9 - A Conversation About Fire

Fire began with a single spark, but once ignited, it spread uncontrollably, consuming everything in its path without distinction—homes, forests, and even lives. Its intense heat scorched all it touched while its smoke choked the air, often leaving nothing but blackened remnants and permanent scars. The worst part of the aftermath was the lingering, unbearable scent of burning structures.

Due to its catastrophic nature, Valrion had always despised fire more than any of the other twelve elements in Eru. To him, fire was insidious—an ugly power that made thunder benevolent in comparison. It was everything the serene calm of ice was not and everything that even earth tried to run away from.

“If smoke from fire could kill someone by suffocating, the same could be said about drowning underwater,” Erilos, one of Valrion’s closest friends who was just a little older than him, had once stated.

They were in their early teens then, eating peaches while sitting under the trees on Skyward Hill after finishing their daily training. Though the name didn’t suggest it, the hill was actually an orchard, home to hundreds of thousands of fruit trees. The peaches they had were just one of over two thousand varieties found in Heaven. Its flavor was more tart than sweet, which two of them adored.

High above, the view was mesmerizing. The giant sun hung above the Celestial Hall, its radiant golden light pouring down to illuminate every corner of Heaven. Silhouettes of mountains rose in the distance, their peaks veiled by soft clouds, while rivers wound through the valleys, shimmering as they reflected the brilliance of the blue sky.

“You’re only saying that because fire is your favorite element,” Valrion retorted. “Yet, somehow, you could never win against my ice.”

“I couldn’t even win against your fire,” Erilos muttered, continuing louder, “Forgive me for talking back, but perhaps you’re prejudiced against fire because it’s the opposite of ice, your favored element.”

Valrion laughed, glancing at the skinny tree branches above and using an invisible force to drop a peach right into the palm of his hand. “Most of the monsters in Hell are born from fire. We can’t fight fire with fire,” he said, biting into his third peach.

“Why would we fight fire with fire? No, why would we fight the monsters in Hell in the first place? They can’t tolerate Heaven’s light. We can simply stand in front of them, and they wouldn’t dare take a step.” Erilos’ tone was a mix of exhaustion and mirth. “Even if, by some anomalous coincidence, we were to face enemies with fire, all Heaven dwellers would be adept at using ice or water. We might not be as formidable as you or your father, but we should manage.”

“Oh, I thought of another reason fire isn’t good.” Ignoring Erilos’ theory, Valrion swallowed his peach and straightened his back, crossing his legs after folding one of them up for quite a while. “Eruvians always say, ‘I hope you burn in Hell.’ Not one ever says, ‘I hope you get drenched in Hell’.”

“Pfft. I’ll give you that one.” Erilos couldn’t contain his amusement at last. “But what about lightning? Some of them say, ‘I hope lightning strikes you’.”

“What sometimes follows after lightning strikes?” Valrion swung the hand holding the peach. “Fire.”

“All right, all right. Though, in all fairness, it was the King’s family who filled Hell with fire. Eruvians could only believe in what has existed in this universe and what eidolons have taught them.”

“That’s the whole point! Even the first dwellers of Heaven agreed to predominantly use fire when constructing Hell instead of something more obvious like darkness,” Valrion said. “What I’m trying to say is fire is harsh, and ice is gentle. Why do you want to be harsh if you can be gentle?”

Erilos took a deep breath and released it heavily as if trying to muster as much patience as possible. “I suggest we choose a new topic, Son of Heaven. I don’t think I gained any useful knowledge from this debate.”

“Come on!” Valrion punched his friend’s arm lightly and laughed. Erilos himself chuckled, indicating that he was also just joking around.

That juvenile Valrion would have yelled at anyone who had prophesied that, far in the future, he would be banished to Eru. He would have further ridiculed the very idea of being weakened as a newborn, hoping to gain an innate elemental power to survive in the mortal world—only for it to turn out to be fire.

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Should this be additional evidence that his father wanted to greatly punish him?

“What’s going on?” Valrion’s mother spoke with a shiver as she touched the top of Valrion’s head. He flinched when she grazed where the object had struck him, causing her to pull her arm away immediately. It must have resulted in a huge bump that would take days to heal.

From the corner of his eye, he spotted the culprit: a woven basket filled with medium-sized fangs, half of which had spilled onto the ground. The shapes seemed to belong to a species of mammal-like monsters. His endless worry over his new baby form had made him forget that such creatures roamed Eru’s wilderness.

