"Fuck!" Seth exclaimed as he clawed at his chest, where the lamp had disappeared into.

’What the hell was that? I hadn’t even made a choice yet!’

He turned to Adam, who looked just as shocked and confused as he was.

"What happens now?" Seth asked, fear of the unknown creeping into his voice.

Adam quickly replied, "You should be sent to the Earth’s core soon! The core flame of Earth is what can light the lantern."

Seth’s eyes widened in realization. He understood now why Adam said his life and death would be unknown.

’Who dares say they would survive in the unimaginable heat of the Earth’s core?!’

He shuddered as he suddenly felt a chilly wind blow down his spine.

"Fuck! Fuck! What do I do!" Seth panicked as he suddenly felt the turbulence of space around him — the transportation had begun.

Adam spoke with a guilty expression. "I’m extremely sorry to ask this of you, child, but remember I told you, you were brought here for two reasons.

My second ask of you is to please not be greedy. Unlike me, not only do you get the chance to light the lamp, you get the chance to control humanity’s fortune.

Please, child, do not be greedy when you have such power in your hands. Remember, the power of one might be impressive, but the power of the whole is count—"

Adam’s speech was cut short as Seth vanished from his sight.

The man could only shake his head helplessly, letting out a sigh. From behind, a beautiful woman slowly came out of the dense foliage of the garden into the clearing.

Her hair was light brown, her skin a beautiful deep brown shade that almost glinted gold, her eyes bright blue, and her figure enchanting.

She was just as naked as Adam, and she walked silently behind him, hugging him from the back and resting her head on his neck.

Adam grabbed her hands wrapped tight around his chest and squeezed gently. "I really wished there was a better way," he sighed.

But the woman shook her head, her soothing voice ringing out. "No, my love. There are some things that are just meant to be. You can’t blame yourself. It is his destiny."

Adam sighed, sadness flashing through his gaze. That child was his descendant. No matter what, he felt bad. Worse was that he wouldn’t know if Seth survived until he could leave this garden — which wouldn’t be for a very long time.

...

The scenery around Seth changed from thriving luscious green to deep molten orange!

The air around him was filled with opaque toxic smoke, the heat blistering in intensity.

As for the ground? It was no ground at all — just an absurdly dense concentration of lava. He didn’t sink inside because the density could hold his weight.

But that didn’t stop the heat from frying his soles.

He would have screamed, but the toxic carbon gas in the air would just choke him, speeding his demise.

So even though he was assailed by the pain of constant burning at unimaginable levels, he struggled to remain calm.

Then the lantern pulsed out from his chest before starting to fly toward a specific direction.

He scowled. He had no choice but to follow immediately. In this place filled with blinding ashen toxic gases, a moment of carelessness and he would lose sight of the lamp.

Seth let out pained grunts. Each step he took sent a blistering wave of heat up his feet.

He also realized he was at the Earth’s core, meaning the level of gravity would be absurd — each step felt like he was carrying a mountain.

The liquid molten beneath his feet rippled but still held his weight, though the heat it channeled intensified.

Seth stifled a pained cry. In fact, the only reason he wasn’t ash right now wasn’t because of his maxed defense stat — that would be nothing before such heat.

Instead, it was because this wasn’t his physical body. Though it reacted with reality the same, giving him feedback of pain, smell, and sight, it was inherently not his real body. Hence, he hadn’t died from the lack of oxygen.

Pained grunts rang out through the sea of molten as Seth followed the lamp, his only guiding light.

And after what seemed like hours of suffering through a level of pain he never thought possible, he arrived before a platform.

By now his body wasn’t as corporeal, faintly translucent.

He stared at the platform in shock. This thing resembled a man-made construct, like an ancient altar of sorts.

He didn’t dare waste a second more. He quickly fought against the gravity, ascending a trail of fiery red steps that led to the platform.

The heat didn’t relent even as he resisted the gravity. Each moment he thought he would die, his consciousness dissipating.

But then a flicker of gold pulsed, and his form would be reinforced, growing more corporeal.

This had happened countless times — more than Seth could count.

’Could it be an effect of my origin soul?’ Seth’s mind managed a thought, even though clouded by pain.

Finally, he arrived at the top of the platform. But what he saw wasn’t what he expected.

His vision was blinded by a sea of white. He reeled backward, using his arm to shield his face until his vision adapted.

And then he saw it. At the very top of the neatly carved platform was an ancient torch, burning with a pure white flame.

The racial lantern pulsed brightly, bobbing in the air excitedly before him.

He reached for the lamp, and the moment it entered his grasp, it went still, its luster dimming.

His gaze moved back to the burning torch. At this point, even a fool could figure it out.

That was the core flame of Earth, and that was the only flame that could ignite the lamp.

Seth steeled himself as he took slow, painfully blistering steps forward.

Contrary to his expectations, it didn’t get hotter the closer he got to the flame. No, it was quite the opposite.

The atmosphere grew clearer, and the heat toned down with each step forward. By the time he was before the flame, there was nothing but a harmless warmth left.

The gold around his figure pulsed brightly as the torch rattled.

Suddenly, a system prompt appeared in his vision...

[The Earth core welcomes the origin soul!]

[Consciousness is being revitalized!]

Suddenly, a refreshing chill poured into Seth. His eyes rolled white from ecstasy. After suffering through the pain of heat, nothing hit better than a revitalizing chill.

His form consolidated until he was back to normal, his presence stronger even.

Now in perfect shape, he didn’t hesitate. He put the fiber wick protruding from the lamp over the flame. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

The pure white wick caught fire, and a faint ember flickered...

His vision was clouded by a sea of golden!

[Congratulations...]