Holding a box in one hand and an oil lamp in the other, Shade followed Nun Devlin through the elevator inside the sacrificial grounds to the bottom floor—the "First Fire Sacrificial Ground" in the truest sense of the word.
The flame of the Primal Fire burned in the center of the circular sacrificial ground, which rose in tiers. The nun's weapon, the longsword [Ashes], was thrust diagonally into the center of the bonfire, the flames licking the strange blade.
"Offer the kindling."
The blind nun, dressed in grey nun's robes, stood beside the brazier, her silver blindfold reflecting the flickering, unstable firelight.
Shade handed the narrow-necked bottle containing the "Demon Remains" to the nun. She reached her right hand into the flames. The First Fire ignited her hand almost instantly; as burn marks appeared, cracks spread across the surface of her skin, crawling over her entire body until sparks appeared at the tips of her decaying grey hair.
Ignited by the First Fire, Nun Devlin then extended her left hand into the bonfire. As the "Demon Remains" held between her palms were completely swallowed, the modest flames suddenly surged upward, as if celebrating the ignition of new kindling.
Simultaneously, traces of "First Fire Embers" appeared on Shade's body. The strength of the Primal Fire made the flame within him grow even more powerful.
"Offer the flame."
The nun spoke softly again, her voice as steady and soothing as glacial meltwater.
Shade opened the shade of his lantern. Nun Devlin reached out her hand directly once more. This time, she used both hands—hands with lava-colored light flowing through the surface cracks—to envelop the weak flame that had taken eight days of collecting "Solar Fire" at Shade's home to produce.
Compared to the First Fire she guarded, the solar flame burned the nun's porcelain-white skin more mercilessly. The nun only trembled slightly, but Shade noticed a flush appearing on her fair cheeks beneath the blindfold.
The nun scooped the flame out of the lantern and delivered it into the brazier. The two strange flames merged, naturally becoming one. The First Fire, fused with the "Solar Fire," took on a faint golden hue, though it quickly returned to its original color.
Ignoring the burns on her hands, Nun Devlin gathered the flames inward within the brazier. All the fire converged into her palms until the flame in her hand took the form Shade was familiar with: a circular flame dragging an upward tail.
She did not absorb the "Primal Fire" directly into her own body, but instead turned her trembling form toward Shade
"Hero who inherits the First Fire, at this moment, please touch the darkness within me."
Using quite ancient grammar, she spoke words Shade didn't fully understand in a trembling voice.
【She wants to give you power.】
"She" whispered with a smile in Shade's ear.
Sure enough, the nun, with flames flowing through her entire body, held the weak spark of the First Fire toward Shade. Shade knelt on one knee and extended his right hand between the nun's palms.
At that moment, he looked like a hero being endowed with power in an old oil painting. As his hand rested between the nun's burned palms, the fire followed his right arm and swallowed him as well.
Within that light, the Primal Fire granted Shade a new power
【Outlander, your Cold Resistance has been greatly increased; your Fire Resistance has been greatly increased.】
"Forgive me; even with new kindling, this flame remains weak. I cannot provide you with more power," the nun said softly, her emotions not as agitated as Shade had expected.
"It's alright."
Shade stood up and looked at the flame between Nun Devlin's hands.
"While I'm not a hundred percent certain, the Selection Ceremony for the fourth Chosen will likely take place in the Pantanal Great Swamp region. When the time comes, we will not only have the chance to recover the split flame from the center of the swamp, but we might even have to face the evils of Pantanal directly."
A faint smile appeared on Nun Devlin's face.
"I will act together with the witches. You may accompany us to the ceremony site when the time comes."
Shade nodded and looked at the [Ashes] longsword still burning in the brazier.
"Sister, there are some things I wish to ask you. I know the [Spirit Cult] also has traditions of moon worship. Do you have any methods to enhance the perception of lunar power? I don't know if you've heard about the events in Tobesk, but I am looking for an item representing the Yellow Moon."
The nun nodded.
"Follow me to the library to get some books. As long as you are interested, you may borrow any knowledge here. However, you will need additional ritual materials to enhance your lunar perception."
"Would Moon-Essence Water work?"
"Pure moonlight?"
The nun "looked" at Shade.
"That would be sufficient."
"Then, do you have a way to let me temporarily merge with the Solar Fire, and then extract that flame at the appropriate time?"
