement from there.

Of course, there are no settlements or ring cities in this world.

Yu Jin looked around to make sure nothing was missed before turning and leaving.

The flickering flames inside the furnace were incredibly weak, but they would never go out, for the fire itself was an integral part of this world.

As the world slides into corruption, it will inevitably burn fiercely sooner or later!

Inside the church, Karula looked at the embers passing beneath the statue and asked softly:

"Are you leaving?"

Ember shook his head slightly, shifting his gaze from Karura to the straight ladder behind the right wall.

Under Karula's strange gaze, he slowly climbed the stairs.

Above the stairs is the church's attic.

Bright light streamed into the attic through the exquisitely carved windows, illuminating the small room.

The attic looked dilapidated from the passage of time; the plaster on the walls had long since peeled away, revealing the red bricks underneath. Scattered throughout the attic were many paintings, most of them rolled up and carefully placed in wooden boxes against the right wall.

On the left, against the wall, were numerous empty picture frames, and near the window stood a large oil painting. In front of the painting was a high stool, and in a daze, Yu Jin seemed to see a petite girl sitting on it, a paintbrush in her hand, her delicate white feet gently dangling in the air, her long, silvery hair trailing to the floor…

But when he came to his senses, everything vanished like an illusion, leaving only the empty bar stool in front of him.

The girl sitting on the high stool had already disappeared.

"Young Miss," Yu Jin murmured softly.

Carla made a mistake; he didn't only remember the Fire Keeper.

He still remembered the young lady, and Sister Friede.

The Fire Keeper existed to link the fire; this was the beginning of everything.

The young lady is the end of everything; her paintings are used to shelter the survivors of the Deep Sea Age.

He can remember the beginning and the end of things, but he has forgotten the process.

So he doesn't remember Karula, nor Irina, or anyone else...

But what puzzled Ember was that this part he had forgotten seemed to consist entirely of women.

He had a clear memory of those men.

The slave knight Gale, the silent knight Horace, the blacksmith Andre, the escapee Hawkwood, Orbeck of Beheim... even the cross-dresser Gwyndolin, and that bastard Patch, all the memories with them are quite clear, with a beginning and an end.

But regarding memories of women, aside from the Fire Keeper, the young lady, and Friede, it seems there are only some insignificant passersby left, such as the maids at the turkey farm and the old woman carrying a lid...

But they are all memories, so why is there such a huge difference? And why is it specifically a woman?

Yu Jin remained silent for a long time before silently walking forward to the high stool and gazing at the painting.

The painting doesn't depict anything; it's just covered in white paint, like a child's random scribbles.

"You smell of ashes. You must be the person Grandpa Gale was talking about? The one who can let me see flames."

"It's okay, I'll go back over there after I finish this, since you opened the door."

"..."

"You are ashes. I wanted to tell you this because you agreed to Grandpa Gale's request."

"Thank you. I will use that name as my theme to paint the world. It will be a very cold, dark, yet gentle painting. One day, it will become a place for someone to belong."

"Those who do not understand the flame are not qualified to depict the world; those who are lured by the flame cannot depict the world."

"..."

A jumble of thoughts flashed through his mind. Ember looked ahead, gazing out the window into the distance. The Terra Palace had stopped not far away. It hadn't gone far, seemingly waiting for Ember to leave before returning to its original position—the last command Roselle had given it.

Pulling his thoughts back, Yu Jin turned around to leave the attic, where there were still not many clues left.

But before he left, there was one more thing he needed to do…

Ember looked ahead at the straight staircase, the only way out of the attic.

But behind the ladder, there was a campfire, a campfire that had long since died out, leaving only ashes. A black spiral sword was stuck in it, but it had long lost its former warmth, now cold and lifeless.

Ember walked to the campfire, closed his eyes slightly, and a ball of ash appeared in his palm without him noticing.

A long, thin clump of residual ash with obvious signs of smelting.

Alternatively, it can be called embers.

He slowly raised his palm and clenched it tightly.

Snapped!

The embers were crushed, and fine ash drifted in the air, releasing sparks that clung to the embers' surface, making it seem as if the whole person was burning!

Meanwhile, Carula, who was waiting inside the church, suddenly changed her expression and looked up at the attic above her.

He leaped to the top of the straight ladder and climbed up to the attic.

But when she climbed to the top of the attic, all she saw was an empty room; the embers that should have been there were nowhere to be found.

She turned around and saw only a burning campfire.

The bonfire, silent for thousands of years, is lit again, no longer cold or lifeless.

