Chapter 8 - Meeting

When I opened my eyes again, my vision was greeted by a beautiful blue sky accompanied by a cool air. Looking away, I looked around, seeing several trees and some monkeys climbing on top of a tree. Looking away from those monkeys, I looked at my griffin-shaped body that had been sifted only to find my body in perfect condition, causing me to be unable to help but smile on my face…

"Hahahaha, I guess it did work… I'm still alive!" With enormous happiness, he tries to lift me up only to feel my legs go limp, causing me to fall to the ground. "Ouch, what's happening to my body now?" Lifting one of my legs, I began to analyze it by closing and opening my claws, feeling the great unfamiliarity in the movements; I only felt strangeness in the movements. "It's as if… they weren't my limbs," I turned my head and looked around where my body was, there were ashes, as well as loose roasted meat.

"I guess that's my dead flesh," I then left my griffin transformation and returned to my human form after quite a while. Then I tried to get up again. I started walking worse than when I had transformed into a three-legged cat, causing me to stumble several times and hit some trees no matter if I tried to support myself with my arms on the trees.

...

"Wow, I look a year younger," after a long and difficult journey I arrived at a stream where I could see my reflection, seeing that I had rejuvenated. "Even the burns and the scar from that Jarjacha's bite have disappeared... Also, I'm starting to feel cold too." Leaving my human body again, I transformed into a grizzly bear again and began to drink water from the stream.

Moving away from the stream, I walk through that forest that turns out to be the Amazon. "That fireball was really dangerous; after all, I had flown for a long time to get away from the Amazon and with that thing I was brought back here," it was then that I stopped while a big smile formed on my face as an idea came to my mind. "If I could change my cells with those of that Medusa, then…" I felt like a tingling sensation with a chill ran through my entire body again and a small blue energy shone in front of my eyes.

Transformed, my body took the form of a griffin again, but this time with two pairs of wings… Flapping a little, I began to get used to both pairs and then ran into an area with few trees. Opening and flapping my wings I began to rise from the ground making me soar in the skies again…

...

"Now that I think about it, that demon said that he belonged to the Phoenix or something, right?" As he flew in the skies, he remembered again what happened before that demon sent me a mini sun. "Isn't the Phoenix supposed to be a sacred beast? Then… what the fuck is a sacred being doing with filthy demons?!" I stopped grumbling as a smile appeared on my face. "Well, even if he has the Phoenix's fire abilities, as long as he doesn't have its immortality," my smile grew wider. "I can kill him."

As I flew, my vision caught a glimpse of a small figure in a nearby forest, or rather, two figures of two women that were very familiar to me. They were the ones I had saved before that demon nearly killed me. Besides them, my vision caught something else that made me open my claws with murderous intent. "A filthy demon," with that word I closed my two pairs of wings and began to plummet towards that demon.

"Die, inferior humans…, huh?"

Asplat, Crunch

Just like that fateful night, I opened my wings at the last minute to land on top of them without crushing them and bite the demon's head with one swipe. "Thpp! Gross, next time I'll crush its head with my paws." After spitting out whatever liquid I had ingested after that bite, I lowered my head towards the duo of what were possibly mother and daughter hiding between my paws… "Huh... Hello?"

Hearing the sound that came out of my mouth or beak now, it was nothing more than a squeal as I saw them tense up and then fall to the ground. "Wow, I guess seeing a huge unknown creature would scare you to death, huh?" Raising my wings, I moved away from where they were to stand in front of them and look at them with my head tilted. "From their clothing I can tell that they are not from the Chavín culture, rather I think they are from the Mayan culture, of course, if my history teacher taught me well."

Then I could see how the eyes of the little girl who looked between nine and ten years old opened slightly as if recognizing me. Managing to escape from her mother's grip, she approached me, under the horrified gaze of her mother who tried to stop her only to fall on her own legs... "For being just a little girl you are very good, remembering, as well as being very brave." The little girl had stopped just a meter away from me. I lowered my head to her height just a few centimeters away from her and stared at her.

The little girl stared at me before she raised her hand and touched my beak, letting out a few soft words as if she was thanking me. Closing her eyes, she let the warmth of her touch touch my beak; after all, it had been more than two months since I had any kind of contact with a human. After a few minutes I opened my eyes and looking away from that little girl, I looked behind her at her mother who looked around thirty. She watched what happened with a face full of shock and disbelief.

"I suppose you're thinking that your daughter tamed a huge creature easily or something like that." The girl's mother approached slowly without taking her gaze off of me. When she was at the same distance as her daughter, she took her hand and slowly brought it closer to my beak to touch it as well. I could see how a smile adorned both faces.

