Black Onyx - Phoenix Resurrection

“You are the one responsible for this? What’s going on here?” One of the Elders spoke to me with a stern voice.

I shrugged. [Well, we were bored, so I thought we might as well do some cultural exchange to pass the time.]

The three Elders looked at each other meaningfully.

“Another troublemaker with too much free time on his hands.”

“It would seem so, yes.”

“In that case, he can volunteer for the mission.”

“Perfect.”

They turned back to me with expressions I didn’t like.

[What?]

The Elder from the Blazing Bloodstone Thunderbolt Clan was the one to address me first. “Soldier, since you are so bored, how would you like to lead an expedition into the enemy territory to capture one of the Drow?”

[Oh?] I was pleasantly surprised. [Me leading an expedition? Do I get to kill stuff?]

“Absolutely not!” The Misty Shadow Moon Clan Elder immediately said. “Once you enter their territory you need to be as quiet as possible and avoid detection at all costs.”

“We can’t afford to make the Drow aware of our plans, or that we know their plan.” Verdant Ironwood Willow Clan Elder added.

“There is a specific individual we need you to capture for this to work. It’s a mole we planted with the high-ranking Drow some years ago, but she herself isn’t aware of it. We just need you to get her and safely bring her back so we can extract information out of her.”

I took a long, hard look at the three Elders who were close to the peak of Spirit Realm. [And you expect me to do that without any bloodshed?]

“That’s right!” They all confirmed it.

[Then forget it.] I threw my hands in the air. [You might as well be asking a fish not to swim.]

The three Elders exchanged interesting looks and then turned to me all at once.

“That… was not a request. It’s an order.” Misty Shadow Moon Clan Elder said.

[But you asked…] I pointed out.

“It was a rhetorical question. A group will have to take on this task, we just needed to find the right leader. And since you so nicely offered yourself and people here listen to you, we decided that’s going to be you.”

[No thanks.] I said and turned my back on them, walking away. Like hell was I going to lead some stupid expedition into a hornet's nest without being allowed to kill. Did I look like a stupid third-rate movie spy? No, no I did not.

I felt a strong hand grab me, and a metallic object snapped around my wrist. I slowly turned around.

[What is this?] I asked slowly. A metal bracelet was tightly bound around my left wrist.

“An insurance policy. Usually reserved for high-profile tasks. In case you try to run, that bracelet will allow us to track you down.” Misty Shadow Moon Clan Elder calmly explained.

I looked at them emotionlessly and then at the bracelet and back at them.

[Is that so? I could also just cut off my hand and then throw this thing away.]

“Maybe before you reached the Spirit Realm that could work. However, now every part of your body contains a piece of your Soul. If you try to get rid of the bracelet that way, you will just trigger a failsafe in case of death, which will then instantly destroy the rest of your Soul through resonance. Of course, you are more than welcome to try.” The Blazing Bloodstone Thunderbolt Clan Elder grinned.

I took a moment to consider his threat. It didn’t seem like a relic could be strong enough to destroy my Soul, but weirder things have happened. For the moment, I wasn’t willing to risk it.

“Consider this… Doing this you will be doing us a great service. The information from the mole will be of great help to us in winning this conflict. You will be a hero.” The moon Clane Elder said.

[I’m right to assume you will remove this thing as well after the job is done?]

“Naturally. The relic is way too valuable to just give it to you.” The Willow Clan Elder scoffed. “Treasures like that don’t grow on trees.”

Valuable. That word alone made me consider this whole operation more than all their other nonsense combined. Eventually, I came to a decision. I gritted my teeth and nodded.

[Fine, I’ll play by your stupid rules. But please, spare me the title of a hero. I hate that word.]

“Haha, whatever suits you. We are just glad you agreed, it would have been difficult to convince you otherwise.” The Thunderbolt Elder added confidently. The hidden meaning being they had other ways to make me do their dirty work, though it would have probably cost them some effort. I almost wanted to be stubborn just to see what they would do. Almost.

“Great! Now, let’s see who’s going to go with you…”

They proceeded to pick a group of men seemingly at random and then told the rest to disperse. They explained to the new guys the goal of the mission as well, and as expected, most were hesitant about going so deep into enemy territory.

Fighting in a war was easy, you just had to kill the enemy before they killed you. However infiltrating so deep inside required finesse, skill, and no small amount of luck. In case we got discovered, we would most likely all die.

“I know we said no killing, and we mean it, but in case it is unavoidable, the bracelet will prevent the Souls from escaping.” The Willow Clan Elder pointed out.

I lifted an eyebrow skeptically. [How?]

“That’s a Soul Stone, an incredibly valuable piece of equipment, so as long as anything dies near you, its Soul will get sucked inside.” He explained. “Do not kill for no reason. Only take out those you absolutely can’t avoid sparing. Every single Drow you kill will just alert the higher-ups, making your mission even harder.”

