Reincarnated as a Phoenix

(Asmodeus) “Over a thousand years ago, stood a part of history that remains forgotten yet very much played a part for centuries to come. The story of the hags and their saviour, the four heroes that once ruled the world”

(Zeki) “Erk, is this really what we’re doing tonight!? Listening to this dickhead tell a boring story?”

(Ariza) “Uh, shh Zeki. If you don’t want to listen, go find Ria for a bit”

(Ikarus) “Yeah kid, go find a bush to hump. Asmodeus revealing lore is one of the only good parts about him”

(Petra) “Heh, Ikarus has a point Zeki. This sounds like it could be important”

(Nathan) “The empire never had any history dating that far back and frankly… I was shielded in Olympus. I knew nothing of this land till I came down here”

(Charlotte) “It’s a good thing you did Nat. Life wouldn’t be as good if you weren’t around”

(Dermakvar) <I’ll be finding a tree to lay under as ancient history is of no interest to me>

Camped out around a campfire under the stary filled sky, listening to the demon, I’d say the atmosphere is romantic if we weren’t surrounded by too many people and Zeki. Zeki always has to be counted separately for obvious reasons.

You see… these is a reason why we’re currently sitting through a bit of Asmodeus lore and not beelining it straight to the next dungeon. Here’s the thing, the location of the next dungeon is in a place we never properly visited. So that means, we physically have to travel there.

Far to the south of Maladonia is a boneyard filled to the brim with… well, bones. Gigantic bones to be exact, gigantic snakes and dinosaurs litter this place like nothing I’ve ever seen before. The last dungeon is around here and since we never properly visited it, I could only teleport us to the closest point which was near the wyvern kingdom. If we had more time, Ariza could’ve visited the puppy like Prince but alas, we don’t. We still have to sleep and eat though, that’s what we’re doing now.

Anyways, five of us remain listening to Asmodeus tell the tale while father finds a place to sleep and Zeki finds a tree to hump… or a dryad. She’s been stalking us ever since and even if we’re yet to see her, it’s obvious considering the connection with trees. One gigantic booty call later and she’ll be all over those huge melons of Zeki’s.

Ah, right, not sure why he’s in normal busty female form again, probably said or did something unforgivable, it could be anything with him. Five years is a long time to say and do stupid things, his time with the jugs could be endless…

“The party of four travelled and traversed every corner of the world, acting as heroes as they took heroic duties upon themselves. Led by the first of the phoenixes, their faces were seen by all friends and foes alike”

“Wait, the yellow guy led them?”

I do remember hearing once that the hags had something to do with the first of us phoenixes, but I didn’t know they were in a party together.

“Yes sister, roughly around the time the first empire were in full power to be exact. Dragons were eradicated by the hundreds so the few remaining had to hide. Even with ancient magic being stronger back then, you could say he was the strongest in the world. Impressive considering the world was full of people from differing worlds and backgrounds”

This may be why father’s gone off to sleep if this is the case then. A part of history he’d rather not live through again if Asmodeus has to brin-… wait. Did he just imply otherworlders? There were more than just us?

“Hold the fuck up, otherworlders? There were more of us than just the phoenix summoning egg thing?”

“Heh, yes again sister. This world was once filled with people from lands similar to yours. Differing religions and beliefs, all who passed the world of the living would end up in this place once their lives were cut short”

Well damn, that massively changes my outlook on things. This world was originally the land of the dead if what he says is true. I guess that would explain why Norse and Greek religion has made its way here especially if those Gods were involved in all this. I’m betting we’d even find stuff related to the Egyptian if we were to cover the desert long enough, those cultures did seem pretty obsessed with death after all.

But wait, how does that explain how the Underworld dungeon works? Unless that was always separate… maybe I shouldn’t ask on the specifics. Asmodeus has always been vague so I’m doubtful he’d care on something like that.

“How a world goes through a life and death cycle, you could say this world had hit its ending, thus, sending the dead here was no longer viable. But that’s not the story I was trying to tell”

I’m kinda disappointed Asmodeus doesn’t wish to continue that any further. I did always feel that this world is surprisingly empty and honestly feels a little dead if you stray from the main cities. Guess that partly explains it if this world was supposed to have reached its ending. Let’s hope this isn’t a sign for things to come…

“Distractions aside, the four heroes defeated the original majin lord and saved the world from endless turmoil. Or that’s how the story is remembered by the few that know of it. The truth is, things were never that simple… the lord never existed to begin with”

“In an attempt to sway popularity and fund an expensive lifestyle, the four adventurers would make up tales of their accomplishments when in reality, they were nothing more than con artists. Insanely powerful but never did anything considered heroic throughout their lifetimes”

“Uh… but why though? Why lie about something like that?”

