bookbashuk Chapter 171 Heart of the Flame Demon
Chapter 171 Heart of the Flame Demon
Chapter 171 Heart of the Flame Demon
Lorraine,
Carrasgarason
In the palace of the lord and his wife.
Celeborn and Galadriel met with Duy and Gandalf.
"You actually killed that Balrog in the Moria Mines! That's a truly magnificent feat!" Celeborn exclaimed, his eyes filled with admiration as he gazed at the two men.
"The tremendous commotion on Silvertooth Peak could be seen even in Lorien. Perhaps in the years to come, there will be songs describing that epic battle: the grey-robed wizard and the black-robed wizard killed the last Balrog in Middle-earth atop the mountain, bringing peace to Moria."
Gandalf suddenly laughed and shook his head: "What can lyrics possibly describe? Aside from Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel, whose insightful eyes can see through the illusion, those below, looking up, can only see the peak shrouded in blizzard, hear the rumbling thunder, see the dazzling lightning, and see tongues of fire flickering on the mountaintop. What else can they know about what's happening?"
"Someone will always find out; the snow and fog cannot obscure your deeds." Galadriel smiled gently, her eyes filled with deep starlight.
Her gaze fell on Dui and Gandalf's clothing; the robes they had conjured with Transfiguration were clearly visible to her.
"I can sense that your souls are weary. Go to the River Nimrodell to wash away the dust and weariness, and I will have someone bring you new robes to change into."
Neither Gandalf nor Duy refused, and without needing anyone to lead them, the two arrived at the Ninrodale River with ease.
They immersed half their bodies in the river. The icy water flowing from the mountains gave Dui a chilling sensation, and he couldn't help but shiver.
The elves composed many songs about this river, praising its magical abilities.
The Ningruodaer River lived up to its reputation. Bathing in the river, Dui felt his physical and mental fatigue gradually being washed away, and a drowsy feeling after extreme fatigue was relieved came over him.
With his upper body leaning against the soft grass by the river, Dui gradually fell asleep in the cold river water. In his half-awake state, he seemed to hear the beautiful singing of the female elf, as if she was telling him something.
"Wake up, Duir, don't sleep too long, you'll catch a cold!" Alwen's gentle voice woke Duir from his sleep.
When Dui opened his eyes, he saw Alwen looking at him tenderly.
"Alwen, what brings you here?" Dui asked in surprise, his mind a little slow.
"Alright, Duir, come on up. The Ningruodai River can relieve fatigue, but the water is icy cold. Staying too long will make you freeze," Alwen said with concern.
Duy then realized that Gandalf had left sometime earlier, leaving only him and Alvin.
Perhaps because his body was tainted by the fire of the Balrog, Dui didn't feel particularly cold except at the beginning. However, he didn't refute Alwen's words and stood up to walk out of the river.
Alvin handed over a stack of white robes.
"Your clothes are damaged. These are clothes I sewed for you. Try them on and see if they fit."
"Did you sew this for me?" Dui asked with a look of surprise.
Alvin smiled and nodded.
Dui took the white robe and grasped her hand, exclaiming happily, "Alvin, you're so wonderful! I can't imagine how dark life would be without you by my side!"
Alvin's eyelashes trembled like butterfly wings, and her eyes, which reflected the stars and flowing springs, curved into two crescent moons, with a smile overflowing from them.
"Alright, hurry up and change, don't catch a cold!" Alvin urged gently.
"Change here? No need to avoid it?" Dui raised an eyebrow and asked deliberately with a playful expression.
Alvin looked at Dui, who was deliberately teasing her, and a very faint blush rose on her cheeks, like morning dew kissing flower petals. She waved her wand and summoned a mist to shroud Dui.
"Stop fooling around, Duir, hurry up and get dressed. Gandalf and my grandparents are all waiting for you."
Seeing this, Dui looked somewhat regretful and quickly changed into the elven robe that Alwen had made for him in the mist.
As the mist dissipated, Dui appeared in a white, elegant elven robe trimmed with silver. His tall and slender figure exuded a noble and graceful air.
"How is it? Does it look good?" Dui turned around and showed it to Alvin.
Alvin's eyes were bright, and he nodded slightly.
"It looks great, and it suits you perfectly."
The two left the riverbank, crossed the Mawron Forest, and arrived at Lady Galadriel's garden.
As soon as they arrived, Gandalf, Galadriel, and Celeborn, who were sitting around in the garden chairs, all turned to look at them.
Seeing the two approaching hand in hand, Gandalf chuckled and teased, "I thought you'd be even later. After all, young people always have so much energy, unlike this old man who's getting on in years."
Dui and Alvin were both a little embarrassed by what Gandalf said.
After the two joined the tea party in the garden, the group began to talk about the Flame Demon.
Gandalf slowly recounts their battle with the Balrog, including their fall into the abyss and their pursuit of the Balrog from the bottom of the abyss to the mountaintop.
Inevitably, the text mentions the nameless creatures in the deep tunnels.
