'What happened? Did it work?'
Magic is unpredictable, or that is how it is usually portrayed in the media I have consumed. It was often depicted as an irresistible, unknowable force capable of performing miracles beyond the reach of ordinary humans. In some forms, it was ancient and inherent to all living beings, and within the world of Infinity Unleashed, that was the case. I had learned in my time in the game that those who control immense amounts of mana are capable of achieving feats beyond even a god's expectations.
If Sine could see me now, then this would have been one of those cases. The world around me was blank, and I felt my body floating, as if gravity had been switched off. There was no feeling in my limbs, nor did any sound grace my ears. I felt no pain, which told me that I did not commit suicide when I landed my last attack against the Miasma Kroc. This wasn't the tunnel of light and dark, but a different place.
It wasn't my intention to do that anyway, but the amount of miasma and pure mana within both our bodies was beyond what I think should typically be allowed to exist within a normal being's body. This brought about a change that was beyond my current magical expertise. I am a Kitsune, a mystical being with more similarities to a Spirit Beast than a Miasma Monster, so that amount of miasma should have been enough to turn me into dust. That is what my instincts told me, but I could tell that did not happen. I raised my arms before me and recognized that a change had occurred. The orange fur that sprouted on my limbs had expanded to my elbow and fully engulfed my fingers. My hands were no longer human, but a cross between my normal ones and a fox's paws.
'My body is changing... it is becoming a proper vessel to withstand the power of my nebulous mana.'
While I didn't have any proof, I suspected that this was the work of both Sine and Valdus. Valdus, for all of his many faults, was the individual responsible for forging this new body. He merged the bodies of Roktavor and me, creating a new type of being. While I was technically a human in soul, it inherited a new, evolved, full-breed kitsune body capable of withstanding the strain of my soul, but he made an error. According to Sine, he locked my mana behind a magical restraint, which he hoped I'd die before it was removed. Things didn't go as he desired, and I escaped, but that is not all. After meeting Sine, she placed her eye into my skull, grafting it into my new body.
While she declared it would require synchronization before I could fully tap into its power, I believe that even she does not know the whole truth of what would happen. I could feel that same eye, my left eye, pulsing with power. That feeling raced down my chest before pumping back up to my eye. It was like a closed circuit, whirling so faintly that even my enhanced hearing could not detect it. I still could feel it working; I was not dying at the moment, but evolving.
'I hope I don't keep these paws. I prefer my human hands, but I would be badass if I could-'
My thoughts didn't need the finish as my hand shed its fur before my chocolate skin was revealed underneath. My fingers returned to their human variant before an idea hit me. Focusing on my hands, I willed their transformation back into the kitsune variant. Nothing occurred for a moment, but then green flames sputtered from my fingertips. I focused on those sparks, and my work paid off. Emerald flames sputtered to life, engulfing my hands and shaping them back to the Kitsune variant. It was awesome.
"T-T-This is odd?" whispered a voice.
"I-I-Is he alive?" another voice pierced the silence.
My ears twitched at the faint voices. They were stretched thin as if spoken across a great distance on a siddy microphone. I could recognize them, but it was so faint that my ears could barely hear them.
'Was that Claire and Mikangleo or Scurra and her mate?'
I looked around the void, but found no change. Miles in all directions were nothing but a blankness that should have unnerved me. Yet, I wasn't unnerved. I felt at home, but then again, where I was was obvious. This void was an extension of my mana space. Which meant only one thing...
"Fawkes?!" My voice pierced the void, and with it brought an immediate change.
In the distance, a pair of large purple eyes manifested in an emerald blaze. Those distinct X-shaped irises that he shared with his mother pulsed with power as his pupils glanced around until they landed in my direction. After a moment of focusing, those pupils locked on my body. They moved closer to me before hovering in front of me.
"F-F-Father? Y-Y-You did survive!"
The young fox's words pierced the void, hitting me from every direction. There was genuine excitement in his tone, but the loudness of his voice deafened me. I clenched my ears with my furry hands until the feedback stopped.
"I am too powerful to die. Even I can not kill myself," I responded, but a cheerful bark was his response.
"H-H-Hold on! I-I-I got you!"
The large eyes of the fox began to shrink as they floated in my direction. Once they did, they flew into my face, and my eyes began to burn. Both eyes were attempting to merge into mine. It felt foreign, but I allowed him to do so. No doubt, Fawkes has a plan to retrieve me from this area.
"I'm going to borrow your power, so forgive me, father," Fawkes said.
I wondered why he asked for my forgiveness, but I quickly understood why. My chest began to burst with pain so immense that a shout of anguish pierced the void. My body began to tremble, and my arms started moving on their own. They raised in front of me, then suddenly, a pair of claws enlarged from fingertips.
"Nice, so you do have them too," Fawkes chirped as he puppeted my body like a marionette.
Each forced movement brought about immense strain on my body. It felt as if my muscles were being torn apart by the second, but I tried not to resist. It wasn't easy, I will admit. Having your muscles pulled against your will has to be up there for the most painful things I have experienced, without it being a deadly strike against my life. My new claws began to swipe at the void, but nothing occurred. I assumed he was merely trying things out when I felt a pull at my chest. My flames ignited in a hungry blaze as my claws began swiping again.
"C'mon! C'mon!" Fawkes said. His voice grew tense, as if fear were creeping in.
