Black Onyx - Phoenix Resurrection

As the bracelet shattered, an intense torrent of magic assaulted me. I had expected it, of course, having discovered the traps hidden inside days prior.

Being hungry for Qi as I was, having to restrain myself from even just slightly Cultivating, let alone feasting on Souls for a week, I simply swallowed the offending magic, broke it down, purified it, and then used it to empower myself.

Granted, I was feeling slightly bloated after such a stunt, but it was better than trying to contain a raging hurricane that wanted to kill me.

With that out of the way, I carefully removed the crystal from the metal and took the beast's core, bringing the two closer.

[I really hope this works.]

The large spherical beast core shimmered as my magic spread through it, and as I brought Onyx close to it, it rippled like the surface of water. I pushed the black crystal, the beast core shifting around it like it was made of soft putty, and accepted the shard without breaking.

I nervously watched as I manipulated the physical properties of the core, careful not to disrupt any inscriptions on it. Everything seemed to be going well, and the black crystal shard soon stopped in the middle of the sphere, small black threads, like the roots of a tree, anchoring it in place.

I sighed in relief and released my control, the two materials solidifying after merging into one.

“Master, there’s a Soul already in here. Should I...?”

[No, don’t touch anything. Just… relax, I’ll do everything.]

What I did next was too convoluted to explain properly, but it was similar to what happened to me naturally with the help of the Phoenix Soul. The fragment I absorbed helped bind all of us together, the Soul Eater, the Phoenix, and me.

It was the foundation that allowed me to grow without limits as long as I had enough food, or Soul Essence, in my case. It was also most likely what allowed me to merge with the other Bloodlines without side effects, the combination of mythical beasts’ abilities perfect for that.

I was about to try and do the same, but instead of using natural abilities, I tried to replicate the process on my own, for another being entirely. Trying to merge multiple Souls into one like mine would be impossible at the Spirit Realm, but luckily Onyx was but a tiny fragment, while the other didn’t even have its own consciousness.

That made it somewhat feasible.

I closed my eyes and focused on the beast core. I felt the two beings inside, though none of them were complete on their own. Both were broken, both had important parts missing, but it just so happened that what one lacked, the other had.

They were just two pieces of a puzzle I had to put together. Granted, they came from different puzzles, but at least the basics were the same.

It took me some time and effort, but I remolded the two Souls until they fit each other perfectly. Onyx didn’t complain, patient as he was, and the other also didn’t react, it’s Soul mindlessly blank.

I took the beast core, feeling the changes inside, and whispered. [Two… become one.]

The Souls swirled as they combined, changing color, size, and the feeling they gave off. They became one, the traits of both diminishing as they did so. Yet, despite the shrunken size, the new Soul felt better, stronger… alive. True life, no more just a fragment of the past. It, became whole.

I stood up and summoned the golem, removing the cuirass of the Arcane Ferrite Wardplate, and slotted the new core inside. A moment after I covered it back up it powered up, shook, and then looked at me.

[Welcome to the real world, Tiny… Onyx.] I smiled.

The golem stared for a moment, then turned to examine its hands and body. Its movements were rough, and twitchy, yet clearly controlled by a certain intelligence hiding behind those empty eyes.

[How do you feel?] I spoke out loud.

“It is… different from the memories. But different in a good way. I can see. I can hear your voice too, Master.” Onyx answered, his excited mind still loosely connected to mine. He then paused, his excitement diminishing. “Though, I cannot yet speak. Or smell. Or feel.”

I smiled. [Yeah, well… That’s the best I can do… for now. It will take you some time to get used to it. That body of yours, though a bit rough, is nearly indestructible, so that should be fine. No need to rush.]

“Yes, Master. I will turn this body into my own. For giving me a new life, and freeing me from my prison, I will repay you for your kindness. That, I solemnly swear.” Onyx said and then bowed, placing a hand on his chest.

It was odd since that was not something Cultivators used. It was though, something Tiny had programmed into him. I did it once on a whim. Considering he used such a bow, the Soul merger seemed to be working well.

[Don’t worry about it.] I said and waved my hand. I then released the barrier, seeing the rest of the team sitting around, resting.

“Ah, boss! You are back.”

They quickly got up, pulling the Drow on her feet as well. She gave me a hateful gaze, probably still mad for all the pain she suffered. Though I had to admit it, despite having weak bodies, those gray-skinned bastards had an incredible amount of willpower. Or maybe that was just her, as she didn’t break even a single bit.

If anything, Thalza was even more determined to fight, swearing she would kill me when she got free. How she would cut me into small cubes and squish me under her boot. She said that to my face no less. I just laughed and let her dream. She was not getting freed from the cuffs or the collar any time soon. Not alive at least. I made sure of that.

[Alright people, stay alert. We are nearly at our target. Just across this tiny mountain and we should be there.] I said, pointing at the lush, rocky obstacle in front of us.

Maybe calling it a mountain was a bit much. It was more of a large hill, with a bit too much exposed stone. An hour or two of a casual walk and we would be over it. We had to be careful though, there were Drow everywhere.

Judging by the patrols and hidden guardhouses I detected, we were in an important place. I was actually surprised our travels went as smoothly as they did. We really were lucky. Or unlucky, depending on how you took it. We didn’t get to kill anyone after all, which was a shame.

