Part VII The Flamebreaker

Lazuro and Tristan were sneaking around in the quiet of the Northern Village in the Huan kingdom. They cautiously passed through the houses, looking left and right to make sure no one would catch them. After a long silence, the fear finally overwhelmed Lazuro.

"Are you sure you have a way out of here? I see this village is surrounded by a large wall with several guards." Lazuro tried to keep his voice as low as possible.

"Don't worry, I have a secret passage." Tristan smiled.

Lazuro and Tristan went to an unguarded area on the edge of the wall. Tristan looked left and right before scratching the ground with his hand. It turned out the soil wasn't very thick, as after a short time, Tristan uncovered a wooden cover. Tristan opened the wood and crawled in the hole.

"Come on, Lazuro. Don't be lame. This will be hard without your help." Tristan made a beckoning gesture with his hand.

"Okay... okay, I'll go." Lazuro sighed tiredly.

Once out of the hole, they walked a short distance and arrived at a cave with two pillars surrounded by long dragons on the right and left. Lazuro gaped before Tristan finally pulled him inside. They walked through the dark passageway, accompanied by a torch Tristan had made before entering.

"You said we were going to look for the Flamebreaker. Do you know where it is?" Lazuro asked.

"Don't worry, I already have this." Tristan took out a map.

"Are you sure? What if the Flamebreaker doesn't choose you?"

"I have no choice. The academy entrance will be held soon. Without the Flamebreaker, I won't be able to take it." Tristan paused for a moment, looking down.

"The Academy?"

"Dragoon Academy, one of the greatest academies founded by Lord Ignis before he died. I'm sure Uncle Paul and James will admit you to the academy. We all knew you killed a burning T-rex with a single slash."

Tristan continued walking, still examining the map engraved on the yellow parchment he held.

"Is having a Mythbreaker really that important?" Lazuro Asked.

"It's important," Tristan replied. "I want to be a hunter, but I wasn't chosen as a mythbreaker, and my parents never performed a soul fusion ceremony to obtain one for me." 

“A soul fusion ceremony?”

Tristan explained that, in the past, newborns were placed in beast embryos to create mythbreaker compatibility. This ceremony had an eighty percent success rate but caused mutation as a side effect.

“Mutation, do you mean someone turning into a monster?” Lazuro asked.

“Yes, the ceremony is forbidden because—”

Tristan suddenly stopped and checked the map he was carrying once more. He turned the map several times and then saw a dead end ahead.

“What’s wrong, Tristan?” Lazuro asked.

“It’s nothing, but we should have reached the Flamebreaker vault by now.”

For fifteen minutes, Tristan scanned the rocks for a hidden button to open a secret room, but Tristan and Lazuro eventually collapsed in frustration, finding nothing.

“We should go back, Tris,” Lazu suggested.

Tristan didn’t answer, instead continuing to throw rocks around. Seeing this, Lazu patted Tristan on the back.

“We can try tomorrow. I’ll help you. It’s too late now to—”

"You don't understand," Tristan said. "You, who wield the mythbreaker and slew the burning T-rex with ease, cannot comprehend my need. My father journeyed to the world tree, and I only want to see him again. The mythbreaker is my only way." He fell to his knees, pounding the ground in frustration. "Damn it! Why wasn't I chosen?"

Tristan, overcome with frustration, pounded the ground, but when Lazuro tried to intervene, Tristan shoved him aside. Still not satisfied, Tristan punched the rock wall, drawing blood. The cave shook, and the rock face, once a dead end, shifted to reveal a staircase bathed in blue light. Lazuro and Tristan grinned at each other, and Tristan eagerly followed Lazuro down the stairs.

Entering the room, Lazuro saw that the blue light he'd spotted earlier came from mana crystals lining the path. After a winding descent, they reached a vast chamber with pillars wreathed in blue flames.

"This room is amazing!" Lazuro stared at the pillars.

"Hey... hey... look at that!" Tristan tugged at Lazuro's sleeve.

Ahead, Lazuro saw a machete engulfed in fierce blue flames, its long handle clearly visible. Behind it stood a Tenggu statue, clutching a sword hilt embedded in the ground.

"So that's the Mythbreaker you wanted?"

"Yes, it belonged to Alaire Ignies, the Flamebreaker, the Mythbreaker who saved humanity! Finally my days as a loser are over!" Tristan leaped with joy. "Lazuro, can you help me?"

"Huh, help you?" Lazuro tilted his head.

"If I lose control and mutate into a monster, kill me with your Mythbreaker!"

"Kill you, but I…"

Tristan pulled a knife, seized Lazuro's hand, and slashed his index finger. Lazuro groaned as blood welled from the cut.

"Are you crazy? Why did you do this?" Lazuro asked, his voice high-pitched.

Tristan smeared Lazuro's blood on the cursed staff, causing a leaf tendril to pierce Lazuro's tailbone. Instantly, Lazuro's staff transformed into a leaf-bladed sword.

"I'm sorry, Lazuro, but this may be my only chance. Please, help me. I just want to fulfill my dream—to see my father. That why I ...." Tristan knelt before him.

Lazuro gazed at him sadly, a familiar feeling of isolation in his eyes. For seventeen years, he'd felt disconnected, unable to share his friends' interests in soccer, music, or travel, his world limited to anime, video games, and online activities, leaving him distant and alone.

"I understand." Lazuro put his hand on Tristan's shoulder. "I know that until now, only that tiny glimmer of hope and dream has kept you going. So stand up, because I will help you." Lazuro stood up and waved his leaf sword.

Tristan rise and stared at the 1.6-foot machete floating in the flames. He advanced without hesitation and leapt into the fire. With a high jump, he snatched the floating Flamebreaker, but the flames intensified, and Tristan groaned in pain.

Tristan grinned and sprinted toward the spear hovering in the flames. Lazuro smiled, struck by the scene's resemblance to a manga: a loser protagonist's awakening, with Tristan in the lead role and himself relegated to supporting cast.

"Tristan... Tristan!" Lazuro looked left and right, hoping for something to help extinguish the flames.

Flamebreaker hugged tightly, Tristan tried to escape the blue flames, but the heat overwhelmed him and he fell. Lazuro rushed to help, then froze as the wingless tengu statue behind Tristan stirred.

"What the hell …" Lazuro gripped his mythbreaker tightly.