An Odyssey of Phoenixes

Several days after Pyo-Tan had talked to Alex about meeting with the rest of the phoenixes, the residents of a small island located in the Pacific Ocean trembled in fear as the volcano that had created their island started rumbling after centuries of silence. What none of them knew was that, far below the volcano's peak, the great beast within was stirring as several great bursts of fire flared up in front of him, all surrounding a very small looking chicken that was standing on a slab of stone floating in the middle of the massive magma filled cavern. From each burst of fire that appeared, identical massive creatures followed that would spread their giant wings before settling down and turning their attention to the one that called them there.

"What did you call us here for Pyo-Tan?" The cavern rumbled as the largest Phoenix asked once they had all arrived, making all of the rest of the phoenixes present go silent and look down on the one who dared call them to disturb their slumber, and was the weakest one present. Pyo-Tan however didn't recoil under the gazes of those present, before he said firmly,

"Great Rho-Dan, I requested this meeting due to a problem that I'm sure all of us phoenixes are aware of, the increasing air pollution and shrinking territories that each of us could roam in." At Pyo-Tan's words the dozens of phoenixes surrounding him became silent as they all ruminated on what they acknowledged was indeed a growing problem.

Over the last few hundred years the human populations had exploded to proportions that could easily threaten the monster population, which was why many monsters were willing to go through great lengths to remain secret, as their exposure could lead to a war that would result in the elimination of both sides. The problem however was that the human's numbers were only growing at a faster rate, and with it they were increasing their impact on the world through things such as pollution of the air, waters, and earth itself. This had a drastic effect on the various monsters that relied on the environment for their lives, and was contributing to the growing discontent with the current world order.

The phoenixes in particular were experiencing the effects of air pollution and the humans constantly growing numbers, which was limiting their chances to go out and spread their wings due to the possibility of being seen with their giant forms. This had resulted in the numerous sightings of what the humans called the 'Thunder Bird', and various other monstrous flying creatures popular in the media today.

Seeing as he now had the attention of every Phoenix present, Pyo-Tan then took a deep breath and continued, "While these issues are a problem for us all, I believe I may have found a way for us to continue forward!" He then went on to explain of the wonderful land of Asora that had clean skies and a limited population of other residents, all of which were aware of the existence of beings such as phoenixes so they wouldn't have to hide their presence any longer. Though the place Pyo-Tan described sounded wonderful to some of the phoenixes, others were more skeptical of such a wonderful sounding thing, before the second largest Phoenix present demanded,

"And what would be the price we'd have to pay to be able to move to this paradise? I can't image that we'd be able to reside there for nothing!" At this many of the phoenixes were silent, as Pyo-Tan glared at the speaker slightly before continuing,

"This land is owned by one who is called the Dragon Emperor. All he would require to reside there is a promise that we would never threaten the lives of the other residents, that we regard him and his word as the absolute authority within his realm, and that if his realm and its inhabitants become threatened that we would fight on their behalf." There was a great commotion when the rest of the phoenixes heard the requirements to reside in Asora, as well as the fact that the one who owned this land was called the Dragon Emperor.

While the rest of them were discussing these two things amongst themselves, Rho-Dan himself was silent as he contemplated what Pyo-Tan had told them, before the Phoenix that had spoken before demanded, "So you mean to tell me that in order to live there we, THE GREAT AND POWERFUL PHOENIXES, would have to bow down to a mere dragon?!" The rest of the phoenixes as well cried out their agreement at this outrage, until Rho-Dan slowly rumbled as he asked,

"Tell me Shi-Lan, have you forgotten about the ancient dragons that were once our equals?" Though Rho-Dan's words were enough to make the rest of the phoenixes go silent, the one called Shi-Lan continued,

"Great Rho-Dan, the ancient dragons were wiped out long ago, any dragons that exist now are nowhere near our immortal greatness! Even if this so-called Dragon Emperor is somehow an ancient dragon, what's to stop us from destroying him and taking this 'Asora' for ourselves?" At Shi-Lan's rods the rest of the phoenixes around them shouted out their agreement as they each imagined a world that they ruled without the lowly humans, or the other Youkai. Rho-Dan let out a rumbling sigh when he saw this, as it was too presumptuous to assume that it would be that easy to eliminate a being that had somehow laid claim to what was supposedly a whole world.

