CHAPTER TWENTY TWO: THE ACADEMY’S COUNTEROFFENSIVE PART VII: THE ENTRUSTED LEGACY PART VI: A GAME OF NINJA TAG PART III: HIERON, THE PHOENIX CLAN AND THE ORIGIN OF THE LIGHT’S WOUND LIMIT BREAK

The Students Of Class Deviants and Honours waited patiently.

"So I guess Ayu's 'it' now" Zan said.

"Precisely" Ryu nodded.

In the next moment, Ayumi appeared in the Class Of Deviants with a clone of Ryu. Zan walked up to her. He lifted his hand.

"I was worried about you. It was stupid of you to try to confront Zanfar alone. Don't ever do such a thing again" Zan said and gave her a light chop to her head. "Aho (Idiot)" he said.

"SHINE! (DIE!)" Ayu roared and punched him with all her might.

He found his body in the Class Of Deviants and his head peeking into the Class Of Honours through the wall that linked both classrooms.

"Ryu! Explain what's going on right now and make sure I understand!" Ayumi demanded.

"You went to confront Zanfar so I'm certain you are aware of the fact that a group called the Sanctum Of Decadent Wyverns has infiltrated the Academy. They seemed to be under the orders of Galigaos but the one actually pulling the strings is a being called 'the Darkness Of The Worlds'. I know him as Tristran in my homeworld and you Ayumi, as well as Zan know him as Zanfar" Ryu explained.

The others explained to Ayumi everything Ryu had told them so far about Tristran.

"So you have a plan right Ryu?" Ayumi asked.

"Yes, to counter him we have put into motion a high stakes operation of a certain nature called…Ninja Tag!" Ryu said.

"DIE!" Ayumi roared and punched Ryu.

He found his head next to Zan's in the Class Of Honours, stuck in the wall.

Ayumi dusted her hands by clapping them together.

"Don't tell me you intercepted an actual plan to counter Zanfar just so you could play a game!" Ayumi roared.

"Why are you still here Ryu? I thought clones disappeared after taking a hit" Zan asked.

"Technically, this is a Shadow Of Jinn. They don't disappear unless ordered to" Ryu explained painfully.

Zan and Ryu unstuck their heads from the wall.

"Well isn't that convenient" Zan muttered in sarcasm.

"Ayumi, Ryu's telling the truth and though he expressed it in a humorous manner, his plan to counter the Sanctum Of Decadent Wyverns is actually a solid one" Reis said.

"Somehow I find that hard to believe" Ayumi said skeptically, then she noticed that Reis' sword was missing.

"And why don't you have your sword with you if something this serious is going on?" Ayumi asked.

"Do you have the Kommeno Syndesmo on you?" Reis asked.

"Of course, I wouldn't have attempted confronting Zanfar alone without it" Ayumi said and unsheathed it.

Then she noticed something odd.

"Wait a sec…this sort of looks like your sword Reis" Ayumi noticed the similarities.

"Does it?" Reis said and when Ayumi raised her eyes to look at him, she saw Arälpheisl and Darag-Arökna standing in place of Reis and Darak respectively.

"You can't be serious!" Ayumi exclaimed in disbelief.

Reis and Darak reverted to their usual forms.

"Ryu entrusted his own Sword, the Aurora Sabre, actually to be more precise, a third of his Sword's power to my ancestor, the remaining two thirds were entrusted to Aurora's ancestors in the forms of two ores. These swords were passed down our bloodline to Aurora and I. Aurora inherited the Twin Saggeesian Sabres and I inherited my ancestor, King Dragonhaärt blade. Ryu asked Darak, Rikishin and I just now to entrust the Sword to you under the name of 'Kommeno Syndesmo' to throw off Tristran's suspicions" Ryu explained.

"Wait a sec…are you trying to tell me you are just returning from the Battle Of Black Water Bridge?!" Ayumi exclaimed in shock.