[Let me guess, Soul Lanterns?] I asked.

“That’s right. So do not, and I mean do not kill unless you absolutely have to.”

I sighed loudly. [Fine, fine… So, how do we find this spy of yours?]

“Here.” The Willow Clan Elder handed me a small handheld device that kind of looked like a compass, because that’s exactly what it was.

“It’s a Soul Compass which contains a tiny fragment of her Soul and it will lead you straight to her. While the mission is important, it is vital that you do not rush. It’s better that you take your time and are successful than to do things quickly and fail. Still, we will expect results by the end of the month.”

I took the compass and looked at it. The circular housing contained a needle inside, which pointed in a certain direction no matter where I turned it.

[East and then slightly north?] I murmured as I tried to remember the general lay of the land. I got my hands on a few maps during my time so I knew the general area, but everything pointed at our target being somewhere in the heart of enemy territory.

“We will give you the rest of the necessary gear later.” Blazing Bloodstone Thunderbolt Clan Elder said. “For now, get to know each other or whatever. You depart tomorrow at dawn.”

With that, the trio of Elders left, leaving me with the group of men chosen for the mission.

“Well, so you are our new boss now, huh?” One of the guys said teasingly. “Looks like you got yourself in quite a pickle, haha!” He laughed, pointing at my bracelet.

[Oh, shut up. You are going with me too, so it’s not like you are free to do whatever you want either.] I said, rolling my eyes.

“Oh, damn! That’s right, I forgot about that, shit…” He suddenly turned serious.

“But, but… This is unfair! Why did they pick us?” One of the guys said, appearing terrified and angry at the same time. “I’m a fighter, not an infiltration master! I don’t even know any cloaking techniques!”

[Then you better start learning fast. There were a few cloaking techniques among the ones you just received, so get to work.]

“But, that’s insane! I can’t learn a new technique in a day! Not to mention, why should I listen to you?!”

[Hah?] I squinted at the guy. [Are you challenging me?]

“Hmph! I know you are only at the Third Level. You are not fit to lead.”

I scoffed. [Oh, please, be my guest. Go to the Elders and say you want to be the leader then. Maybe they will agree and give this nice handcuff to you instead.]

The guy just glared and didn’t say anything. The rest were satisfied with just spectating, so I didn’t care to push it any further. I found an empty spot and sat down, closing my eyes.

[I’m going to look through the new techniques and see what I can find. I suggest you guys prepare as well if you want to return alive. I’ve got a feeling this is not going to be easy.]

“Um, actually…”

I opened one eye and looked at the guy speaking.

“I specialize in Divination and I can tell you that…” The guy closed his eyes and did some weird hand gestures as Qi swirled around him. Everyone held their breath as the guy focused, his brows furrowed.

“Huh, that’s odd. I can’t see anything.” He eventually said, defeated.

[That means you are either dead, or the future is too uncertain for the current you to decipher.] I said and closed my eyes again as the guy opened his even wider in shock. [Now stop wasting my time and get ready. We don’t have much time to prepare.]

As the rest talked, I tuned them out, examining the various memories I just received. Some were better than others, and more useful than the rest, but all were good, serving their purpose of expanding my knowledge horizons.

Geared with cloaking devices, we left Emberfall and made our way to the east. We couldn’t fly or run fast due to the risk of getting discovered, so our travel speed was relatively slow.

Not many people talked, with the guy in the middle of the group carrying a special relic. It was a magical scepter that kept emitting a field similar to my Disruption, making it more difficult for Spirit Sense to spot us. That, unfortunately, also meant we couldn't use ours, leaving us to rely on sight and hearing for the most part.

Apart from the relic, we also had clothes and cloaks that blocked Qi, making us practically invisible to all kinds of magical detection.

I, having already decided to just kill anyone who would discover us, focused on the bracelet stuck to me instead of frantically jumping at every sound of a broken twig. Which was what one or two of the mentally weaker guys were doing. The area of Drow influence was vast, and their numbers were relatively few, so the chances of us accidentally meeting were close to zero.

Being paranoid would just fry your mind, so I just pretended we were going on a walk through nature and tried to relax.

Having spent much time examining various treasures before, and having spent a few hours on the bracelet on the night prior, I became certain it had to contain something great. Not just anything could influence Souls in such a way as they described it, and I only knew of one thing that could even remotely do so.

As I watched the black, crystal-like gem inserted into a silvery golden metal, I became even more convinced of my suspicions. And lastly, as I burrowed into it with my Spirit Sense, I felt something inside it stir.

I felt something ancient awakened inside of it. Something powerful, something pure.

Something, that called to me, like family.