“Ariza-sama is right, that doesn’t sound very just”

‘Sometimes, I envy those two with their sense of justice. It comes down to one thing that Asmodeus just said… money’

“The first of the phoenixes in particular had an endless bill that never dwindled. They travelled across the world for centuries together, but the lingering fear of death always plagued the mind of the harem he created. Every coin they had, went into the search of finding a cure for death”

“In time, a solution was found in the form of a cursed mage. The mage had been punished with two afflictions as a consequence for messing with the ancient Gods. One of which was eternal life and the other… the removal of something he valued greatly. Heh, or now, she apparently”

“Petra… that sounds awfully like someone we know”

“Heh, she always said it was a mishap with potion brewing Ikarus. Could easily see her lying about that”

I always knew Penelope was old as hell but damn, that’s pretty unbelievable. She once fucked around with the old Gods and was cursed with immortality and genderbending? Why am I thinking that’s barely a curse at all? Bitch please, I had that dragon descendant HP removal crap that sounded scarier than what Penelope has got!

“Heh, she wasn’t lying, that whole thing started with a forbidden potion and ended with her drinking said potion as punishment. If she refuses to delve into it further, then I’ll leave that one for now. The main part of the story is that she helped bridge the gap and create the magic responsible for making the hags immortal”

“The genderbent mage found a cure but the price was unthinkable. Phoenix blood isn’t immortal, so it needed a little something extra… the specifics on that I don’t know. What I do know is that it cost them their beauty and most of their humanity, they knew the consequences but still went through with it all”

“That’s nice to know and all, but what about the first phoenix? What happened to him?”

Surprisingly, Nathan asks that clearly showing he’s just as interested in this conversation as the rest of us. I never thought he’d be so invested in such a story considering his life is basically about training, knight crap and succubus’s. Or one succubus to be exact.

“Heh, he abandoned them after their transformation and left in search of more power. Can you really blame him for leaving them like that? You must’ve smelt them from outside”

“Uh… but that’s so cruel! He really left them like that, all alone?”

Ariza honestly looks a little pissed at the selfishness of the guy and can’t say I blame her. It does seem like a dick move… also, I now understand why those hags dislike phoenixes now. They would have a natural hatred if they’ve bene abandoned like that.

“Heh, you’ve really got a lot to learn blue phoenix. Your innocence is definitely refreshing though… in time, that phoenix found a way of prolonging his own life just by magic alone”

“Wouldn’t, let’s say, a certain chalice have done the trick?”

Petra this time around brings up the holy grail that we still have in our possession, thanks to a certain idiotic dryad. It’s slightly annoying it only works on Ariza and us lovebirds, guess not everyone can be immortal, I guess.

“Heh, it didn’t exist back then, dark one. The first of the phoenixes had an endless history that would take weeks to get through the bits I know, that device alone was just a bribe to get the dryads off his back after burning down a forest. He created it for that purpose alone, even he wasn’t sure on the ego that decides for itself who is considered just”

“You said he created it? How?”

I mean, wouldn’t someone who created a device like that be a God related to crafting things of immense power of something? Like Hephaestus or some God similar? Phoenixes creating such a powerful artefact seems wrong. Unless his system was based around creation… that could explain it.

“Heh, not difficult to do when you can create an entire race just with a snap of his fingers. The creators are like that sister, not worth trying to explain because their power is unexplainable”

“The creators… wait. What race did he create?”

“The majin race sister, he created the entire thing. Call it justification for a past of lies, or simply just an unfunny joke. No one understand their intentions, but that’s what he was mainly responsible for”

…

I have literally no idea why no one else seems as surprised as me. Sure, I think Charlotte and Nathan have become sceptical to his words now but damn, this is freaking huge.

Does this also mean the guy who made me and Asmodeus demon lords… is the same person? I mean, he created majins so a majin lord is basically just a more advanced one. Ill stick with demon, majin just doesn’t sound right really.

“Da fuck!? The demonic guy who took over my body was that phoenix?”

“Heh, I’m guessing your system still hasn’t gotten around to telling you that just yet?”

‘Well now I’m pissed at you Aesa. With all the little pieces of information that have come up about the first phoenix, I’d have thought you’d have mentioned this sooner’

Even way back when I first came to this world, there was a conversation with father who said he encountered the guy once or twice. It would’ve been nice to know that guy is somehow watching over us like some creepy demonic stalker… the amount of stuff me and Petra have done. Focus Ikarus! There’s no shame in love… albeit kinky love.

[<Aesa wasn’t allowed to Ikarus, restrictions are still in place, even now. Just look at what happened to system inheriting Zeki. That is what happens when a system ignores protocol>]

‘Eh… guess that makes sense’

To be honest, I’m not sure what to do with this information. Like for real, is this guy friend or foe and what are his intentions? I know Asmodeus just said the powers that be are impossible to predict, but this just feels wrong.