Reis nodded.

"That and from when I gave the sword to you right before your battle against Zanböngfar" Reis said.

"Unbelievable" Ayumi opened her eyes in shock. "But surprisingly, certain things make sense now including Ninja Tag" Ayumi said.

"And guess what Ayu, you're 'it' now" Zan said with a smile.

"You're 'it' too Zan. I want you to go with Ayu. That way you can ensure her safety and worry a little less" Ryu said.

"Awesome!" Zan exclaimed happily.

"But before that I need the Seven Stones Of Virtue including the Stone Of Light" Ryu said seriously.

"Why?" Zan asked.

"I'm coming with you but to a different era" Ryu said.

Zan handed the Stones to Ryu including the Rhino horn chain entrusted to him by Wanye.

"I'll alter the characteristics of two of these stones to suit the peculiar needs of the world I'm travelling to while further throwing off Tristran's suspicions" Ryu said as he flowed his power into the Stones Of Light and Time. The Stone Of Light changed from a bright white colour to a brilliant golden colour. The Stone Of Time changed from a transparent diamond to an icy blue stone.

"Okay Ayu, Zan, I'm sending you to a world of 'Jo-lan', a world named after the ability to give life. I'm sending you to an era where three special children have been born. Shortly before the period I'm sending you to and at the birth of these children, Tristran intended to possess one of the children in order to completely regenerate himself but was foiled by another one of the children" Ryu explained.

"Wait wait wait, you're saying Tristran was foiled by a baby?!" Ayumi exclaimed in disbelief.

"Yes, and the two children in question are right here. The third is in the Cavern Of The Jo-lan Masters aboard this Ark. They're Buern and Josec" Ryu explained.

Josec and Buern waved at Ayumi nervously.

"Actually, you become one of our teachers back in our homeworld as well Master Ayumi" Buern said.

"Yeah, I remember you mentioned something like that while we were discussing our homeworld's heirlooms at the meeting Michael called" Ayumi said.

"In that world, you'll find three elders and Josec's parents, Vega and Luna Fenix. Entrust the Kommeno Syndesmo to them. Josec's father should currently be studying exorcism techniques. He'll understand why the sword is needed. But the location where they are currently is hidden. You can't find it without one of these" Ryu said as he handed Ayumi and Zan two books.

"I've tailored the records in these to your personal experiences. You should be able to find them now" Ryu said.

Zan and Ayumi accessed the 'Protocol Twelve Gates' and disappeared.

"Now it's about time I departed as well" Ryu said as he did same.

THE WORLD OF JO-LAN…EONS AGO…SHORTLY AFTER THE RISE OF SOURYU…

Souryu the Black Dragon stood over an injured gryphon.

"For how long will you continue to resist me Gryphon?! Our battle has lasted two long years and for two long years I have utterly crushed you yet you refuse to despair. Why do you remain so adamant? Most humans have already given up and even Psychorages cower yet you continue to fight!" Souryu stared at the gryphon with blazing eyes.

"For now maybe…but I feel that if I continue to resist you, eventually everyone will recall that there were better times before the carnage you wrought on us and eventually…they'll hope for those times and fight to see them return. I feel if I fight for just one more day…you will lose" the gryphon said and lost consciousness.

"At the very least I'll say this gryphon…that you were a worthy adversary" Souryu said and flew away.

A boy watched the battle from a distance.

"I hope the gryphon's not dead. Though no one's willing to resist Souryu openly, we all secretly wish that the gryphon will win" the boy said.

Suddenly he noticed a fiery object streak across the sky. As the object fell towards the battlefield, the flames surrounding the object spread out and formed two fiery wings.

"A fiery crimson bird?" the boy stared in awe.

The object landed close to the gryphon and the flames surrounding it slowly faded to reveal Ryu.

"I hope I wasn't too late" Ryu said and laid a hand on the gryphon.

"Hieron?" Ryu called silently.

