“In any case, did he need help in surviving the formation of a new core of his Spirit?”

  “…Why was he trying to help him?”

  “In exchange for letting him use his body, of course. It would not be for long. And he would not hurt him. Or any of his teammates. They were like his family, right? He could even help him save them. In addition, he could also help him fulfil a wish. That was another specialty of his race. Of all the Spirit Races. To fulfil a wish or create a miracle. To—

  “He said something like that earlier. That he could grant miracles.”

  “He did. He was glad that he was listening.”

  “What kind of miracle could he grant?”

  “What kind of miracle did he want?”

  “Like the ones that the Gods used to create?”

  “He did not know much about the Gods, or their miracles, so he could not say for certain—

  “They could create mountains taller than the skies, and fill up seas deeper than the Abyss.”

  “What was Abyss?”

  “…Right. He did not know what Abyss was. After all, it was only during the dusk of the Age of Gods that the Thralls first came to the world.”

  “Thralls?”

  “It was a long story.”

  “…That was a pity. The story seemed to be interesting.”

  “Did he want to hear it?”

  “Unfortunately, he did not have much time. Though he would not mind if he could give a short gist.”

  “…Basically, Thralls were invaders from another world. An unknown world. And they somehow had the means to corrupt their world with the Mysteries of the Origin Sea, making it uninhabitable for beings of other races. The Abyss was one such part of the world corrupted by a race of Thralls called as Abyssals. As for what exactly the Abyss was, he did not know. He had never been there himself. But from their description, it should be a like a deep ravine, or maybe a network of canyons…”

  “Perhaps. He would confirm it later, once he recovered some of his strength… By any chance, were there more races of the Thralls than just the Abyssals?”

  “There were. A total of twelve of them.”

  “…The world seemed to have suddenly become much more interesting.”

  “The world was always interesting. He just had to look for the interesting places.”

  “Perhaps. But that would have wait until escaped his prison. For the moment, he was more interested in the miracles of Gods. Did he have any other example?”

  “Another? There were countless examples. Though, for some reason, he seemed to be having some troubles recalling them… Would creating and destroying small worlds count? They were said to be able to do it on a whim. In fact, most of the small worlds that Wanderers had in their control were left behind by the Gods. Like the world they were in… Or perhaps not.”

  “Definitely not. This world… his prison was made by those ■■■■■■■■, and not some Gods. Though, for a moment, even if he considered that it was made by Gods, it would still be just a display of their strength, and not an example of their miracles.”

  “…How about defying the Origin Sea?”

  “Defying the Origin Sea?”

  “Defying the Origin Sea. Just in their Domains. For example, it is said that if Inkah so wished, he could resurrect anyone in his Domain. Similarly, Ilea could breathe life into inanimate objects, while Faein could peak into, and even change Fate.”

  “…Creating mountains and seas, he could understand. Even creating worlds was not too surprising. He could also do it in his heyday. But defying the Origin Sea? Had the Gods reached such heights?”

  “To him, all those things seemed equally impossible. At least at the moment.”

  “…Indeed. There was no use talking about such things. And he also seemed to have understood what kind of miracles Gods were capable of creating.”

  “Could he create similar miracles then?”

  “He doubted that anyone could.”

  “Origin Beasts could.”

  “…Right, there were also those Origin Beasts. It seemed like he had a lot of catching up to do. Fortunately, both the Gods and the Origin Beasts had already left the world. Still, he should be a little careful after going out. At least until he regained some of his strength. He was grateful for the information he shared.”

  “…It was just some common information. There was no harm in sharing it with him.”

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  “Maybe.”

  “…In any case, if he could not create miracles like the Gods and Origin Beasts, then what kind of miracles could he create?”

  “Of the subtle kind. Like giving him knowledge and mastery over a certain kind of Fire. Or their corresponding Mysteries. It would be up to him.”

  “In other words, things related to fire?”

  “Not fire. Fire.”

  “He always kept emphasising Fire. Was there a difference between the two?”

  “There were countless differences. It was like comparing the Skies to the skies, Water to water, Wind to wind, Earth to earth, Lighting to lighting… He did not understand anything, did he?

  “He did not.”

  “…If only he had more time, he could have explained it in detail. For the moment though, he just had to know that the two were different. Maybe if he met again…”

  “Fine. But he was not very interested in Fire.”

  “Why? Fire was the strongest of all the Forces!”

  “…He had nothing to comment about that part.”

  “…Perhaps he went a little too far with his boasting. Perhaps, Fire was not the strongest of all the Forces. But its strength and ferocity were undeniable. As was its adaptability.”

