*Crack—*
With a sound like something shattering, the sealed gate was abruptly smashed open, revealing a deep, descending staircase behind it.
The other end of the staircase connected to another space, where countless cyan flames floated all around.
In the very center of this space was a large, spherical flame. On the side facing Felicity was a single, enormous eye, which stared at her in utter astonishment.
"Wait, you..."
*How did you just fight your way through?*
It seemed to freeze for a moment, then grew visibly excited. The cyan flame leaped up and down as it approached Felicity, letting out a bloodcurdling, wicked laugh.
"Falling leaves bring a message: beyond the fog, someone has driven away 'Phantylia'... You, you're the one who defeated 'Phantylia'?"
The cyan flame circled Felicity as if performing some bizarre ritual.
"S-So powerful! Just sensing your presence is delicious enough to make me tremble! Can I have a taste of you? One bite, just a little bite..."
Its laughter grew more and more frenzied, but its words came to an abrupt halt before it could finish.
An unknown Heliobus stopped before Felicity, its strange, large eyes filled with curiosity as it brazenly sized her up.
"Your emotions are a little too stable. Chewing on them is like eating a piece of flavorless wax. Can you give me some kind of reaction?"
"If I give you a reaction, can you find a way to kill me?"
"...You're not quite human, are you."
Now it was the unknown Heliobus's turn to be afraid.
It could sense the anticipation in Felicity's tone, a flavor as refreshing as a glass of orange juice—this person truly yearned for death.
It was afraid that if it became tainted by this emotion, it would develop suicidal tendencies just like this seemingly powerful girl.
"Forget it, forget it. I can't stay for long anyway. So, can we just cooperate for now?"
After a pause, it sighed, sounding for all the world like the one making a concession.
"Haha, no."
Felicity refused without a moment's hesitation.
"You can call me 'Cirrus'... Wait, what did you say?"
Cirrus swayed back and forth, then suddenly let out a strange cry. It stared at Felicity in disbelief, grumbling with displeasure.
"Do you really think I can't do anything to you? Damn it, how dare you look down on me!"
The cyan flame suddenly blazed more fiercely, each flickering wisp of fire pulsing, making it look like a beating heart.
The anger of being slighted, curiosity about Felicity, the craving for power... Countless emotions tangled together, roaring and clamoring to break into Felicity's body, to target her will and seize her soul.
As expected, the power within Felicity's body offered no resistance, generously granting Cirrus full access. The gentle Abundance enveloped Cirrus, making it feel as if it were in paradise.
Then, it touched something terrifying.
It was a power from the depths of Felicity's body—a power that did not belong to the Abundance, nor should it belong to this world.
That thing was like magma... no, it was like a sun. Just getting close, Cirrus felt as if it were about to be melted.
*Swoosh*—Cirrus shot out of Felicity's body again. It stared at Felicity in terror, even the flames on its body becoming erratic.
"What... what in the world are you?"
"You're quite capable."
Felicity raised an eyebrow.
Although it was only for an instant, she had definitely felt a stir from the power deep within her soul.
Just a single stir, and it had repelled Cirrus from her body. That was all.
This was something even Phantylia hadn't dared to do.
"Of course!"
Cirrus accepted the compliment readily, then immediately caught itself.
"Wait, you still haven't answered my question! What the hell are you!"
"How rude. In my opinion, you're the one who should be called a 'thing'."
Felicity patted Cirrus's head, but her palm passed straight through its fiery body.
"Y-y-y-you, don't touch me!"
Cirrus was so startled it jolted, its cyan flames scattering in all directions before dejectedly drifting back a moment later.
"Are you stronger, or is the current general of the Luofu stronger?" it asked, sounding somewhat disheartened.
"Hmm... In terms of pure attack power, it should be the Luofu's General, right?"
Felicity tilted her head, recalling the Lightning-Lord that Jing Yuan had summoned when fighting Phantylia. The destructive power of that thing's strike was far greater than the wooden dummy she could summon.
Her offensive options were still too few.
So frustrating.
Felicity put her hands on her hips.
"The Luofu's General... Is he really that powerful?"
Cirrus was dumbfounded. The power within Felicity's body was already far beyond its reach. If the Luofu's General was even stronger than her, just how powerful must he be?
It suddenly grew dejected, sinking low in the air and muttering under its breath, "In the end, I'm not Ignamar. I'm just... a dim flame, a useless thing."
"Oh? You mean you can become 'Ignamar'?"
Felicity raised an eyebrow slightly.
Although she didn't know who Ignamar was, judging from the way Cirrus spoke, it was likely an existence comparable to the Luofu's General. If Cirrus became as powerful as an Emanator and attacked her soul directly, could it awaken her true power?
This could work!
"Of course! I am one of the fragments that once constituted the Great Heliobus 'Ignamar'! That was a Great Heliobus who fought the General to a standstill, battling all the way to the borders of the Xianzhou until the Great Dao itself was worn away! My return to this place is, of course, to fulfill my long-cherished wish of fighting the Luofu's General again!"
Felicity's question seemed to have lit a fuse in Cirrus, causing the strange Heliobus to start shouting again, as if it itself had been the one battling the General back then.
"So you're saying, if you absorb the other Heliobus fragments, you can become a Great Heliobus with power comparable to the Luofu's General?" Felicity continued to ask.
"Of course!" Cirrus answered with absolute certainty.
"Then it's decided!"
Felicity clapped her hands together in front of her, a brilliant smile on her face. She extended her hand toward Cirrus once more.
"I'll help you deal with the other Heliobus. In return, you have to fight me first. Only if you beat me can you go find the Luofu's General. How about it?"