Ark Undead

Even Levantine, who had been carrying her on his back, softly uttered a sword chant, a calm and harmonious response.

Even though the undead couldn't understand it, he felt that Levantine was speaking.

"What did it say?"

"Surtr murmured."

"We were born in darkness, and we sought fire. But fire, you are not blazing enough, not enough..."

Levantine responded to Surtr's murmur.

It buzzed and floated up from behind Surtr, coming to the Undead's side.

The sword hilt lightly touched the undead's arm, conveying a desire for closeness.

This was the first time Surtr had ever seen Levantine so docile.

The undead responded with a caress, gently stroking Levantine's sword hilt, which illuminated the sword-shaped crystal embedded in the hilt.

Under the light of the flames, Levantine's sword seemed to ignite as well.

But that flame was different from the First Flame.

Frenzy, explosive, bright red.

It lacks harmony that embraces all things, and is instead mixed with extremely strong aggression.

The Undead frowned slightly as he reached out and grasped the hilt of the sword, sensing the nature of the flame.

During the brief contact, the undead sensed several different sources of power, as well as a consciousness deeply embedded within the greatsword.

“Soul...humanity...strange.”

After thinking for a while, the Undead still exchanged Levantine for Surtur.

Surtr respectfully accepted Levantine and held it in his hands.

"Its consciousness is incomplete."

The Levantine Greatsword truly contains a unique soul.

This concept of the soul is not one that has been articulated on the land of Terra, but rather one that existed during the Age of Fire.

It is the essence of humanity and the source of all living things.

Only a person who is strong enough can give birth to a fully formed soul within their body.

However, there is a similar soul in Levantine, which seems to have been sealed inside by someone.

Moreover, the essence of the soul is riddled with holes. It's as if it has survived a fierce battle, been pierced countless times, and now only a sliver of clarity remains.

The Undead can guarantee that the forging techniques on the continent of Terra to this day could not possibly have developed a weapon of this caliber.

In other words, Levantine is a weapon that does not belong to this era.

But even those who didn't die had no clue.

He knew that Levantine's closeness to him was not accidental.

Perhaps the creator absorbed a portion of the Primordial Flame? Or perhaps the creator intended to use the Primordial Flame as a model for its creation.

However, Levantine is still far from being a true embodiment of the First Flame.

The distance between them is called a natural barrier.

"Therefore, our meeting was not accidental."

The Undead withdrew the Primordial Flame from his right hand, which also brought Surtr's mind back to normal.

The First Flame vanished from Surtr's sight, and she blinked, hearing the voice of the Undead again.

"Yes."

With what he had been seeking right before his eyes, Surtr certainly wouldn't hide anything.

She would never give up any opportunity, no matter how small, to reveal her past.

"I can see you, even if we are thousands of miles apart."

Surtr thought for a moment, then continued.

"But I couldn't see it before. It suddenly appeared some time ago, about... about six months ago?"

Six months ago, the Undead recalled.

At that time, I should have been in Sherag, having just burned down the world of the painting.

"You went, Sherag?"

"Ah."

Surtr nodded.

“I sensed a presence there, so I went to Shelag first, which I arrived in about a month ago.”

“A gentleman who called himself SilverAsh took me in and even helped me take a look at the place where you left your presence.”

"Although I didn't find anything, I can see things more clearly after touching your traces."

So Surtr followed the trail left by the undead and tracked him all the way here.

What's next?

Surtr felt a long-lost sense of bewilderment.

I followed the guidance and found the flame, but nothing has changed.

Even the immortals don't know what happened, so they can't give her answers or tell her who they are.

It was at this moment that Levantine floated up gently and tapped Surtr on the head.

Surtr looked at Levantine, only to see Levantine drift towards the Undead and stop behind him.

"It wanted to follow me."

The Undead sensed Levantine's longing; Levantine seemed to crave the First Flame. But he didn't want to do anything to the First Flame; he simply wanted to stay by its side.

Then, the Undead looked at Surtr.

"And you."

Surtr did not hesitate, she said.

“If it’s Levantine’s choice, I’ll follow yours.”

Even though there are still many images in my memory, at least now I have a fixed clue.

Surtr was already wandering around. If it weren't for this flame, she would probably be searching the world in utter confusion for the fragments of her memories.

The Undead stared at Levantine in Surtr's hand.

The sword-shaped crystal on the hilt of Levantine also glowed, responding to the Undead.

The immortal had some guesses in his mind.

After returning to the hotel, the Undead did not go back to his own room, but instead went to the door of Onstan's room on the first floor.

The inn where Surtr stayed was not in the same direction as the Undead.

She can find the undead by following the flames, so she doesn't need to worry about staying together.

On the contrary, the Undead have many things they want to discuss with Onstan.

Upon hearing the knock on the door, Onstan's voice came from inside the room.

"Come in, the door's unlocked."

The Undead pushed open the door and entered. Ornstein was lying on the floor resting because the room was not tall enough.

Seeing the Undead enter, Ornstein sat up and made some room for him.

"You have time to come see me so late at night?"

"Well, there's something I'd like to talk about."

The Undead nodded and sat down next to Onstan.

The two were already quite familiar with each other, so the undead man spoke directly.

"After the Age of Fire ends, you will be in the world of painting."

"Yes."

Onstan nodded.

"I was sleeping there because the disappearance of the Primordial Flame weakened my own power that was closely connected to it."

The two had discussed this point before.

But that's not what the Undead wants to ask today.

"Then do you know how much time has passed since the Age of Fire?"

The Undead raised this question.

Upon hearing this question, Onstan shrugged.

“If I had known, I would have told you long ago. Nearly five hundred years have passed since I awoke from the world of painting. During this time, I have occasionally traveled across Terra and occasionally returned to visit.”

"You're not the only one searching for the truth about the world. I also want to know why I was reawakened in Terra. Am I still above Lordran? Or have I gone to another world?"

This is also a fact that the Undead have always wanted to know.

Regardless of its nature, the First Flame was the center of an era.

It is the evolution of rules, the source of life and death.

Time is an important standard for measuring the length of a generation.

If the First Flame really did go out, how long did it take between its disappearance and its rekindling?

The Undead Man originally didn't want to think about this, because there had never been any clues about this problem before.

But after seeing the Fire Mage in Pallas's body today and learning about the history of Minos, the Undead actually grasped some key points.

Have you ever heard of the Deep Sea Age?

"The immortal asked."