Path to Transcendence

Julius watched as a vortex of brilliant crimson flames appeared right in front of him. The flames spiraled upwards, and he felt the harsh heat sting his cheeks. But that didn’t stop him from smiling as he awaited his item.
Something suddenly appeared within the center of these flames, and before it could drop to the ground, he snatched it out of the air. The moment he touched the crown with his fingers, he noticed how cold the metal felt.
It was a little surprising considering the name and all. He took a closer examination of the crown and ran his fingers over the dark gray metal it was made of. The metal was still cold to the touch and quite heavy.
From first appearances, it looked like a simple band of iron. It barely looked like a crown. A circlet was probably a more apt description. Not to mention, it wasn’t very pretty.
The crown was pretty beat up; the gray metal had obvious signs of damage and wear. Whatever decorations might have been on it appeared to have been snapped off or chipped. He could see hints of where some small pointed edges might have been.
It also looked like it had been left in a dirty chimney for the past 10 years, covered in soot. Soot that wouldn’t come off, by the way.
No matter how hard he scrubbed it with his hands or aura, the soot remained there like a stubborn stain on a white shirt.
However, he didn’t write off the item quite yet. He knew better than to rely on appearances when evaluating an item. Look at his lunch box; it looked like it had gone through three world wars, and yet it was still amazing, regardless of aesthetics.
What really mattered was if the item worked well.
So instead of judging his brand-new item on its ugly face, he decided to take a look at the description he was offered.
He looked at the notification, then back at the crown in his hands, his mouth slightly agape.
“You really are more than meets the eye,” he said to his item with a glowing smile, ignoring the ominous good luck at the end of the message.
From the sounds of it, this was precisely what he wanted. He had been trying to figure out a way to improve his fire abilities, but hadn’t found too much success. Even with Cassandra’s advice, there was only so much he could do.
However, this crown seemed to present the perfect opportunity for him. The fact that it helped hone his willpower was just a bonus and made him feel better about ignoring the other two options that would have helped his willpower and willpower-related abilities.
Did he care that the item was literally described as cursed?
Nope.
If anything, he thought it gave it a little character. Plus, it would keep him on his toes from the sound of it.
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He fiddled with the cold crown in his hands and frowned when he realized that it was still cold. He reread the notification once more.
Yeah, he had read that correctly the first time around. He glanced back down at the crown and wondered where these endless scorching embers were. From what he could tell, this thing was cold as ice.
He sent some of his senses to the item and didn’t get a response, even when he added his mana to it. Only when he infused his aura did he get a reaction.
It was like his aura was the signal for the item to wake up. The moment his aura touched the gray metal, it was dragged deeper, and there was nothing that he could do to stop this. A connection formed between him and the crown.
What was even more shocking was when he felt his mind go black as a sense of vertigo washed over him. He suddenly found himself floating on a strange battlefield with half-melted weapons littering the ground.
However, the battle must have already concluded because all he heard was silence. There was no sound except for the soft crackling of embers on the ground.
All around him was destruction and ruin. The land was blackened entirely, as if a giant firestorm wiped out all of the life within miles of him. He looked around, and only after several seconds did he realize he wasn’t alone.
There was a lone figure standing in the distance. Julius couldn’t see their face, but they were covered in black clothing, and their face was shrouded as well. The only bit of color he saw was the crimson-red crown floating less than an inch above their head.
The crown looked like a restored version of the Ruinflame Crown he had just received.
Julius had an inkling that what he was seeing was a vision of some kind. A vision that hinted at the origins of the crown he had just received and was bound to his soul.
Compared to his version, this crown was in pristine condition. It was also stunningly beautiful in a violent and mesmerizing way. Little flares of crimson light flickered as the silence across the field drew out. The person wearing the crown wasn’t moving at all; instead, they were standing there, still as a statue.
Julius didn’t really understand what was going on, but he felt his heart start to race when the figure suddenly turned around and stared directly at Julius. It was a young man, not much older than Derek.
Julius saw the crimson eyes stare deep into his soul, and before anything else happened, he felt an intense wave of heat wash over him. His body was vaporized so quickly that he was barely able to comprehend what had happened. Before he knew it, he was back in his body, gasping for breath.
At the final moment before he was turned to ash, he saw the expression of the man. It was almost like his eyes were drowning with raw, unbridled madness.
Only when he got his bearings did he realize something. For one, the crown had suddenly appeared over his head, floating just like it had been for the man in the vision. It was also no longer cold at all.
The crown wasn’t active, but he could feel the heat radiating from it. Soft blue embers of flame crackled across the dark gray metal, giving it an azure glow, unlike the crimson flames of the unknown figure in the vision.
However, the most worrying thing he noticed was the entirely scorched area around him. Everything within ten feet of him was turned to ash. The trees nearby were smoldering, and even the stones were still glowing red.
He wondered to himself as he looked around at the damage.
Confused, he cast aside his perception and spotted Aubrey. She was a hundred feet away, hiding behind a large rock. A worried expression plastered on her face as she peeked over the boulder.
“Are you good?” She called out to him when she noticed he was looking in her direction.
“Yeah…” He said with a frown. “What happened?”
“You suddenly combusted,” she said.
He noticed that she wasn’t making any moves to get closer to him. She was staying far away from him. He thought it was weird; it wasn’t like he was going to combust now.
“Is that what you chose for your reward?” She asked, pointing at the crown floating over his head with a cautious look on her face.
“Yeah, it is,” he said with a bright grin.
Aubrey looked at the sky for some reason. “Why am I not surprised…”
He tilted his head at her. “Huh?”
She shook her head. “Nothing.”
He gave her a small, dubious look and placed his attention on the crown. It was dormant for the time being, but he could feel how easily it would be to activate it once again.
He couldn’t help himself and let some of his aura infuse into the crown.
“I don’t think you should be doing that just yet—” He heard Aubrey say, but didn’t hear what she said at the end. His mind was already somewhere else.
He gasped as a surge of pain coursed through his veins. It was like liquid flames spreading throughout his entire body. However, alongside this pain and fire came power.
It wasn’t the usual power he was used to, either. It wasn’t a power born from mana, aura, or kinetic energy. It was a more profound power. One originating from heat and fire. Wild and absolutely destructive.
As painful as the crown was, he made sure to remember the item’s description. He couldn’t allow it to win. He needed to be the one in control. The moment he wasn’t, was when he would lose control of everything. He still remembered the madness-filled eyes of the man in his vision. He didn’t want to become like that, no matter how powerful the man might have been.
Enduring the pain, he slowly gathered some fire mana and attempted to form it into a small orb. However, that was when he felt the crown fully activate for the first time.
His body and soul exploded with nearly overwhelming pain. It was so close to what he had experienced in the Challenge Rift. However, each pulse of agony brought along more power, feeding his fire mana.
It was so hard to bring his fire mana together. The fact that he was in a forest that actively dampened mana control didn’t help matters.
However, he persisted and didn’t give up. He should be more than capable of creating an orb of fire, no matter the situation. So with gritted teeth, he let the mana congeal together until it slowly formed a small glowing blue orb the size of his fist.
He let out a laugh of relief when he was finally done and proudly looked over at Aubrey, who had distanced herself even more during his exercise.
“See? I did it! There is nothing to—”
A deafening explosion suddenly rang out through the forest.