The gryphon remained still.

"He's severely weakened. He appears to have exhausted almost all his energy in the battle against Souryu. You resisted Souryu for two years and still haven't despaired. Well done" Ryu said as he began to channel his own life force into the gryphon.

The boy who had been watching from a distance approached slowly.

"You're concerned about Hieron aren't you?" Ryu asked.

"Hieron?" the boy asked.

"That's his name" Ryu said.

"I don't know what you're talking about" the boy said.

"Don't lie. You've been watching Hieron's battle for two years but you're also scared of Souryu. You must have been nursing his wounds secretly all this time. If Hieron dies though, defeating Souryu will become much more difficult. Don't you think it's better to gamble on the slim chance that Hieron might win?" Ryu asked.

The boy thought deeply.

"Only Psychorages currently possess the ability to battle Souryu and even they cower under Souryu's power. What chance have we humans got?" the boy asked.

"Even if you had all the power to confront Souryu, without the courage to fight, it would all be useless" Ryu said.

The boy nodded and approached Hieron.

"I suppose you're right. Let's take Hieron to my cave" the boy said and along with Ryu's help, the two carried Hieron to a cave near the site of the battlefield.

"You're brave…uh…" Ryu was saying when.

"Lucas…the name's Lucas Bane" the boy introduced himself.

"I have a gift for you Lucas" Ryu said as he removed four of the stones specifically the Stones Of Light, Water, Fire and Earth.

"Here, you can have them" Ryu said as he reached out to Lucas.

"What use are jewels if you might not live long enough to spend the profits earned from selling them?" Lucas asked.

Ryu laughed.

"That's true. But I am not giving you these stones so that you can sell them. These stones represent four elements, the elements of Light, Love, Courage and Hope. With these you will stand a fighting chance against Souryu but you cannot defeat Souryu alone. On two other continents are two people very much like yourself who also hope for Souryu's defeat. You must find them Lucas. I'll entrust these stones to you. By the time you find them, you'll know what these stones represent and I'll entrust this book to you as well" Ryu said and handed Lucas a book.

Lucas opened it. It was completely blank regardless of how many times he flipped the pages.

"It's blank" Lucas said.

Slowly, an image appeared on the first page of the Book, an image of a fiery bird. Lucas flipped the page. The image of him and Ryu carrying Hieron was on the second page. On the third page were images of the four stones and on the fourth page was the image of an island.

Lucas and Ryu found themselves on the island within the Book. It was completely empty except for a single temple and within the temple was a library filled with shelves containing more blank books. Lucas and Ryu found themselves back in Lucas' Cave.

"You will eventually defeat Souryu Lucas. With each new experience, the pages of this Book will gradually fill up and by the time the last page fills up, the empty island within the Book will become a vibrant world and Souryu will have been defeated" Ryu said.

"Who really are you?" Lucas asked.

"Tell Hieron this, he will fight a great battle with the rest of humanity against the Black Dragon. He alone shall become the Phoenix's consciousness and though he will triumph no one will ever recall his deeds. No one will recall the one who united them and led them towards hope. In time, all that will remain of him will be a myth that will fade away" Ryu said.

"What was the Crimson Bird you flew on?" Lucas asked.

"When you find the other two who share the same hopes as you, you will come to understand its nature" Ryu said as he slowly disappeared.

When he arrived back on the Ark, he was met by Zan and Ayumi.

"It's done. The Kommeno Syndesmo is now in the hands of the Phoenix Clan" Ayumi said.

"Four of the Stones Of Virtue are also in the possession of the first generation Phoenix Clan and I've hidden three of them in other locations and eras in their homeworld" Ryu said.

"You do know that they eventually fall into the possession of Souryu's generals don't you Ryu?" Josec asked.

"Yes, but you, Harry, Jason, Estelle, Buern and the Masters Of Jo-lan eventually reclaim them so there's no real problem there" Ryu said.