Chapter 118 - World Destroyers (End of Book 2)
Nathan Evenhart:
Cylla lay beside and began explaining with a tone that mixed enthusiasm and seriousness.
"They have many nas in various languages. I don’t know their true nas; I only know that my people rose from the ashes, surviving a great disaster, and that the progenitors used their power to allow us to continue living. It is from their power that we gained our beast form."
Cylla paused for a mont, thinking, then resud her explanation.
"The Earth Destroyer was a colossal land giant who dominated everything he stepped on. His strength could level mountains as he ran. He was a grand and feared being. His armor was resilient, and his bite was deadly. My body in that form inherited the quadrupedal aspect from him and possibly other traits that may still appear."
I looked at the small four-legged phoenix beside , reflecting on what she had said.
She really did take on a quadrupedal form, both in her larger form and now.
"The second progenitor was the Air Destroyer, a giant bird that dominated the skies. The beating of its wings eclipsed the suns; when it was seen, the world grew dark, so vast was its size. From this destroyer, we inherited the winged trait to master the skies."
"I don’t understand. You’re already a bird, so how did you inherit the trait of another bird?"
She seed to think for a mont.
"I don’t have access to that information. What I know is that my people had the power to transform into phoenixes, or we were the phoenixes, I don’t know. The progenitors gave us their power. This allowed us to awaken a much larger and more powerful beast form. I also don’t know why they did this."
As I listened, I started to understand better. So things made sense this way.
"My previous form was rging the Earth Destroyer’s traits with those of the Air Destroyer, which is why I looked like a bigger four-legged bird, and then my beak transford into a jaw."
"Did it hurt?" I asked.
"It was just like what happened to you with your eyes. Our bodies need to adapt to these changes, and the sa happened to . Now that I’ve understood the Aspect of the Body better, I can transform into this form and let my body change while I’m like this," she said, happily.
"And the last World Destroyer?" I asked, curious.
She leaned closer to , her voice lowering.
"The third progenitor was the most dangerous of them all, the legendary serpent, the Water Destroyer, considered an Ouroboros."
"What!?" I shot up, surprised, staring at Cylla with a mix of shock and curiosity.
Could this be the creature sleeping in my soul? That seems impossible, right? From what she said, they died thousands of years ago. But Sisika ntioned that the guardian of the Celestial Eyes was soone who survived...
"What was this Ouroboros like? Do you know?" I asked, trying to remain calm.
She thought for a mont before answering.
"It was a monstrous white serpent. Its sheer weight and size made the ocean waters rise as it moved. It was the most dangerous of all, as it could also reach the skies with its size and walk on land, but it preferred to stay in the ocean, deep below, in the darkness."
These Celestial Eyes I have... are they the eyes of that creature?
"These were the three World Destroyers, beings that survived a great chaos and helped my people stay alive by sharing their power with us. My body is entering incubation to adapt to the traits of these three progenitors. The last one to be added was the serpent’s trait, and now everything will rge so that I can access my beast form... soday, at so point."
"But what about that previous form you had? Wasn't that your beast form?"
"What you saw was my body adapting to the traits of the Earth Destroyer and the Air Destroyer, creating a quadrupedal version of with jaws and wings. Now, I’ll inherit the serpent's trait, and the incubation process will be responsible for unifying all of that. My beast form will have parts of the armored quadruped, parts of the mystical bird, and parts of the deadly serpent."
As I listened, I tried to imagine what that fusion would look like, what kind of result it would create.
She had a human-like appearance as Sisika, so her race isn’t the fusion of all that. This is actually a beast power of hers. Kinue told she was born in the form of a fox and then beca human, but when she grows older, she’ll awaken a beast form. So, maybe the power of these progenitors grants Cylla access to a beast form similar to what happens to Kinue? What really is a phoenix?
Sisika was her human version, so that must be her form outside the beast shape...
"Does everyone in your species have the sa beast appearance?" I asked, still trying to process all this information.
"Not everyone inherits the sa traits. The more compatible you are with inheriting the three progenitors' traits, the more powerful the form is. So beings of my race only inherit one progenitor. I’m powerful because I inherited parts from all three," she said, with a touch of pride.
"So, you're not just this little bird form?"
"No, this is my egg form. But one day I’ll have a humanoid version, like the one you saw in my adult form. Most likely, she had wings and kept them hidden. I’m currently in the birth form, which is our first beast form."
First beast form? That’s a lot to process.
"Does all this co from the Aspect of the Body?"
"Exactly, our body control cos from that Aspect. Our Celestial Eyes are already awakened when we’re born. With that power, I can take on a more human-like form to be closer to you..." she said with a hint of shyness.
"What do you an, 'closer to '?"
"Because we’re married, silly."
"What!? When did I get married?" I asked, surprised.
She let out a playful laugh.
"You know my species falls in love with the soul, right? It happened when we t... it was love at first sight."
"I'm pretty sure my soul isn't very pretty... I’ve caused a lot of destruction..."
"That’s for to judge. A person’s soul tells a story, and I saw a glimpse of yours when I fell in love."
So all that talk about being 'beloved' and falling in love was... in that sense? Is that what being a Phoenix Master ans?
"And when did I agree to marry you? Don’t both parties have to consent?"
"You saved from the hellish suffering of those chains, and I saved you from death. Isn’t that what husband and wife do? They protect each other forever."
"I guess that’s true..."
"Even my other version was in love with you. That ans I fell in love with you twice, which is proof of my love."
