Black Onyx - Phoenix Resurrection

[The hell happened to you?] I asked Adam.

The man blinked in confusion a few times and then slapped his forehead in realization. “Oh, you mean my Cultivation.” He laughed, which made me realize I wasn’t mistaken. He really was at the Nascent Soul Realm.

[Did you abandon your Cultivation?] I asked in realization.

He nodded and grinned.

[Why?]

“Remember when you debated with John how a Soul could be made stronger? Well, I realized I wasn’t satisfied with my strength, and decided to rebuild my foundation.” Adam explained.

I whistled in wonder. [And you just abandoned everything and decided to start again from scratch?]

“Haha, yes, and while it took me three years to get this far, it had been a walk in the park. You weren’t kidding with the strength difference though. Compared to before, I feel invincible!”

I shook my head and smiled. [You still got a long way to go, I’m afraid. And what, now you just go around killing stuff on your own?]

Adam shrugged. “Kind of, though I sometimes have Alexandra helping me. Also, don’t forget that while I did abandon my Soul Cultivation, I still have the body of a Spirit Realm Cultivator. It’s a weak one, sure, but that’s enough to keep me safe in most cases.”

“I’ve been overlooking his progress, and everything seems to be going fine for now.” John added. “Though the resources to gradually dissolve his Cultivation without harming him did cost quite a bit.”

“Which I paid, in full.” Adam said proudly.

John rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah… I still think it would have been better to use it to build the Anchor, but whatever.”

I laughed at their antics and didn’t say anything.

“Oh, yeah, by the way…” Adam turned to me. “Did you remember how you could drain the beast cores of their Souls? I wanted to stockpile some for later. If you could teach please me, that would be great.”

[Oh, that… Yeah, of course.] I immediately remembered what we spoke about last time this topic came up. [I thought about it quite a bit, and I realized there really isn’t much I can teach you.]

“What, why not?” Adam asked with a defeated look.

[Because it’s not really an ability that can be shared. I developed it gradually by exposing myself to more extreme situations. Like trying to swallow a Soul that is at least a Realm higher than me, multiple times.]

“You are kidding?” John exclaimed. “I remember that happening once decades ago by mistake. I happened to be close to a Golden Core beast when it died, and I automatically absorbed its Soul. I was in the Nascent Soul Realm at the time... I thought I was going to die!”

I shrugged. [That’s what I did. I just pushed myself over the limit multiple times and it gradually happened.] Though I didn’t mention I didn’t do it willingly. I just had shitty luck that made my life hell. But it turned out to be a good thing in the long run, so…. Meh.

“That’s not a bad idea… I think I can find a few Golden Cores nearby.” Adam murmured to himself.

[Just make sure you are somewhere safe before doing that. The pain can be quite severe.]

“Eh… really?” The guy began to hesitate.

[Or you could just try to train your Soul on your own. Who knows, maybe you can discover something new. It certainly wouldn’t hurt to try.] I added.

“I’ll… see what I can do.” Adam nodded.

“What now?” John asked. “Are you planning on staying with us or…?”

[No, I’m going to see whether I can get one of the Clans to hire me as a mercenary or something. My Cultivation stagnated in the last year and I need more opponents to fight.]

“Oh, I see… I was hoping you could help us build the Anchor, but I’m not going to force you.”

I thought for a bit, looking at the hall that was slowly coming along. [How much is this going to cost? Do you already have enough resources?]

John laughed and shook his head. “Not even close. We are about halfway there. We exhausted our savings and even after working hard, we are still a few hundred thousand short. But it’s not the end of the world, another decade and we should be able to finish.”

[Oh, I see… Then, in that case, let me contribute a bit.] I extended my hand and a pile of Spirit Stones poured out. [There. That should be about 50.000 Stones.]

“What! Wow, really? That’s… a lot of money.” John looked at the pile wide-eyed. The other two were similarly surprised, while the workers did their best to ignore us and continue their work.

[Of course! I also want to check out Neloron, and if I can help you shorten the construction timeline, why not?]

“That’s very kind of you.” Alexandra added and gave a respectful bow.

“In that case, I have something for you as well.” John said. “Come with me.”

I followed him into one of the adjacent rooms which was decorated like an earth studio. It had shelves of books and a desk full of papers by the wall, and in the middle was a table with large scrolls of parchment. Some of them were unfurled while others were still tightly bound.

[That’s the plans for the Anchor?] I pointed at the scrolls.

“That’s right.”

[God damn!] As I looked over some of the papers, I couldn’t help but compare the complex structure of inscriptions and materials to a microchip. It was a complex web of connections and junctions, with runes and rare material everywhere.