Gurgling

As my stomach growled in protest of the food, I saw how the expression on the mother's face quickly changed from relief to terror. "Although I would like to refute your change of expression, ma'am, I must admit that I too would be scared if a huge creature was hungry and more so, if its mouth was inches away from me." When I spoke or rather let out shrieks, the mother ended up becoming more scared, quickly taking her daughter in a protective hug.

Shaking my head, I walked towards her under the terrified gaze of the mother, only to step aside and continue walking. I could hear a slight sigh of relief behind me. "What are you waiting for? Come on, you must be hungry too," I let out a squeal to both of them as I motioned with my head for them to follow me, which caused the little girl, who was protected by her mother, to come out and run towards me, shortly after which her mother did the same. At that sight I couldn't help but smile. "I guess, having company isn't so bad."

...

Some time later, two women could be seen eating some red berries under a tree, and off to the side, a huge, nearly three-meter-tall griffin easily eating three whole white-tailed deer. "Ugh, even though it doesn't taste bad, the feeling of the blood and other organs in my mouth is unpleasant, but I don't have to be picky about food, especially if I want to keep this shape."

Holding back the urge to vomit, he ended up eating the three deer with a lot of water from a small river that was a little far away; after that he returned to where both women were, being greeted by the girl with a hug on one of my front paws and from her mother only a wave with her hand. "Madam, you are very cold, be a little more like your daughter."

Taking the little girl by her clothes with my beak, I lifted her onto my back and then walked to where the mother was and lifted her onto my back as well before her astonished gaze. "Even though I like the company of both of you, you should live in a civilization." After that I started walking in search of a civilization or a town.

It didn't take long before I arrived at a Mayan culture town, which was easy to recognize by feeling the enthusiasm of both women on my back. "So this is a Mayan culture town. They look better than in the book." Apparently, the scream that came from the peak was loud enough for the guards of that village to hear, turning their heads the moment they saw me enter a state of alert while raising their spears and shouting some words, as if calling for reinforcements.

"I know I'm scary, but this is an exaggeration," I silently looked at the huge crowd that had formed around me while they pointed spears, bows, and some stones at me. "Honestly, I could dismember all of you with ease, but I'm not a beast... well, not mentally." As if both women understood my first words, they quickly climbed off my back and stood in front of me to persuade the crazed crowd.

Then, with some words that sounded from afar, the entire crowd had stopped; they reluctantly lowered their weapons and then separated, making way for a man dressed in colorful clothes. "And that what? Some kind of ruler of this village?" I raised an eyebrow at the sight, then looked at the mother and daughter who were "defending" me from the crowd, just to see them bow their heads to the person, only for the mother to try to talk to him.

Slap!

I felt my blood boil as that man slapped the mother and pushed the daughter just to push them out of the way. Releasing my claws, I stood in front of that man, only for him to show a nasty smile that showed superiority and his eyes looked at me as if I was just a pet. Then some guards brought something like a scepter and when he grabbed it, he pointed it in my direction and then said some words that I didn't understand. Apparently, he misunderstood my silence, as he started to scream.

It was then that that man kicked the mother, earning a reaction from me, which caused him to smile unpleasantly and then point his scepter at me again and start kicking the mother who was tightly hugging her daughter.

Asplat, Crackle

Not holding back any longer, I brought my pickaxe close and ripped off his head, then threw the fluids along with the blood into the crowd, before their astonished gazes. "KRAAAAAWWW!" I let out a loud roar as the crowd raised their weapons again, causing them to fall to the ground, frightened, then retreat until they were behind the mother and daughter.

As if they understood, one of the men grabbed the scepter from the man's corpse and handed it to the mother; the mother was stunned and then passed the scepter to her daughter, saying some soft words to her. After that, they both stood up and, as if the crowd understood, they split up to give them a way into the village. "You went from being civilians to queens or rulers of this town, I guess you'll treat me like a divine beast now, hahaha."

Apparently the crowd understood my screams as holy words, as they knelt down and bowed their heads. "Finally, I can take a well-deserved rest and feel like a king," as if the world was mocking my words. Several circles appeared on the ground and from them came out human beings with bat wings. "Demons," I couldn't help my hatred towards them as the mother and daughter hid between my legs and the crowd quickly took refuge behind me. And, as if that wasn't enough, in the middle of the demons an orange circle and then a flame of fire came out and from it a humanoid being with wings of fire came out of it. "Phoenix." 

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Well, first of all, I apologize for the previous chapter. I think I did it too fast and forced. What happened was it was almost five in the morning and I had to go into overdrive to keep up my writing streak only for it to go to shit. Again, 0 days of writing. With that said, see you another day, take care.

One more thing, does anyone know if there was an original phoenix just like the original Leviathan died in the Great War?

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( ̳• · • ̳) ~ ♡ Thanks for reading. ♡

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