Chapter 308: A Strange Black Flame (2).

The wisp of grey floated above his palm. It was steady and strange, like a whispered rumor upon the wind, or the words of a fickle man.

Nero had never seen anything so… so…

So unassuming.

He stared at it for a long moment. It was hardly a flame at all. In fact, it was barely much of anything. Even candlelight had more substance to it. It gave off no light or heat.

It was, in essence…

Nothing. It was nothing.

A flame of nothingness.

It just… was.

Small, quiet, and utterly unheroic.

Nero grimaced. He had no idea what he was looking at. He paused for a moment then placed his hand above it to test its heat.

The warmth reached his palm immediately. Much to his surprise, the flame did give off heat, similar to the flame of a candlestick. However, its intensity was rather weak, even by comparison. He could hold his hand directly above it for a while without any discomfort.

’What is the point of this useless thing?’

He lowered his hand slowly, watching the grey flame continue its small, steady existence above his other palm.

’Oracle, what the hell is this thing?’

The voice of the Divine Oracle manifested in his mind,

{That is the Heretic’s recently acquired skill, Grimfyre}.

Nero was silent for a while.

Then he grunted,

’Thanks for the information, but that is not what I wanted to know, now is it?’

A slightly long silence stretched out. Nero raised a brow.

’This thing really is enigmatic… Truly a mystery.’

Finally, after some time, the Oracle spoke again.

{The Grimfyre is a strange flame born of the Heretic’s nature and that of the Chained Prince of Heaven he vanquished}.

Nero grimaced, not at all pleased by the memories that line brought up.

’So that really was Rummel Abellion.’

He’d hoped, in some distant corner of his mind that maybe it was still all just some elaborate misunderstanding. Of course, self-deception no longer worked so well anymore.

He had indeed killed an angel.

Granted, he didn’t quite believe he had devoured the body of an angel. His theory was that the soul of the Prince of Heaven was tied to that grotesquely abominable body, perhaps by some ritual.

Because of that, once he had devoured that body, he had in essence vanquished the soul of the angel. Such a thing would have been impossible for anyone else but the one true Heretic.

The result of that devouring, was he had gained a special boon— A thumbnail-sized flame that barely qualified as dangerous enough to light a single match.

It was… underwhelming to say the least.

{Affirmative. Indeed, it would appear that the angel truly is a child of the Divine One}.

A frown appeared on Nero’s face,

’How did you not know this?’ he asked.

This was a genuine question born of confusion. The Oracle knew things. That was its entire function, as far as Nero understood it. It provided information, guidance, knowledge that no human should possess. And yet it had failed to identify Rummel Abellion when the creature had been standing right in front of him. It had given him nothing useful at all.

{That is because the name Rummel Abellion has never been written in the heavenly records. It is a name that does not exist, for all intents and purposes}.

Nero shook his head slowly, his frown persisting.

’If this was some ordinary low born with no name, then you could say that. But that thing…’

He trailed off.

No. That didn’t make sense. Even the most insignificant thing had a true name.

For something not to have its true name written down meant it must have acquired the name after names could no longer be written in the records.

That should have been possible only for humans as most of those still alive were born with their names not written in the heavenly records. But for the case of demons and angels, it was much different.

All those beings were born much longer ago. Even if their names were crossed out, there should still be records that detailed their existence, as well as their names and nature. At least, that was how he saw it.

{You are right, Heretic. It would seem that there is an error. It is strange}.

Nero was silent again, the grey flame still floating above his palm, casting its grey light.

’This thing isn’t that reliable after all.’

The thought formed with more bitterness than he’d intended, but he let it go. He’d been operating under the assumption that the Oracle was essentially infallible within its domain. That when it provided information, that information was accurate and complete. That its guidance could be trusted absolutely because it drew from a divine source.

But apparently not.

Of course, he knew that wasn’t quite the full truth of it. The Oracle was useful. More than useful, in fact. It had saved his life multiple times over, it had given him knowledge and skills that no one else could have given him. Its utility was undeniable.

But…

It was probably outdated.

That was the most reasonable explanation. The Oracle drew from some archive of divine knowledge, some repository of information about the world and its workings. But that archive had been compiled at a specific point in time.

Since then, things had changed. Names had been erased. Dynasties had risen and fallen.

Which meant there were gaps.

Gaps large enough for a Prince of Heaven to hide in, apparently.

Nero sighed and shook his head, then turned his attention back to the flame.

It continued its steady, unimpressive existence, completely unaware of or indifferent to his disappointment.

The grey wisp of fire flickered.

He watched it for a moment longer, then spoke to the Oracle internally with a heavy sigh.

’This… Grimfyre. What can I use it for?’

Because that was the practical question, wasn’t it?

He could spend hours contemplating the gaps in the Oracle’s knowledge, the mysteries of angelic hierarchies, while lamenting the fact that he had consumed the essence of divinity. But at the end of that contemplation, he’d still be sitting here with a tiny grey flame floating above his palm, and he’d still need to know what it could do.

The Oracle was silent for a moment. So silent, Nero thought he could feel it gathering the information he needed.

The grey flame flickered again…

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