I think this will be the halfway point for Book 8. It's a lot longer because I plan to merge the mini arc that occurs right after this into this book because I cut out some of the finer details for Book 9 in order to preserve the nature of the "true enemy." There will still be a few hints along with what happened in the past.
About a character name you might recognize...
Spoiler :
If you remember at the end of that one, I left Akiza's fate uncertain as the Immortals met to discuss what would happen next and a powerful lich emerged to begin an attack on the world. Over time, they gathered their own forces, this is the Guides. There are those that who chose to stay out of the conflict and preserve themselves. These are the Overseers. Akiza is part of the last group that wants to directly fight the Guides if possible. They don't have a name as they are not united due to the losses they suffered in their previous conflicts. The emergence of Heroes from different worlds is a result of the Immortals experimenting on people from different worlds in order to create something powerful enough to fight the Lich that rose from that story. Of the characters from that story, only Akiza, Serph, and Himiko are alive. The rest all perished in the conflict while some of the remaining Immortals are still in hiding trying to create a Hero that can stand up to the Lich. She will become an important character in making Garnet take a more active role in fighting the Guides.
A few hundred years in the timeline and many world jumps later, the character from my older published story appears. That one was my first attempt at a Xianxia style novel while trying to keep its form, which was ultimately a bad decision and what ultimately led me to write this one. I chose to abandon their short chapter style and focus on basing each chapter around a series of big events that I want to happen in that chapter and this has been the style I have mostly followed since unless the chapter is really long.
I might take another shot at writing that type of story when I finish this one to learn from my past mistakes.
Two days had passed since Quinton acquired the powers of bat from Thomas. Quinton was focused heavily on trying to move his wings from his arms to his back so that he could fly and fight at the same time. Zedd was still awaiting a response from the Divine Phoenix Clan. Everyone else was still attempting to activate the chi within their bodies, but there was little progress. Garnet on the other hand, could not clear her mind. She worried about all the other things that were going on, such as the small chance that the Grey Ghosts would pursue Ruby who was still in Anzio Academy. Dark Mages could be coming for Xiaomei and Quinton. Powerful monsters could attack the city of Constantinople and Taklamakan. Various clans could be chasing after Zedd. There was no end to the number of threats.
Garnet had encountered something with the powers of the Phoenix Clan before, the Guide Yarik. Yarik was from a different world though and probably acquired his power from a different Spirit God than the Phoenix Clan.
"Are you there?" Zedd asked.
Zedd was sending a message through the earring. "Yes," Garnet replied.
"Gather everyone and come to the Northern Wall," Zedd instructed. "Holdin is waiting to bring us to their clan."
Holdin kept his word. He said that if Zedd and the others helped him escape the Golden Dragon Clan, he would allow us to meet the Phoenix God and he was actually honoring that promise. "It's time go to the Divine Phoenix Clan," said Garnet. "We're heading to the Northern Wall."
Everyone gathered their belongings and headed towards the Northern Wall. They spotted Zedd who was trying to get their attention by waving at them. Standing next to him was a man in red and gold, Holdin.
"I'm surprised you all survived the Golden Dragons," said Holdin as Garnet and the others approached him. "Most of our disciples could not even compare to the lower ranking masters."
"What rank are you?" Garnet inquired.
"Senior Disciple," Holdin replied. "I have orders to bring you to meet one of the Senior Masters. Are you ready?"
"Yes," said Zedd.
Holdin took out an orange crystal. "Stay close," he said.
It was another teleportation crystal like the one Xiaomei used before. Holdin crushed it in his hand and the orange mist began to spread around them. When the dust cleared, they were in the outskirts of a large bustling city. "Where are we?" Quinton asked as everyone looked around.
They were standing at the edge of a large and bustling city. At the center of the city was an enormous tower that stretched several stories up. Around the sides were enormous curved walls with an opening at the top that an enormous tree stretched out of. It almost looked like they had carved out the inside of a mountain and built their within it. Near the west end of the city was a river that stretched across the city. However, this characteristic gave it natural walls and basically turned the city into a fortress that could be sustained with the water near it.