Upon hearing about the harrowing experience of being on the brink of death, Alvin gripped Dui's hand tightly, filled with both worry and relief.
Kellerborn's attention was drawn to the nameless creature Gandalf had mentioned, and he didn't notice his granddaughter's actions.
He was astonished: "I thought it was just a legend, but could such a creature really exist deep in the earth?"
Gandalf, recalling the events, still felt a lingering fear. He shook his head, relieved, and said:
"I used to think it was just a legend, but after encountering them, I realized that the legend was true. I don't want to go into too much detail and let you be traumatized."
But if it weren't for the Balrog leading the way, Duir and I would probably have been in an even more dangerous situation. So, in a way, the Balrog saved our lives.
Dui also strongly agreed. Whenever he recalled being locked in by the gaze of the nameless creature, a sense of emptiness and absolute darkness would surge into his heart, sending chills down his spine.
Even though he didn't see the true appearance of the nameless creature, the fear it instilled in him was countless times greater than that of the Balrog.
It was as if it were an indescribable terror!
"What exactly is that nameless creature? Why do you fear it so much?" Alwen, a young elf, had never heard of the legends of the nameless creature from the depths. Seeing Duir so frightened, she couldn't help but feel concerned.
Galadriel slowly stood up, walked to the water mirror beside her, gently stirred the surface of the water with her hand, and said slowly, "It is a very ancient and mysterious creature, far older than the Orcs or even the Balrogs. It existed when the world of Arda was born..."
As the fingers manipulated the water mirror, countless fragments of images flashed, as elusive and unpredictable as illusions.
Suddenly, the mirror turned pitch black. The black was so thick and viscous that it was deeper and denser than the night sky. There was no light or shadow. Just looking through the mirror, one could feel an unsettling sense of darkness and fear.
In that darkness, there seemed to be indescribable ancient whispers, as if some great terror was brewing!
Galadriel stared intently at the dark water mirror, as if she were looking directly into the darkness, but before the darkness could sense her presence, she waved her hand and erased the image, restoring it to its normal water mirror appearance.
"Was that an unnamed creature from deep underground?" Alvin asked, still somewhat shaken.
Galadriel nodded. "There are some beings in this world that were not created, such as the oldest Iawain-ben-Arda (Tom Bombardier), the evil god Ugoliant who was conceived from the void darkness on the outskirts of Arda, and the nameless creatures deep within the earth."
In ancient legends, in the deepest, darkest depths of the earth, something unspeakable is conceived; it gnaws at the earth's foundations until the great symphony ends, at which point it bursts forth and devours everything.
Seeing Alvin's worried expression, Galadriel smiled and gently stroked her face.
"There's no need to worry about that. The end of time is far, far away. Even by the lifespan of an elf, it's an extremely long time. Perhaps by then, elves will no longer exist."
Aside from initial surprise, Dui indicated that he accepted it well.
Isn't this nameless creature just like Nidhogg, the black dragon in Norse mythology that gnaws on the roots of the World Tree, and Leviathan in Hebrew mythology?
They all represent the end of the world.
He just hadn't expected that Middle-earth would have such a setting.
The topic of the apocalypse was too heavy, so no one continued to discuss it in depth. Instead, they shifted their focus to the Balrog.
Dui took out the heart of the Balrog—the red magic crystal.
Everyone was astonished to see the red magic crystal radiating intense heat on the table.
The black flames inside, in particular, exude a violent, destructive, and dark aura of evil.
It allows one to feel the terrifying power contained within.
Balrog, a fallen Maiar, was once a lesser god associated with fire. He was seduced by Morgoth and fell into demonic possession, turning the sacred fire he once controlled into an evil one.
Even though the flames were corrupted by Morgoth's dark power and their properties were altered, their essence remained unchanged.
"Duir, are you prepared to use the Balrog's undying fire to forge the Phoenix's rebirth fire?" Galadriel inquired.
Dui nodded.
As a fallen sub-god-level Maiar, the Balrog's natal fire is god-level.
If this undying flame were transformed into a flame of rebirth, his Animagus, after evolving into a phoenix, would surely be even more powerful than the phoenix in the Harry Potter world.
"But if you use such evil flames, you might fall into darkness, or even become an evil spirit?" Kellerborn said, frowning.
"So before we use it, we need to purify the Balrog's flames," Gandalf explained with a smile.
"The Balrog was originally a Maiar whose essence was fire. After being tempted and corrupted by Morgoth, its inextinguishable fire was corrupted by Morgoth's dark power and turned into evil fire."
Only by purifying the evil fire and restoring it to its purest state can an immortal phoenix be forged from that pure flame.
Gandalf continued, "Lady Galadriel, your purifying power is unmatched, so we would like to ask you for your help in purifying the Balrog's fire."
Upon hearing this, Galadriel looked at the red magic crystal before her, then glanced at the anxious and expectant Dui and the pleading Alvin.
She smiled and nodded in agreement.
(End of this chapter)