Chapter 20: Chapter. 20: Incandescent

Eerie clacks filled the cave, it was as if I had stepped into a world of fire in itself. Light shone giving way to a skeletal silhouette, every step rang hollow in my ears. All there was in my mind at that moment was: Run. I tried to use Explosive Shot but with my current mana it wasn’t enough, to do anything with it. In spite of having a mana potion in effect, amidst the burning heat of a desert it felt like nothing but a small drop into a lake.

The bird opened its mouth. A ghastly voice rang in my ears.

“Through nothing I lived. Through struggle I evolved. Through effort I became their idol.” Its eyes lit up like a torch, two wisps of flame stared at me. “Eventually, an option came, a choice that could wait.”

It paused and I used that chance to back off. The wisps on its eyes disappeared. I panted, feeling sweat dripping from my body, and the heat was constricting and dangerous.

“A choice that could’ve waited…” Its voice echoed through the cave. “Had I needn’t to protect my kin.” I scoffed as its voice rumbled behind me. Hadn’t it practically murdered all of its kin? “Forced, blood was spilled for a brighter future. Their heart I carry; an inextinguishable burden…”

I made it past the ice that was rapidly melting from the rising temperature, I made it past the bones and corpses, I continued forth in a sprint, its voice still resounding against me.

“I struggled and learned, eventually, the stars called to me. Fire and Ice whispered to my being, beckoning me towards them.” The heat rose. “Its warmth enticed me, the dead cold eyes stared at me, admonishing me for my selfless actions…”

I finally made it out of the cave, basking in the almost refreshing sunlight, its cold heat a true refresher to the hell inside the cave. I turned around when I finally arrived on a tree, the cave was a molten mess, the place shone in an incandescent heat.

“Bearing The Flame I suffer.”

“To the stars I owe, my race shall make a return.”

“To The System I owe, my gratitude eternal.”

Its voice echoed through the forest, until it finally stood before the cave. Its wisp eyes staring at me.

“As the new Beacon of hope I must prosper.”

“This is your retribution.”

“Elf…”

My retribution? I hadn’t done anything, it had just gone and killed its entire race, and yet it seemed to blame it on me? It was absolutely ridiculous. I reached for my quiver only to find I had five arrows left. A frown instantly formed in my face, could I kill it in five arrows? I looked at the Boreal Kame, or what was supposed to be a Boreal Kame ⁠— a blazing bird, one that seemed to come from the depths of the earth where the volcanoes resided. Its skeleton had melting flesh, and its flames roared along with the wind, but… Was it wobbling?

The more I looked at it, the weaker it seemed to me. It was missing one wing, its spine was cracked and so was its head, one of its legs was on the verge of collapsing and its body struggled to stand straight. But the flames, they roared with all the energy in the world, making it seem more imposing than it actually was.

I could do it.

[Blair run!] Glim screamed. [That thing! It’s now a guardian, it goddamn ascended to Guardian just to fight you!]

“Ascended?” I asked in a mutter while trying to think.

[Yes, it-it agreed to a System Prompt! A sacrifice for power if you will, if you don’t run there will be only pain!]

I frowned, and waited no time to ask Glim. “Can it be killed, or will it get up just like the snake?”

[It will die… B⁠-But Blair, think about it! It’s not worth it, no amount of rewards from it will make this worth it! You can just take a step back and come back when you’re stronger!]

What Glim said rubbed me the wrong way, it simply felt wrong no matter how I thought of it. Wasn’t I going to do the same with the snake? The Guardian Of The Osthus Tree? If I ran away from the Boreal Kame, then didn’t this just mean that this Guardian was weaker than the snake? I frowned as I saw the golden eyes of the snake behind its body. If I couldn’t kill this⁠— how would I face the snake?

“I’ll do it…” I muttered. “Any tips?”

Glim seemed to groan and shake in place. [Explosive Shot is⁠—] It buzzed. [A key, but you must use it repeatedly, you must create a new skill! Something weaker, something that you can use for its recoil, the flames shall reach you at your current agility stat!]

I nodded, I was practically thinking the same thing. I had used way less mana with the last Explosive Shot. The only problem was controlling it; though it was all about intent wasn’t it?

[If you die I’ll die, so don’t die unless you want me dead!]

A chuckle almost left me, but the Boreal Kame stepped forward.

“You’re finally done making amends, good. No running away. I must savor this; I must savor your retribution.” It flicked its bone tail, and a fire spread through the mountainside and into the forest, the scorching flames dove into the forest, eventually closing me off with just a couple of trees. But⁠— the fire wasn’t spreading?

I frowned as I nocked another arrow, trying to carefully think about how to go about killing the Boreal Kame. Things had gotten… complicated. Shooting it would mean a waste of an arrow, I had to land a perfect arrow, one that went through its skull and hopefully shattered its head with explosive force.

The bird wobbled and then broke into a sprint, the grass barely rustling under its feathery weight. The heat came to me in an instant as I broke in a sweat. Its ember eyes wobbled as if trying to enter a trance, and then, it lunged. With a flying kick it came towards me, waves of fire forming in the process.

I swore in my mind as I transferred a minuscule amount of energy into the arrow, my only desire was⁠— create enough recoil to get me out of the way. I jumped, and fired to the side. With a small hop, like a bubble being filled, the arrow exploded in front of me, the shockwave sent me back and made the Guardian stagger.

I could do it. My skin felt as if it was burning, but all I could see was a red tone under my skin. Minor burns already? I frowned and nocked another arrow. I had to be quick and fast. The Boreal Kame quaked.

“You’re always running! In the Dark all I could do was fight! I never had the luxury to run!” It roared and flicked its leg towards me, in an instant a wave of fire was shot towards me.

