"Old Great One Animo's power…? Are you joking with me! H-How is that even possible!? There have never been any records of an actual inheritance from an Old Great One, let alone a mortal being successful in taking in the great power of one! What's this all about? How do you expect me to believe you and why are you even doing this in the first place…?"
Noctis fiercely stood up and had sharply criticized Spirit Magi's words because he was a firm believer of logic!
In the past, he had never understood why the upper echelons of the Dawnfire world were obsessed with obtaining power of an Old Great One, and had even went far as to think that it was pointless.
Countless years have passed in the Age of Fire and the only remnants of strength that could be compared to the Old Great One's power came from the daemons during that time, but even then, they were vastly inferior in strength to an all-mighty being!
Noctis had thought that even after all that and thousands of years into the Age of Insight, there was still no clear indication or result to ascend and become an Old Great One…
It was an endless pitiful dream… a tragic cycle of mythos that has never been broken and possibly won't ever be realized.
But now all of a sudden, Noctis was told by Spirit Magi that not only was there an inheritance by an Old Great One, but he could accept it?
Impossible! How could he simply believe it!
["It's no surprise that you have reacted like this… if it were anyone else, I'm sure that they would also say similar things. I am not lying though, and within me does not only contain the divine power of Old Great One Animo, but a way for you to accept it with a high degree chance of success… This is because Old Great One Animo was my master! I am a spirit created by my master and to ultimately find a worthy successor of its inheritance!"]
As soon as Spirit Magi finished speaking, it stopped moving and floated in one place. Immediately after, the black scales of its body started to vibrate uncontrollably and looked as if each individual black piece were slowly scattering away from one another.
Spirit Magi then did something unexpected, the dragon-head shape soon started to spin in circles, as if it was trying to catch its own tail!
The spirit shortly picked up speed and was gradually becoming faster!
A brilliant light started to appear within the center of Spirit Magi, as waves of energy were pulsing outwards like a powerful shockwave.
Even a sharp sound had accompanied it, and Noctis heard it as some type of ancient dragon roar, which had lingered on his soul and had caused him to grow anxious. For a moment, he had thought that an actual dragon had descended upon the cave that he was in!
The vibration caused the surrounding air to distort, and the deep cave started to violently tremble as countless cracks from the ground and ceiling started to appear.
The four poles that contained the lit candles were impressively withstanding the intense shaking, but if one were to take a closer look at the flames atop of the candles, they had become larger and were constantly flickering.
It was as if a massive earthquake had appeared within Mount Trinity, and it had caused the people living in the area to become frantic!
"What in the goddamn blazing hell is going on??" |
Noctis had become dumb-struck and wasn't really able to move as he almost lost balance many times. He firmly stood ground and grasped the edges of the stone bed before he heard the voice within him, Spirit Ster, loudly exclaim a blatant question that even he himself had asked within his own mind.
It wasn't until sometime later that the trembling had stopped, and Spirit Magi soon started to spin much slower before coming to a complete stop.
The black scales of its 'body' started to merge and become whole again, as well as its red ember eyes to light up once more.
The greatest difference is that in front of the floating Spirit Magi was an extremely bright and beautiful pale flame. This flame looked as if it was completely harmless, but gave out an invincible peerless aura that caused Noctis's heart to wildly throb.
Noctis tried to compose himself again with great effort, and then closely observed his surroundings. To his complete surprise, he noticed that the ground and walls of the cave were slowly aging and becoming more dilapidated.
His eyes returned to the pale flame once more and calmly said to Spirit Magi, "This pale flame… what is it? It looks as if it's the origin flame that the records have spoken of, but it can't be… the art of the origin flames have long been lost since the Age of Fire had ended. The appearance is almost the same, but I feel like it's something different."
["This… This is the source of Old Great One Animo's divine power. It is the almighty great one's inheritance that I have kept stored inside of me for countless of years! Regarding its appearance and the 'origin flame' you spoke of… I do not know. If what you say is true, then I don't think that the appearance being almost the same is no coincidence, but we can find out the truth in the future!"]
Noctis's eyes were glued onto the beautiful pale flame, and had closely listened to what Spirit Magi had said.
He didn't doubt the spirit's words and felt like there was indeed a reason as to why the origin flames that had existed during the Age of Fire were related to an Old Great One's divine power.
["Now… what do you say? Don't you want to have the ability to take revenge for your fallen adoptive father? Don't you want unprecedented power that can make you the strongest in this world, and also be able to uncover the secrets of the Dawnfire World!? The power of an Old Great One… how extremely tempting it is to the rulers of this world!]
Spirit Magi had long since stopped moving and was currently floating in place. Its red eyes flashed with an unusual light and focused on Noctis's body before speaking again, but in a much louder voice,
["If you want to stand above all others, then you must brave risks and be able to survive! You must treat others as stepping stones and to ultimately come out on top after looking at death countless of times in the eye! You must have a firm will and to not give in to fear even when all odds are against you! These are one of many traits that makes the true heart of a warrior… Haven't you been taught this by your adoptive father!? Haven't you always wanted to prove yourself to him and to make him proud even when he's already high up in the heavens!?"]
"!!!"
Spirit Magi spoke in a slow and concise manner, but it had unknowingly become lost within its own words and had become abnormally passionate… this was all in order to stir Noctis's emotions and to ultimately convince him to accept the inheritance!
The spirit had succeeded and its words greatly moved Noctis's heart, but at the same time it had also pierced it.
A long silence descended upon the deep cave, and Noctis became lost within his thoughts and memories of his adoptive father…
…
…
…
"What are you waiting for you damn kid! Do I need to make the decision for you? You should accept it and with no hesitation too! This is the inheritance of an Old Great One, a once-in-a-damn-lifetime opportunity and you can't let it slip away! If you do, I might as well haunt you for the rest of your life! Even the words spoken by the dragon-head Magi over there had greatly moved me to the point where even I thought I was still alive for a second!" |
"…" Noctis came back to reality and had fiercely furrowed his brows when he heard Spirit Ster speak all of a sudden again.
"I have already decided that I would accept it... I was just contemplating about the time I spent with my adoptive father and the insightful words he has spoken to me…" Noctis let out a heavy sigh and turned to Spirit Magi before saying,
"It seems like you want me to accept the inheritance first… That's fine, I want you to explain your conditions afterwards then… I know it has something to do with the Old Great One Animo's wishes, but there has to be more to it."
As soon as Noctis finished speaking these words, he quickly arrived in front of Spirit Magi and then spoke again, but in a lofty and determined tone,
"It seems you have read through my memories as well, but yes… what you have said… I agree with you. Ever since I was a child, I had always been deeply interested in our world and the secrets that lay within it. And… ever since I had become crippled, my life turned to hell by all the constant scorn and ridicule from the people I once knew. I never had an extreme desire to grow power until that point, and it had completely changed my outlook on the world… I would indeed do it all for my adoptive father."
Noctis turned away and faintly smiled, but his eyes became somewhat sorrowful and said, "He is gone now, but… I will take all the words he has said to me and move forward. He is watching me from the heavens, so I will make him proud! I will become strong… extremely strong and with my strength, I will unravel the secrets of the world around me!"
A beautiful light flashed within Noctis's pupils and his eyes became more open, as he had become very hopeful of his future.
The dragon-head shape black scale of Spirit Magi had smiled that wasn't really a smile, and then deeply said,
["Good! You will definitely not regret it…"]