Well, at least we didn’t attract any attention or alert anyone. We just had to keep that streak going for a while longer and we would be free.

[Cloaks.] I said quietly and pulled the hood lower across my face. The equipment we received from the old Elders was quite good. Still, I insisted we add more layers of protection just in case.

The scepter was giving off a disruptive field so we couldn’t be detected at a distance, but apart from that we also hid our own energy signatures, not trusting the cloaks completely. Lastly, I spread an illusion across our little group, making us nearly transparent, something I came up with after sifting through Thalza’s mind.

I already knew how to make myself invisible, but to spread the effect over a larger area was a bit more complicated. Nothing I couldn’t achieve with a bit of help from the enemy though. Also, a few hours of training helped. I could use the veil almost without thinking. It was extremely fragile though. Nobody could use any offensive magic or it would shatter.

Basically, it was either stealth or nothing. The technique didn’t allow for exceptions.

With our little group thoroughly concealed, we sneaked past distracted guards, with Onyx also walking beside us. I cast a wide area Mute spell centered on me, or else we would have for sure been spotted, especially since our captive was thrashing around like crazy.

It was quite funny to watch how much she struggled as a patrol passed just meters away from us, yet they didn’t even twitch at the clanging of chains or her muffled screams. I was secretive with the spell, and she didn’t notice it taking effect. We could hear things just fine, but people outside our circle couldn’t hear a thing.

She eventually figured it out and then quieted down, seeing it was useless.

We continued on our way unimpeded. All that talk of not being good at infiltration, but we made it quite far, and with just one tiny incident too.

Slowly, and without delay, we crested the hill, the trees giving way to a view of a lush valley. All of us paused, staring. The plantlife did not capture our attention, obviously, instead, it was the mass of stone and dirt hanging in mid-air.

[Holy mother of god.] I gasped.

“Is that… a floating island?” One of the guys said, his eyes practically glued to the city-sized chunk of mass ignoring gravity.

The floating island, if it could be called that, was not at all flat as an island should be, instead, it was thick and chonky, its height much greater than the width. Despite being partially hidden by the clouds, we could easily see a building on top of it.

No, a building didn’t describe it well enough. That was a fortress of black stone and iron, practically screaming that was our target. The Soul Compass agreed. It pointed straight at that floating monstrosity no matter how we turned it.

The island stayed absolutely still in the sky, four massive chains, each link easily many times the size of a person, with huge skyscraper-sized anchors buried into the ground, keeping it steady.

[Apparently, it’s called Murtsac Metnalov, according to this one.] I pointed at the Drow, the word practically screaming to be read in her mind. [It means Flying Fortress.]

“Fitting.” One of the guys commented absentmindedly.

[… Hey, wait a minute! Murtsac Metnalov? This is just Latin reversed, is it not?! How the hell do you know it?!] I glared at the Drow, reading her mind aggressively, but she was completely clueless. She had no idea what I was talking about, and it showed. I cursed and let her go.

Latin should be less than three thousand years old, how is it on this planet?! If there was one thing I hated it was getting a delicious, burning question, only to discover there was no answer. Fuck those things, they were so frustrating!

It was just one more mystery to burden my mind, and just when I needed all my brainpower no less. I frowned, stroking my chin. If we really needed to get inside that thing, I already knew it was going to be anything but easy. Any distractions could spell disaster.

While I was brooding, the rest noticed a settlement below the flying mountain, partially hidden by the forest, and in the middle of it was another set of chains, pulling up an elevator. I seriously hoped that was not the only way in.

[Any ideas?] I asked out loud. Maybe one of the guys was a genius and could solve our little problem quickly and without effort. I seriously doubted it, but it was worth a try.

One of the guys spoke after a moment. “Why don’t we just walk along the chains up to the mountain? If we are invisible it should be easy, right?” Some of the others agreed, praising him.

I rolled my eyes. Logic dictated that a fortress like that should be much better guarded against such infiltration, especially if it had such a glaring weakness.

I looked around and released a pulse of Spirit Sense, finding a small monkey nearby. I also grabbed a bird while I was at it, both of them being very low in cultivation. Basically posing no threat and being undetectable to anyone scanning for powerful beings.

[Let’s test your theory.] I said, whispering to the bird and giving it orders. After brainwashing it thoroughly, I gave it one last boost, turning it invisible, and released it into the air. The rest of them looked at me, the Drow included, and then we waited in silence.

A few minutes later there was a crack of thunder coming from the Murtsac Metnalov, and a tiny puff of pink smoke appeared in the sky for a moment.

[Okay, so they can detect invisible flying animals…] I scratched my head and went to do the same with the monkey.

After releasing it we waited a good thirty minutes, the path through the forest and up the anchors being much longer than the flight. There was another crack of thunder and a link a few places off the ground suddenly gained a polished dot on the metal. Coincidentally, at the same time, the tracker I placed on the monkey vanished.

The bird didn’t have one so that couldn’t be the reason it was tracked.

[Hmm…] All of us stared at the shining, polished metal dot, none speaking much. I turned to the team. [Alright, any other ideas?]