Instead of pointing this out however, Rho-Dan stayed silent as he watched how Pyo-Tan would react to this, only to see that the seemingly small chick was deathly silent as if it wasn't surprised at how the others had reacted. As Rho-Dan found this curious, and the rest of the phoenixes fervor reached its peak, they were interrupted as a spout of magma that suddenly shot out from one of the surrounding rock walls.

"WOOOOAH!" Someone shouted over the crescendo of the phoenixes voices, as he shot out along with the magma into the pool of lava below them, before surfacing casually as if he was floating in a pool of water. As if he was indifferent to the dozens of insanely powerful phoenixes staring at him, the man then created a magic circle in mid air that deposited a coconut, a straw, and mini umbrella into his waiting hand, while a pair of sunglasses dropped down onto his face. As the chamber turned dead silent, he then waved a finger and the magic circle started playing a upbeat song like a person would hear while staying in a tropical island. Alex then said over the booming music,

"Sorry for dropping in like this, I got bored while waiting up there and decided to take a dip, but got sucked into a random lava tube. So what's going on?" Though the silence persisted for several seconds after Alex's question, Pyo-Tan eventually said somewhat exasperatedly,

"Well, Great Dragon Emperor, this little Pyo-Tan had just been explaining the benefits of us phoenixes migrating to Asora, and Shi-Lan here was talking about killing you to take Asora for ourselves." When he heard this Alex's lazy demeanor froze along with the music he was playing, as he looked directly at the phoenix Pyo-Tan had pointed out, which was also the second biggest Phoenix after the one he presumed was Rho-Dan. With his casual expression turning into a deadpan, Alex tossed his coconut drink away and pulled himself out of the magma onto the same stone slab Pyo-Tan was standing on before summoning himself a change of clothes, since his other ones had burnt when he first jumped into the magma. He then looked directly at the Phoenix in question, before asking,

"You want to try and kill me to take Asora for yourself?" Shi-Lan wanted to comment about Alex's demeanor and lack of respect in the face of his greatness, and that he should be honored to die from his flames and talons, however the words were caught in his throat. Nodding at the silence, Alex then directed his attention to the rest of the phoenixes gathered, and stated loudly and clearly,

"The world called Asora is my property, I use it to house those I care about and those who wish for a better life than what their world will allow them. I am willing to accept the phoenixes of this world, however you will have to obey the laws I have set down." At this Alex glanced at Pyo-Tan to see the chubby little chicken nod, stating that he had already explained the rules Alex decreed for the phoenixes should they move. Alex then turned his attention towards the one Pyo-Tan had pointed out, while the little chicken jumped up suddenly to his shoulder and whispered into Alex's ear,

"Great One, this Pyo-Tan has something important to tell you regarding Shi-Lan!" Without taking his gaze away from the glaring Phoenix, Alex asked,

"What is it Pyo-Tan?" After a second of deliberation, Pyo-Tan anxiously stated,

"Shi-Lan is among the phoenixes that hates humans the most! He would be equal to the great Rho-Dan in power if not for the fact that several thousand years ago he was once killed by humans, and he has been slaughtering them in the hundreds and thousands ever since! We phoenixes always live in either deserts or volcanoes, and he personally has triggered several eruptions throughout history that have been recorded as some of the greatest natural disasters recorded, Mount Vesuvius, Unzen, Pelée, Thera, even the eruption of Mount Tambora that ended up killing hundreds of thousand people!" Alex's expression hardened as he listened to Pyo-Tan's explanation of Shi-lan's past, which could be heard by every Phoenix present due to their enhanced hearing, causing several phoenixes to shuffle awkwardly due to the fact that they were somewhat guilty of the same thing when humans had tried to attack them in the past, yet not even close to the level of Shi-Lan. As he and Shi-Lan stared at each other, Alex then stated in a loud and clear voice, his previous frivolous demeanor completely gone,

"Come at me then. You want to take what is mine, THEN TAKE IT IF YOU DARE!" Shi-Lan sneered at Alex's declaration as he shook off the feeling that froze him previously, while Rho-Dan watched silently from the side to see what this so-called 'Dragon Emperor' was capable of, even as Shi-Lan spread his wings and declared himself,

"Very well you worthless lizard! I will show you the price to pay for going against an immortal Phoenix!" As he spoke Shi-Lan released a blast of fire from his open beak that bathed the area around Alex with Phoenix flames so intense, that even Pyo-Tan would have been turned to ash had he not retreated to safety a moment before.