"Welcome to Phoenix City, home of the Divine Phoenix Clan," said Holdin.
There were many people in the uniforms of the Divine Phoenix Clan, but there were many others who were not. They seemed to be ordinary people without any kind of special abilities or training. "Lead the way," said Zedd.
"We're heading there," said Holdin as he pointed to the giant tower in the center of the city. "That is the home of the Divine Phoenix Clan."
Garnet stayed in the back for a moment as Holdin was speaking. "Teleportation Summoning Circle!" She quietly laid a teleportation point in case they ever needed to return here, whether as allies or as enemies.
"I don't know why, but I pictured the clans as secret societies that keep their Gods hidden in some cave underground so that others cannot get to it," said Quinton.
"There are a few that do that," said Holdin. "Those are the ones that don't have the power to defend themselves from the larger clans."
Holdin was trying to brag about the strength of their clan. After all, making a good impression on visitors is very important. There was something on Garnet's mind though, the transformation that the Golden Dragon Clan Disciples went through. That was definitely something stimulated by one of their members and it gave them immense strength. It could be the type of strength that she was looking for, but it was pointless if the user could not control their own strength.
They passed by something unusual as they crossed the river. It was a graveyard. "What is that place?" Garnet asked.
"It was a graveyard that was set up during the early days of the city," said Holdin.
Atop the entrance read the words: "West Wind Graveyard." Garnet read the tombstone that was closest to the entrance: "Master Cixi." Under the name was a single snowflake. In front of the gravestone was a single white flower. Someone had recently visited the grave. There were at least several dozen other tombstones.
After passing through numerous busy streets, the group finally arrived at the entrance of the Divine Phoenix Clan. The front gate had their red and gold emblem stretched across it. They were still quite a distance from the tower. The outer city comprised about four fifths of the diameter of the city, but the Divine Phoenix Clan itself was basically at the center. "Senior Disciple Holdin has returned!" Holdin said to the two guards at the door.
"Welcome back brother," said one of the guards as he opened a small door on the side.
"What's the point of that then?" Garnet asked as she pointed at the enormous gate with the symbol by the door.
"That's only used when we mobilize a large force," said Holdin. "Since it's just six people, we can just go through like normal."
"It is impractical to have to open huge gates every time they let someone through," said Zedd.
As the group passed by the door, Garnet noticed that there were several talismans and charms along with some type of formation lain around the gate and the door. It was not something that you would be able to break through by force that easily. "Stay with me," said Holdin. "If you walk off on your own, you might be considered an intruder and attacked since normally, only ones who wear the Phoenix Clan Robes are allowed in. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes," everyone said together.
The group headed towards the tall tower. Along the way, they saw many others who were wearing the red robes of the Divine Phoenix Clan. They were different from the ones that Garnet had encountered before because their colors were different. While the primary color was still red, very few of them wore red and gold. Some wore red and yellow, others wore red and white, there were even a few that wore red and black. Many of them gave strange looks at Garnet and her group. After all, they were outsiders and their robes stood out.
"Help me!" Garnet could occasionally hear the cry of a few Spirits as well. They too had been crafted into Artifact Weapons.
When they arrived in front of the tower, Garnet could see how big it really was. It was an eight story tall tower above ground and it even extended into the ground below them. Again in front of the tower were a few guards. This time there were three of them. "We're going down to meet Master Akiza," said Holdin as he showed a small red and gold coin with the head of a bird on it.
The guards opened the door for them and let them inside the tower. Compared to the outside of the tower, the inside of it was not as elaborate or decorated. In fact, it was rather simple and plain looking. There were no fancy ornaments nor decorative displays. All of the expensive decorations were on the outside of the tower. The center of the tower itself was blocked off by a tube of some kind that seem to run throughout the building. "Isn't the inside usually fancier than the outside?" Riley asked.
