So this marks the end of The Phoenix Hero, my first attempt to write a story that turned into a big mess at the end because I tried to follow too close to the Xianxia style. I plan to take what I learned from this to write something like a sequel/reboot, taking what I've learned and using it to improve the story. Thanks for sticking with my horrible writing this far to all my readers.

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In a white enclosed space stood eight individuals. Among them were Himiko and Kongming. This was a rare gathering of the Immortals of the world through spiritual projection. They would meet like this to discuss important matters. Today, was the rise of a new creature as powerful as a Demon.

"Things are bleak," said Himiko. "A new creature as powerful as a Demon Lord has appeared."

"What can we do?" asked Kongming. "If we leave our lands, we open up the possibility of even more creatures like that appearing."

Powerful creatures kept a close eye on the Immortals. They would not make a move because the Immortal could still kill them. However, should the Immortal ever leave their land, the creature would take over the land and claim it as its own, empowering it to become even stronger. This was the main reason why Immortals rarely if ever left their lands.

A man with a messy beard in white robes spoke up. He was Musa, a man from the Middle East. "What about the Hero?" he asked.

"The Hero is too young and unprepared to fight a Demon," said Himiko. "The tools we have are useless without the proper people to wield them," said Himiko as she showed off the knives that she had created to combat the Demons.

A woman with blonde hair and blue eyes spoke up. Her name was Kendra, a woman from the continent across the seas. "I think it is about time we stopped relying on the Hero and tried something else," she said.

"What can we do though?" asked Musa.

"For now, I suggest we open up our lands as a sanctuary," said Kongming. "This way we can at least protect some people."

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"That's only a short term solution," said a brown skinned man in a brown robe. He was Raymundo, another Immortal from a far away land across the oceans. "We need to come up with a way to empower the people to fight back against such a creature," he said.

"What if we granted our power to a single person and awaken them?" asked Kongming. "Would this individual have the power?"

"Doing so would most likely kill them," said Musa. "I suggest we make it so that people can live in the Immortal Realms and hope that one of them will have the power to do something about it."

"I agree," said Kendra. "An individual who can train in one of our Immortal Realms for an extended period of time might have a chance to awaken to greater power. This way we can offer a save haven and an opportunity to create something more reliable than a Hero that might only appear once every few hundred years."

"And if they try to use their power for evil, we can take care of them before they become a problem as well," said Raymundo.

The Immortals agreed to this plan. A way to replace the unreliable Hero and hopefully something that would create individuals who were powerful enough to face threats to the world. One by one, cities fell to the Lich. This Lich became known as Arch-Lich Mulak. He was stronger than any of the other Lich that appeared. This marked the end of the era in which a Hero was able to defeat the Demons and an era in which humanity was once again brought to its heels by a new type of being. The great schools were able to survive with significant losses, but many fell. West Wind Academy was one of the ones that fell. Akiza, who was not powerful enough to face off against the creature that was ever growing stronger, fled with the survivors to the basin in which she washed up a few years before.

The Immortals began their plan, opening their lands as safe havens and defending it from the Lich. This marked the end of the era of the Hero, and the rise of the era of the Arch-Lich, a being that would tower over even the great Demons of the past.