Phoenix Relics

The next day had arrived, the warm sun rising from the horizon and casting its gentle glow upon the entirety of Exzodia. Onyx had finally made a full recovery since his battle against me and he had woken up from his rest. He looked down and noticed shackles upon his wrists, grunting heavily in shock.

"What the— Where am I?" Onyx asked, noticing he was in a comfortable cell.

A guard looked back at Onyx's cell, hearing that he had finally woken up. "Ahh, so you're finally awake. Due to your betrayal against Princess Melody, she has ordered you to be kept in this fell for the time being until you had woken up. Those shackles are mandatory..."

Onyx let out a heavy sigh, the chains of his shackles jingling as he moved around. He lowered his head, curling his hands into fists, the events of his duel against me playing in his mind. "Allow me to go see Melody..."

The guard looked at Onyx again, raising an eyebrow. He wasn't sure if he should allow Onyx to have an meeting with Melody, but knew he had to. He grabbed his keys from his pocket and turned toward the cell door, unlocking it and opening the door.

He stepped inside the cell, gently grabbing Onyx's arm and pulled him up, escorting him from the prison area of the citadel to the castle. Onyx didn't pull away nor resisted, allowing the guard to lead him to the castle obediently.

Once they made it to the castle, the gaurd and Onyx made their way down the halls toward the throne room. Entering inside the throne room, they noticed Melody sitting on her throne talking with me and the others.

Melody glanced over at the guard then leaned back against her throne once she noticed Onyx. "So you've finally recovered? Well, I am quite glad that you made a great recovery..."

The guard let go of Onyx, standing back to observe Onyx and make sure he didn't make any brash and sudden movements. Onyx glanced around the throne room, looking at each of us one by one. His gaze soon landed upon mine, our eyes meeting and I could see there was still a bit of tension in his gaze.

Onyx turned his attention back to Melody, staring at her and noticed she was waiting for him to speak. "I will start off by saying that I don't regret anything I did. I wholeheartedly believe that I deserved that duel, and regardless of the outcome, I would've been satisfied with either a win or a loss."

"Knowing that I did lose...I can see that that Leona is in the right hands. Maybe it just wasn't in my destiny to be a Zodiac Knight and maybe I can't be a hero like August, but I will still continue to find my own way," Onyx continued.

Melody stared at Onyx, feeling a shift in energy in the air. "So what are you saying?"

"I will continue to be your Knight, Princess...but I must find my way again. Up until this point, I've been focused on being a Zodiac and now that I know I can't, I need to go on a self-discovery journey. So I requested to go find my true self..." Onyx answered, his gaze meeting Melody's directly.

Fizz, Sora, and Feline glanced at Melody, wondering what her verdict was going to be. Up until this point, we were all expecting her to punish him, so the time came for her judgement and we were anticipating it.

Melody let out a soft sigh, closing her eyes. "Do you promise to return one you've found your way?"

"I promise. No more tricks or acts of jealousy," Onyx promised.

Melody nodded, opening her eyes to look at Onyx again. "Then go. Go find your purpose out there...Guards, release him."

The guards walked toward Onyx, releasing Onyx from his shackles then took a step back. Onyx stared at Melody one last time before turning away and walking out of the throne room, his footsteps slowly echoing down the halls.

"Are you sure about this?" Sora asked gently, noticing Melody's saddened expression.

"It's what needs to be done. Letting Onyx go is probably for the best and despite his promises, the future is never certain, but for now he no longer works for me and is a solo hero now," Melody said softly, letting out a soft exhale.

Fizz, Sora, and Feline glanced at each other before looking back at Melody, noticing her trying to keep a strong expression. Onyx was like a brother to Melody, so watching him leave was like watching a piece of her walk away as well.

Melody took a soft breath then looked at me, Moira, Floria, and Mariella, her gaze becoming serious. "Alright...back to what we were speaking of. You're looking for Phoenix Relics because a Dark Lord has been sealed within the cave of Pride Rock?"

"We are and the only person who can help us find them is Liao Ru or she has them taken she is the Immortal Phoenix," Mariella answered, crossing her arms under her chest.

"And we kinda can't find her right now," Floria added.

Melody nodded, closing her eyes as she began to think about the possible locations Liao Ru could be in the morning times. She hummed softly and opened her eyes, a small clue flashing in her eyes. "Well, she did mention a Fallen Settlement that was close by at a small village on the outskirts of the Peridot Kingdom. She said something about scouting out the premises last night."

I rose an eyebrow at the news, letting out a soft hum. 'Maybe we can find that Druid Summoner there? All we need is one Druid right?'

"That's correct. All we need is one Druid, but I doubt that Summoner will make it that easy for us," Sephora said to me telepathically, hissing softly as she gently wrapped herself around my body in her snake form.

"A Fallen Settlement you say. Well if that's the case, I guess this is an excuse to get our hands dirty. Maybe if we are lucky, at least one of the three relics we need will be there, plus it's an early morning, we have all day to pillage and destroy Fallen Settlements~" Mariella said excitedly, giggling softly and hummed excitedly.

