When Fang Zheng returned to the Firelink Altar, the Fire Keeper had already been waiting there for him.
"You’ve come, Lord of Ash."
"I’ve come."
Looking at the Fire Keeper before him, Fang Zheng instinctively placed his hands into hers. Soon, he saw a small burning flame emerge from the Fire Keeper’s hands, dancing and soaring towards the flame he had once kindled.
"Whooosh!"
As the small flame merged with the fireball on the altar in front of Fang Zheng, the fist-sized fireball suddenly expanded, a circle of bright red radiance spreading out from the center of the fireball and swiftly dispersing in all directions. Wherever it reached, Fang Zheng saw the black viscous substance that had been clinging to the ground and walls around being consumed and purified by the flames. In just a moment, the area around the altar had been completely cleared, revealing the original, lavishly intricate patterns.
With the disappearance of the black viscous substance, a sphere shimmering with silver-white light appeared within the flames, slowly hovering above the altar’s fire.
Fang Zheng also felt a "click" within his body. When he extended his hand, a black flame appeared in his palm.
The Power of Existence had finally been fully restored...
Feeling the continuous Power of Existence of Zero Hour Resurgence within him, Fang Zheng let out a sigh of relief. Then, he turned to the Fire Keeper once more, raising his weapon.
"Fire Girl, could you please enhance my weapon for me?"
"Of course."
Upon hearing Fang Zheng’s request, the Fire Keeper nodded gently. However, she soon spoke up again.
"But I must warn you, Lord of Ash. Modifying your weapon will consume part of your flame, and... it’s irreversible."
"Oh?"
Upon hearing the Fire Keeper’s response, Fang Zheng paused, then furrowed his brows.
"So, you’re saying that this flame is expendable?"
"Of course, Lord of Ash, this is the power of your soul," the Fire Keeper said with a slight smile.
"Not just for weapon enhancement, but when you use all of your powers, it will consume Soulfire. Therefore, please be careful, Lord of Ash. After all, once the flame goes out, so too will your power vanish from you."
At this, Fang Zheng frowned.
"There’s such a thing...? Wait a minute! According to what you’re saying, I have used various powers more than once before. But why have I never felt a reduction in my Soul Power?"
"It’s simple, Lord of Ash."
In response to Fang Zheng’s question, the Fire Keeper patiently offered an explanation.
"Because previously, the source maintaining your Soulfire was the power from your world. But now, that source has been cut off..."
"So, you’re saying I used to burn natural gas, and now I can only burn firewood?"
Looking at the flames on the altar, Fang Zheng rolled his eyes in annoyance. But quickly, he seemed to think of something, and his eyes brightened. The Fire Keeper said that his Soulfire had been burning due to power transmitted from his world?
And that raises a question...
"Fire Girl."
"Yes, what is it, Lord of Ash?"
"What will happen if my flame completely goes out?"
"Of course you’ll die."
The Fire Keeper gave Fang Zheng this answer almost without hesitation, and upon hearing this, Fang Zheng narrowed his eyes.
"Then... Is the burning of Soulfire reliant on the power of the world? Is this normal?"
"This is certainly not normal, Lord of Ash. As you once did, each person can only fuel their fire with their own self and the firewood of powerful Soul Power. Generally speaking, no one can burn their own flame with the power of the world because that is a very dangerous thing to do."
"A very dangerous thing?"
"Yes."
The Fire Keeper nodded.
"Although using the power of the entire world as firewood for burning can indeed grant you a considerably immense Soulfire, conversely, your Soulfire will be influenced by this world. If this world were to be destroyed, or if someone severed your connection with the world’s power, then your power would become incredibly weak, to the point of having no strength to fight back..."
So that’s how it is!
Hearing this, Fang Zheng clenched his fists; he had finally figured out what was going on with his system and power!
When he came to this world, Fang Zheng was of course already dead, and not only that, if the memories he inherited from that Cultist in his head were correct, then he also died due to backlash when he tried to start that strange Secret Treasure without sufficient power. After which, his soul took over the Cultist’s body and achieved Rebirth... Up to this point, it seemed there was no issue, but in fact, there was a very important problem.
That is, how did two dead people merge together and then come back to life?
Now it looks like, according to the Fire Keeper, the reason his soul was able to revive at that time, was because the Soulfire within his body established some form of connection with the Main World, allowing the Main World to transfer power to his Soulfire, thus enabling Fang Zheng’s Soulfire to continue burning and gradually grow stronger!
No wonder Laozi said that dagger was so formidable, able to penetrate even the system’s time travel barrier!
Thinking of this, Fang Zheng suddenly had an epiphany. Previously, he had felt a strong aura of Chaotic Power emanate from the dagger, and chaos and order are naturally not the same. No wonder, when he was in the Main World, the weaker the order was in a place, the more unstable his system became. After all this time, it was because the system’s power originated from the Main World’s power! And if the Main World’s power was weakening, then naturally, the system’s power would also become unstable!
It has to be this way, without a doubt!
The more Fang Zheng thought about it, the more convinced he was that this might very well be the truth of everything. After all, when he first entered the Sanctuary, it caused a resonance of order, and after that, Fang Zheng was "assigned" several quests from this world. Although these quests were not identical, their purpose was to maintain order and eliminate chaos.
"It seems that after I return to the Main World, I must investigate thoroughly what that artifact James had was all about..."
There is no love without reason, and naturally no hate without reason either; Fang Zheng didn’t believe that everything happening to him was just a coincidence. He pondered, and the only reason seemed to be that everything about him, including time travel, Rebirth, and the system, might very well be related to the Secret Treasure that the original owner of his body hastily used...
But that’s after returning; before that...
"Fire Girl, is there really no way for me to have an energy core that can sustain a long duration of burning on my own?"
These days, nuclear fusion isn’t a problem, so there should be a way to place a small reactor within my body, right?
"Hmm..."
Hearing this question, the Fire Keeper thought for a moment and then gave an answer.
"If you, Lord of Ash, wish to obtain a large amount of firewood, then I have only one suggestion."
"What suggestion?"
"You could choose a world to be your firewood."
Looking at Fang Zheng before her, the Fire Keeper smiled.
"That way, you can possess a powerful and enduring Soulfire."

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