Ark Undead

If the Painter that Enya saw is also real.

Does that mean these old friends still exist?

They all lived peacefully within that small flame.

204. Grand Gift

The First Flame is the embodiment of the concept of the world.

In ancient times, it was the first fire that brought about life and death, light and darkness.

The Primordial Flame itself is a collection of enormous energy.

As the First Flame weakens, the concepts of time and space will gradually converge towards the First Flame, simply because the First Flame is unstable and unable to maintain the normal operation of the world.

In other words, the First Flame itself represents a world, and the life that comes with the First Flame exists primarily as a soul based on the form of flame.

Then, there might be enough reason to explain why the Painters, Gale, and Solal were able to continue their consciousness within the First Flame.

The Undead are the bearers of the Primordial Flame, and it is because of the Undead that the Primordial Flame can continue to exist on the continent of Terra.

In other words, it can be said that the Undead are the inheritors of the Primordial Flame, or that they are the Primordial Flame itself.

The reason why the Undead can live and remain conscious is because the First Flame gives them enough power.

In the Age of Fire, such a person had a name whose meaning was understood only by the strongest of that era, the Lords of Cinder who were qualified to inherit the flame.

The incarnation of the Lords of Cinder.

He is no longer acting as himself, but as the collective power of the heroes who have inherited the First Flame throughout the ages, protecting the First Flame and ensuring its continued existence to this day.

But this is no longer the Age of Fire; the power of fire can no longer affect the entire world. Therefore, the world manifested by the First Flame could not expand to cover the entire continent of Terra.

The resulting world space is located within the Primordial Flame, and there is only one path to enter the Primordial Flame world.

That is to merge into the Primordial Flame as a soul entity.

The visions the Undead saw after killing the World Painter were not accidental.

Because at the end of the Age of Fire, the Undead, after a great battle with Gale, obtained and absorbed Gale's soul, which had already consumed the Dark Soul. Therefore, Gale's soul did not quietly dissipate over time, but was instead incorporated into the First Flame by the Undead within the First Flame.

The slave knight who fought alongside the undead in the final battle of the Age of Fire was reborn through the power of the First Flame.

So, when the Undead, as the incarnation of the Lord of Cinder, burned away the fragments of the Abyss and killed the Painter in the world of ashes, the power and soul that the Painter carried with him were naturally absorbed by the Undead.

Thus, Gael's soul, which had waited for countless millennia, was reunited with the young lady to whom she had sworn allegiance.

In the world manifested by the First Flame, we enjoy a peaceful and tranquil life together.

The opportunity to awaken the sleeping souls carried by the undead was his two deaths.

His first death was in Victoria. When he died as a mere undead, he briefly gained some of the powers of the Primal Flame. It was then that the Primal Flame he carried was first targeted by malice from outside the world.

The Undead vaguely remembered that when he awoke that time, he should have remembered many things from the past, including his more ancient awakening.

However, in order to fight against the malice from outside the world, he burned up most of his power, causing himself and the First Flame to fall into a deep sleep.

The price was the loss of past memories and the truth of the world.

His second death was when the power of the Primordial Flame truly manifested within him once more.

This time, the First Flame awakened Solar first, perhaps because he had the deepest bond with the Undead, and because he was one of the first Undead to link the First Flame, after Gwyn the Sun King.

Solaire's awakening this time is as an agent of the First Flame, to grant the Undead, the incarnations of the Lords of Cinder, the power to truly wield the First Flame.

It was after this that the Undead truly gained the ability to manipulate the Primordial Flame, marking the first time he significantly restored his memories and power.

After that, the Undead faced the Abyss once more and absorbed the power of the Painter, bringing her soul back into the First Flame.

Upon returning to Victoria, he faced a false dragon fed by countless abysses and collected some of his humanity.

Now, after signing an agreement with Kal'tsit and joining Rhodes Island, he has gained purified humanity, allowing most of the memories and state of the undead to be restored.

In fact, after the Painter died, she remained in the body of an immortal. She would occasionally listen to Enya's prayers and respond to them to the best of her ability.

However, the Painters had not yet gained the First Flame's recognition, and the Undead could not fully unleash the First Flame's power. Therefore, Enya could not fully understand the Painters' "oracle".

The auditory hallucinations that the Undead sometimes hear are actually the voice of Enya that he hears as an intermediary.