He didn’t see any door to a balcony in his room, so the basket must have come from elsewhere. Fina or Octavia could be upstairs and accidentally knocked it over, or maybe it was just the wind. Regardless, unless his family were psychopaths, these dried ingredients had to be for medicinal purposes.

“Who—what—” His mother glanced around, trying to identify the perpetrator. Perhaps the rule that elemental powers would only manifest after age thirteen hadn’t changed. That was likely the only reason she didn’t immediately suspect her own son.

Handbook, he called. As soon as it showed up, he tried to find every necessary change.

[Level: 2]

[EXP: 35/115]

[Health: 192/281]

[Mana: 22/25]

[Status: Injured]

[A New Era

➤ It turns out you’re born into a middle-class family that owns the Martelli Workshop. You live in Savio, a town in the Kingdom of Luxellum, but all of this is just surface-level information. There’s much more to this family that you can discover.

➤ You’ve unlocked the innate ability to control fire. Now, your task is to learn how to master it.]

The quest branched. He thought he would be confused, but it excited him instead.

As he read through his new status, he noticed that each level had a higher EXP demand. Level two took 105 EXP in total, and level three needed 115. He doubted the requirement would rise by ten points each time because that would be too predictable, but he should wait and see. Any leftover EXP also seemed to carry over.

His health had dipped, but it was expected, given how his head was throbbing with pain. His mana had decreased by three, definitely from the accidental blaze. It was a lot for a flame so small, but it would mean nothing if he had more than a hundred mana. He also needed to figure out whether manifesting elemental energy at such a young age was the new norm.

[Spells] remained inaccessible. He was then split between two decisions: trying a low-tier fire spell at the risk of accidentally hurting his mother—the resulting effect could be ten times worse than what happened to Sergius—or waiting for a better time. But what could be a better time than now, when he was already outdoors?

Uru, he said inwardly, succumbing to curiosity.

[Proceed with Main Quests to unlock Spells.]

A sigh of relief came over him when it didn’t work—funny how, deep down, he genuinely didn’t want to hurt the woman hugging him. This should be the final confirmation that [Spells] would only be unlocked after he obtained his first eidolon. Determination dawned on him as he realized he had been given the opportunity to wield all twelve elemental powers, though he had no idea how he would apply them or even manage such varying strengths. To begin with, the Twelve Eidolons weren’t exactly friendly to him.

This was him worrying about things that would come on their own, so he tried to let it go.

Last but not least, he couldn’t help but praise the Handbook for making it all so neat and easy. Though everything was still in the early stages, its guidance proved invaluable, helping him stay on course despite life’s growing complexity.

Right after he was done reading and wondering, his mother hurried toward where Sergius had gone. As they approached the backyard of the house, the sounds of Octavia and Fina’s raised voices grew louder. The urgency in their words was unmistakably filled with panic and concern.

There, Sergius sat by the well, his legs sprawled out as he was drenched from head to toe. Though the flames had vanished, the man didn’t seem well. He gazed downward, his left hand pressed against his right shoulder as though deliberately hiding the wound. His expression was wretched, contrasting to the one he had worn moments earlier when he scolded the elderly visitor.

Beside him, Fina carried a bucket, presumably filled with water from the well, while Octavia gripped the well’s rope. They were watching him in horror.

“Octa—please-please help me,” Valrion’s mother pleaded.

Upon hearing the words, Octavia snapped her head to the side, let go of the rope, and ran toward the lady of the house. “Are you okay?”

“His head—a flower pot fell on his head.” His mother averted her gaze to Sergius. “Sergius, are you okay? That fire—”

“I’m fine.” Sergius stood up, a little wobbly, but he managed. “Don’t worry. I’m fine.”

Valrion took a moment to assess Sergius’ condition: the fire didn’t spread far, but parts of his shirt were burned to a crisp. Red and blackened marks marred his skin, exposed where his hand didn’t shield. Valrion understood all of this was outside his control and how he had been annoyed with Sergius a minute ago, but guilt still struck him deeply.

What Sergius had done to him didn’t deserve to be repaid like this, and his anger now seemed so trivial in comparison.

[Personal Quest unlocked: A Right-Hand Man]

[A Right-Hand Man

➤ Your earlier interactions with Sergius left a bitter taste in your mouth, but the last one was technically your fault. He seems to be an important and likable member of your family, so perhaps approaching him with a different mindset next time might help.]

Of course, Valrion would get a personal quest about Sergius.