Chapter 163 - The Lunar Flame (Part One)

"The Azure Flame and the Flowing-Ice. And The Weapon Master's Aura. Seems like his body was unable to handle all at once, and maybe something triggered his awakening", he muttered. 

Everyone was looking at a single boy, with dual swords and holding off a bunch of Beastmen that were attacking him. The way he was spinning and the chains attached to his forearms, made the woman scrunch her face.

"He can't be using the Chains Of Hades, can he? But how? Isn't that in the deepest part of the Nether Realm, locked away by Hades himself?", she thought.

"It is still locked there, for your information, Athena. That kid made something Identical to it, and thus it is just an inferior version of it. And it does not have the mind corruption on it", came Hades's voice to her head.

Athena was taken aback. She didn't understand what he was saying, but if he made an inferior version of the Chains of Hades, she was sure he was someone she had to keep an eye on.

"Zephyr, this is the condition of your hometown right now. There is a war going on, and They are lacking a lot of power. I am sure with your help, they would be able to turn the tides", she said.

He knew what was going on the moment he saw the projection. He was analyzing what was going on and heard a laugh from Athena. 

"Oh? What's this? You have something dormant inside of you?", she said with curiosity as she made her way towards him. 

Zephyr was confused about what she was saying something was dormant. 

"What do you mean, Your Majesty?", he asked with a worried look. She placed a hand on his chest, and her eyes turned yellow. A hue developed the both of them, and after a few seconds, it dissipated.

"You have the Lunar Flame. Something that has been lost for a very long time. Tell me, when you fight during the night, does the color of the flame change?", she asked. 

Zephyr was shocked when he heard that. He never understood why he had something like that, but it only happened when he was extremely mad, and specifically at night. 

"Yes, Your Majesty. It happens when I am extremely angry, and during the night time", he replied to her question. She laughed out loud, and this time was an unruly laugh.

"Seems like the Lunar Flame has been dormant inside you, and only awoke when you were extremely angry. What if I tell you that you could wield it, just like your normal flame?", she asked.

Zephyr knew the strength of his Blue Flame, but he didn't know that it had a name to it. He also was wondering how he would now awaken something that came when he was angry.

The moment he would get angry, his Blue flame would be unleashed, and his enemies would be burned to a crisp. He had used the same flame to kill one among the Shadow Bandits. 

The reason he got the name, 'Crimson Hermit', was due to his eyes that turn crimson orange when he was using his flames. the Lunar flame in particular, would turn his left eye blue. 

Athena was now looking at him, and she gave a punch straight at his gut. Zephyr was pushed back a few meters, and he felt a stinging pain where he was hit. 

He then looked back at Athena, who was now standing with both her fists and her legs spread wide. She was balancing herself, and she wanted to fight Zephyr. 

"Come at me. Show me how powerful your Lunar Flame is", she said as she jumped straight for him. Zephyr blocked her punch and threw a punch of his own.

He was much faster than before, and his whole body was now erupting with flames. His clothes didn't catch fire, and he was punching her.

"Not fast enough kid, I know you can go faster. Show it to me, I want to know if you are worthy of that flame", she said to him as she was deflecting his punches. Zephyr was pissed as he saw that all of his punches were being deflected by her.

His speed doubled, and his body was covered with a slight blue flame. He didn't unleash his full speed yet, as he was worried that he might anger her instead. She gave him a kick across his face and sent him flying backward.

Maxine was about to jump in when she was held back by Xerxes. His look told them not to move, and also reassured them that Zephyr was fine. 

He got up and coughed due to all the dust he had kicked up. He closed his eyes and opened them again, and this time his left eye turned blue. 

The blue flames were now erupting all around him, and each of his steps made a thundering explosion as he walked. The ground trembled as he moved, and the blue flames were enveloping him.

A smile spread across Athena's face, and she readied herself. This time, there was a pair of gloves wrapped around her hands, and she was unleashing something that she was holding back all this while.

Zephyr didn't talk and just made his move, and this time it was too fast for anyone to see. But it was slow for both Xerxes and Athena, and they could see him coming straight for her like a missile.

A punch was all he gave, and Athena was pushed back a few meters. A smirk was seen on her face, and she put down her fists. 

"You are indeed worthy to wield that Flame. But you will never be able to unleash its potential without something", she said as she stopped him from making his next move. 

Zephyr was of a clear mind, and thus he deactivated the flame that was around him and walked towards her. She held her hand out, and Zephyr took it.

The next moment, all of them were in front of a large circle with pillars around it. There were engravings on it, and Zephyr was once again overcome with emotion.

"Can I send this to someone? I would like them to know that I have tried to find the solution, and I succeeded. But his awakening was something that I didn't expect to happen", he said. Athena nodded her head and allowed him to take a snap of the place.

He took the snap and sent it to Ben. He sent a voice note along with it, and he didn't do anything more. He placed it back inside and was now directed to stand in the middle of the large circle.

"Now, let me tell you something. The more powerful the Mana, the more pain you will feel. And since you could partially use this Mana, the pain would be significantly reduced."

"The next thing is, yours is a Half-Mystic. I can awaken it as you could use it partially, if it was something like your brother for whom you had come here, I would not be able to help. Even for you, the same applies."

"Now, I want you to grit your teeth and remember everything that you went through to reach here. Determination is very important, as the Mana would try to take over your body. You must suppress it, and overcome this obstacle to become stronger than before", she finished.

Zephyr took a deep breath and reminded himself as to why he was here in the first place. He began to recall all the good times he had spent with his family, and of the times he had spent with the group he travelled with.

After a deep breath, his eyes were filled with determination to get through this. He was also worried about the war that was going on back at home, and he wanted to get back as soon as he could to help out with it.

Athena smiled as she saw the determination in him, and her hands and eyes began to glow. They emitted a yellowish glow, and she was slowly floating in mid-air. 

A small magic circle appeared in between her hands, and she began to turn the dials that were on it. It seemed to everyone like she was setting something up, and after she finished it, a circle appeared right underneath Zephyr. 

"This is going to be a bit painful", she said as she looked at him with a smile. Zephyr nodded his head, as he was ready to go through anything to protect the people he loved. 

She activated the circle, and a yellowish light began to rise underneath his skin. It reached his belly, and the Lunar Flame began to spread throughout his body.

His eyes turned the same, but this time both of them turned blue. He was clenching both his fists and teeth to not scream in pain, and it was something that he could hold on to.

"Now to move to the next step", said Athena as she cranked up the setting, and everyone heard a scream from the platform.

"AAAAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!", screamed Zephyr from the top of his lungs, and everyone was startled.