  “Maybe. But it would conflict with his Roots. Unless it was Fire of the lineage of Destruction…”

  “Destructive Fire? Although he did not understand what he meant by lineage and Roots, but he did know all kinds of Fires, including those with a hint of Destruction. Which one did he want?”

  “Forget it. He was just trying to change the topic. He did not really need a Fire with hint of Destruction. At the moment, all he wanted was to go back and save his teammates.”

  “Teammates? He did not have to worry about them. They were safe for the moment. It was what he had promised him, after all. And he knew how much he valued his promises. That was another thing he liked about him. Keeping promises. It was a very rare quality back in his time. And even in his time, from what he could see. But that was also the reason why he should not give up his wish.”

  “What did he mean?”

  “He was not the only one whom he had to fulfil a wish for.”

  “…Those lunatics?”

  “He did owe them a favour. That too, a big one. It was only natural for him to fulfil some of their wishes.”

  “Then what was he doing with him?”

  “Helping him fulfil a wish. Or a miracle. It was up to—

  “He was not talking about the wish. He was asking why did he need his body? Since he was fulfilling the wishes of those lunatics anyway, he might as well just their bodies instead.”

  “Those people were not worthy.”

  “…Not worthy?”

  “They were not worthy of letting him share their bodies. Such dark Spirits…”

  “And he was fine?”

  “He was more than worthy. He was ■■■■■■■■.”

  “…He did not understand.”

  “He did not need to. He just had to know that of all his people who came to the world, only he could help him escape from the prison. If others tried it, not only would they die miserably, but they might even implicate him in the process.”

  “…In other words, it had to be him?”

  “Correct.”

  “And he could not refuse?”

  “He could. But he would not give up until he agreed. Though, just as a reminder, he had already fulfilled his other promises.”

  “To those lunatics?”

  “He would not go so far as to call them lunatics, but yes, he could say that.”

  “…By any chance, could he tell him what those lunatics wished for?”

  “Unfortunately, he could not. All he could say was that his teammates were in danger. Oh, and there was no use in trying to contact the person tied to his Thread of Fate. He was in a very special state at the moment. In a place beyond Time and Fate. His voice would not be able to reach the other end of the thread. Neither would her voice reach him.”

  “…So, he could either agree to let him use his body, which he already had control of, or just waste time in arguing with him and let his teammates suffer?”

  “He would not say suffer. At worst, they would just die—

  “Fine. He won. He could use his body. He just had to be quick.”

  “Of course. It would only take a few moments. Though he still needed to state his wish. Or a miracle. It was up to him.”

  “Was it necessary?”

  “It was. Their exchange needed to be equivalent, otherwise it would not be recognised by ■■■■■■■■.”

  “…Was anything possible?”

  “Anything, but within his capabilities. For example, he could help him survive condensing the new core of his Spirit, but he could not let his Spirit recover to its original state. Or, he could help him gain knowledge and masteries of certain kinds of Fire, but he could not let him gain masteries over Water or other elements.”

  “…Could he help him recover from his injuries and restore his Spirit Power?”

  “He could, but that would not be an equivalent exchange. And it would not be enough to help him beat his enemies either. What if he also helped him change his body? Give him a couple more hands? Maybe even another head? That would help him reduce the risk dying by getting stabbed in his head.”

  “He could do that?”

  “If it was just transforming his body, then yes. But his Spirit would remain the same.”

  “…That was fine. He had an idea of what he wanted his wish to be…”

  “…Was he sure?”

  “Was it possible?”

  “…Although it would require the use of Mysteries beyond those of Fire, it was not outside of his capabilities.”

  “And could it help him fight his enemies?”

  “Perhaps. He had never heard of such a strange… request. He would have to try it himself to find out.”

  “Then what was he waiting for?”

  “For his wish.”

  “But he already had that.”

  “He did.”

  “Then there was only one thing left to do.”

  “Indeed,” said the Fire, as he began weaving his Miracle. One that went beyond the realm of just Fire. But not beyond his powers. After all, his was not a race of just Fire. It was also the race of Spirits. The origin of all the Sprits that came after them. Including the boy whose body he was using. And in a sense, a Spirit was just an extension of one’s body. Making a few tweaks in it was not beyond his reach. Though he did have to put in some effort.

  Being imprisoned since time immemorial had sapped most of his strength. And he had already manifested one miracle. Not to mention that he also had to save some strength to escape the prison. Fortunately, most of the work had already been done. And his wish was also a little special. He wondered what he could make of it. But first, he had to reach into the ■■■■■■■ to regain his Origin, and with it, his freedom.