"It usually is," said Holdin. "But many years ago, our clan's ancestors decided that the pursuit of material wealth was detrimental to the clan and while individuals are free to pursue material wealth, the clan itself should not make it a goal nor a priority. It hasn't stopped some of our members from getting greedy though."
No matter how righteous or upstanding a group is, it could be corrupted from within or from external factors if they are pushed far enough. Garnet wondered to what extremes the Divine Phoenix Clan worked to acquire power. The Golden Dragon Clan grafted fragments of their spirit within their own bodies. The Phoenix Clan was probably doing something similar.
Towards the opposite end of the entrance was stairs leading downward underneath the tower. As they headed town, there were no guards nor other people. There was an eerie silence. There was not a single sound to be heard. There were some flames along the walls to provide light, but the main source of light was a bright yellow light coming from underneath them. "What is this place?" Zedd asked as he scanned the walls.
Along the walls were what resembled markings of a magic circle. However, the magic circle markings also contained trigrams that were unique to magic from the east. There were lines that connected the base of the tower to the top. On top of that, the power that flowed through it was not mana alone. It was drawing from multiple sources of power and directed that power throughout the tower.
"It's a special area that was constructed by Master Akiza many years ago," said Holdin. "She is the care taker of the Divine Phoenix that resides at the very bottom of the tower."
"Is she the leader of the clan?" Zedd asked.
"No," said Holdin. "But she is the oldest one here. She has been here for as long as the other Masters and even the Grandmaster have known. But, she is definitely the strongest. So in addition to letting her take care of the Divine Phoenix God, they generally let her do as she pleases while everyone else runs the day to day operations of the clan."
As the group reached the bottom of the tower, the light got brighter. The light itself was coming from underneath the pool of water at the bottom of the tower. At the middle of the water was a tiny island with a woman sitting in the middle of it. "That's Master Akiza," Holdin whispered as he pointed to the woman.
The woman was very young. She was probably under twenty years of age. She had long black hair that reached to her lower back. There was some type of bandage covering the left eye of her face and her forehead. Her ears were a little pointed at the top. She wore a light red version of the Phoenix Clan Disciple uniform with black highlights. Her shoes also resembled boots more than regular shoes. Across her back was a single medium length curved sword.
Name: Akiza
Level: ???
Class: ???
Sub-Class: ???
Stats: ???
All of her stats were hidden. She was sitting there quietly with her eyes closed, breathing extremely slowly.
"Look at that," said Quinton as he pointed under the water.
Underneath the water an enormous sphere shaped flame. The water was not extinguishing the flame nor was the fire evaporating the water. "That is the Divine Phoenix God," said Holdin. "It's amazing don't you think?"
The color of the flames would frequently shift between orange, red, blue, yellow, green, purple, pink, and white. "Shouldn't the phoenix be boiling the water or the water be extinguishing the phoenix?" Garnet asked.
"Normally, yes," said Holdin. "But over the years, the phoenix trained itself and acquired total mastery over its own form. Now, it can change its shape, its properties, and its form as it pleases."
Akiza stood up. She reached her hand straight out above her. "Spirit Union!" The Divine Phoenix God emerged from the water.
"KYA!" The Divine Phoenix God shrieked.
Name: Meiying
Level: ???
Class: Mythical Beast / Demigod
Sub-Class: Divine Spirit
Stats: ???
The Divine Phoenix God shrank in size as it condensed into a small purple bird shaped flame. It flew in a half circle before merging with Akiza. Akiza's hair turned red and her clothes turned bright red with the black highlights turning into gold. "She just merged with it!" said Xiaomei. "How?"
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
"If you've trained yourself enough, it is possible to contain the power of a spirit within you," said Holdin. "Akiza was the first in our clan to refine this technique and she has been improving it for years."