This was for Miss Chloe, the witch trapped in the "Silver Mountains." Shade could not casually carry supernatural items into the past, especially if they were not "quest items." But if he could temporarily assimilate the "Solar Fire," the flame could appear in the past with him, just as the First Fire did.
"The Primal Fire can contain any flame it has previously devoured. This requires the skill of manipulating fire; I shall teach you."
Her hand grasped Shade's. Shade started, looking up to see a slight blush on Nun Devlin's face, though he wasn't sure if it was an illusion caused by the dim light.
***
After bidding farewell to Nun Devlin that afternoon, Shade headed to the Cassandra Auction House to visit Grace and Helen. It was snowing in Midhill Castle today as well. The Red Butterfly twins were in the basement with the witch apprentice, Miss Swift, inspecting the contained relics.
Since he happened to be free today, before leaving Midhill Castle, Shade finally fulfilled his promise. Taking the sisters Grace and Helen, he used the power of the [Magician's Escape Box] to travel from Midhill Castle to Number 6 St. Delan Square.
The fifteen-to-sixteen-year-old girls, one in a black dress and the other in white, were exceptionally excited about this brief trip. Little Mia, on the other hand, seemed particularly unhappy that two more strangers had arrived.
"Sir, is this where you live now?"
Even though Helen, as "Miss Black," had once peered into this place where Detective Spyro had lived, appearing here with her sister and Shade was still immensely interesting.
The twin girls didn't ask for much; they simply had dinner with Shade at his home and sat by the fireplace listening to his stories, departing for Midhill Castle at 9:30 PM.
According to experiments, just as Shade had guessed, the Red Butterfly twins could use the [Spatial Labyrinth] to move by touching the Ancient God statue.
After all, the twins' power originated from the Old God [Twin Gods], and the [Twin Gods] carried the power of the Ancient God [Primal Rift], whose statue image was "two-headed." Although Grace and Helen had not inherited spatial powers, as relics, the source of their power was indeed that ancient deity.
Now that a waypoint to Number 6 St. Delan Square had been established, they would no longer need to use the [Magician's Escape Box] to travel between Midhill Castle and Shade's home. Unfortunately, while being by Shade's side or staying at Number 6 allowed them to leave Midhill Castle briefly, this short "trip" also taught them that they could not do so frequently.
Therefore, Helen and Grace agreed with Shade to visit him once a month. After Shade agreed, the two girls kissed Shade on his cheeks—one on the left and one on the right. After bidding him a smiling farewell, they held hands and touched the statue in the basement, leaving the place.
"Speaking of which, seeing them this time, they seem a bit more mature than last time," Shade thought as he walked out of the basement. He reached into his pocket and felt a handkerchief he hadn't seen before. He realized that Helen had likely slipped it into his pocket during their parting. The handkerchief had black lace edges and still held a lingering warmth; among the twins, Helen preferred such a color scheme.
【As their injuries heal, their appearance will shift toward their true forms—that is, their twenties,】 "she" said softly.
Shade nodded, looked at the handkerchief in his hand, and tucked it back into his pocket.
"Although they can't join me in the final battle of the Selection Ceremony this time, they might be able to help me with some things in the future."
【Is that really all you're thinking about?】 "she" asked with a smile.
Wednesday arrived, the Day of the Red Butterfly. Shade had planned to find Dorothy early in the morning and wait for the official start of the Day of the Red Butterfly at noon. However, a message sent by Miss Danest via a page of poetry during breakfast made Shade put down his half-eaten bread and travel to the St. Birens Library via projection.
It was still the open space in the center of the library, and he was still sitting in a chair facing a coffee table and sofa. Once Shade regained his senses, he immediately spotted a very familiar stone tablet on the coffee table.
It was palm-sized, with the ancient runic number "Three" on the surface. The four corners were clearly capped with large pieces of yellow topaz.
The tablet obtained from Mr. Edmund had the number "Two" and silver caps; the tablet from the Apuna Library had the number "One" and ruby caps.
He even forgot to say hello, asking in disbelief
"This is..."
The librarian miss set down her teacup.
"Yes, the thing you were looking for. It was indeed in the library. I found a dozen students to help search, and it took half a week to find. There are simply too many books and treasures in the academy library. Items like this, which have no discovered danger and no clear value, are often placed in a 'suitable' spot by a certain generation of librarians and then never noticed again."
Miss Danest said, and then she gave Shade a piece of bad news.