Chapter 183: The Eternal Fire (1)

A few days have passed since Crockta’s party entered the great sea of forests with Jakiro. Without Jakiro, they would have lost their way again and again due to the rough roads and jagged terrain. Obstacles that were not on the map were scattered all over the place.

“It’s your turn this time, Anor.”

“I’m scared... Please cut me some slack.”

“You’re the scariest one here! Don’t try to escape from this! Raise your skeletons!”

“Fine.”

Anor defeated the monsters with the power of a necromancer. They battled groups of monsters several times a day while wandering through the sea of forests. As a result of their hard work, they were able to discover a huge wall that stood tall among the dense forests.

It was a black barricade, the symbol of Geherard. They stood at the entrance.

“Orc, dark elf, gnome, dwarf. So fascinating.”

The guards opened their eyes wide at the appearance of a unique party filled with all types of species. There were humans and dwarves among the guards.

“Anyway, what business are you here for?”

“We’re looking for-...”

“To worship,” Jakiro replied, cutting off Tiyo’s words.

“We’re here to pay our respects to the ‘Eternal Fire’.” Jakiro continued.

“Oh, is that so?” The dwarf guard nodded.

“Are you perhaps a blacksmith?”

“That’s right.”

“Are you planning to enter the Eternal Smithy too?”

“If possible.”

“What a great spirit,” the guard chuckled.

Crockta, Tiyo, and Anor did not know what the Eternal Fire or the Eternal Smithy were, so they just stood behind with blank faces.

“Good luck. Go on in.” They were allowed to enter.

Most of the buildings in Geherard were black, like the black walls, perhaps because of the nearby soil’s quality. The entire city looked as if it had been covered in coal.

The size of the city was not that big either. As a matter of fact, it would be difficult to maintain a large city inside the sea of forests. The city was mainly inhabited by dwarves and humans, and occasionally, other species could be seen. However, a large building built in the center of the city stood out.

“That’s where the Eternal Fire is worshiped.”

“What exactly is the Eternal Fire?”

“I can’t believe you came to Geherard without knowing that...” Jakiro laughed.

“The Eternal Fire literally means a fire that will last till the end of the world. What do you think the fire that can burn the longest in the world is?” Jakiro continued.

“A fire that can burn the longest in the world, huh...” Tiyo pondered.

He rolled his eyes as he could not figure out an answer easily.

“Well...”

“Isn’t it right there?” Jakiro pointed to the sky.

The sun brightened up the world, shining brightly in the middle of the sky. Tiyo’s face brightened up as he faced the dazzling sunlight.

“Is it the sun?”

“Yes. Strictly speaking, it is a place to worship the Sun God.” Jakiro revealed.

“I’ve never heard of the Sun God before.”

“They were originally a great God who was praised, but it’s been said that they are in a deep slumber now. I don’t know the circumstances of the God, but they probably haven’t completely disappeared seeing that the sun is still burning bright.”

Geherard’s ‘Eternal Fire’ was another word for the Sun God. The large building in the center of Geherard was the Temple of the Sun God. Usually, Gods revealed their existence by passing down oracles or lending their power.

However, the Sun God did not do such a thing. It was said that it was because the Sun God fell into a deep slumber.

“Then, what is the Eternal Smithy?”

Jakiro grinned at Crockta’s question, “As it implies, it’s the Eternal Smithy. If the sun is the fire that burns the longest in the world, then the place where you can strike iron until the end of the world would be beside the sun, right?”

“Do you mean to say that there is a smithy inside there?”

“That’s right. Most of the people looking for Geherard come here for that. At the place where they worship the Eternal Fire, they want to use the greatest heat to craft their masterpiece. It’s considered a holy place for blacksmiths.” Jakiro explained.

“So that’s why you wanted to come here.”

Crockta’s party came here simply to look for Tiyo’s father, but Jakiro had his own circumstances.

“Now then, I will be on my way now. Thank you all for helping me get here.” Jakiro bid farewell to them.

They had accompanied each other for a while to come here. Now it was time to part ways to take care of their own business.