Thankfully, Petra’s always there to lend a hand when my skin starts to crawl by leaning in and hugging me tightly. We were close together during that entire story but even closer now apparently. I’d say this would be a perfect time for a little loving if we were alone… ah! We have my headspace for privacy if we need it…

‘Should we or not? Erm… should probably focus on the battle ahead and leave that for another day’

Sexy time is always great and all but leaving ourselves unprotected in the wilderness sounds like a bad idea. Although, we do have people all around to protect us… no Ikarus. This honestly just feels a little wrong, like we’re doing in right in front of them.

‘Oh well. A night locked in the arms of my wife sounds perfectly acceptable instead. Think Asmodeus’s story is now over at least…’

__________

(Ikarus) “Just look at all those bones! Seriously though, why isn’t more known about this place?”

(Petra) “Heh, a lot of this world is like this Ikarus. This place in particular long predates that thousand-year mark”

(Dermakvar) <The dark one is right, little one. It’s best to forget the era predating the first of the horrid empires. Was a dark and dreary time, best left in the past… even if I can barely remember that far back>

(Asmodeus) “Heh, did once hear a rumour about dragons being the descendants of some of these beasts. On history this old, the oracle herself was ununiformed on”

(Zeki) “Erk, what’s the big deal with a bunch of huge bones anyways? It would be funny to see a gigantic dick, but other than that, it’s boring”

(Ariza) “Uh… Zeki? I don’t think animals have bones in that part of the body”

(Nathan) “Some do Ariza, but most don’t. There’s a great deal of variety with that sort of thing. It’s a rarity but he’s not completely wrong”

(Charlotte) “Is that something you learnt in your knight training Nat?”

(Nathan) “No Lotte… that was something learnt in Olympus. In some places… they practically worship genitalia. It’s best to not ask anymore”

(Zeki) “Well duh, y’all are idiots. Of course all animals, including humans have retractable penis bones. How else would it get hard?”

‘Damn, can’t believe he just said that. Even if there is a creature that fits that description, this dude just said ALL animals have that. The fabled mind of Zeki folks!’

Putting the obvious lunacy from Zeki aside, we currently glide across the gigantic Maladonian bone field and observe the insane proportions of the bones all around us. Any creature you can imagine ranging from snakes, wolfs, whales, all look mutated in comparison when compared to the norm. I really can’t do it justice considering just how big they really are.

Imagine the size of mother, then times her by a hundred and we’re still not getting close to the size of some of the remains around here. The rib cage we’re currently gliding through, just the gap between differing ribs is bigger than the largest creature in existence!

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---For the second image and the perspective, see that tiny black speck to the lower right side? Yeah, that’s roughly the size of the party…

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“Yo kid, if you’re ever looking to fully embrace your American side in this world, this is the place you should set up shop”

“Erk, let me guess orangey. Because there’s probably oil under all this dead crap? You tea drinkers are so freaking boring with stupid humor, your gigantic teeth and everything else”

‘Huh… well that kinda spoils the joke. Surprised he knew where I was going with that’

You know, because oil is kinda made from fossils and all that stuff. We’ll have to plot down any locations if we find any of that black gold with all the tech stuff developing in our settlement. Less than fifty years or so, we’ll probably be at that point. That’s if we survive this fight though… could be even quicker considering the Earth books are filled with all boring stuff like that.

“You know, we still need to know a little more about the bluebird among us. Promise I won’t mock you about it, just would be nice to know more about your background”

I know we’re getting a little side tracked but then again, what else should we speak about while still flying through the animal’s skeleton? The dungeon should be around here somewhere, we just need to spot it first.

“You shouldn’t question brother on her flamingo dancing days brother. The only thing that place does well is food that clears out the colon”

“Uh, it was flamenco Zeki, and you’re talking about two different places. Both like rice but one has a very diverse palette while the other likes a lot of fish”

“Apples and oranges brother. Don’t know, don’t care”

Ah, the age-old question on whether Ariza was Mexican or Spanish. Could just come out and directly ask but I can’t remember if I have already.

“Uh, back to you Ikarus, I’m like Petra with this sort of thing. I don’t remember all that much, just the odd little thing like that really. I do appreciate some of the Spanish speaking books you got me though, they are quite nostalgic”

‘That’s unfortunate. All I wanted to do was see Ariza do the tango with that wyvern guy, is that too much to ask? Wait… was the tango even Spanish? Okay, less of these stupid questions now, moving on…’

Anyways, distractions aside and still within the rib cage of the creature big enough to appear from space, we finally come across something man made. Whatever lies inside and under that small rectangular shaped building, it should house where we need to go…