Wisdom wasn’t a bad-looking woman. In fact, she’s quite comely. If Jaejoong had met the woman in other circumstances and she’s not the incarnation of the Oracle trying to burn him in a funeral pyre, he would have found her interesting. Maybe, he might even had taken her to his bed.

But such thoughts could not occupy his mind right now. His mind was busy trying to find a way to escape from Wisdom's trap.

"The Oracle have foreseen your return to the temple," murmured Cloud who glided behind Jaejoong.

"You don’t have to tell me that!" Jaejoong muttered darkly.

Jaejoong couldn’t see the archers. But he knew they were there, their arrows trained on his body. He could dodge or break two or three of the arrows using the sword. But more arrows would get through and pierced every part of his body.

"Answer my question, Prince Jaejoong," commanded Wisdom in even tones.

Her fireshadow started moving again toward Jaejoong which resulted to Cloud's immediate retreat upwards, leaving him alone on the ground facing the fireshadow. The fireshadow began expanding! In an instant Jaejoong found himself surrounded by its blazing heat! He felt stupid for thinking he could fight his way out of this predicament.

"An arrow through the heart, would give you a quick death. And we can easily prepare a royal pyre to burn your body into ashes," continued Wisdom.

"This is not a good way to convince me to tell you what you want!" he snapped back.

The fireshadow suddenly engulfed Jaejoong's whole body! He screamed in pain as he felt his skin melting off his bones as the fireshadow seared his whole body!

As fast as the pain came, it ceased as the fireshadow left him. But it remained encircling him, forming a cage of fire.

Gasping for breath, Jaejoong checked himself. His skin was still intact and unburned! Yet he still felt the pain caused by the fireshadow.

"The fireshadow will not burn you yet, Prince Jaejoong. It will only give you pain. What you felt was just the first of the agonies you will continue to suffer, unless you begin answering my questions. Now, tell me, how were you able to gather those ideas and return them to their owners?"

"And if I give you the answer you want, you will give me a quick death, right?" he said sarcastically between his breath.

"Do you prefer to suffer agonizing pain the whole night? Wouldn’t it be easier to just accept the peace and comfort of death? Your death would also save this world from darkness."

Jaejoong tried to spit back an answer, but the fireshadow once again closed-in on him! His ordeal was much longer this time. He tried not to scream, to preserve his pride, but the pain was too unbearable! His throat was already hoarse from screaming before the fireshadow withdrew from his body. He found himself lying on the ground, gasping for air. Even breathing wracked his body with pain.

Wisdom’s eyes never left him. Her face never showed any sympathy or any other emotion. She was a cold woman. He knew she was waiting for him to accept her offer. Her calm demeanor showed that she expected an answer from him before the night was over.

If the fireshadow touched him again, he would certainly pass out. He tried to stand using the Sword of Truth as support. He had no intention of dying on the floor. He would die fighting and on his feet. It took him several minutes and his legs continued to wobble, but he managed to stand and face Wisdom again.

His mind was shouting in defiance. His whole being refused to die. But how could he fight a fireshadow?

"The sword cuts everything!" bellowed Cloud from above him.

How could the sword cut through the fireshadow when a moment ago it effectively blocked his attack against the Oracle?

Jaejoong looked straight at Wisdom’s gold-tinged eyes. "

You are being stubborn, Prince Jaejoong," she commented.

"I would prefer to call it defiance!" he shouted back between gritted teeth. "Aren’t you pissed off that I continue to defy your power? That I live my life according to what I want, and not according to what you want? You are not as powerful as everyone is saying because I know something you don’t!" he smirked. "You're just a dumb who knows nothing about real life!"

Such words would have affected his opponents in the Fist Fight Arena. They would have gotten angry. But Wisdom remained calm.

The fireshadow again advanced and wrapped its flames around him! This time, the pain was so intense, he began to lose consciousness. But before everything -out, Jaejoong saw something. A thin thread of light. Almost impossible to see because of the blaze of the fireshadow. But it was there, he was sure of it. The thin thread of light was connecting the fireshadow and Wisdom!

"Prince Jaejoong! Are you still alive?" called the worried voice of Cloud.

Jaejoong opened his eyes. He was still alive. And he was still holding the Sword of Truth. He was also lying flat on his back on the ground again.

The fireshadow still encircled him. Ready to attack the moment Wisdom commanded it. He tried to focus his eyes. The thread that he saw before he passed out, where was it?

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