"Let's get a move on before Liao Ru decides to take on an entire base herself. She might be an Ancient Force, but like us she's weakened and with Darkness's Influence being so powerful in the St. Nova District, we can't have her taking unnecessary risks," Floria suggested, turning on her heels and hurrying out of the throne room.

I watched as Mariella followed behind, dragging Moira along with her. I turned to Melody and smiled at her. "I'll see you later Mel...and hopefully I see you at North Emerald assisting us in taking back the kingdom."

"Definitely. VI and Mina are our friends, so of course we will help them out in any way we can. You just be safe out there, don't need you in too much danger before our big moment," Melody said, smiling warmly at me.

I nodded and gave her a wave before hurrying after Mariella, Floria, and Moira. I began to focus on the new task at hand, and the main reason why we even came to the Peridot Kingdom, unseal and awaken Cinder.

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We made it to the outskirts of the Peridot Kingdom, traversing the forest carefully and finding Liao Ru leaning against a tree with a pair of binoculars, scoping out the village ahead.

"If you're here to help me, I don't really need any assistance right now. You're better off heading back to the castle," Liao Ru said, still looking out at the village ahead.

I walked forward, standing on the other side of Liao Ru and gently took the binoculars from her hand, looking through them. "We weren't going to let you be alone during this plus we do need your help in obtaining the Phoenix Relics..."

Liao Ru crossed her arms, leaning against the tree and looked over at me. She let out a soft sigh and turned her gaze back out to the open. "You want me to help you obtain the relics to help you unseal Cinder..? I thought I told you already that I won't help..."

I lowered the binoculars and glanced at Liao Ru, gently grabbing her arm and making her look at me. "Please, Liao. This is for the greater good and look at Mariella and Floria so far. They haven't even destroyed anything that is allied to us. With the Dark Lords on our side now, this war will be easier to win."

Liao Ru looked at me, meeting my gaze and locked eyes with me. She let out a long sigh, turning her gaze toward Mariella and Floria, crossing her arms. "You two are very lucky that I trust August's intuition enough to do this otherwise, I wouldn't even consider helping you all.."

Floria smiled at Liao Ru, clapping her hands together with a delighted expression. "Thank you, Liao Ru..!~ We promise to keep our word to August and pay you back for your troubles!"

Liao Ru looked at Floria, letting out a soft nose exhale then turned her attention back to the village into the distance. "I'm sure you will. Now let's get down to business. I hid the Phoenix Relics inside that village that is currently controlled by a fraction of the Fallen. From what I've seen so far, Pendela is down there..."

I crossed my arms and looked out at the village as well. "Hmph...Pendela. I've had a few run ins with her already, so I want you all to leave her to me. The rest of you search for the Relics. Floria, you set up your Dungeon around the village so Basselt can absorb Nature Energy and if the Druid Summoner is there, we take her monsters..."

"Got it," Floria nodded, summoning her Fusion Monster, Ixia.

A red-headed fairy girl dressed in light green clothes and wraparound sandals appeared in front of us. Big red butterfly wings patterned similar to the wings of a ulysses sprouted from her back, fluttering gracefully. She held a green cane made from a massive plant shoot larger than her wingspan, smiling sweetly at us.

Shiva and Ylva appeared in response to Ixia's presence. Ixia smiled happily at both Shiva and Ylva, happy to see the two as well and the three began to catch up for a quick moment. After a moment, Ixia hovered toward Floria, preparing herself to help Floria's dungeon.

"Alright, I'll give you all the signal when the Dungeon is ready!~" Floria said, hurrying off with Ixia at her side.

I watched as Floria rushed into the distance, using the binoculars to keep watch of her. As Floria prepared, the rest of us devised a plan that would help us make quick work of the Fallen Settlement below.

I watched Floria set up her dungeon, noticing her Dungeon was heavily Nature Themed. As she set up her dungeon, a forest began to grow around the village and began alerting some Fallen members that were keeping watch.

"Okay, everyone! It's ready, you can come down now!" Floria said to us via Telepathy.

I lowered the binoculars and handed then to Liao Ru, glancing back at everyone to make sure they were ready. "Showtime..."

We all began to rush toward the village and I put on my mask, awakening my demonic aura and activating my Dark Lord abilities. Mariella and Moira rushed into the village first, striking down multiple Fallen members together at the same time.

Liao Ru immediately rushed toward the church, striking down multiple members of the Fallen to clear a path for her. Before she could make it to the church, a group of Druids appeared around Liao Ru, stopping her in her tracks.

Liao Ru looked around herself, noticing she was surrounded. "Hmm...you think some monsters is enough to stop me?"

The Druids rushed toward Liao Ru at once, launching swift strikes at her, but Liao Ru evaded and swayed around each strike with graceful and calculated steps. I began countering each one with her signature Phoenix Strike, burning the Druids with aggressive flames and taking them down one by one.

The Druid Summoner watched in the background, backing away slowly but felt roots wrapping around her body and dragging her into the dungeon. She let out a yelp, trying to escape the hold, but couldn't break out of the strong hold.

