Chapter 118 - World Destroyers (End of Book 2)

Nathan Evenhart:

Cylla lay beside me and began explaining with a tone that mixed enthusiasm and seriousness.

"They have many names in various languages. I don’t know their true names; I only know that my people rose from the ashes, surviving a great disaster, and that the progenitors used their power to allow us to continue living. It is from their power that we gained our beast form."

Cylla paused for a moment, thinking, then resumed her explanation.

"The Earth Destroyer was a colossal land giant who dominated everything he stepped on. His strength could level mountains as he ran. He was a grand and feared being. His armor was resilient, and his bite was deadly. My body in that form inherited the quadrupedal aspect from him and possibly other traits that may still appear."

I looked at the small four-legged phoenix beside me, reflecting on what she had said.

She really did take on a quadrupedal form, both in her larger form and now.

"The second progenitor was the Air Destroyer, a giant bird that dominated the skies. The beating of its wings eclipsed the suns; when it was seen, the world grew dark, so vast was its size. From this destroyer, we inherited the winged trait to master the skies."

"I don’t understand. You’re already a bird, so how did you inherit the trait of another bird?"

She seemed to think for a moment.

"I don’t have access to that information. What I know is that my people had the power to transform into phoenixes, or we were the phoenixes, I don’t know. The progenitors gave us their power. This allowed us to awaken a much larger and more powerful beast form. I also don’t know why they did this."

As I listened, I started to understand better. Some things made sense this way.

"My previous form was merging the Earth Destroyer’s traits with those of the Air Destroyer, which is why I looked like a bigger four-legged bird, and then my beak transformed into a jaw."

"Did it hurt?" I asked.

"It was just like what happened to you with your eyes. Our bodies need to adapt to these changes, and the same happened to me. Now that I’ve understood the Aspect of the Body better, I can transform into this form and let my body change while I’m like this," she said, happily.

"And the last World Destroyer?" I asked, curious.

She leaned closer to me, her voice lowering.

"The third progenitor was the most dangerous of them all, the legendary serpent, the Water Destroyer, considered an Ouroboros."

"What!?" I shot up, surprised, staring at Cylla with a mix of shock and curiosity.

Could this be the creature sleeping in my soul? That seems impossible, right? From what she said, they died thousands of years ago. But Sisika mentioned that the guardian of the Celestial Eyes was someone who survived...

"What was this Ouroboros like? Do you know?" I asked, trying to remain calm.

She thought for a moment before answering.

"It was a monstrous white serpent. Its sheer weight and size made the ocean waters rise as it moved. It was the most dangerous of all, as it could also reach the skies with its size and walk on land, but it preferred to stay in the ocean, deep below, in the darkness."

These Celestial Eyes I have... are they the eyes of that creature?

"These were the three World Destroyers, beings that survived a great chaos and helped my people stay alive by sharing their power with us. My body is entering incubation to adapt to the traits of these three progenitors. The last one to be added was the serpent’s trait, and now everything will merge so that I can access my beast form... someday, at some point."

"But what about that previous form you had? Wasn't that your beast form?"

"What you saw was my body adapting to the traits of the Earth Destroyer and the Air Destroyer, creating a quadrupedal version of me with jaws and wings. Now, I’ll inherit the serpent's trait, and the incubation process will be responsible for unifying all of that. My beast form will have parts of the armored quadruped, parts of the mystical bird, and parts of the deadly serpent."

As I listened, I tried to imagine what that fusion would look like, what kind of result it would create.

She had a human-like appearance as Sisika, so her race isn’t the fusion of all that. This is actually a beast power of hers. Kinue told me she was born in the form of a fox and then became human, but when she grows older, she’ll awaken a beast form. So, maybe the power of these progenitors grants Cylla access to a beast form similar to what happens to Kinue? What really is a phoenix?

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Sisika was her human version, so that must be her form outside the beast shape...

"Does everyone in your species have the same beast appearance?" I asked, still trying to process all this information.

"Not everyone inherits the same traits. The more compatible you are with inheriting the three progenitors' traits, the more powerful the form is. Some beings of my race only inherit one progenitor. I’m powerful because I inherited parts from all three," she said, with a touch of pride.

"So, you're not just this little bird form?"

"No, this is my egg form. But one day I’ll have a humanoid version, like the one you saw in my adult form. Most likely, she had wings and kept them hidden. I’m currently in the birth form, which is our first beast form."

First beast form? That’s a lot to process.

"Does all this come from the Aspect of the Body?"

"Exactly, our body control comes from that Aspect. Our Celestial Eyes are already awakened when we’re born. With that power, I can take on a more human-like form to be closer to you..." she said with a hint of shyness.

"What do you mean, 'closer to me'?"

"Because we’re married, silly."

"What!? When did I get married?" I asked, surprised.

She let out a playful laugh.

"You know my species falls in love with the soul, right? It happened when we met... it was love at first sight."

