That night, Zack kept wondering about what he had seen. He had tried using the third form of Chastiefol but he couldn't use the form until and unless he escaped the island which was a weird thing.
The next day, Zack decided to get to the center once before getting back to the shore.
After a few hours of flying, Zack managed to reach the center which was a big, open, and clear area. The entire place looked unnatural as he held Chastiefol in his right hand.
While looking around, Zack wondered what would have caused the center to become like that.
'Why do I feel as though I know the answer yet can't seem to remember it.' Zack strained hard on his mind but it was a vain attempt.
After a few minutes of waiting around for something to happen, he decided to back to the beach and try to find a way to leave there.
[ The prison of the Phoenix has been found. ]
[ Initiating awakening. ]
But the moment Zack took a step to the right, he seemed to activate some kind of reaction. He wondered whether he would have missed it if he directly stepped on top of the subform.
Zack then stepped back to the side where the trees were as he looked at the Earth slowly opening up. The cracks spread wide as a golden light emerged from under the earth.
The light lit up the entire empty portion before the land slowly started getting destroyed by the light.
'Good thing I got this ability or I might have been blinded for light.' Zack thought while looking at the light without any worries.
After the entire center of the forest had been destroyed, the light shot straight towards the sky and turned bright blue, the same color as the flames Zack had.
"I hate this…"In the blink of an eye, the light vanished and all that stood in its place was a bright orange bird the size of a pigeon.
Zack had no words to speak as his mind was currently taken by a storm. He remembered the reason he had come to the island alongside another thing.
"Lance…" He muttered while slowly walking forward as though in a trance. He instinctively used inspect as the Phoenix's details appeared in front of him.
[ Lance(Vermilion Phoenix) (level 1):
Throughout history, only a single Vermilion Phoenix can exist at a time in the entire planes. The Vermilion Phoenix's title can only be passed by the Phoenix itself by providing its entire life force to a Phoenix... ]
"Uh, how did you know that…" Lance began asking but Zack shut it off by holding his body and hugging him to his chest.
Zack's eyes suddenly got blurry as his vision as a tear rolled down his cheek. The sudden influx of emotions hit him squarely as he touched the little Phoenix's head gently.
Lance was at a loss of words as he had no idea where he was or who the person hugging him was. With every reset he had, it would take him around a minute to recover his memories.
And when that happened, he was left stunned.
"Zack…" He asked before breaking free from Zack's grip and flying up. The Phoenix looked straight into his eyes as he sucked in as much air as his small lungs would allow. "I remember it now…"
The Phoenix immediately died forward and touched its body to Zack's right cheek. The two of them spent the moment this was as something they had forgotten long ago once again ignited inside their minds.
---
"Dad, what should I name him?" A five-year-old with ruffled black hair asked while looking up at a man standing right beside him.
In the man's arms was a small bird barely the size of the child's fist. The bird looked as though it was at death's doorstep and was barely holding itself from passing away.
"You can name him whatever you want Zack," The man replied while staring down at the child with a grim expression. "Just do it quickly or he might die."
"What happens if he dies?" The child asked while slightly tilting his head.
"That bird is a rare breed of Phoenix. It was born from the union of a Fire and Ice Phoenix. The two natures are colliding with each other, making it extremely hard for his body to settle down.
A Phoenix-like this was never supposed to be born and his parents were killed by their respective clans for such doing such a thing. But the thing is, Phoenix never dies and they get reborn, the fire ones from their ashes and the ice ones from their crystals."
"So what will happen to one like him?" The child's curiosity was soon replaced by concern as he stared at the little Phoenix more closely.
Half of his fathers were orange while the other half were bright blue making it one of the most colorful birds he had seen.
"I have no idea, Zack," The man said before bending down and putting a hand on Zack's shoulder. "What this bird need is balance so that it can live."
"Just like me…" The child, Zack replied, as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "If that's the case, then I will help the bird get the balance it wants."
The man didn't say anything and lifted his hands. He then saw the child holding the Phoenix in the palm of his left hand before passing his right hand over him.
"I will name him Lance…" He muttered and opened his eyes.
One of them was bright purple while the other one was burning bright orange. The Phoenix's body too started moving as his size tripled and his eyes flew open.
Lance's eyes were glowing one orange and one blue too before a kind of synchronization happened between them.
Their right eye suddenly turned purple from the blue color before following it to their left eye. Lance's feathers turned bright orange while Zack's hair turned bright blue.
The two then felt a second heartbeat resound inside their ears for a few seconds before being replaced by a bond connecting them.
"Zack, why did you choose that name?" The man had gone silent after hearing the name the child has chosen. He had many emotions raging inside him yet he decided to suppress them and keep his face emotionless.
"Because I know that deep inside, uncle never wanted to do anything to you. I know Uncle Lancelot was forced to do what he had to do and you should stop being so stubborn now that he has died."
Zack replied in a fearless voice as he directly stared into the man's eyes. A chuckle escaped the man's lips as he bent down and kissed Zack's forehead.
The child's hair had returned to black yet his eyes remained purple. The Phoenix however had the opposite thing happening to him. His feathers remained the same yet his eyes turned back to orange.
"Zack, you are a special person, born as my heir and that too from a woman who is supposedly said to be cursed by the entire world. Never make the mistake of letting go of those closest to you. Cause, in the end, you will regret it as I do."
"I will remember that, father."
"Good child. Now, do you want some sweets?"
"Yes!"
---
AN: Every single power-up or major character that I introduced will have their own back story and their connection. So to those who managed to stay with me till now, I won't leave you disappointed.
Also, you can search about Lancelot on Hikipedia.
Th𝓮 most uptodate nov𝑒ls are published on freew(e)bnove(l).𝓬𝓸𝓶