Seemingly the battle was over before it even began as the Phoenix Fire washed over Alex's unresisting body, and the flames heated the cavern to the point that the rock face around them started glowing, before they then slowly starting dripping molten stone. After several minutes Shi-Lan closed his mouth as a triumphant smirk appeared even with his beak, however it slowly faded as his flames died down and revealed a figure standing in the middle, no worse for the wear.

"Was that it?" Alex asked with a bored expression, infuriating Shi-Lan more than he had been in centuries. How dare this insignificant worm stand against the mighty him?! While releasing a mighty screech, Shi-Lan spread his wings and charged directly at Alex with the intention to crush him under his giant beak, murder in his eyes.

Alex didn't even flinch at the sudden attack however, instead he simply reached out as if in slow motion, and grabbed the tip of Shi-Lan's beak right before it impacted him, halting all of the raging phoenix's forward motion. With a smirk on his face now, Alex looked directly into the stunned eyes of Shi-Lan before grabbing his beak with his other hand, and swinging him back into the rock wall behind him, forcing the phoenixes perched there to scatter. The entire cavern rumbled once more as Shi-Lan's body slammed into the rock face upside down, however, before he could start falling, Alex muttered,

"Have a taste of these flames..." As he spoke Alex summoned flames that were as black as night, before shaping them into two giant stakes and sending them directly through Shi-Lan's wings into the rock on the other side, effectively pinning him to the cavern wall.

"SHORYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" Shi-Lan cried out in pain, as the demonic flames pierced his wings and started to slowly spread while combating his regenerative abilities. This sent a shiver of fear through the rest of the gathered phoenixes, as they had never heard of a type of fire capable of injuring them, let alone preventing their regenerative abilities from activating. Shi-Lan then shouted out through the pain,

"What are these abominable flames?! Curse you and your demon fire!" When he heard this Alex's brow twitched in annoyance, as he felt as if Shi-Lan wasn't one to talk about fire. Alex then forced the corrosive black flames to die out, effectively preventing them from eating through the entirety of Shi-Lan's body and allowing the massive Phoenix to fall heavily to a slab of stone below him.

"Do you accept your defeat?" Alex asked suddenly, as it was apparent that Shi-Lan was unable to actually fight him in terms of both fire and strength.

"Haaa....Haaa.... I accept my defeat....." Shi-Lan panted while facing the rock wall, seemingly giving up in the face of Alex's insurmountable capabilities, however there was a dark gleam in his eyes. Even with the demonic black flames gone the holes in his wings still hadn't started regenerating, that combined with the pain he was forced to feel was something Shi-Lan would never forgive. After catching his breath, Shi-Lan turned suddenly to attack Alex now that his guard would be down, only to find a long majestic sword in his hands, beautiful golden flames along its edge as Alex casually swung it twice while muttering, "Dumbass." Two streaks of golden flames came flying at Shi-Lan in a giant X, once again pining him to the cavern walls as the flames crossed over his chest.

"SHORYAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" Shi-Lan cried out once more, as the divine flames burned into his flesh and started purifying his supernatural energy instead this time. As Shi-Lan continued crying out in pain Alex returned Ascalon to the pocket dimension he usually stored it in along with his scythe and staff, before turning his attention to the rest of the gathered phoenixes that now refused to meet his gaze. He then stated to them once more,

"I will not force you to accept my offer to move to Asora, however I hope this demonstration is enough to deter any other stupid ideas. I have no intentions of becoming a tyrant, however I will not hesitate to act like one if need be." The cavern was silent in response to Alex's declaration, before Rho-Dan suddenly said,

"I have no interest in conflict, however the things Pyo-Tan has told us about seem interesting, and this world of ours really is becoming too small. A future where we no longer have to confine ourselves and hide seems nice, so please, allow us to move to your land." As he finished speaking Rho-Dan then bowed his giant head slightly, which was mirrored by every other phoenix around them, as if Shi-Lan was defeated so easily, then they themselves wouldn't be a match for Alex. With all of the phoenixes submitting to him, Alex then turned towards the still burning Shi-Lan, who looked at him through the pain with eyes filled with hatred. His own expression turning cold, Alex didn't say anything at all to the dying Phoenix, and instead activated his Spirit magic.

