For those willing to support, here's the link:
patreon.com/Eden_Translation
I am now back to 60 thanks for the support guys 🤧
*****
{Chapter: 63 - Trial by Flame?}
The golden halls of Asgard trembled with tension. Cracked marble, charred debris, and the scent of scorched air lingered from battles past. Amidst this ruin stood Sif—proud, resolute, her silver and red armor reflecting the firelight as she raised her gleaming shield and leveled her sword toward the approaching shadow. Her stance was firm, her heartbeat calm but alert.
Across from her, Malekith, Lord of the Dark Elves, emerged from the dust like a phantom. His ebony armor glinted with eldritch runes, and his pale, angular face was twisted in cold fury. Unlike the others of his race, Malekith had tasted cosmic power. And he would not be denied again.
"I've come to take back what belongs to me," he snarled, his voice low and venomous.
Sif didn't flinch, but her gaze subtly shifted to Aiden, standing beside her.
Malekith ignored her completely. His red eyes burned a hole through Aiden's soul. "You... Midgard ant. Return the Aether, and I might let your ashes rest peacefully."
Aiden stood tall, his breathing steady. Despite his battered state, there was a spark in his eyes—calm, defiant.
"Come and take it," he said.
Then, as if on cue, the very presence of the Aether vanished from Aiden's body. The energy signature evaporated like a snuffed-out flame.
Malekith's eyes widened. "Impossible! Where is it?!"
Aiden cracked his knuckles slowly, the popping of his joints echoing unnaturally loud in the broken hall. "Beat me, and I'll hand it back."
A silence followed—sharp and cutting—until Malekith's fury exploded.
"FOOL!" the dark elf roared, surging forward like a bolt of darkness. "I'LL SHOW YOU TRUE DESPAIR!"
Sif moved to intercept, her instincts taking over—but a mysterious force froze her limbs mid-motion. A translucent aura wrapped around her body like chains.
"Sif," Aiden muttered, glancing sideways. "Didn't we make a bet? Just sit back... and enjoy the show."
Her eyes widened. Not from fear—but from disbelief. Was this truly the same man who collapsed minutes ago?
BOOM!
Their fists collided mid-air, unleashing a shockwave that shattered nearby columns and sent a gust of wind roaring through the ruins.
Sparks danced across the floor as marble cracked beneath their feet. Aiden and Malekith stood firm—equally matched in that moment.
"Not bad... for a mortal," Malekith hissed, drawing a dark blade of cursed steel from his side.
But Aiden didn't wait. With a savage grin, he launched a barrage of punches, his movements raw but overwhelmingly forceful. He wasn't fighting with technique—he was fighting with instinct, adrenaline, and sheer willpower. And for the first time, Sif's eyes shimmered with awe.
This wasn't a weak human. This was a warrior.
Blow after blow landed with the force of thunderclaps. Aiden's fists cracked armor, split skin, and splattered blood onto the golden floor. But Malekith endured, retaliating with his own elegant yet brutal flurry of attacks—his sword slicing across Aiden's ribs, his foot slamming into Aiden's chest with the force of a battering ram.
Blood sprayed from Aiden's mouth as he skidded back, leaving a trail of crimson behind him.
"You thought you were strong?" Malekith sneered, licking a trickle of his own black blood from his lips. "You're nothing but an insect. An ant. Return the Aether, and perhaps I'll crush you quickly."
Aiden wiped blood from his mouth and smiled through the pain.
"Ant? I'm the boot, you pointy-eared bastard."
He took a step back, exhaling sharply.
"Sif. Move."
"I won't retreat," she said, still struggling against the last remnants of his binding aura. "A warrior never flees."
Aiden's voice dropped an octave. "I don't want to hurt you."
"And I don't need your pity," she shot back, her eyes defiant.
But then the air began to tremble.
Aiden's killing intent surged like a storm. The heat around him rippled, warping the very air. His veins glowed orange. Flames erupted from his skin—not magical fire, but flame so hot that air burned around it.
BOOM!
The entire chamber was engulfed in fire.
Sif stumbled back, shielding her face. Her armor began to glow from the sheer heat, her skin beneath sweating in seconds. Even Malekith halted, his eyes narrowing.
"What... is this?" the dark elf muttered.
Aiden stood wreathed in fire. His eyes had turned molten gold, his skin veined with energy like lava cracks in the earth.
"This," Aiden said, "is my power. Not Aether. Not borrowed. Mine."
And then he moved.
Faster than before.
He ducked Malekith's slash and drove his knee into the elf's chest, cracking ribs. The sound echoed like snapping tree branches. He followed with a brutal hook to the jaw, knocking out a shard of Malekith's teeth.
The Dark Elf shrieked and countered with a blast of shadow magic—but Aiden tanked it, his flames absorbing the spell with a hiss.
He lifted Malekith and slammed him against the wall hard enough to make the entire hall quake.
"You're in my damn way."
Malekith coughed, blood oozing from his mouth.
Then he laughed.
"Do you think this is enough to kill me?" he hissed, raising both arms. "I am darkness. I am the void! I am—"
CRACK!
Aiden's fist broke Malekith's nose and caved in half his mask.