"I'm pretty sure my soul isn't very pretty... I’ve caused a lot of destruction..."

"That’s for me to judge. A person’s soul tells a story, and I saw a glimpse of yours when I fell in love."

So all that talk about being 'beloved' and falling in love was... in that sense? Is that what being a Phoenix Master means?

"And when did I agree to marry you? Don’t both parties have to consent?"

"You saved me from the hellish suffering of those chains, and I saved you from death. Isn’t that what husband and wife do? They protect each other forever."

"I guess that’s true..."

"Even my other version was in love with you. That means I fell in love with you twice, which is proof of my love."

I decided to set aside the whole marriage thing for now, but as I looked at Cylla, an idea struck me.

"Can you teach me how to use the Celestial Eyes?" I asked, feeling the heat rise to my face upon realizing that, to her, we were already married.

If she’s thought we were married from the start... I’m so embarrassed now, realizing how many things suddenly make sense...

I remembered all the times she hugged me, licking my face, and how she was even jealous of Kinue and Chloe.

Now everything makes sense...

"I can try to teach you, but I was born already knowing how to use part of them, just like a child knows how to blink and breathe. Your Celestial Eyes are also different from mine because they can evolve, and they're alive. So, I'll be limited in how much knowledge I can pass on to you."

"That’s fine. I’ve already mastered many powers in another life, and I'm mastering mana at my current level. I need to master the rest of my elemental powers and these Celestial Eyes. Explain to me a bit from the start. I want to know everything about the Six Celestial Aspects. I want to understand what they are: Body, Soul, Time, Space, Life, and Death."

She jumped excitedly closer to me.

"It’ll be my pleasure to help you, my beloved."

"Just calling me Nathan is fine..." I replied, embarrassed.

I’m married... and my mother is going to kill me if she finds out...

And so began my journey to master the 6 Celestial Aspects, alongside my beloved phoenix... and whatever that serpent creature sleeping inside me was.

"Don't forget about me!" Athena chimed in.

And also alongside the damn Goddess of Strategy.

"Go fuck yourself, Icarus.”

Eira Green:

We gathered in that forest, a place where the trace of my former commander had finally been found after years of pursuit. She, who had abandoned us and become a fugitive.

"What do you think?" my superior asked, his gaze fixed on the location.

"It must have been her. This is the trace of the last breath of a Valkyrius," I replied as we observed the mana particles dispersing in the air, remnants of the fire from a phoenix’s end. She had chosen to cease existing.

"Why would she do this before her time?" Lars asked, his voice filled with disbelief.

Our superior, with his intimidating and wordless demeanor, looked at me, waiting for an explanation.

"Maybe she really did fall in love..." I muttered, taking a wild guess.

"Hahaha, that bloodthirsty warrior, falling in love?" Lars laughed, incredulous.

My superior shot me a furious glare.

"Lady Eira! Take that back!" he commanded, his voice dripping with anger as a crushing pressure filled the air, suffocating me.

"Alright... I take it back!" I quickly responded.

He continued to glare, narrowing his eyes.

"General Sisika would never fall in love, let alone with human scum."

Lars and I stayed silent as he assessed the area.

"You can feel the human mana too... And she entrusted her Heritor body to a human. The signs are clear, whether you like it or not. She fled with those eyes and entrusted them to a human. The mana we're sensing indicates a new bearer, and she performed a soul-bond, sacrificing herself for the future of her beloved. She chose to cease existing before completing the Heritor cycle, and you have to admit what that suggests," I challenged.

He pointed his sword at my throat.

"Sergeant Eira, are you telling me that the legendary Red Valkyrius simply gave up her life for a human?" he asked, pressing the blade against my skin. "Are you telling me she would lower herself to that?"

Black lightning started crackling across the blade.

"We should go, sir. We can't stay here any longer," Lars intervened, trying to defuse the situation.

My superior gave me one last look before sheathing his sword.

"For your sake, I'll pretend I didn't hear that blasphemy come from your mouth," he said, turning his back on me.

I placed a hand on my neck to heal the wound.

As I looked around, I tried to understand what had really happened. We lost two Generals at the end of the last war. One died, and the other chose to walk away.

Sisika, did you find what you were looking for?

"We'll tell the Great King that my fiancée is still missing," my superior said with determination. "I can't let this discovery leak until I understand why she did it."

"Yes, Prince Thorsten," Lars and I responded in unison.

Or maybe she had planned to run away ever since she found out she was being forced into this engagement?

I did my best not to let those thoughts show on my face.

"I'll get the authorization to search these human lands," he said, venom in his voice.

"And what will you do when you get that authorization?" I asked, feeling the weight of the situation.

He shot me a cold look.

"I’m going after the bastard human who's with Sisika, and I’ll kill him. I'll retrieve her and the Eyes of Jörmungandr, no matter the cost. I swear by Thor and Odin, I’ll kill that human!"

We left that place, transforming into phoenixes, and flew towards Asgard.