"Ugh…" On the shore of Cider Lake, the lady lay on the sand, barely clinging to life.
The flames within her no longer flowed, and the rising smoke around her gradually dissipated. Her enormous skirt, which had expanded due to the heat, contracted back to its normal size.
At this moment, the lady's condition was far from good; her body was covered in corrosive marks.
Several large, orange-and-black furrows were burned into the lady's body. Upon closer inspection, one could even see the dense, intricate patterns within these furrows.
The lady looked as if she had been tightly gripped by a scorching giant hand. And in fact, she had.
In the final moments, what the lady saw was not Yu Jin, nor Lanssangx rushing towards her, but a giant hand.
That hand was strange; it had only three fingers, and its ochre surface looked like it was carved from weathered rock. The fingerprints on it were clearly reflected in the lady's eyes.
Through the cracks on its surface, surging orange-yellow flames emitted heat and a faint glow, making one suspect that the residue falling from the hand's surface was caused by the scorching of the flames within it.
The three-fingered hand gripped the lady tightly. Immense heat permeated her clothes and radiated onto her body. The pain of her body being scorched by the intense fire, and the deeply ingrained despair, surged into her, almost causing her to pass out.
Should it be said that the lady's own will was strong enough? Or had she endured even greater pressure from Yu Jin before? In any case, she ultimately persevered.
The large furrows on her body were burned by that seemingly real yet unreal Three Fingers, and the finer patterns within the furrows were the fingerprints of the Three Fingers.
"Hey! King, is she alright?" Lanssangx squatted beside the lady, poking the dazed lady with a twig.
The lady continuously let out groans of pain, and coupled with her grotesque burn marks, she looked as if she was on the verge of death.
Yu Jin, who was fiddling with the lady's skirt nearby, looked up at the sound and replied nonchalantly, "She's fine. I'm not that idiot, the Three Fingers. Even with clothes on, I can still brand people with the Frenzied Flame."
The Three Fingers is the messenger of the Frenzied Flame. It transmits the will of the Frenzied Flame, bringing an all-consuming end to the world.
All things begin from a great One, and from the One, distinctions arise. Differences are born, life appears, and with it, life gains sentience.
This is the mistake made by the Greater Will; all evil and suffering stem from this "mistake."
Therefore, the Frenzied Flame wishes to rectify this mistake, to return all things to their original starting point. It seeks to melt everything with chaotic yellow flames, allowing all things to return to that great, all-encompassing "One."
As for the Frenzied Flame, Yu Jin could only describe it as: a pure terrorist, who must be properly disciplined!
Anyway, Yu Jin had listened to the "great" vision of the Three Fingers, or rather, the Frenzied Flame, while half-asleep. If Melina hadn't been bristling in his ear, Yu Jin probably would have actually fallen asleep.
If Yu Jin had a say, he would wholeheartedly approve of the Greater Will.
Come on, creating life is such a grand and impressive feat. If the Greater Will didn't do it, he might have taken it up himself, alright!
As for the suffering, Yu Jin felt it was purely because the Greater Will was lazy. With its abilities, what could it not know?
Observing everything about every living being is not difficult for the Greater Will. Of course, whether doing so would bring greater suffering, Yu Jin was not sure.
And he didn't know if it was because the Three Fingers was weak or the Frenzied Flame was weak, but the process of being bestowed the Frenzied Flame required one to be naked!
Anyway, after Yu Jin confirmed it repeatedly, he tossed Melina out to start undressing. The result was as he expected: the Three Fingers exploded on the spot when it saw his body, which annoyed him for quite a while.
Now that Yu Jin had accepted the Frenzied Flame, he had certainly resolved this drawback. And the lady was his first test subject.
"You… what are you doing?" A weak female voice came. The lady saw Yu Jin fiddling with her skirt and couldn't help but shrink back in fear.