Akiza sprouted wings from her back and flew towards Garnet. The wings resembled what Yarik used. It was similar because they were both using phoenix spirits. However, Akiza's flames were much more stable. They looked like normal wings, but colored red and orange instead. They did not look like flames at all. "Thank you for helping the clan," said Akiza.
Garnet looked at Akiza and could see that Akiza's eye had turned red as well. "We did it because we are at odds with the Golden Dragon Clan," said Zedd. "They attacked us once before."
"I see," said Akiza. "But I sense no Intent from any of you, so that's good. It also seems like three of you possess spirits of your own already."
"I wish to speak with the Divine Phoenix God," said Zedd.
"Ask away," said Akiza. "I speak for it and it speaks for me."
Zedd turned around to the others. "Anything you guys want to know?" he asked.
"Well first thing we need to know about is whether they will grant one of us power," said Xiaomei.
"Then we need information about the Golden Dragon Clan," said Riley.
"Like the insane Golden Dragon Disciples that we fought," said Garnet.
"We could also use more information in general about what's going on with Spirit Hunting," said Quinton.
"Alright," said Zedd.
"Let's go in order then," said Akiza. Her voice suddenly changed in tone. It was higher than before. "I will grant any of you some power from the Divine Phoenix if the phoenix itself fully trusts you. But, that means you have to earn it."
Akiza then raised her fingers and signaled the number two. "Second, the Golden Dragon Clan has basically killed their Golden Dragon Spirit," said Akiza. "I have not felt its presence in a long time."
"What?!?" said Holdin. "How can they have the power to kill a Spirit God?"
"A Spirit God is just an older and more powerful spirit," said Akiza. "They used techniques to weaken, break up, and then seal the Golden Dragon Spirit once they adapted the summoning techniques. It is likely that members of their clan now possess fragments of the Golden Dragon within them."
Garnet's group had encountered a man like that a few days ago. He had a bone of the bone of the Golden Dragon within him. They even drank some of the dragon's blood to activate their power.
Akiza continued, "The Golden Dragon can be revived if we reunite enough fragments of the Golden Dragon in a single place. A spirit does not die simply because its physical body dies."
Garnet had absorbed some of its blood and possibly even one of its bones. It would explain why she suddenly had access to a few of the Golden Dragon's abilities while requiring more of it to unlock its powers further. "You're a good choice since you already have some of its blood within you," said Akiza as she pointed to Garnet.
"How did you know?!?" said Garnet who was suddenly surprised.
"I can feel the Golden Dragon's Blood coursing through your veins," said Akiza. "But it's peaceful, meaning that the Golden Dragon Spirit has accepted you as a potential vessel."
"How can you tell if it's peaceful?" Zedd asked.
"When a Spirit's abilities are forcibly taken or activated against the will of the Spirit, it becomes violent and unstable," Akiza explained. She raised both her hands. On her left hand was a perfect sphere of fire. On her right hand was a wild flame. "When you have a Spirit within your body, this is what it is doing to your insides. Which one would you rather have inside you? In addition, which one do you think is easier to control?"
"Of course the stable one for both choices," said Zedd as he pointed to the perfect sphere of fire.
"Exactly," Akiza confirmed. "When you take advantage of the unstable form and forcibly draw out its power, you get what is called a God's Rage."
"Is that what happened to those Golden Dragon Disciples who would not give up fighting until we killed them?" Quinton asked.
"Yes," said Akiza. "It takes advantage of the anger the Spirit feels about its user and the user is able to direct it outwards. The stronger the hate, the more powerful it will be, but also the more damaging it will be to the user of the technique."
Akiza was almost the exact opposite of it. She had chosen to bond with the Divine Phoenix, become its vessel by choice whereas the Golden Dragon Clan acquired their power by force. However, they were not perfect, some of their tools were also crafted from parts of deceased Spirits and Garnet could hear their voices calling as well.
"Before I continue to Spirit Hunting, I assume that you can hear the voices of the Spirits calling for help since you possess the Dragon God's Blood," Akiza said to Garnet.
