The Phoenix's Maiden

The Battle for the Crystal (Part One)

Kamandag doing her usual training prolonging here redeemed form while fighting beasts in that form. She learned that after transforming back from her redeemed form she will experience the toll that is caused to her body. She is experiencing body pain all over her body and exhaustion, her training goal today is to improve her body endurance and let her body naturally adapt to her new form. Also, her redeemed form has a time limit of thirty minutes.

After slaying the beast that she is tasked to kill, she decided to fly around the land to have some sight seeing that might just help her relax after a long tiring day for her. She still has twenty minutes more from the thirty minutes time limit of her form. She also wants to push her limits and if possible, she wants to remain in her redeemed form for thirty minutes instead of twenty.

She saw santelmos wanders around the land and she saw a colony of salamanders nesting on a mountain nearby the cave. From above the land looks like a red wasteland, the color of the soil in this land is naturally red. There are small volcanoes that erupts occasionally that make the land fierier. She saw red minotaurs camping on a giant rock formation while feasting on the carcass of a salamander that they hunted.

As the sun is about to set a blue outline catches her attention, she flew towards it to have a clearer view and when she is close by, she saw a river of hot stream. Bewildered by the discovery she flies up high in hopes that sometime the three female mystics can bond while taking a bath together in the hot stream.

Curious how long or where the stream comes from, she remains up high and followed the river. It’s just about five minutes since she started to wander in this land. The land features besides the stream were livelier than the rest of the wasteland. She saw how the santelmo bounces besides it and creatures that quench its thirst with the stream’s water.

Kamandag is mesmerized observing a lively moment in the middle of barren wasteland. She saw tents from far away and she confused why there are settlements in this land. She remembers the time when the goddess told her that settlement in this land means death because how harsh the environment can be to its inhabitant.

Curious by what it is she remained her distance from the ground and flew towards it while avoiding vision from its inhabitants. As she got closer to the settlement that she saw, flying creatures can be seen flying around it. She used the clouds as cover to avoid detection from the unwary creatures. Fighting is not optional since her redeemed form is about to go off. She does not want to transform back exhausted and the enemies overpowering her.

She squints her eyes to see what the flying creature really are. Feathered wings, bird like feet with sharp talons, and a n***d body of a woman and head of a woman. It lets out a bird like screech and she can smell disgusting odor from it. Since she also came from the underworld before she and her sister escapes. There is no doubt about it. Those flying creatures are the harpies.

“What are they doing here?” she asked herself while she goes on to the next cloud to take cover. She looks below to the ground and saw abbadons and giant spiders crawling around on the ground. Her eyes widened and she grew afraid. Why are they here? She asked herself again and flew away from the settlement after gathering enough intel on the enemy.

In the cavern, Arthur is preparing food for them to eat, and after that he uses a clean towel to clean his sword from the blood of the creatures that he slew. Thankfully the cavern has a natural water system that he believes to be the doing of the goddess. He washed his face before going back to the camp that he set up.

He heard a thud and he turned his neck towards the entrance that can be seen in his direction. He saw shadow, where it folded its wings. He knew that its Kamandag so he stands up to greet her, but he only meets a nervous and scared Kamandag.

“Why?” he asked.

“They are here, they’re here,” she said continuously.

“Who?” asked by Arthur again and he is starting to get confused by her actions. He grabbed on her both shoulder to shook her to calm her down. From Kamandag’s redeemed she transformed back to her black fairy form, from the confidence she got on achieving her redeemed form she starts to see her demonic wings to be beautiful in its own way, but calling it demonic wings would be too inappropriate. So, she decided to call that form, black fairy.

“The underworld army, they are here and there are so many of them,” she said while staring at a blank space, Arthur was surprised by the news that he heard from the fairy. Why were they here? He asked himself but he cannot give an answer to his own question nor Kamandag.

“Let’s go and talk with the goddess,” Arthur suggested and Kamandag quickly agreed on his idea. “Let’s go,” he said leading the way towards the chamber where Amber is currently training. They go through the maze-like tunnel system inside the cave and moments later they reached Amber, hearing faint explosions inside it.

“Rapid Fire Bullet,” they heard Amber whisper her move and she shot three stone targets simultaneously in less than 3 seconds. Amaterasu clapped to commend Amber mastering another move again, both of them are impressed on how quick the maiden mastered the control of her aura but despite that impression, they just cannot ignore the news. They went to the goddess’s side and the goddess noticed their appearance.

“What can I help you?” she asked the two who seems concerned about something. She does not want to connect with their minds since it’s too informal invading their privacy, only to Amber so she can monitor her mental state.

“We need to talk about something,” he said seriously and Amaterasu was curious about the something they are going to talk about.

“Something,” she whispered curious and looks back to Amber who seems enjoying trying out her new move on the target practices. “Okay but only three of us,” she told Arthur.

“That will work,” he replied maintaining his whispering so that Amber cannot her their conversation.

“Go outside and I will meet you there,” she commanded the two and they quickly obeyed her orders and she watched Amber being creative for just a moment before interrupting. “Amber,” she called gently and the maiden froze and she turned her head towards the goddess.

“I’ll just go outside to check on something and continue on your training,” she said to the maiden and Amber just nod at her smiling before giving her attention to the target practices. She does not seem to mind at all and Amaterasu was relieved with that because it’s better this way. Amber only focusing on improving herself. Being distracted will just delay her improvement. She exits the chamber and saw the two waiting outside. “Let’s go somewhere far away from here,” she said and they started walking. In the midst of their walking, Arthur cleared his throat getting the attention of the two.

“It seems this is far enough for Amber to hear,” he remarks. “The underworld’s army is here,” he goes straight to the point and the goddess froze in her tracks. The two noticed her sudden reaction and they also stopped on their tracks.

“This can’t be,” she whispered.

“What?” the two asked in unison confused.

“It’s too soon,” she told them out of context and that made the two even more confused. “It’s too soon for them to know as well as you two,” she said baffled.

“Okay, so you are hiding something from us,” Arthur told him and Kamandag remaining in her black fairy form.

“Yes, something that only I and its keepers only know about it,” she replied staring at them. “We must take immediate action,” she shifted the topic.

“Wait, wait,” Arthur cuts in. “How can we know what to do, if we don’t know about that something that we will defend if the army of Cain is after that thing?” he asked the goddess.

“Just think it this way,” she said. “The army wants to infiltrate the cavern, and all you need to know is that we cannot let them pass or get inside this cave,” she told Arthur answering his question.

“So, you really insist on not letting us know huh,” he remarked. “Are the kings aware about this too?” he asked the goddess suspicious of her actions.

“I don’t have the rights to answer that question,” she replied at him closing her distance with the knight and they had a staring contest. The goddess walks away and they watched her disappears from the distance.

“What are we going to do now?” Kamandag asked shaken by their conversation.

“Let’s take time to breathe, everyone needs to relax,” Arthur replied trying his best to remain calm because inside he is enraged.

“Let’s go and watch Amber, and don’t tell her about a single thing about this moment or what you saw because she is not ready for all of it,” he said. The walk on the different direction where the goddess went and that is the way where Amber’s training chamber is.

-The Phoenix’s Maiden-