"Don't misunderstand, I'm just curious how your skirt expanded so much!" Yu Jin put down the skirt, and as he spoke, he drew a circle with both hands.
Speaking of which, the lady's second phase was really quite miraculous. Not only did her skirt expand enormously, but the mask on her head also grew larger, bigger than her own head.
"…" Yu Jin's words caused the lady to fall silent. She shakily stood up, occasionally letting out heavy gasps.
Every step she took sent a stinging pain through her burn marks. Pain and despair vaguely appeared at the lady's ears, like a club stirring her brain.
The mental and physical torment was clearly etched upon her body. The lady gritted her teeth, trying her best not to cry out.
Fortunately, this pain did not last long. The lady could feel these pains solidify. They roamed her body, eventually shrinking into her eyeballs.
"Hoh… What… did you do… to me?" The lady rubbed her eyes. Her normally soft eyeballs were now incredibly hot, as if something terrifying might spray out at any moment.
"Just helping you suppress the flames, how about it, good effect, right?" Yu Jin said casually, looking at the lady's eyes that had turned orange-yellow.
The effect was more than good; the lady could feel that the flame within her body had shrunk into a ball of fire, trembling and moving away from whatever was in her eyes.
"Heh heh, keep at it. Whether what's in your eyes will become the flame that consumes you, or transform into your power, depends entirely on your future performance," Yu Jin said with a smile, looking at the lady who was deep in thought.
"Bye-bye! If you feel more and more pain in the future, don't bother looking for me. Because I'll most likely tell you: 'Good riddance!'" Yu Jin waved at the lady, leaving only his back before disappearing.
Yu Jin left quickly, vanishing in the blink of an eye. But Lanssangx did not leave; she was curiously watching the lady's eyeballs.
"Why aren't you going with him?" The lady saw Yu Jin's figure disappear and sat down, leaning against a tree trunk.
"Actually, King is a very good person," Lanssangx said, looking at the lady who had twice experienced the brink of death.
The lady merely closed her eyes to rest, not responding to Lanssangx's words. She was physically and mentally exhausted now, and her conversation with Yu Jin had been a struggle.
"What's in your eyes is called the Frenzied Flame. It's hard to say if it comes from despair or if it represents despair. But King allowing the Frenzied Flame to infect you means that your experiences must be related to despair," Lanssangx didn't mind the lady's attitude and instead began to chatter on.
"King experimented with many things on you; usually, he wouldn't do that. Most likely, it's because you committed some acts that, in the eyes of ordinary people, are deserving of death, so King doesn't value your life either."
As soon as Lanssangx finished speaking, she saw the lady's eyes open. She looked indignant, wanting to argue something, but in the end, she said nothing.
"Haha, looks like I was right! But King is always very generous. Don't take the opportunity to atone for your sins for granted; the despair in your eyes was all caused by you."
"As for how to persuade them not to devour you, that's entirely up to your own ability!"
"Why are you helping me so much?" The lady weakly looked at Lanssangx, who was constantly spilling information, asking with a mix of gratitude and confusion.
Lanssangx looked into the lady's eyes, then took a step back and said, "Don't misunderstand, one thing at a time. I impulsively beat you up, and now we're even!"
"If I see you doing evil again, or if someone asks me for help, don't doubt it, I'll definitely beat you to death." Lanssangx said, swinging her fist.
The lady nodded, seeing Lanssangx's demeanor. But soon, her expression stiffened, because she saw Yu Jin speeding towards them in the distance.
"Lanssangx! I find you're not very good at reading the room!" Yu Jin shouted as he ran.
"What room?" Lanssangx looked puzzled.
"The boss left, shouldn't you, the subordinate, follow closely behind?" Yu Jin came up to Lanssangx, tapping her head as he spoke.
"Oh, I get it." Lanssangx nodded, indicating she understood.
Then the lady saw Yu Jin's back, along with Lanssangx trailing obediently behind him, disappear from sight.
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