Chapter 20: Fenghuang

Theriault walked through the deep forest, whistling to himself as he smiled and enjoyed the scenery. It had been a little while since he'd had time to himself, and Theriault silently thanked whatever god had answered his prayer of having one day without Shen Yi by his side.

She wasn't that bad, actually compared to other people he'd traveled and worked with, he had to admit that Shen Yi was definitely one of the best. He just liked his privacy.

Shen Yi grew up far too different from he had. It was clear in the way she talked, the way she walked, the way she ate, he could tell everything about her just by watching, her parents had sheltered her.

She understood the hardships of the world sure, but she didn't truly get them. They were simply concepts to her, death, war, and terrorizing sights that haunt you every time you close your eyes, Shen Yi was yet to experience this.

Theriault sighed to himself. "What am I supposed to do..." He asked no one in particular, referring to Shen Yi. He had no clue why he thought bringing her along would be a good idea, perhaps he'd been emotional because of the Arcadians, but he wasn't too sure.

"You could always end her life and send her to the underworld," A voice answered as the skeleton appeared, walking alongside Theriault as the boy rolled his eyes.

"Just when I thought you had run out of time..." He murmured, sighing inwardly.

"It's impossible to get rid of me... But what about my proposal? She's weak compared to you, and I've been watching but if this continues she's going to hold you back in the long run..."

"Yeah? I didn't ask you for your opinion... She'll quit soon anyway, once she learns the truth of the world, she'll want nothing to do with any of the Key society..."

Theriault walked in silence, followed by the hooded skeleton until, finally he had reached his destination.

"Ah... Mount Voxlend, you know Sawyer's dad and my dad used to train with each other here... Must have been amazing," Theriault said, looking and seeing the skeleton was gone.

---

He looked around at all of the trees, wondering where it went off to before remembering its existence again. He turned towards the mountain, noticing something odd on top of it.

A man sat atop the peak of the mountain, staring down at Theriault, who stood there confused.

"Have you come to seek your purpose? Or are you perhaps here to challenge me, I was told of a young adventurer who would come someday and slay me, sacrificing my entrails to the gods and liberating this land from it's magic bonds... Tell me, boy, are you that-"

"Nope," Theriault interrupted as he walked past the man, shaking his head. "I hate monologue," He muttered.

"Hey!" The old man yelled, stepping in front of Theriault with an angry expression, about to speak again until Theriault ducked under his arm and continued forward.

"Nearly at the top."

The man watched him go, muttering curses behind him as he made his way to the summit, stopping only briefly to take a look around. There were many things to see; flowers, plants, birds flying overhead, and even a few small animals running about.

Not the sight you'd expect from a volcano, but of course, like all volcanoes, it was beautiful on the outside... And treacherous inside.

Theriault looked around, trying to find the way inside. The heat was already intense, it was a wonder these animals didn't get slowly cooked alive.

Finally, he found the entrance, a large hole leading into the earth itself.

Theriault took a deep breath and stepped forwards, making his way deeper underground.

The old man looked at the spot Theriault had disappeared to. "God... I need someone to kill me soon, I'm getting too old for this shit."

Theriault walked down carved steps, his hand lightly touching the way to make sure he didn't fall. His heart beat faster than usual as he neared the bottom, almost as if it was a horror movie and the thumping of his heart was playing right before a climactic scene in the movie.

But then, suddenly, he saw a light.

It shone bright enough to illuminate the entire cave, which was surprising considering just how much the darkness had swallowed everything.

"Lava..." He said, touching the bottom floor of the volcano, looking at the red-hot magma and flowing lava.

Then he realized something else. Something that hadn't occurred to him until now.

His pocket started to burn.

Theriault scrambled for the pocket, ripping the Lingjing figurine before throwing it in front of him, surprised at how hot it had gotten.

A second passed with nothing, then suddenly.

*Boom!*

The lava exploded around the solid area, settling itself into the area.

"Who has summoned me?" A voice boomed in his ears, causing him to wince slightly

He looked up at the flame-like shape above, realizing it was probably a fire dragon or something similar, not unlike those depicted in ancient stories.

"Oh great..." Theriault muttered, taking a step backward. "Another fight?"

"Ah, it's you, you look much more healthy than the last time I saw you," The blob of fire said as Theriault rolled his eyes.

"Thanks, I was dealing with a lot of stress... And I have a feeling that's going to be a recurring thing.

"Now Now young Theriault, there's much to take care of. You're late after all," The voice boomed again, floating downwards so Theriault could reach it.

"As you know, I am the Phoenix, we've talked a few times, but I've never seen the connection this good, usually the under realm had dogshit connections..." The fire thing said before repeating their order.

"Fenghuang," Theriault said, smiling a bit. "Gonna have to put up with my friends here, they're new to this."

"Hmph, well then, let us begin, shall we? Let's start with introductions, I'm Fenghuang, as you know, known also as the Phoenix, I control the flow of flames and the weather, I can change the temperature of anything and I'm immune to most attacks."