Crockta nodded and extended his fist. Jakiro smiled and fist-bumped Crockta. It was his first time doing an orc-style greeting, but it felt pretty good.

“Bultar. May you stay alive.”

“Mmhm.”

After that, he said goodbye to Tiyo and Anor as well.

Then, just before he took his steps, Jakiro asked Crockta, “Oh warrior, you said your name was Crockta, right?”

“That’s right.”

He came across this fact while accompanying Crockta’s party. He thought he was just an experienced warrior, but this orc’s name was Crockta.

Jakiro asked again to confirm, “The Northern Conqueror, Crockta, right?”

Crockta grinned, “Yes. I am the Northern Conqueror, Crockta.”

Jakiro nodded, “... I see. It was an honor.”

Then, he turned away.

***

Jakiro immediately headed to the temple where the Sun God was worshiped—the place where the Eternal Fire was protected. He saw a sharp spire in the black temple, and he raised his head at the sun.

“The Northern Conqueror Crockta uses my sword, huh...”

He felt pretty good. Crockta’s reputation was so great that he knew of his name despite being unfamiliar with news of the outside world as he only focused on striking iron in the smithy of his tribe. Crockta was not just strong, he was better known for his actions, which upheld honor.

Not only did he attain various achievements in the continent, but he also conquered the north and recently prevented the empire’s vile ambitions. Crockta did all of that alongside Ogre Slayer, the sword he crafted. It was a wonderful thing.

“But...”

However, it wasn’t necessarily because of Crockta’s achievements that his name was imprinted in Jakiro’s mind. Crockta would soon fall into a crisis. Enemies were watching him, and they were incomparably stronger than the opponents he had faced so far.

“Whimsical Gods...”

Perhaps because he achieved too many things, all the Gods passed down oracles pointing to Crockta’s death. They conveyed their message to destroy not just him, but even his species—the orcs.

The dwarves in his hometown had a heated debate about this. The whole continent was stirred up by the oracle. Now that the Gods had targeted him, a cruel future would ensue.

To overcome those hardships, his crumbling sword, the ‘Ogre Slayer’, was not suitable. The outcome was obvious.

After agonizing for a while, Jakiro shrugged, “It’s none of my business.”

Jakiro was a blacksmith, and his duty was to make weapons. He was nothing more than a craftsman who did his best to finish his weapons. It was none of his business even if the warrior wielding his sword eventually died from the hatred of the Gods.

Jakiro trudged and stood in front of the temple. Just by moving closer, an unknown heat reached him.

“Let’s have a look at the thing known as the Eternal Fire.”

The only thing that mattered to him now was the ‘Eternal Smithy’.

***

After splitting ways with Jakiro, Crockta’s party searched the entire city for traces of Hedoro. They asked around to see if anyone knew of a gnome called Hedoro, but there weren’t any helpful answers. Some people remembered the small gnome, but they didn’t know him well.

Eventually, the sun set.

“Shall we stop here for today?” Crockta said.

He was hungry.

“To close off the day, let’s go to the Temple of the Sun God. I think there might be a clue there.”

“That’s what I was thinking too.” Tiyo agreed.

“Good. Let’s go quickly.”

They headed toward the black building in the center of Geherard. According to Jakiro, the purpose of all the visitors to Geherard was the Temple of the Sun God and the Eternal Fire. Therefore, it felt like a tourist attraction as it was the only place bustling with people.

A hot air blew at them the moment they entered.

“It’s hot, isn’t it?”

“Wow, it’s as expected of the Temple of the Sun God...”

“Are you okay? Aren’t necromancers weak against light? Aren’t you incompatible with the sun?”

“That’s not the case.”

There was a place for worship inside the temple, and there was an altar in the center, shaped like a huge smelting furnace. The heat continued to billow from there.

Worshipers bowed their heads in the direction of the altar, praying for something. There were people of various species and attire. There were warriors carrying weapons like Crockta, and sorcerers as well as ordinary people who seemed distant from the fighting scene. They all prayed for blessings at the altar in the center of the temple, which was called the ‘Eternal Fire’.