I nodded at the work being done around the village, watching as Mariella filled her quota with pillaging the village for valuables and Moira capturing surviving Fallen members as prisoners for Mariella and Floria to torture and corrupt into Corrupted Heroes.

"Well, well, well...Once again ruining my brother's plans. You just couldn't wait until you reached North Emerald to try to get in the way huh?" A familiar voice said to me.

I stopped walking, a soft breeze brushing against me, causing my long coat to flow behind me. "You should know this already that I don't intend on stopping until The Fallen are gone and Darkness is dead...then my next target will be Cetus, Pendela."

Pendela giggled softly at me and hopped down from a small building she sat on. She walked in front of me with her arms crossed, her gaze meeting mine. "You know...I don't agree with what my brother did to your family in Eyica. Killing your bloodline for the Crest of Conquest, it was wrong. However, I still have a mission to complete."

"As a fellow Eternal Emperor, I would expect you to understand my point of view...but it seems that blood is truly thicker than water. Since you want to get in the way, I'll just have to strike you down as well," I said, summoning my gauntlets, red and black lightning crackling around my fists.

Pendela watched me closely, stepping back and getting into her stance. "Because you're at the end game...Darkness doesn't want me sparing you anymore so this is where we end things..."

I got into my stance as well, my eyes glowing behind my mask. "Then let's finish this...an official Emperor Battle..."

I walked forward then went into a full sprint and dashed toward Pendela, launching a swift strike aimed at her face, but she evaded my strike and grabbed my arm. Spinning me around, she tossed me away and set me flying. I recovered in the air and landed on my feet.

I dashed toward her again, Pendela rushing forward to meet me half way and we clashed, releasing a repulsive force of energy around the area, knocking each other back. I dodged Pendela's next strike, countering with an Upper Lion Fist then following with a Black Demon Fist, blowing her away.

"You won't be able to defeat me as I am now, Pendela. You will need to come even harder than that..." I said, my tone dripped with arrogance and a cold confidence.

Pendela grunted sodfly as she slowly stood up, clutching her stomach gently and coughed a bit. She looked up at me, her eyes faintly glowing as she met my gaze. "I'm only just getting started!"

Pendela awakened her Crest of Death, Death Aura surrounding her body and shadowy hands slowly emerging from the ground. She sent the shadow hands toward me, commanding them to grab me with a Death Grip. I rushed forward, evading each shadow hand then summoned a few Goblins to take a hit for me from her Death Grip.

I went for a swift roundhouse kick, but she ducked under my kick, countering with swift blows to my chest then knocked me away with a powerful pulse strike. She ran after me and summoned her scythe, landing a series of slices upon my body then spun around and sliced through me. A barrage of delayed Death Slashes struck my body, each one striking a vital area.

I felt my life force slipping away slowly, stumbling forward, but caught myself then let out a roar, awakening my Crest of Conquest and transformed into my Conqueror's Form, eliminating the Death Ailment from my body.

Pendela's eyes widened slightly, turning around to face me and stared at me in awe. "What..? How did you—"

I summoned my Solar Peridot and my Rainbow Fluorite, fusing the two together and forming the Rainbow Peridot and stacking my Fusion Zodiac Drive on top of my form, allowing me to tap into my Incomplete Hero of Origin Form.

Pendela felt her heart racing as she looked at me, her body shaking in response to my energy. She looked at her hand, noticing it trembling. 'Am I really scared right now..? What is this power..?'

"I didn't want to use this form on you...but I want to end this battle as quickly as possible. I don't want to kill you, no...you are the Princess of Arcania...killing you would be worthless. Instead...I will Sanctify you," I declared, turning around and meeting Pendela's gaze head on.

Pendela gulped as she stared at me, taking a step back and swiped her hand, sending a wave of death energy at me, but I awakened my Yaoke, the wave of energy being stopped by the spatial energy around me.

"Domain Creation..." I began, holding my hand out toward Pendela. "Iron Prison."

Pendela grunted as she was trapped in a Dunegon Room, the Iron Prison. She tried to escape, but I closed my fist, transporting her to Floria's Dungeon where the other prisoners were.

Mariella whistled as she approached me and giggled. "Well then, honey, you've outdone yourself~ I was expecting you to kill her, but I guess despite having a Dark Impulse, you're still good at heart."

"I had to...killing her wouldn't benefit me at all. There are only Four Eternal Emperors at once and it takes a Generation for another Eternal Emperor to appear if the previous one has died. Besides, I can tell she still has goodness in her heart," I said, reverting to my normal form.

Liao Ru left the church with a soft exhale, carrying the three Phoenix Relics we need to unseal Cinder. "The church was destroyed inside so that let me know they were also looking for these. Luckily for us, I was the only one who knew where to find them."

I looked at Liao Ru and smiled at her, nodding my head. "Alright, we can unseal Cinder and prepare for the battle at North Emerald. It's almost time for us to finally strike down Darkness and end this war once and for all..."

With that, we began to retreat from the village, heading back to the Peridot Kingdom to start the ritual of unsealing Cinder from her prison.