Theriault nodded, his heart beating quicker as the Phoenix materialized better, showing the spirit and not just a blob of fire.

"And you, young Theriault… Are quite peculiar. Never have I seen a human with your constitution… You seem on the brink of death, yet vibrant and full of life at the same time. Interesting."

Theriault just stood there with a smile, he knew the Phoenix was trying to unnerve him, but he hadn't said anything that would worry Theriault.

"Hm, but down to the important things. A vessel, do you have one ready for me?" The Phoenix asked as it burned brighter, power overflowing from its body.

Theriault nodded, holding out his arms. "I thought maybe I could try," He said smugly, a flash in his eyes.

"No, I can tell already that we aren't compatible, just from the conversations we've had, it has drained you completely, our joining would only have negative effects on me, and you... I need a better vessel."

Theriault rolled his eyes, dropping his hands. "It was worth a try I guess, well then I have no use for you," Theriault said, shrugging his shoulders and walking away.

"Hey! I need a vessel before my power flows rampant! It is your responsibility human to help me find my vessel!" The Pheonix yelled, the volcano growing hotter as Theriault looked back, scoffing at the god.

"Sorry pal, but I don't feel like helping anyone today. Maybe next time," Theriault said, turning back with a wide smile on his face.

"Fine fine, I will just leave then, and then your world is doomed, what will happen to the human I am forced to bond with? It will be disastrous for whatever city we are in, use reason, Theriault."

"Hah... The city was destroyed a long time ago, any chance of you finding a vessel died alongside all of them over 80 years ago... Good luck," With that Theriault walked up the stairs, disappointed he hadn't gotten what he'd wanted from the Lingjing figurine.

"Oh..." The Pheonix said with a bowed head as its flame dampened. The god looked outside his presence, seeing Theriault's truth.

"You're wrong about one thing though... I just found a vessel," The Pheonix flew past Theriault at the speed of light, cackling as it flew out of the volcano and expanded to full size.

Theriault watched it fly away before sighing heavily. "This seems like trouble..."

***

Hunter Voxlend and his little brother played with the fire, setting leaves, sticks, and even small insects and animals alight.

They laughed and ran about the yard, burning everything they touched, laughing and screaming gleefully as they did.

Their father watched them play, happy that his children were enjoying themselves and not causing mischief... Well too much.

That was when Sawyer felt something... Off.

Looking up he saw the sun burning bright, but it was much closer, and much hotter. "Get back over here kids!" He yelled, dashing forward as he saw the big fire being in the sky dive down toward them, his eyes widening as it reached them and disappeared.

Theriault appeared a second later, an annoyed look on his face as he looked around. "Where'd it go?" He asked, looking at Sawyer.

The man looked for the being as well, searching the skies for any sign of the danger he'd felt just a second ago.

"F-Father?" Wyatt said, looking at his collapsed brother in fear as the older boy convulsed, thrashing on the ground.

Sawyer was next to him in a flash, holding him up only to let go a second later, wincing and seeing the burn marks on his skin.

"No, he already has the flame key, two keys will destroy him!" Sawyer said, a worried expression on his face as Theriault next to him as well.

"Sawyer I-"

"Shush, I don't need to hear what happened right now, I need my son to be alright."

Theriault sighed, standing up as he looked at the scene.

"You always take away from people..." The skeleton whispered into his ear, cackling as it retreated away from his punch quickly.

Sawyer grabbed his son, not caring about his cooking flesh as he held him, yelling out for Ariana at the top of his lungs as Wyatt sat on the ground, shaking.

"He... He's not breathing..." Wyatt said, his eyes wide and his hands shaking as he looked at the brother he knew was already dead.

Sawyer could feel it as well, Hunter had stopped breathing almost immediately, his body was limp, by all means, he knew he was dead.

Sawyer kept holding him though, sitting there silently as Theriault simply watched.

"Theriault... What is the thing that attacked my children?" Sawyer asked.

"Sawyer I'm-" Theriault cut off his words when he saw the look Sawyer was giving him, sighing as he retold him everything he'd done since the auction, including the talks he had with the god while he sent Shen Yi to search for the vampire in Tokyo.

"I'm sorry about your son," Theriault said awkwardly, there wasn't much to say to something like that.

Ariana and Shen Yi showed up a minute later, immediately hovering over Sawyer and his son as Wyatt was murmuring to himself.

"Dead, he's dead."

"Damn it!" Sawyer said, getting up and looking at Theriault with a fierce expression.

"You haven't even been here an hour and you already screwed everything up! This is why no one trusts your Theriault! You're a magnet for terrible situations, why did you come back? Why!?"

Shen Yi stayed quiet, looking between the scene and Theriault, who had his head down.

"Father? Why must you scream so loudly?" Hunter opened his eyes and sat up, looking at Sawyer as his hair began to change from black to orange, fire erupting throughout the style as the teen looked at everyone.

"I... Feel weird."

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