"Yeah, yeah," Aiden muttered. "Darkness, shadow, doom, yada yada—shut up."
Sif couldn't believe what she was seeing. This man—this mortal—was fighting on equal ground with a being who had annihilated whole battalions. Blood flowed from both fighters freely. The golden floors of Asgard were now stained black and red. Each strike threatened to bring the entire structure down.
And still... Aiden didn't stop.
A final uppercut lifted Malekith into the air—and a spinning kick sent him crashing through a stone pillar. The dark elf groaned as he lay there, twitching.
Aiden stood above him, chest heaving, flames flickering out.
"You wanted the Aether?" Aiden said, eyes narrowing.
"I buried you," he lied, "deep in the heart of the star."
Malekith's bloodied form staggered backward, his once-pristine obsidian armor shattered in multiple places, exposing pale gray skin bruised and cracked from Aiden's assault. But then… the wounds began to vanish.
A thick, pulsating mist of shadow bled from Malekith's pores. Whispering in tongues no mortal could decipher, he chanted an incantation older than the stars. The darkness swirled around him like a living creature, hungrily sealing gashes, knitting flesh, and reconstructing broken bones. His eyes, glowing with malevolent energy, snapped open—stronger, faster, crueler than before.
Aiden stood amidst the ruins, his muscles tense, eyes narrowed. But his silhouette was beginning to distort—his body cloaked in flame so intense it shimmered like a mirage. His figure blurred, and the heat distorted the very air around him.
Malekith opened his mouth to mock him—but paused.
Then Aiden's voice echoed across the field, distorted, unearthly.
"Have you ever witnessed the fury of a supernova… up close?"
The earth beneath Aiden's feet glowed red-hot, fissures forming in the stone as molten cracks split the battlefield. The sky darkened, but not from clouds—no, it was the intense light of the inferno outshining the sun itself. Entire buildings began to crumble from the heatwave, windows exploded, and metal warped. Trees burst into flame, and the ground trembled.
Far off, standing Sif watched with wide eyes. Even from her distance, the temperature was suffocating. Her golden armor began to glow dull red with heat. Her throat tightened as she whispered, "He's… becoming something else."
Malekith's smug expression cracked. For the first time, there was hesitation. As the temperature continued to skyrocket, panic set in. Flames licked at his armor, and the dark enchantments that protected him began to unravel.
He tried to cast another spell—but his fingers trembled. His voice stuttered.
Too hot. Too bright. Too fast.
"Run… I have to run!" Malekith realized, eyes darting wildly. The heat was draining his magic—no, it was eating it. Every step he took away from Aiden felt like trying to run in a collapsing star.
But then—
BOOM.
Aiden vanished from sight. A second later, he reappeared behind Malekith like a falling meteor, fist cocked back. His body was now a living sun, cloaked in fire hotter than hell itself.
CRACK!
His molten punch connected with Malekith's ribs. There was a sound like cracking stone, followed by a burst of blood and smoke as the dark elf lord was flung through three buildings, pulverizing stone and steel in a trail of fire. He landed hard, his body skidding across the ground before disappearing over the city's edge in a flaming arc.
His final scream echoed briefly… then vanished into silence.
The heat didn't stop.
Palace began to melt, their roofs collapsing. Statues turned to slag. The very air shimmered like waves on a boiling sea.
"Stop! STOP!" Sif cried out, shielding her face with her shield as the inferno pushed her back. "You'll destroy everything!"
But Aiden didn't hear her.
He rose higher into the sky, his body now a blazing infernal figure hovering like a vengeful god. Above his palm, a miniature sun formed—flaring wildly, radiating destructive power that made the clouds flee.
With a wave, he hurled it downward.
Thousands of streams of fire rained from the orb like divine judgment, snaking through the city and targeting every remaining dark elf soldier. There was no escape—each bolt pierced armor, seared flesh, and ignited screams.
Dark elves exploded one by one in bursts of fire and blood, their shadows etched on walls like the remnants of a nuclear blast. Ash rained like black snow. The screams turned to silence.
The battle was over.
Victory was not won by blade or banner, but by incineration.
Aiden floated down slowly, his body still steaming, his eyes dimming. The inferno ebbed with each second, until finally, warmth gave way to cold wind.
He landed before Sif, still glowing faintly, and gave her a tired but cocky smile.
"Remember your words…" he said softly, his voice barely audible over the crackling ruins. "You… have a date with me."
With those words, his legs buckled.
Sif rushed forward, catching him before he collapsed. His body wasn't even a little hot, but alive. She laid him gently on the ground, brushing strands of hair from his face. Her heart was pounding.
She checked his chest, then his pulse. Relief flooded her expression.
"He's alive…" she whispered.
Then, realizing he was nestled against her breastplate, her cheeks flushed pink.
Warriors from the nearby city, citizens, and soldiers alike emerged from their hiding places. Cheers erupted as they saw the smoking craters where the dark elves once stood. They saw Aiden—unconscious, but victorious—and they roared with triumph.
Sif, cradling Aiden in her arms, allowed herself a brief smile.
This mortal man had fought like a god… and burned a legend into the world's memory.
*****
You can support me by joining my Patreon and get upto 60 chapters in advance.
patreon.com/Eden_Translation