[You are building this?! I’m getting a headache just by looking at it.]

“Don’t worry about that. Here, you can learn this.” He gave me a much smaller scroll. “It’s the Formation that connects to this Anchor. In case you ever need to return here, you can use this. When it’s finished, of course.” He added.

[Oh.] I nodded and took the scroll. It reminded me of the first formation I ever drew, the one that brought me to this world. Compared to the Anchor, it was incredibly simple. I just looked at it once and it was stuck in my mind.

[That’s good to know, thanks.]

“Don’t mention it. It’s a small thing.” John waved his hand. “I got a feeling our paths will cross more in the future. We might need your help sometime.”

[Yeah, I’ll try to stay in touch.] I chuckled. [Do you have anything else for me? I need to get back soon.]

“Nope. That was it.”

[In that case, I wish you luck in your future endeavors. Oh, and Adam?]

“Yes?” The man said.

[Don’t fall behind.] I smiled.

“Fuck off, man.” He smiled. “Just go already.”

I took out a small clay tablet and waved them goodbye.

“Have a safe trip!”

I squeezed my hand and the ceramic broke. A wild swirl of energy later, I found myself back in The City on one of the many teleportation Anchors. I was soon pushed off the platform as another person teleported in behind me.

I stepped away and looked around, orienting myself. [Now that that’s done, let’s see whether I can find some new and interesting work.] My eyes turned towards the mountain in the middle, and I decisively began walking towards it.

“So, Gerald Fireborn, correct?”

[That’s me.] I nodded.

“I heard you are planning on leaving?”

[Well… Not exactly. I’d like to be transferred to a more active place. Preferably to an active warzone.] I grinned at the Grand Elder in charge. He was the one who would decide where I would be stationed next.

Unfortunately, as a big Clan, everything they did had to be according to their rules, diligently recorded, and that meant bureaucracy. I couldn’t just willy-nilly go around doing whatever I wanted. Stuff had to be approved and people notified.

“So, Gerald Fireborn… It says here you helped Young Master Gale and his team with the monster problem in the Valley of a Thousand Mountain Peaks.”

[Oh, yeah… I had no idea he mentioned me.] I said, awkwardly scratching my head. That was a shock. I had no idea they knew about that too. Gale didn’t tell me he mentioned my name.

“We know everything.” The Grand Elder in charge said as a matter of fact and then cleared his throat, continuing. “I see you joined the excavation effort in the Underdark where you helped clear out a nest of Abyss Terrors.”

[That’s right.] I nodded.

“You helped another General take care of his problem, discovering ancient remains at the same time. You also defeated a guardian and found mummified Demon remains.” He continued.

[That happened, yes. I didn’t know the news about that spread.]

“We old ones must know all that is happening within the Clan to best make decisions. Including the fact that the knowledge came from you. It was very… enlightening.” The man spoke, while slowly and wisely stroking his beard. “That’s why we are even going through your accomplishments now. So, let’s continue.”

The Grand Elder then went on to acknowledge my help in killing the Dark Beast and securing the Pure Spirit Water spring. He then also mentioned my various other smaller accomplishments over the three years, which ended with an impressive resume of clearing out an entire sector of the Underdark for the Verdant Ironwood Willow Clan.

He sounded very impressed.

“For one who had joined un just recently, you show a lot of promise. You have served the Clan well over these years. That’s why we decided to be more accommodating and offer you a few choices.” The Grand Elder then handed over a few scrolls.

“These are the tasks that most suit your request. The other Guardians decided to give you this chance to prove yourself.”

I looked up from the paper. [The Guardians?]

“The other Grand Elders that are part of the main family.”

[Oh, I see… But… Didn’t you just learn of my request?]

The old man smiled mysteriously. “It’s not hard for a Sky Realm Cultivator to communicate at great distances. As soon as you requested to be transferred, the others were notified too.”

Telepathy or something similar had to be going on. But this was par for the course for a Cultivator. Full of bullshit and weird magic.

[In that case, I’d like to take part in this. The… war against Drow? What’s that all about?]

“Ah, yes… the Demonspawn. They are quite annoying folk breaching our borders in the West. Are you sure you want to choose that? The mortality rate there is quite high.” The elder man said.

I cupped my fists and bowed. [Thank you for your concern, esteemed Elder, but that is precisely why I chose it. Where better to sharpen my skills than a bloody battlefield?]

The old man closed his eyes and sighed, still slowly stroking his beard. “Verry well. In that case, take this token. You will be getting the instructions through it. Do not lose it.”

I graciously took the small medallion-looking thing, with the mark of the Verdant Ironwood Willow Clan, and bowed.

“I wish you well, young one. Now go, for your fate awaits.”