"W-what is that?!" Some of the phoenixes exclaimed when they watched a glowing bluish orb leave Shi-Lan's chest, to which Alex explained calmly as the orb reached his hands,

"This is Shi-Lan's soul, and now I'm going to demonstrate to you that, before me, there is no such thing as 'immortality'." Before anyone could ask what he meant, Alex clenched his fist around the orb, shattering it instantly with his 'Soul Break' skill. Suddenly Shi-Lan's body went limp, as the golden flames swiftly consumed it and Alex turned to look at Rho-Dan once more, making the massive Phoenix look back at him curiously while the rest of his kind looked at Alex with a newfound fear. They all knew that Shi-Lan, along with several other phoenixes, had lived without worrying about the consequences of their actions due to their immortality, however the message Alex was sending was quite clear, if they did something unforgivable in this Asora, they would be punished for it. As he watched Alex curiously Rho-Dan stated,

"I think I'll speak for us all when I say that your message is understood." Though none of the phoenixes said anything, they all nodded in agreement to Rho-Dan's words as they tried to come to terms with feeling fear for the first time in their long lives.

With all of the phoenixes now willing to follow him, Alex then brought them into Asora away from the populations before sending them out to find a place that they'd want to roost, where he would then use his 'Gravity Mastery' to divert a lava vent to the surface. Rho-Dan however stated that he'd like his roost to be relatively nearby to where Alex would be, so that the rest of the phoenixes could have a place to gather and he'd be readily available should Alex ever need to call on him. After the issue with the phoenixes was dealt with Alex finally got to retire to the space-time orb for the night, where he immediately went to the weight training room and increased the gravity to start his training.

***

After a full day of training with Shizuku, someone who was annoyingly fast and tricky with her blade, Akua was wandering the halls of the space-time orb's villa looking for her sister as well as some of the other girls. After a few minutes of looking she heard from Grayfia that they were down in the weight room along with Alex, leading Akua to seek out the long spiral staircase that she had never gone down before. As she walked down it Akua couldn't help but think to herself,

'I wonder why the weight room would be all the way down here?' Even though she was a vampire, known to be one of the strongest races of Youkai, Akua specialized in speed and evasion with her Jigen-Tou instead of raw strength like most vampires, so she had never been down to the weight room and was unaware of how they used Gravity magic to push their training even further. When she finally found it though, an incredulous scene awaited her as she found not only her sister, but several other members of Alex's harem gathered in the observation room, a room above the weight room that was separated by a glass window, where a person could also control the Gravity magic if the user didn't have the Age of Gods magic. There they were all staring down at the only person working out, Alex, with expressions as if they would start drooling at any moment.

When she looked out the window Akua couldn't help but to gulp herself, as she saw Alex in nothing but a pair of shorts as he curled barbells loaded with weights that, with the Gravity magic, now equaled several tons, and naturally the equipment had been reinforced to withstand such weight. Even though Akua only had eyes for her beloved little sister, she couldn't help but admit that Alex working out was quite the tantalizing sight for any woman, though her awe turned into annoyance when Alex glanced at their direction for the briefest of seconds, and winked playfully at them.

What the girls didn't see was Alex's expression turning serious as he turned away from them once more as he continued trying to train his body. Another thing the girls hadn't noticed was the wrist bands that Alex was wearing along with his boots, both of which being artifacts he had created to weigh up to a hundred pounds, a minor amount normally, however he wore them constantly throughout the day with the only exceptions being when he took at bath or slept. With the added gravity that he was currently under, this meant that Alex was currently lifting more weight than any of the girls thought as he focused intently on getting stronger for the future.