The swiping increased in intensity and desperation until my right pointer finger caught onto something. The flames erupted suddenly, and with a mighty yank, a rift was birthed. Immediately, the rift widened and then collapsed. Its collapse brought with it a large suction akin to a black hole that sucked everything around towards it. That included me. A part of me wanted to resist, but Fawkes' control over my limbs didn't waver, and I helplessly floated towards it. Upon meeting the collapse, my flames erupted into life once more, and my arms shot forward. The claws on my hands somehow grasped the vortex, and mana began being poured into it. The vortex fundamentally changed from its current swirling blackness into a green flame, and then I was sucked into it.
I don't know how long I was in the vortex, but I can feel the weight of the mana pressing down on my body. My flames erupted around me and cleared away the blankness that once had me. Where I ended up was precisely where I wanted to be: my childhood home. The sight of white house brought tranquility to my heart and softened the pressure around me. The smell of freshly cut grass brought a smile to my lips as the sun warmed my skin. My tail swayed behind me slowly as a breeze fluttered my clothing.
I missed this place because it was where it all started for me. There were only a few places in that world that brought me genuine excitement before the grind of adult life silenced my desire for more. This place was the genesis of Marktavious Nicholson, but now was not the time to reminisce. A stir in the air turned my head, and I focused my mind on seeing out of my left eye.
Much like Sine's presumptuous behaviour, the Ravager and Drajkovane were nothing more than gift horses in my eyes. They brought incredible pain and trouble to me today, but they have helped me significantly more than I would have imagined.
"We made it, but I have never seen this place before within the mana space. Is it new?"
"Yes. I created, but I'll show you around later. We have more pressing matters."
If you ever look a gift horse in the mouth, then you shouldn't be surprised when it bites you. That was a lesson I learned a long time ago, so I chose to embrace what I saw. My eye pulsed as the magical energies in the air became visible thanks to Sine's eye. While I could sense the mana that pressed down on me was pure, I could detect a trace of miasma burning around me as well. The bright red energy danced around as flames until they became equally fervent.
"This isn't good, Father. This infection is fighting tooth and nail to exist within your core. I do not know how to remove it, and your body isn't capable of removing it. Its poison will-"
"Remain," I responded, cutting the fox off. "I will allow the miasma to remain within my core."
"What? You can't be serious. This miasma isn't healthy for either of us. We are magical beings. It'll taint the domain unless it's purged from our system," Fawkes protested.
"You may be right if we were normal magical beings."
"What do you mean? Aren't we?"
"We possess the holy grail of Astral Arts. You of all people seem to have forgotten that, Fawkes. Fear has distracted your mind, but then again, you were just born yesterday. I have a plan. Watch as your old man evolves beyond his limitations."
The rival states of Mana battled for supremacy until neither side realized they would win. They were equal in strength. To say that neither would win was inaccurate. Miasma would always corrupt the pure mana, but with the assistance of mana command, I could feel the pure mana within my core continuously convert it. It would take an outside force to decide a winner between the two, and that outside force was me. I reached forward in the tunnel and reclaimed my body from Fawkes' control. The fox attempted to resist, but within the perimeter of my mana space, my control is absolute. That is the benefit of having command over mana itself.
My hand returned to its human variant and latched onto the two vying forces. I called upon my astral art and used it to dominate my environment. There was resistance at first, but as I pulled them apart, the two streams of energy began to condense into two small orbs.
One was bright red and crackled with fearsome miasmaic power. It withered my fingertips, and in the other hand was an orb of pure mana. It glew bright as the void. My body tensed uncontrollably as the raging energies attempted to slip from my grasp, but neither was capable of escaping from my control.
I focused my mind and crafted a visage of two beings out of the orbs. One was the Miasma Kroc, the root cause of this building infection. Its desire to exist was equal to that of the other figure made from the pure mana, Fawkes. The small fox made out of mana barked and growled at its contemporary while the Miasma Kroc hissed.
"Miasma is toxic, but Drajkovane has shown me its utility. I will not purge such a functional element when it merely needs guidance. That is why I chose not to kill the Miasma Kroc. His existence brought a threat, but only because we did not accept him. While a miasma monster has no place within my realm, I have decided to take a book from your mother and become presumptuous."
The construct of the Miasma Kroc faded, and a more solidified orb took its place. It was the size and shape of a marble and felt warm when pinched between my fingers.
"W-What are you doing? Don't tell me..."
Fawkes's words fell on deaf ears as I clenched the orb into my palm and then dropped it into my mouth. I swallowed it in one gulp and integrated the miasma within my body. The small mana fox stared up at me with disbelief etched onto his face. However, his shock was short-lived, as the same fate befell him.
With both forces devoured, I did the first thing that came to mind: I brought the two beings back into existence. The toll of creating a spirit beast was expected to be vast and debilitating, but with the power bestowed upon me within my mana space, it was not difficult. I focused, remembering every detail I could about my fox son, and with the guidance of Sine's eye, I pulled the young Spirit Beast from whatever space he was residing.
In a puff of fire, Fawkes reappeared in the yard with a trace of his injuries present on him. The small fox was slightly bigger than before, but in those X-Shaped pupils, I spotted relief. He blinked as if he regained his consciousness and jumped when the second fire erupted next to him. He scampered into place on the grass before rushing behind me. He leaped onto my back and then climbed onto my shoulder.
"Y-You're bringing it back?! Wait- something is different about it," Fawkes glared at the fire as it expanded in size before he gasped. "No... way... How did you? You shouldn't be capable of-"
"You suddenly appeared within my mana space, and at first, I thought it was due to Sine's handling. However, I realized from my various visits that this is my power. Your mother, you, and Valdus hijacked my power to achieve it, which meant only one thing: I should be about to do it. I can create Spirit Beasts as well!" I declared, spreading my arms proudly. "Behold, Fawkes, your new younger brother! I call him, the one who brought change to our peaceful world; Ghidorah!"