Ignia’s existence had always been sothing of a peculiarity to Alden.
Not only did her appearance differ vastly from that of her kind - giving her a starker, more ominous form, as if her existence was so sort of herald of coming doom -, but she had also ended up in the Wilderness, far removed from the Pyre Peaks.
A place rumoured to be housing the remnants of the once illustrious phoenix race.
That wasn’t the only suspicious aspect of his cute, little familiar, though.
The nature of their first encounter, or more precisely the timing of it, also left Alden a little disturbed. He had thought so back then, but it felt as if an unseen hand had carefully manipulated events so that the two of them would et.
If that truly was the case...
Why did they want him and Ignia to cross paths?
What was so special about her that it warranted such calculating behaviour?
The latter was what interested Alden the most and the reason why he gazed at her so curiously.
The little phoenix was like an enigma; a puzzle he really wanted to solve.
So far, Alden had shied away from looking too deeply into what Ignia could do, reasoning that it was better for her to grow first before he tried to incorporate her too much in any of his plans. Even then, the phoenix had proven useful on nurous occasions - first against Swifty, then the Dark Elf, before more recently against the Ice Wyrms.
Experience suggested Ignia was at her most effective in a frigid environnt.
However, while that was definitely true, that didn’t an she could not help him elsewhere. Alden would be a fool to write her off, especially since he believed she possessed a special type of fla unique only to her.
He called it... the Void Fla.
It was a fla that seed to share so commonality with his Magic Class, naly its dark colour, but Alden did not think they were so similar as to share the sa source. In other words, contrary to the na he had given it, the Void fla wasn’t actually from the void.
Currently, Ignia’s pitch-black fire did not appear to have any special effects.
It was just an "ordinary" fla, if only strange in colour and perhaps more intense.
However, Alden had faith in his little familiar. He was extrely confident she would beco a force to be reckoned with in the future. Alden did not know when exactly Ignia would co of age or when the scenario he had in mind would occur.
But, he knew it would be a glorious day when she did.
Until then, the little phoenix just had to focus on growing.
Which, she did in abundance.
Alden could already sense the difference the past month had made. If before, she was just a little bigger than his palm, now she was more than double that.
It was almost a little absurd how fast she grew. Alden wouldn’t be surprised if, eventually, one day, she beca as large as, or even larger than his chest.
Recently, Alistair had taken it upon himself to feed Ignia the at of different magical creatures. The Guildmaster and Alden were both curious whether this little experint would have any effect on Ignia’s growth.
Maybe it could help her unlock a special power or allow her to develop her reserves of essence further. Perhaps she needed to feast on at which contained lingering fla essence for the latter to happen.
Either way...
Alden couldn’t wait for her to beco stronger.
’In the future, I’ll need all the help I can get. But, for now...’
A gentle smile ford on his face.
’I’m content with her remaining as adorable as she is.’
A mont later, a sharp whistle resounded within the garden. Alden watched Ignia change direction imdiately, her figure a blur as she rushed towards him. He extended his forearm, allowing the cute little bird to perch on it.
Alden felt a burst of warmth coming from Ignia, and he chuckled warmly, nuzzling her beautiful, avian form with the tip of his finger.
She cooed... if phoenixes were capable of such a thing.
Alden admired the stunning phoenix for a little while longer, making sure to softly rub the spot under her beak just where she liked it. Then, once Ignia was happy, he gave her a ntal suggestion through their bond.
The little phoenix cried, understanding his intent.
In the next mont, she flapped her wings and soared in the air, hovering there like a dark on, steam shrouding her figure in a soft, graceful mantle. Alden stared at his precious bond, her yellow, intelligent eyes burning with determination.
He smiled.
Then, the pitch-black phoenix attacked.
Her body blurred, diving towards him.
A heartbeat later, a stream of pitch-black fire hurtled towards Alden. Casually, almost lazily, he erected a [Shield], deciding that there was no need for anything too fancy.
The outline of the magical barrier quickly turned transparent, before shattering in a rain of ethereal shards. Without hesitation, Ignia imdiately changed her strategy, appearing behind him at an angle. The dark fire dancing across her plumage flickered - another stream of jet-black fire assaulted Alden.
Steam sizzled as it approached, the biting cold resisting the dark fla.
This ti, instead of summoning a [Shield], Alden waved his hand, unleashing his own abyssal fla. The two energies clashed, creating a thick cloud which obstructed Alden’s vision.
Of course, that was before he channeled mana to his sole eye.
’Hm?’
And when did, he discovered that Ignia had disappeared, using the fog as a distraction.
’Clever girl.’
Alden had no issue tracking her; his mana sense blanketed the entire space.
Ignia was still much too young and weak to fully evade his perception.
However, Alden definitely liked what he saw.
’That’s my girl.’
Allowing Ignia to disgorge even more of her pitch-black fla - so that she could beco more accustod to using her essence -, the young man vanished, reappearing behind her.
The little phoenix tried to turn, but Alden was too fast.
He held her gently until she finished spewing her pitch-black fla.
Tendrils of smoke slowly escaped her beak.
’Well done, little one. Great job.’
...Ignia cried happily in response.
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