You promised to wreak havoc on the dungeon, but instead you've got Dragon Slime!

On the other side of the bridge, there stands a door.

The door has fire patterns, rust marks, and bone carvings.

Ron stood there without moving.

“This is no ordinary door,” Viser said. “It’s the core door of the smelting furnace.”

“The old furnace,” Claudia said softly.

“We can’t get in,” Viser shook his head. “Unless you have the fire.”

Ron reached out and placed his palm on the door.

boom--

The fire patterns on the door suddenly lit up completely!

The entire door seemed to be set on fire, and then flames shot out from the crack, engulfing his entire arm!

"Get out of the way!" Claudia rushed over to grab him, but he pushed her away.

Ron didn't move his hand.

He kept his mouth shut, as if he was stubbornly refusing to make a sound, and black fire shot out from behind him, spreading a layer of fire patterns on the ground.

The door opened.

It wasn't empty inside; it was a complete, dilapidated furnace.

The fire hadn't gone out; there was still a clump of embers at the bottom of the furnace.

“This isn’t a place,” Ron said in a low voice. “It’s a core.”

The people following behind were completely dumbfounded.

This isn't a place to hide things, this is—

The heart of a city with an underground foundry.

But the heart is not dead yet.

The fire patterns spread outwards along the floor tiles.

It was as if the underground veins had been ignited, with rings of fire spreading out from the bottom of the furnace, illuminating the entire underground ruins.

“...It’s alive.” Viser swallowed hard; sweat was already beading on his forehead.

Ron didn't speak, but stood by the fire, staring at the ash-filled embers.

The embers didn't flicker, as if a breath was trapped inside, waiting for someone to ignite it.

Claudia slowly walked over, still smelling of lime from the landslide. She glanced at the stove and asked, "What are you planning to do? Don't tell me you want to use it."

“It’s not that I wanted to use it,” Ron said. “It sent me here.”

Viser was so startled he almost backed away. "You're kidding me, this thing can call for help?!"

“Yes.” Ron stared at the hearth and spoke slowly. “Its fire tastes just like mine.”

He took a step forward, the flame churning within him, like someone drumming in his lungs.

The furnace shook violently, with a thud like a heartbeat.

The skeletons, rusted pipes, and scrap steel on the ground were actually trembling slightly, as if they could stand up at any moment.

"Don't come any closer!" Viser tried to pull him away.

Ron shoved him away.

He stepped forward and entered the core of the Fire Emblem Circle.

As soon as the foot touched the ground, the flames in the furnace made a hissing sound, like a living creature breathing.

“This is the throne,” he said softly.

Claudia frowned. "What throne?"

“It’s not the kind you sit on,” Ron said. “It’s burned, cast from piles of dead bones.”

"Who did you listen to?"

“I didn’t hear anyone say that.” Ron threw a piece of gray scale bone into the furnace.

The flames didn't burn the bone, they just enveloped it, and then the flames began to turn red, then purple, then black.

The entire furnace seemed to awaken.

"It's swallowing something."

"It's opening."

"It's hungry."

Ron spoke each sentence carefully, as if chanting a spell.

The black flames on his body were drawn out and poured into the bottom of the furnace, and the ball of ash began to leap, as if laughing.

Boom!

Another muffled thud. This time, not only the furnace trembled, but the entire underground area shook slightly.

"We have to leave," Viser said urgently. "If you keep doing this, and it explodes, the entire city will collapse!"

"It won't collapse," Ron said through gritted teeth.

"how do you know?"

"Because it's waiting for me."

As soon as he finished speaking, the runes on the dome directly above the furnace lit up on their own!

Chapter 174

That's not the Fire Emblem of today, but an array system left over from the early days of the Empire. It's so ancient that many parts are hard to see, but once it's activated, it means that the furnace is awakening the main core.

“It wants to restart.” Claudia stared at the dome. “It wants to resurrect the entire dungeon.”

“It’s not just resurrection,” Ron murmured. “It’s about being reborn.”

He suddenly turned his head and looked at everyone.

"Who among you wants to live?"

Everyone was stunned.

“I’m not talking about the kind of life where you have to live a life of hiding and humiliation. I’m talking about the kind of life where you have fire, walls, orders, food, and armor.”

No one said a word.

“If you really want to live,” Ron pointed to the furnace, “this is our only chance.”

As soon as he finished speaking, flames flickered beneath his feet, and with a click, the bottom of the furnace cracked open, and a lift slowly rose up.

The sheet metal is old and rusted black, but the patterns are clear, typical of the old empire's command transmission system.

What rose up was not a platform, but a gray-gold chair.

It's not a chair, it's—

“The throne.” Viser’s voice trembled. “It really is the throne.”

Ron didn't move.

That thing doesn't belong to the current empire, nor to Grayscale, and it's not meant for people to sit on.

It resembled a burnt offering, shaped like a chair, but its base was inlaid with spiritual bones, the armrests were carved from bone into animal claws, and the backrest was adorned with a human face.

Mouth shut, eyes closed.

There was only a vague laugh.

"You want to sit on it?" Claudia asked in a low voice.

“I have something to ask it.” Ron said, and walked up step by step, the fire patterns automatically parting at his feet.

The moment he sat down—

The entire furnace suddenly crackled and clattered.

The furnace bottom was closed again.

The furnace stopped beating.

The flames all around were extinguished, leaving only the throne still shining.

Ron closed his eyes.

No one knew what he was thinking.

A few seconds later, he spoke.

"who are you?"

Black flames suddenly exploded from behind him, forming a huge phantom inside the furnace.

It has a human shape, but it is not a person.

It is a shadow, not a soul.

A shadowy figure reached out and touched his back.

A very deep voice sounded in my ear:

"I am you."

The moment the words fell, Ron's back was covered in cold sweat.

The furnace had stopped burning, but the throne was still glowing. The flames had all receded, leaving only him sitting there, as if a wick had been lit.

"I am you," the voice said again.

"You are fire."

"No, I am the fire you lit yourself."

"It was you who endured it, it was you who persevered, it was you who refused to die, it was you who carried that pile of dead bones forward."