Back in my country, my clone was currently on a trip with some of my friends. We were heading to the beach.
Our destination was quite far from their homes, so music rang in the bus that we rented to pass the time. I wasn't much of a fan of this noisy music, so I spent that time trying to meditate. Not that I was able to.
Suddenly, the music stopped. One of my friends turned back to me and said, "Try not to get into a fight this time, Orion."
This earned chuckles from them all. They were all present when the female assassin attacked me during our reunion at school. I just smile and shake my head, preferring to remain silent.
When everyone stopped laughing, the same person said once again, this time with a serious expression, "Seriously, I would prefer that we don't encounter danger. Last time you almost died."
"I really doubt that the assassin would have killed the lot of you if she managed to kill me," I match the seriousness. They are afraid, I get that. "Trouble comes to me, my friend, not the other way around. And how many times should I explain that what happened last time wasn't something that I expected?"
"To be honest, I still don't understand what exactly happened back then," another chimed in.
"I get that you have powers and all that, but that stunt about talking through the world is kind of freaky."
"I would be surprised if you did understand. But it's better this way; not all things can be explained. And, no offense, you don't have experience with magic, so no matter what I say would just be gibberish to you."
No one asked about that again. I really hope that we don't encounter anything else during this trip. But in case we do… Maybe it is better for me to keep my distance so they can be safe.
We reached our destination soon after. Some immediately went straight into the water, while the rest sat down at the shore to bask in the sun. As for me, as the Lord of Water, I was part of the former group.
As I was enjoying my time with my friends, I suddenly sensed something flying out of the seawater. I thought it was someone playing a prank on me, but even with this clone's reduced level of spatial awareness, I would sense it immediately if a mortal were around me. This can only mean one thing: this creature is much stronger than I if my senses couldn't detect it.
I regretted the decision of not leaving any weapon with this clone. I thought that I would be able to switch with my original body at any time, but ever since the other me has entered the Isle of Prisons, my connection with it has been almost snuffed out. So, for now, I am practically defenseless.
I look at the creature that flew out, only to be surprised that it is actually a bird, not a humanoid. Its body covered in feathers, the color of royal blue, the same color as its eyes, it flapped its wings and hovered on the surface of the sea. What caught my eye was the three golden feathers that crowned its head.
No matter how I look at it, it seems incredibly majestic.
"Oh, my goodness!" one of my friends exclaimed. "I've never seen a bird this beautiful!"
"What kind is it?" another asked, eying it closely.
I extended my arm, and the bird wrapped its claws around my elbow. I stroked its feathers gently and replied, "It is a Phoenix."
"A Phoenix? You must be joking! Don't tell me they are real as well?"
"Hey! I am partially a Phoenix, you know?"
"Seriously?! That's incredible! But aren't Phoenixes red?"
"Red ones are Flame Phoenixes; this one belongs to the Aquatic type. A king, no less!"
The King flapped its wings again and flew around me, letting out a beautiful cry. "It wants to show us something in its palace," I said.
"How can you understand what it is saying?"
"I just told you that I am part Phoenix. The language comes innately."
"Does that mean that humans come with an innate language as well?"
"All beings in the universe come with an innate language known as the common tongue. Some species get a sub-language derived from the original one. Humans, however, don't have that, although all their languages were also derived from the common tongue," I explained.
Someone else asked another question, "How are we going to get into the palace?"
I frown, "If this were my original body, I could get you all on my Dragon form, but this clone is only humanoid."
The Phoenix cried again. I raised my eyebrows in surprise before calling for my other friends. Once we were all assembled, a blue light shot out from the Phoenix's eyes and engulfed my friends, creating a bubble of air around them.
"What about you?" one of my friends asked when she saw that I wasn't in the bubble.
I smiled and replied, "I can breathe underwater."
The King flapped its wings and dived deep into the sea. The bubble was pulled in with it, and I dived after them. After an hour of swimming, we reached what seemed to be an aquatic city bustling with all sorts of species native to the sea.
In the middle of it all, a majestic mountain of stone stood tall, almost piercing the sea surface. It doesn't take a genius to deduce that this is the palace. The King swam directly to the mountain, and I followed.
Along the way, every person we passed eyed me. I suppose they could sense that I am the Lord of Water, and since they are aquatic creatures, I am technically their lord as well. But in the end, since this is a clone, it was only a sensation that they couldn't understand.
Through an opening, we entered the hollowed-out mountain and went straight to the top. There, we saw a nest containing around a dozen small blue eggs.
"Are they yours, your majesty?" I asked, skeptical of the sight in front of me. Pangu once explained to me that Phoenixes and Dragons were like mammals, unlike what is generally believed.
However, Pangu only lived with the earlier Phoenixes, and it is somewhat logical that the species would have devolved in some way or another. If I am to guess, only the highborn of Phoenixes remain the same, despite this one being a King.
The King nodded its head to confirm my thoughts. It appears that we reached the palace just in time, as crackling sounds could be heard from the nest, and the eggs started to hatch. However, they only contained ash, which soon melted and formed a body of water, which transformed into chicks. Featherless at first, but that changed after a moment.
The Phoenix King flew to its nestlings and started taking care of them. I was about to congratulate it and thank it for inviting us to this special moment, when my expression suddenly changed.
I don't know why, but my eyes blackened, followed by some sort of red glow that pierced into my mind.
…
The King cried in concern and flew to Orion's unconscious body. His friends gathered around him as worry flooded them, especially since no external force affected their friend as far as they could see.
The Phoenix let out a tear, which is known to be the best healing power in the universe, but Orion remained motionless, albeit alive. However, nothing happened.
"He will not wake up," someone spoke behind them. Everyone backed away to let Richard through. The King stepped back and bowed deeply to him.
He nodded in return and averted his attention to Orion. Despite their obvious presence, Richard did not look at Orion's friends, not even once. They were curious as to why this newcomer would look almost exactly like their friend, but since they were ignored, they kept their curiosity to themselves.
All he did was put the palm of his hand on Orion's forehead.
…
My eyes snapped open, and I grasped for air.
I wasn't surprised that Richard is here. I looked at him and asked, "What happened?"
He didn't respond, however. But I have known him for some time now to understand that this silence means that he doesn't wish to speak about it in front of the others.
A squeak caught everyone's attention. All of us turned to look as one of the nestlings changed the color of its feathers from blue to dark gray.
Richard frowned as the King flew to its nestling in excitement. Anyone who would see it would think that it turned into a Dark Phoenix, the same subspecies as Richard. However, one look at his frown changed my original thought.
This isn't a Dark Phoenix, but a Death Phoenix.
Richard's frown instantly changed to a smile as he said, "I must congratulate you, your majesty. I would like to enlist your nestling into the Mansion of Night. If you are okay with this, of course."
I know that this is a pretense. Whatever happens next, the nestling won't be a disciple of the Mansion. The Phoenix King seems to have noticed the underlying meaning in Richard's words as well, and it knew that it didn't have a choice in the matter.
It can only agree as Richard teleported all of us, including the Death Phoenix, away from the underwater palace.
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Updated on 18/11/2025