Earth's Greatest Magus - Chapter 2659: Primordial Flame

Chapter 2659: Primordial Flame

The Ember Sage blazed like a miniature sun in the sky, his body engulfed in radiant flames that shimmered gold and crimson. The sheer intensity of the power erupting from him was something far beyond the Grand Magus realm—it was both awe-inspiring and terrifying.

While Emery couldn’t help but feel a mix of admiration and worry, the dark elf Talaro’s expression twisted with growing concern. His voice was sharp with unease.

“This is bad… it has to stop…”

Emery quickly understands the reason for Talaro’s reaction.

The blazing light, so powerful and unnatural, was acting like a beacon. From every corner of the cursed land, monstrous creatures stirred.

Roars echoed from the horizon.

Several god-level beasts could be seen breaking through the treeline, stampeding toward the source of the energy. Overhead, multiple flying serpents that had been aimlessly circling now screeched and veered in, pulled by the burning beacon in the sky.

“Yo… I really think we should go!!” Dark Emery said, glancing at the approaching beasts.

But his lighter counterpart shook his head firmly. “We can’t leave him here!”

His gaze locked onto Galalel, the Ember Sage, who stood suspended in the air, wreathed in blazing flames. The power flaring from his body cracked the air like thunder. Yet despite the grandeur, Emery could see the pain etched across the sage’s face. He was screaming—not from fury, but agony. Emery couldn’t tell if the burst of power was awakening his true strength or tearing him apart from within.

Without hesitation, Emery launched himself into the sky, cutting through the shimmering heat.

“Senior!” he called out. “Calm down! We need to leave! Come with us!”

But instead of a response, a tidal wave of fire erupted from Galalel’s body, crashing toward Emery like a living inferno. The heat was immense, forcing Emery to shield himself and retreat with a heavy grunt.

“He’s losing it! He’s going mad! Just leave him!” the dark Emery shouted from below, frustration growing in his voice.

But someone else had a different reaction.

Talaro’s eyes widened with wonder as realization struck. “That’s… that’s primordial flame!” he exclaimed. “It is!”

The dark elf’s previous anxiety vanished instantly. With a mad grin, he shot upward toward the flaming sage. The same fiery defense flared toward him as it had against Emery, but Talaro twisted midair, gracefully dodging the blast. Then, he began chanting in an ancient elvish tongue—smooth, resonant, and strangely calming, despite the chaos.

From below, the dark Emery growled.”What the hell is he doing?!”

Both Emerys immediately sensed danger. Whatever Talaro was doing, whatever influence he had—it wasn’t good. The light and dark halves of Emery exchanged a wordless glance, then launched themselves toward the dark elf to stop whatever he was attempting.

But just as they moved, six skeletal beasts lunged forward, intercepting them mid-flight.

“Tch! These ugly things again?!” Dark Emery spat, narrowly evading the snapping jaws of a bone lizard.

While they struggled, Talaro continued his approach, chanting louder. Galalel screamed again, but this time, it was different. His body—already wreathed in fire—began to crack. Flesh gave way to molten light. Skin crumbled into ash.

“He’s… breaking apart. What happened to him?!”

In that instance, Chuutulu’s voice echoed in their minds.

<He lost control of it… Now it’s devouring him…>

“It?… the flame?”

They could only watch helplessly as Galale’s form unraveled. The molten flame surged through his veins until his body finally ruptured entirely, bursting into a cyclone of ember and light.

His soul shimmered—briefly, pitifully—before even that was pulled into the vortex of destruction. The last thing they saw was a face twisted in sorrow and regret before it vanished into ash.

The Ember Sage was no more.

Burned alive and erased by the very cosmic flame he once sought to master.

In the silence that followed, the lingering firestorm twisted above, coalescing in the air into a new shape—a great avian silhouette of pure flame. Wings of glowing embers unfurled. A head rose, its eyes twin motes of starlight. The cosmic flame had taken form: a majestic, ethereal firebird, suspended in the heavens like a miniature sun.

Chututlu’s voice returned, urgent.

<It’s masterless now. Quick! You must claim it before the dark elf does!>

Emery’s breath caught. Even as part of him hesitated, still haunted by the image of Galale’s demise, the thought of Talaro gaining control of such power was far worse.

The dark Emery responded without hesitation. He twisted his hands, folding the space around them to clear a path through the skeletal beasts that still prowled. Simultaneously, the light Emery conjured his radiant wings and blasted into the sky, golden light trailing behind him.

He was only meters away when—

WHAM! —a spatial prison collapsed around him.

Talaro had anticipated his move.

But Emery was close enough; he stretched out with his divine sense, projecting his voice to the flame.

<Come to me…>

The cosmic bird paused midair, its glowing eyes flickering with interest.

Then it drifted—not toward Emery—but toward the dark elf.

“Yes…” Talaro whispered, arms outstretched. “Yes… I am your rightful master.”

The firebird fluttered, stalled between the two.

Then Talaro whispered something in Elvish—a forbidden phrase, heavy with arcane resonance.

The cosmic flame obeyed.

It folded its wings and descended.

Talaro’s smile widened as he caught the flaming entity in his arms. Fire enveloped his entire form in an instant. His robes burned away, replaced by flickering plates of molten armor. His left arm blazed brilliantly, veins glowing like lava rivers.

For a moment, it looked like it would burn him alive

But then—

A wave of frost.

From within Talaro’s chest, cold energy pulsed outward, encasing the flame just enough to restrain it. Ice and fire clashed in his form, balancing each other in a barely stable equilibrium.

Chuutulu growled in Emery’s mind.

<Dark elf body has a natural affinity to fire… huh! If only that stupid dragon were here… the flame would have chosen you instead.>

Talaro was panting heavily. Taking control of the cosmic flame had clearly drained him. Meanwhile, both versions of Emery paused, uncertain whether to continue the fight.

It was at that moment that the ground began to quake, and the sky above trembled violently. Black lightning streaked through the clouds—something was happening.

Talaro’s expression shifted to fear as he muttered, “Damn… That cosmic flame must’ve triggered the storm to arrive early.”

He turned toward Emery. “Follow me if you don’t want to die!”

On the distant horizon, Emery saw the approaching wave of destruction—a swirling, dark storm tearing across the land. At the same time, dozens of crazed beasts rampaged across the battlefield. Between facing that storm or following Talaro, the decision was obvious.

Neither.

The dark version of Emery blinked next to him, immediately opening a spatial portal linked to the formation they had previously prepared. In perfect synchronization, they completed the final casting in less than a second. Without hesitation, both of them vanished into the rift.

“Hmph! A foolish attempt!” Talaro sneered and swiftly traced the residual spatial signature, following Emery through the portal.

However, as soon as he emerged on the other side, he was met with a surprise.

Surrounded.

Soltz, Kaelyin, and the Fey warriors. All with weapons drawn and eyes locked onto the dark elf.