However, Karula's expression gradually darkened, her eyes revealing deep resentment, and her teeth clenched tightly:

"I should have realized it sooner. Even if this isn't the real world of painting, how could they not have a backup plan?"

She had finally managed to stand before him again, and before she could even demonstrate all that she had learned in her life, she had already lost it all once more.

More importantly, she had no idea where to look!

The power of the First Flame can overcome all obstacles, whether in time or space. The embers that have been rekindled in the campfire can travel anywhere with the help of the fire! Karula believed that the embers would never leave without saying goodbye, so his sudden disappearance could only be because the campfire's 'settings' had already been adjusted.

The embers were teleported to another area as soon as the campfire was activated. The location of this "area" is only known to those who placed the campfire there, and Karula is clearly not among them.

With so many barriers of time and space, where could she possibly search for the embers?

"No, there's also her!"

Karula took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.

She has waited for thousands of years, enough time to burn several Gwyns to ashes.

Even after a brief separation, she wasn't completely without clues.

For example, the girl she met outside the Steam Church had a ring given to her by Ember; they must have some special relationship. As long as she followed her, they would surely meet again.

but……

Carula's tone revealed a hint of displeasure:

"Why is it a girl again?"

-

Ember looked around and found himself in the middle of a scorching yellow desert, muttering to himself:

"Am I still in the world of painting?"

The desolation here was exactly the same as the scene in the painted world possessed by the Steam Church, which even made Ember doubt that he had left. But he soon changed his mind, because he sensed the spirit world again—

It is not a "small spirit world" separated from the world of painting, but a true spirit world that covers the entire real world.

The campfire he lit was already set with a 'beacon' and a predetermined 'course route,' and he would be teleported away the moment it was lit. This was information that Ember had already obtained when he lit it. He could have resisted this 'teleportation,' but he chose to accept it.

Because the world of the painting was created by the young lady, and the bonfire was also set up by the young lady.

Only embers can light a campfire.

This trip was arranged for him by the young lady, and Yu Jin believed that she would not harm him.

The only question is, what can he get out of this trip?

Or rather, what does the young lady hope he will find here?

Even if we take a step back and assume the worst, Ember should at least figure out which country he is in.

"roar!"

Suddenly, a roar came from the sky, echoing between heaven and earth, shaking the very heavens and the earth.

Ember looked up into the distance, and in the afterglow of the setting sun, enormous monsters, black tinged with gray, soared in. They had stout, lizard-like bodies, with a pair of broad, skin-covered wings on their backs, and their massive bodies almost blocked out the sun, obscuring all light.

Ember saw scales the size of plates and saucers, and dark golden vertical pupils in their eye sockets.

"Dragon".

Ember immediately associated it with the corresponding image in his mind, and instantly realized a problem:

As early as the Quaternary period, dragons and giants had already disappeared from the historical stage and were close to extinction.

Even when rumors of dragon sightings occasionally circulate, they are always found in remote, untouched forests. And once such rumors spread, these dragons are quickly slaughtered—because every part of a dragon is valuable; its extraordinary materials can be used for advancement, and even a dragon's carcass is extremely worthwhile.

This led to the disappearance of even such rumors by the Fifth Age. It was widely believed that the dragons had long since become extinct. Even the subspecies of dragons became extremely rare; neither the Rainbow Lizard Dragon nor the Phantom Wyvern could be found anywhere.

But now, a group of dragons are soaring through the sky with an air of nonchalance, even unabashedly unleashing their awe-inspiring roars to intimidate other creatures around them, seemingly unafraid of being hunted by humans.

There is only one possibility—

This time period is neither the Fifth Era nor the Fourth Era. The Third Era is also unlikely, because by the Third Era the ancient gods had already perished, and although the dragon race had not yet been extinct, they were treated as prisoners like the giants.

As for the First Era, it was a chaotic era, and dragons were not the rulers of that time.

Therefore, it can only be the Second Age.

The Second Age is known as the "Dark Age" for humanity, but for dragons, it can also be called the "Golden Age," as this was their golden age. In this era, dragons were undoubtedly the rulers of the skies!

Only in this era could dragons freely soar through the sky, high above as if surveying their own territory.

"Is it the Second Age again?"

Yu Jin suddenly found it somewhat amusing; his first time traveling through time was also during the Second Era.

However, that time was at the end of the Second Age, when even the ancient sun god had appeared and the ancient gods were about to perish.

And now...

Roar!

Just then, the dragons suddenly roared from their massive mouths, which faintly shimmered with intense heat.

(End of this chapter)