"I can," said Garnet as she stepped forward.
"That means you too can perform a Spirit Union right?" Akiza asked.
"Yes," Garnet confirmed.
"By Spirit Hunting, I assume you mean the Golden Dragon Clan's attempts to lock spirits within objects," said Akiza. "Is that correct?" she asked.
"Yes," said Zedd. "That is what we are referring to."
"It is easier to seal a living spirit now than it is to kill a spirit or a creature that has been given a spirit's power," said Akiza. "As a result, Artifact Weapons are on the rise because of how easy it is to do this now. People fail to realize the long term consequences that the death of spirits will do. Spirits maintain boundaries of all kinds, even boundaries between worlds. It will eventually destroy our lands and make it easier for the creatures that come through the black portal."
Akiza was referring to what was left by the Invasions. The single black star in the sky that remained would occasionally have a few creatures appear from them.
"There's something I need to know first," said Akiza.
"And what is that?" Zedd asked.
"How strong each of you are," said Akiza. "If you guys are too weak, then you are of no use to me at all."
Akiza suddenly released an incredible amount of pressure. There was a powerful Intent being directed towards them that was meant to kill. She drew her sword. "You are free to move anywhere from here to the ground floor of the tower," said Akiza. "You may even use any weapon you wish. I just need to see how strong you are."
"You're underestimating us," said Garnet.
"Am I?" Akiza asked. "The five of you should have no problem defeating me then."
Akiza held her curved sword with a reverse grip with her right hand and placed it to her side. She raised her left hand with an open palm like a claw aimed in front of her. "Phoenix Form: Fire Storm!"
Four pillars of flames erupted from the ground and began to wrap around Akiza. They shrunk and condensed themselves, each one forming a ball to Akiza's side.
"I will lead, the rest of you support me," said Zedd.
Garnet could not tell how strong Akiza was. She was able to hide her stats. But the fact that she was currently in a Spirit Union with the Divine Phoenix meant that she was going to be at least as strong as handle the full power of the Divine Phoenix. If any of them faced Akiza directly, she could probably finish them in one hit.
"Twin Lightning Blade!" Zedd started off with his newest technique. The ghostlike lightning armor covered most of his body.
Akiza was still waiting for them to make the first move. She had all her attention focused on their group. Riley distanced herself and prepared her long range gun. Quinton stood at mid-range with Garnet and Xiaomei. "I will try to poison her, provide me cover," said Xiaomei.
"Alright," said Garnet.
"Go!" Zedd shouted as he charged forward. "Spirit Union: Chronos!"
Zedd activated his own Spirit Union. A purple figure entered Zedd's body, changing his lightning armor into purple. As he moved forward his body occasionally generated some type of purple mist and he would jump a few steps forward, creating illusions of himself. He swung his sword towards Akiza. "Avalanche!"
Akiza lowered her body in response to the overhead attack. Zedd's sword was coming from overhead while his lightning armor swung the sword from the side. No matter where Akiza moved, she would be hit.
"Phoenix Wing!" Akiza clasped her open hand together as a metal fan appeared in it.
CLANG. Akiza's metal fan and metal sword both blocked one of Zedd's attacks. The metal fan scattered Zedd's lightning while the metal sword blocked the sword in Zedd's hand.
"Lightning Fire Bolt!" Riley had climbed up and braced herself against the side of the tower. She fired a bolt straight at Akiza.
Zedd jumped back at the last possible moment. BOOM. The explosion blasted the water upward.
To everyone's shock, the fire around Akiza expanded to cover the side that she was attacked from. After a moment, it condensed itself back to the balls of fire. Akiza was not even scratched from the attack. "Very impressive from just two people, but I've yet to see what the rest of you can do," she said as she pointed her sword towards Garnet, Quinton, and Xiaomei.