Doesn't that mean that none of my old friends have ever truly disappeared?!

They are all inside their own bodies, living in a world without conflict and without worrying about the future.

Solal can compete with the Nameless King in martial arts.

That wolf knight, whose swordsmanship was unparalleled, could also lie in the grass and sunbathe with his wolf companion, Sif.

Even the lovable Jack Baldo can enjoy a drink with his old friend Yom?

Thinking of this, the immortal's hand trembled slightly.

He never imagined he would have any hope of seeing his old friends again.

He never imagined that those old friends had always been with him.

The immortals are never alone.

"Oh, right, there's one more thing."

Enya seemed to have thought of something. Seeing the undead trembling, she suddenly remembered what her god had told her to say.

"The gods say, Lord Ashes, you don't need to think too much. Just follow your own feelings and move forward step by step. Your old friends are waiting for you to awaken them little by little."

Enya added.

"She also said... campfire? I think it was a campfire. The campfire is the homeland of the undead, and you will eventually return home. But before that time comes, please do not forget your identity."

"..."

The Undead took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

He already knew too many surprises, surprises that were like a sledgehammer, pounding hard on the head of the immortal.

It left him dizzy and unsure how to react.

"I see."

The immortal paused for a moment, then slowly spoke.

"Thank you."

Enya was flattered and quickly bowed slightly.

"No, no, it's what I should do."

SilverAsh and Horn were also quite shocked.

Their initial shock came from the connection between the Undead and the gods of Khalan.

However, SilverAsh had considered this point. He had previously discussed with the Undead what the Undead thought of the gods of Kallan.

At that moment, the Undead just shrugged, seemingly not caring at all.

"Perhaps, maybe."

SilverAsh had never heard such an ambiguous answer from an undead person before, and he had already become suspicious of it.

But now, Enya's attitude towards the undead is clearly the same as that towards the gods.

SilverAsh had considered the possibility that the undead were connected to the gods. But he hadn't considered that the undead might be of equal status to the gods.

Horn Peak was even more shocked; he had never seen his young lady treat anyone with such respect.

The identity of the immortal is becoming increasingly obvious.

"Don't look at me like that."

The Undead saw the look in SilverAsh and Cliffheart's eyes and understood what they were struggling with.

The nameless hero sighed, and he forced a smile.

“It’s not that I’m being modest or anything. The deity you’re talking about is an old friend of mine. And even she herself doesn’t want to be considered a deity. But she knows you need such a spiritual anchor, so she doesn’t mind you treating her as a deity.”

He tapped the table with his index finger; today's topic always reminded him of many past events.

"Besides, I have never been a god."

Yes, whether it's the ancient undead heroes or the great work of linking the fire as ashes.

The immortal has many nicknames, some of which are related to gods.

Those who hunt down gods.

Yes, he possesses godlike power, capable of even dragging gods down from their lofty thrones.

But he never considered himself a cold god.

He was just an ordinary person driven by fate, cursed and embarking on this path full of suffering.

On this point alone, the immortals do not wish to be compared to the gods.

Because he never despised the throne of the gods.

"Alright, my matter is resolved, and your matter in Kalan is also resolved. Is there anything else?"

The Undead looked at SilverAsh in front of him. It wasn't that he didn't want to continue talking to SilverAsh, but he had learned too much today and needed time to calm down.

After saying this, the Undead pointed to the seat next to him, indicating that Enya should sit down and talk instead of standing.

Enya sat down next to the Undead, feeling somewhat flattered, and carefully moved closer to him.

SilverAsh coughed twice and glanced at Horn Peak behind him.

Horn Peak then quickly placed the box he was carrying on the table.

"This is a gift I mentioned before, a gift I wanted to give you. See if you like it."

Horn Peak unlocked the latches, turned the opening of the box towards the Undead, and slowly pulled up the opening.

At first, the Undead didn't think much of SilverAsh's things. But when he saw what was inside, he couldn't help but widen his eyes.

"This is something I found when I was clearing out inventory in the family warehouse. It's been hidden in a corner for a long time, and I don't know if it's of any use."

Seeing the appearance of the undead, SilverAsh felt relieved and spoke more easily.

“But I promised to help you find items related to ancient Kalan, and I will definitely do it. I noticed that the patterns on this item are similar to those in some documents, so I brought it to you. However, I didn’t know beforehand whether you would like it.”