The Eternal Flame's True Identity! Uncle, It Was You?!

Pure white divine flames swept across the edge of the stone steps, covering everything. The stubborn, unyielding demonic ice crumbled inch by inch under the suppression of absolute laws.

The lingering chill was completely dispelled.

The ancient sacred fire sealed at the core of the Torchstone Platform has finally seen the light of day again.

However, after the ice shell was removed, the Eternal Flame exposed to the air did not have the expected overwhelming power to scorch the heavens and boil the seas. Instead, it appeared listless, with only a cluster of crimson flames the size of a finger.

It swayed weakly in the center of the stone platform, so faint that it seemed as if a gentle breeze would extinguish it on the spot.

Natsu leaned closer for a look, then scratched the back of his head, looking completely confused.

"How did you become such a malnourished, shrunken figure? You look barely bigger than a match head."

Jiang Bai walked up to the torch platform and looked down at the faint flame.

"Having been frozen by the Tartaros for so long, its primordial power was almost completely exhausted. The fact that it managed to cling to life and not be completely extinguished shows that its foundation is quite solid."

Freya, standing at the back, clutched her clothes tightly with both hands, her expression filled with tension and anticipation.

Without the slightest hesitation, Jiang Bai spread his right palm flat, and a pure flame of gold and white intertwined rose from his palm once again.

With a slight flick of the wrist.

The ball of fire transformed into a straight beam of light, which was thrown directly towards the weak, lingering flame at the very center of the torch platform.

The two flames collided.

Suddenly, the peace was shattered!

The once dying, weak flame, like a withered tree in a desert that has drunk its fill of sweet rain, frantically devoured and absorbed the pure essence that Jiang Bai had thrown over.

The fire escalated exponentially in the blink of an eye!

Ten meters!

Twenty meters!

Fifty meters!

The raging crimson flames shot straight into the sky, and the scorching air waves transformed into visible, violent circular ripples that roared and swept across the entire basin in all directions.

The biting cold that had perpetually enveloped the entire Sun Village vanished completely at this moment, and the remaining snow on the ground evaporated into white mist at an astonishing speed.

Freya's knees buckled, and she covered her mouth and shouted excitedly.

"It's resurrected! The village's guardian spirit has truly resurrected!!"

However, before Freya could even wipe away her tears of emotion...

The towering, dozens-of-meters-high raging flame standing in the center of the stone platform suddenly began to violently twist and reconstruct itself. Long, strong, fiery forelimbs and sky-covering fiery wings rapidly condensed and took shape amidst the flames.

A colossal dragon face, covered in fiery patterns and exuding a majestic and ferocious aura, emerged from the center of the sea of fire.

Upon seeing the magnificent dragon formed from flames, Lucy froze on the spot, her eyes widening instantly.

"No way?!"

Gray's lips twitched violently.

"Hey, hey, hey... really?!"

Natsu jumped three meters high, pointed at the giant Fire Dragon head in mid-air, and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Uncle?! It's you?!"

The enormous body formed from raging flames was none other than Atlas Flame, the Hellfire Dragon who had fought alongside Natsu in the Eclipse Gate battle in Fiore's capital not long ago!

The dragon, made of raging fire, slowly lowered its massive skull, spewing out two jets of scorching flames from its large nostrils. Its deep, resonant voice echoed like rolling thunder above the altar.

"It's been a long time, Natsu, son of my dearest friend Igneel."

Atlas Flame's enormous eyes, formed from flowing magma, shifted slightly, passing over Natsu and landing on the black-haired youth standing calmly in front of the stone platform, his hands in his pockets. His tone carried a hint of genuine awe and admiration.

"And this unparalleled human powerhouse, Lord Jiang Bai."

Facing this ancient hellfire Fire Dragon that blotted out the sky, Jiang Bai spread his hands, a casual, teasing smile on his face.

"Actually, it hasn't been that long, has it?"

"For us, it's only been a few days at most. Your 'long time no see' sounds so dated."

Hearing Jiang Bai's familiar and casual tone, Atlas Flame's massive body paused slightly, then he raised his fiery neck and let out a rumbling, muffled laugh.

"Haha! That's absolutely right!"

"For you who have traversed the boundaries of time and space, it is but a fleeting moment, but for me, a remnant soul trapped in the wasteland for countless years, it has truly been four hundred long years!"

Natsu put his hands on his head, tilted his head back excitedly, and asked again.

"Uncle! Since you've been acting as a guardian deity in this dilapidated village all this time, doesn't that mean you're actually still alive and well?"

However, when faced with Natsu's blunt question, the flames on Atlas Flame flickered and dimmed slightly.

"Alive? No, Natsu, you're mistaken."

The dragon's massive fiery head swayed slowly, its voice carrying a sense of melancholy and vicissitude that transcended time.

"My body and soul perished completely four hundred years ago, in that war-torn, barbaric era."

"The murderer who tore me apart with his own hands was none other than the black dragon that brought despair and destruction— Acnologia."

"What now resides within this altar is merely a faint remnant of my will, clinging to the flames, barely clinging to life before my complete demise."

Acnologia!

The Wings of Despair!

The moment that heavy, mountain-like name left Atlas Flame's lips, the relaxed expressions on Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and Wendy's faces vanished instantly.

The devastating Roar that blotted out the Tenrou Island, and the oppressive sense of despair that wiped out the entire island on the spot, are still deeply imprinted in the marrow of everyone who experienced it.

Natsu clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles cracked.

"That damned monster again... the Wings of Despair, Acnologia..."

Seeing his companions' heavy and wary expressions, Jiang Bai kept his hands in his black trouser pockets, his expression remaining completely calm.

During the battle on Tenrou Island, I almost snapped the neck of that black lizard with my bare hands using my strength back then.

Today, my physical and mental power has undergone a qualitative leap across dimensions compared to the time on Tenrou Island.

If that arrogant black dragon dared to jump out and cause trouble now, hmph, I'd really like to see it.