Zedd led the attack once more, charging ahead. He began to move quickly towards Akiza. It seemed like at random intervals, he would jump ahead a step or slow down one, making it harder to predict. "Meiying," said Akiza. She casually spoke the name of the Divine Phoenix.
One of the balls of fire around Akiza went inside her body. FWOOSH. Flames erupted from Akiza's body forming her wings and giving her an external transparent armor made of flames. CLANG. Akiza's own armor began to clash with Zedd's Twin Lightning Blade technique.
"Go!" Xiaomei shouted.
"Lightning Fire Bolt!" Riley rained several bolts downward.
"Take over," said Akiza. The armor of flames began to move independently of Akiza, clashing with Zedd's and Riley's as Akiza moved on her own. They were not fighting a single person anymore. They were fighting two people who were acting in perfect unison.
"Blood Spear!" Quinton launched a lance towards Akiza. Akiza swung her sword. CLANG. With a single strike from her sword, she deflected the spear off target.
Quinton began to charge forward. Garnet went under them using her wings to keep herself just above the floor. "Lightning Fire Palm!"
"Flame Strike!" Akiza's released a close range burst of flames with her own hand to counter.
BOOM. The burst sent Garnet crashing into the ground. Quinton swung his sword. "I got you!" he shouted.
CLANG. The sword came into contact with a thin pillar of fire that had appeared between him and Akiza. "What?!?" Quinton said surprised. One of the balls of fire had transformed into a solid wall of flames. It looked like flames, but it was so hard that even Quinton's sword could not even penetrate the flames. There was something very strange about the flames.
As Quinton looked, the Divine Phoenix had covered for Akiza by using one if its wings to create a solid pillar of molten rock. Akiza could use more than just fire. She was just toying with them at this rate.
Xiaomei suddenly appeared from behind Zedd as she aimed for Akiza's side. "Viper Bite!"
Akiza raised used her own hand and grabbed the sword. "Got you!" Xiaomei thought. "You know it's poisonous right?" she said to Akiza.
"I know," said Akiza. "But did you look?" she asked.
Xiaomei looked closely at Akiza's hand. The sword was unable to pierce her skin. Even though it looked close, it did not actually make contact. "But you guys pass," said Akiza. "I'm happy with the results."
"Really?" Quinton asked.
"Yes, really," said Akiza. "You five put up a decent fight together."
"If you're so strong, why don't you take care of the Golden Dragon Clan yourself?" Garnet asked.
"It's because I need a contingency plan in case something does go wrong," said Akiza. "Even if I defeat them, if I cannot transfer the power to a compatible vessel, it will just be taken by another Golden Dragon clan member."
"So, will you grant us the Divine Phoenix's power if we help you?" Riley asked.
"I will convince Meiying grant all of you the Divine Phoenix's power if you help me free the Golden Dragon Spirit," said Akiza. "Do you accept?"
"Well everyone, what do you think?" Zedd asked.
"I think it's a good deal," said Riley. "A chance to acquire power from two spirits and deal with the Golden Dragon Clan."
"There's something else that I want," said Quinton.
"What is it?" Akiza asked.
"Protection," said Quinton as he pulled Xiaomei to the side. "Both of us are being hunted by the Dark Mages Guild and there is another group in gold and green that might be after her as well."
"I will provide you shelter in this clan if needed until our agreement is resolved," said Akiza.
"Thank you," said Quinton. "That's the only thing I have to add."
"Alright, we'll do it," said Garnet.
"It's good to hear that," said Akiza. She took out five red and gold coins and handed one to each of them. "Don't lose these," she said as she handed them out to each person. "They will allow you to come and go from the clan and visit me when needed."
"So what's our first task?" Zedd asked.
"We have to find out where the main body of the Golden Dragon Spirit is," said Akiza. "If it is too weak when we find it, we will have to serve as a host to it. Most likely a high ranking member of the Golden Dragon Clan has the main body. We just have to find out who. The best time do that will be during the Annual Tournament. I am sure they will send out the person who has it then."
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