I scoffed and dodged with another hop, some of the metal shrapnel from the explosion dug onto my flesh and others scratched. I could feel the mana regenerate in my body, even though I was using an incredibly weakened version of Explosive Shot, it didn’t drain me much. Probably because the little energy was meant to make the arrow explode, versus trying to overcharge it. It was a minuscule amount in comparison, it felt as if the explosions were my mana itself; and the arrow was nothing more than a channel to do so.

The bird roared and tried to guess my direction, but I rolled out of the way as a fiery wave went past me, the residual heat enough to cause minor burns to my skin.

Three arrows left. I did mental calculations as I pondered how to end it.

And it wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t noble, it wasn’t something I stood by. But I had to do it. The Boreal Kame glanced in my direction. I downed a health potion from my bag just like I had been doing the entire time, it was messy but it took me less than a second to do it. This infuriated the Guardian however, having given up on speaking it began to screech at me.

Every screech was a fiery burst in my direction, but in comparison to how it all started every burst seemed weaker? No… It was charging! A ridiculous plan formed in my mind, one that resembled the death of the Knell Boar⁠— I knew I couldn’t rely on the tree. I wasn’t going to rely on the tree. I stood in line with a tree, the Boreal Kame’s embery eyes shone with a red hue.

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A shriek was unleashed and a torrent of fire was sent in my direction, I fired an explosive arrow, this time downwards with all the strength. The small hop saving my feet from getting burnt off, the tree behind me however, did not. The torrent burnt the base of the tree, as if it was corrosive acid, the wood creaked every second. Landing a few meters from the ground, I started to climb the tree, feeling my skin ache with pain every meter that I moved up.

“Accursed elf!” The bird bellowed. “Your fate is inevitable!”

I simply scoffed and kept climbing till I was at the very top. I nocked an arrow looking down on it. Two arrows.

“You think I would listen to you?” I finally talked to it. “A dumb bird that killed its entire race? Mass genocide? Blaming it on me? You’re just like the elves that killed my family.” I gnashed my sentence through my teeth. Recalling everything I couldn’t help but look at the Boreal Kame as if it were trash.

It shook in its place. “Then suffer!” It slammed its foot on the ground, and the fire coalesced onto its being.

[The Bearer Of The Last Flame requests assistance.]

A frown instantly formed in my face, recalling the less than pleasant memories with the snake. Its body shone brighter like a source of unending light, it passed from incandescent orange to a bright yellow akin to the sun, and finally⁠— white.

[Boreal Kame, Bearer Of The Last Flame. Lvl. 10]

Its level remained the same.

“Oh, System! Purge the accursed elf.” Its chilly voice reached me.

A torrent of pure white engulfed my vision as I took my chance, I jumped from the crown of the tree towards the sky and aimed down once more. My mana had increased slightly past an explosive shot. I desired with all my heart for the recoil to be twice as strong, as normal, as I let go of the arrow. The green explosion wasn’t visible, but the mana drain was strong. I closed my eyes, the heat engulfed everything beneath me, my legs felt pained; superficially scorched.

When I opened my eyes, I was flying, at least twenty meters higher than the tree I stood on; its body turned charcoal, and everything beneath me was a black land, wisps of smoke torrenting through the air.. My legs screamed in pain, and looking down the Boreal Kame was panting, the Guardian seemed to be gasping for air as all its flames dimmed.

One arrow.

I nocked my final arrow, as I felt the lack of mana, even though I knew the consequences, there was only one thing in my mind, one thing that i had to tell it.

All of my mana and some more of my life left me as the bow string lit up in a bright green, the arrow shone as if it was made of pure light.

“You’re no better than the elves,” I hissed with hatred. “At least your experience points will be useful.”

I shot the arrow, the recoil sent me backwards with a gust of wind, it was as if I was falling from the heavens. At the corner of my vision I saw a pure line of green, it was robust; breaking through the air itself.

“I am the The Bearer Of The Last Flame!” It screeched as wisps of fire rose.

Like a judgment from nature itself it struck like lightning. through the fire and flames; through its skull and vertebrae. As if it was a smite from a god, it hit the ground with an explosion. The air rumbled and the forest screamed, the singed ground trembled under its power. At the center of the explosion its bones turned to dust, its voice hollowly echoed through the air.

“Oh System,

Why have you…

Forsaken me?”

I landed on distant tree, right outside the white fire range, the branches and various leafs scratching my body and clothes, the sticks and wood broke my fall along with my skin; like a rock I hit the ground with a dull and hollow sound, my entire body ached in pain as I began to cough up blood and whatever was in my stomach. The mana deficiency made me feel like death. A notification came to me.

[You have killed: (E Guardian Grade) Boreal Kame, Bearer Of The Last Flame. Lvl 10.]

[For killing a Guardian Ascended Being, bonus experience has been awarded. Bonus added to Quest targets.]

[Level up: You have achieved level 9.]

[Level up: You have achieved level 10.]

[New Milestone reached ⁠— Skills Available]

[Ecology Dissection II (Common F) ⁠— Progress (10/10) (Completed) Would you like to receive your rewards?]

[You have cleared a nest. E ranked nest, Wrath Of The Kame.]

[Claim your rewards at the chest.]

I stared at the notifications, a small grin spread through me but the pain told me that I was simply stupid. I reached for my bag, and fiddled for potions. I got a hold of my last mana potion and quickly drank it. I grabbed a broken vial, and finally my last health potion that I drank.

I was out of potions.

I was out of arrows.

I couldn’t help but laugh. Part of me felt I was to blame for wanting to recoup my losses, the other part simply felt odd. Who would’ve thought it would level to 10, and then it would also become a Guardian?

I laughed to myself. At least it was dead. I closed my eyes in spite of Glim’s nagging.

So tired…

I passed out from exhaustion.

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