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The next day.
Since it was Saturday, Hawk got an early start and headed over to an apartment building across from Queensbridge Park.
This was his new home.
It hadn't taken long to find.
A nice, affordable apartment was hard to come by, but a cheap one was easy enough to find.
Even so, no landlord would rent to a minor, especially one who couldn't provide a guarantor.
But—
When Hawk explained that he had already petitioned the court for emancipation, the landlord had agreed to wait.
And now, here he was.
After seeing the court-stamped document confirming Hawk's legal independence, the landlord didn't waste any time. They signed the lease, Hawk paid six months' rent upfront, and the keys were handed over. The deal was done.
...
Once the landlord left, Hawk closed the door and took a look around his new place.
It wasn't any bigger than his last one.
To put it dramatically, it looked like a cardboard box that life had stepped on.
The carpet was old, the walls were stained.
The living room was pathetically small; with a secondhand sofa and a folding dining table, you had to be careful just to turn around.
The bedroom was the same. Once he put a bed in, there would be no extra space.
But...
It was small, but it had everything he needed.
Most importantly.
Just like his old place, this apartment had a fire escape outside the window with direct access to the rooftop.
That was the main reason Hawk had asked the landlord to give him time to sort things out with the court.
Besides.
For seven hundred dollars a month in New York City, what more could you ask for?
Hawk spent the next two days cleaning and setting up his new apartment.
"Setting up" was a generous term. He bought a new mattress and replaced the old, yellowed showerhead in the bathroom.
He also left the windows open for two full days to air the place out, finally getting rid of the lingering smell of stale curry.
Of course.
He didn't forget his treasure. Under the cover of night, he went to his hiding spot and retrieved his spoils of war—the five Chitauri weapons—and brought them back to his new home.
He wrapped them in the bedsheet that had come with his old apartment's bed and stashed them underneath his new one.
...
That evening.
Just like he used to, Hawk bought a burger and a Coke from a place downstairs. He then climbed the fire escape to the roof of his new building. After looking around, he found a relatively clean spot and sat down.
He ate his burger while gazing up at the stars.
As a few stars flickered in the night sky, the stars within his own Cosmo mirrored their light.
Hawk had already decided which Bronze constellation he would ignite first.
Not Pegasus.
Not Cygnus.
And not Draco.
It would be—
The Phoenix!
A constellation wasn't just a container for a Saint's power; it was a mark of their legacy.
Once a Saint awakened their Cosmo and claimed their guardian constellation, they inherited the core attributes of that constellation.
And in Hawk's opinion, among all forty-eight Bronze constellations, none had an attribute that could compare to that of the Phoenix.
Because the Phoenix possessed a quality that not even the twelve Gold Zodiacs had.
The Phoenix doesn't die, it's reborn.
If the core of the Draco constellation was 'The Might of the Dragon' and 'The Dragon's Guard,' then the core of the Phoenix was 'Immortality' and 'Rebirth.'
The bad news:
Because the Phoenix's core attribute was so ridiculously overpowered, the requirements to become the Phoenix Saint were incredibly demanding.
In the old stories, from the very first Holy War, the Phoenix Saint was a position that had remained vacant among Athena's eighty-eight Saints, only appearing for the first time in the modern era.
The good news:
This wasn't that universe. The Phoenix constellation here wasn't nearly as picky.
The second he finished lighting up the star chart for the Phoenix in his Cosmo, he would gain its core attribute.
His life force would reach a terrifying new level. Even if he were killed, he wouldn't truly die. As long as the Phoenix constellation existed, he would be reborn from the ashes, rising from the flames to return.
So...
He'd have to be insane to choose any other constellation over the Phoenix.
After all, his core mission hadn't changed.
Survive. And if possible, live comfortably, and live for a very long time.
Having made his choice, Hawk didn't hesitate. He focused his will, directing the twelve stars he had ignited by killing the Chitauri. He began to arrange them within his Cosmo, forming the pattern of the Phoenix constellation.
The Phoenix constellation is composed of one second-magnitude star, two third-magnitude stars, and six fourth-magnitude stars.
The stars Hawk had ignited by killing the Chitauri were the smallest kind—fourth-magnitude.
It took two fourth-magnitude stars to form a third-magnitude star, and two third-magnitude stars to form a second-magnitude.
So—
"Still need two more."
"Not bad."
"This is good."
Hawk took a sip of his soda, a smile on his face as he looked at the nearly completed Phoenix star chart glowing brightly in his inner universe. Only two stars left to go.
Just then.
The ghostly outlines of the other forty-seven Bronze constellations flickered within his Cosmo.
For some reason.
Hawk felt a wave of resentment from them, a silent protest.
But amidst their complaints, he heard the faint cry of a phoenix. And with that cry, the protests of the other forty-seven constellations vanished.
Hawk blinked, looking at the Phoenix star chart in his Cosmo.
The mostly-completed constellation seemed to radiate a palpable arrogance, like a true Phoenix looking down on the other forty-seven constellations.
Clearly—
As Hawk's first choice, the proud Phoenix was now even prouder.
"..." A corner of Hawk's mouth twitched. He decided not to linger on it and withdrew from his Cosmo, climbing back down the fire escape into his new apartment.
...
A little while later.
Lying in bed, not yet asleep, Hawk closed his eyes and once again turned his thoughts to the Saint Armor.
Igniting the Phoenix constellation would grant him the core of the undying Phoenix.
But forging and wearing the Phoenix Armor would unlock the constellation's exclusive powers and abilities.
For example—
The Phoenix Illusion Demon Fist, a technique that shattered an enemy's mind, not their body.
A psychic assault that allowed him to directly invade an enemy's mindscape and tear their psyche to shreds with his own superior mental fortitude.
And there was one more.
The ultimate technique, the exclusive secret art of the Phoenix, where he would become the Phoenix itself, unleashing a powerful, scorching wave of air like the beating of its wings, capable of annihilating all in its path.
The Phoenix's Winged Ascent!
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