I decided to set aside the whole marriage thing for now, but as I looked at Cylla, an idea struck .
"Can you teach how to use the Celestial Eyes?" I asked, feeling the heat rise to my face upon realizing that, to her, we were already married.
If she’s thought we were married from the start... I’m so embarrassed now, realizing how many things suddenly make sense...
I rembered all the tis she hugged , licking my face, and how she was even jealous of Kinue and Chloe.
Now everything makes sense...
"I can try to teach you, but I was born already knowing how to use part of them, just like a child knows how to blink and breathe. Your Celestial Eyes are also different from mine because they can evolve, and they're alive. So, I'll be limited in how much knowledge I can pass on to you."
"That’s fine. I’ve already mastered many powers in another life, and I'm mastering mana at my current level. I need to master the rest of my elental powers and these Celestial Eyes. Explain to a bit from the start. I want to know everything about the Six Celestial Aspects. I want to understand what they are: Body, Soul, Ti, Space, Life, and Death."
She jumped excitedly closer to .
"It’ll be my pleasure to help you, my beloved."
"Just calling Nathan is fine..." I replied, embarrassed.
I’m married... and my mother is going to kill if she finds out...
And so began my journey to master the 6 Celestial Aspects, alongside my beloved phoenix... and whatever that serpent creature sleeping inside was.
"Don't forget about !" Athena chid in.
And also alongside the damn Goddess of Strategy.
"Go fuck yourself, Icarus.”
Eira Green:
We gathered in that forest, a place where the trace of my forr commander had finally been found after years of pursuit. She, who had abandoned us and beco a fugitive.
"What do you think?" my superior asked, his gaze fixed on the location.
"It must have been her. This is the trace of the last breath of a Valkyrius," I replied as we observed the mana particles dispersing in the air, remnants of the fire from a phoenix’s end. She had chosen to cease existing.
"Why would she do this before her ti?" Lars asked, his voice filled with disbelief.
Our superior, with his intimidating and wordless deanor, looked at , waiting for an explanation.
"Maybe she really did fall in love..." I muttered, taking a wild guess.
"Hahaha, that bloodthirsty warrior, falling in love?" Lars laughed, incredulous.
My superior shot a furious glare.
"Lady Eira! Take that back!" he commanded, his voice dripping with anger as a crushing pressure filled the air, suffocating .
"Alright... I take it back!" I quickly responded.
He continued to glare, narrowing his eyes.
"General Sisika would never fall in love, let alone with human scum."
Lars and I stayed silent as he assessed the area.
"You can feel the human mana too... And she entrusted her Heritor body to a human. The signs are clear, whether you like it or not. She fled with those eyes and entrusted them to a human. The mana we're sensing indicates a new bearer, and she perford a soul-bond, sacrificing herself for the future of her beloved. She chose to cease existing before completing the Heritor cycle, and you have to admit what that suggests," I challenged.
He pointed his sword at my throat.
"Sergeant Eira, are you telling that the legendary Red Valkyrius simply gave up her life for a human?" he asked, pressing the blade against my skin. "Are you telling she would lower herself to that?"
Black lightning started crackling across the blade.
"We should go, sir. We can't stay here any longer," Lars intervened, trying to defuse the situation.
My superior gave one last look before sheathing his sword.
"For your sake, I'll pretend I didn't hear that blasphemy co from your mouth," he said, turning his back on .
I placed a hand on my neck to heal the wound.
As I looked around, I tried to understand what had really happened. We lost two Generals at the end of the last war. One died, and the other chose to walk away.
Sisika, did you find what you were looking for?
"We'll tell the Great King that my fiancée is still missing," my superior said with determination. "I can't let this discovery leak until I understand why she did it."
"Yes, Prince Thorsten," Lars and I responded in unison.
Or maybe she had planned to run away ever since she found out she was being forced into this engagent?
I did my best not to let those thoughts show on my face.
"I'll get the authorization to search these human lands," he said, venom in his voice.
"And what will you do when you get that authorization?" I asked, feeling the weight of the situation.
He shot a cold look.
"I’m going after the bastard human who's with Sisika, and I’ll kill him. I'll retrieve her and the Eyes of Jörmungandr, no matter the cost. I swear by Thor and Odin, I’ll kill that human!"
We left that place, transforming into phoenixes, and flew towards Asgard.
Author's Note:
Dear reader, thank you so much for reading this far.
You’ve just finished the second book of my story. We’ve been on quite the journey together, from that village to the storm on the beach where we found our little Valkyrius phoenix. I think I can say this now without it being a spoiler, but I consider these first two books as just one long chapter. Everything we've seen so far is simply the prologue to what’s coming next.
Our young general is in unfamiliar lands, in a strange world, unaware of the surprises awaiting him.
Welco to my fantastical and adapted Norse mythology.
There will be many mysteries and battles ahead, and I want to ask you a question: Can I count on you to continue this journey with ?
Book 3 will be a test of what’s to co. There, we’ll uncover many of the mysteries and answers of this world.
I’ll leave you to reflect on everything you’ve discovered.
I’m taking a short break. We’ll begin the story of the third book after this period. Apologies, but life gets a little busy. However, I guarantee you’ll enjoy the first chapters of the third book.
The next ti you et our General, he’ll be 15 years old.
Both he and you will experience a ti skip, haha. I’ll see you in a few days... and if you think the mysteries are over, you’re wrong—there’s so much more to co.
P.S.: Chapter releases will resu on September 20th.
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