“Isn’t it fascinating?”

Suddenly, they heard a voice. A dwarf, dressed in white, stood beside them.

He said with a gentle smile, “The Sun God has hidden themselves for a long time. You can only find them in history books. All that’s left is their trace—the ‘Eternal Fire’. Be that as it may, people still remember the Sun God and come to pray. Why do you think that is?”

It was the priest of this place.

Crockta replied, “Erm... Because the Eternal Smithy is here?”

“That’s not a very inaccurate answer. However, if I am to give you my version of the answer...”

The priest pointed to the ceiling of the temple, “Because it is none other than the Sun God.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“The sun is the highest being, looking after all creation. The world would not last a day without the sun’s light and heat. No one would be able to forget the sun’s grace, which created the four seasons, divided day and night, sprouted plants, and lit up the world so that we could see it.”

It was a reasonable answer.

“In other words, the fact that we live on this land itself is a gift from the Sun God. People can feel it instinctively.” The priest continued.

“You’re right. You have a point.” Crockta, who had the knowledge of the modern world, deeply nodded to the priest’s explanation.

The existence of the sun was the most basic condition for the birth of life. Perhaps because he was pleased with Crockta’s reaction, the priest continued to explain various things.

Inside that altar, there is an object called the Sun God’s Fragment, imbued with power, and it was condensed with an intense heat that could melt anything. The Eternal Smithy beyond the shrine also uses the heat to fire up the smelting furnace. The Eternal Smithy could only be accessed by the chosen craftsmen, and that was decided by the Sun God’s Fragment at the altar.

At the end of his explanation, Crockta opened his mouth, “Thank you for your valuable teachings.”

“Don’t mention it. It is my job.”

“I would like to ask you a question. Have you ever met a gnome traveler named Hedoro?”

“Hedoro... I’ve never heard of the name, but an unusual gnome came here once. I don’t know if he was Hedoro or not.”

“He looks like this friend here.” Crockta pointed to Tiyo.

Tiyo, who was standing still, raised his eyebrows.

“Ohh... He did look similar.”

“What kind of person was he?” Crockta continued asking.

“He asked me various things about the Sun God. He was very interested in ancient myths. I remember him closely questioning me about why the Sun God hid his traces.”

They talked more about the gnome, who they assumed to be Hedoro. When they told the priest that they were looking for Tiyo’s father, the priest sincerely offered to look through the visitor records.

Soon, the temple’s closing time approached.

“If you come back tomorrow, I will give you more detailed information. There will probably be a record in the daily log.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. I am even more thankful that you came here without forgetting the Sun God.”

The three of them left the temple. It was a clear night. Crockta suddenly looked at the sky.

The Sun God. Were the countless stars shining in the sky a different image of the Sun God? He heard that many galaxies existed in the universe, more than the grains of sand on Earth combined. If so, who and where did the infinite possibilities come to exist? Perhaps one of those distant stars was the Earth where he lived.

Just then, his vision suddenly became blurred.

“...!”

It was the same sensation as when the Eyes of the Ashen God activated on its own accord. The future deaths of the world entered his sight.

“...”

Over the dark night sky, numerous stars turned white. They soon faded and melted into a part of the black curtain. A night sky filled only with darkness. A black world where all the stars were dead. It was the end of the stars.

It was a sight he didn’t want to see. Crockta shook his head. He deactivated the Eyes of the Ashen God. He could not control it well, but he was still able to gradually escape from that sensation when he focused his mind.

Soon, he was able to free himself from the power of the Eyes of the Ashen God.

He sighed. Was it because he was tired? If not, was it because the Ashen God, who had been keeping quiet so far, started playing tricks again?

“Crockta, are you watching that?” Tiyo suddenly said.

Crockta rubbed his eyes and looked up. Then, his body immediately tensed up. A group holding weapons was walking toward them. All of them wore a hood, so they could not be identified.

The man in the lead said, “All the Gods have ordered for your death. We will punish you according to the oracle. Do not resent us.”

The influence of the oracle began to surface.