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Late Afternoon - Late Winter : The Nest

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*Wooooosh* A steady, cool breeze blew through the upper cavern as the blazing air inside was cycled with the endless afternoon sky through the massive hole I punched through the mountain behind me.

"Haah..." It was actually quite relaxing, but I was too stressed to enjoy it.

-Every time I answer a question, another pops up.

..- Deciding I needed to stop my theorizing before it spiraled toward insanity, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath of the cool, fresh air blowing over me before looking over my shoulder.

Although the destruction was still spreading around the edges, with molten rock continuously dripping down into the cavern like water from a leaky pipe, it had mostly finished.

As things were, the hole was about a third the diameter of the entire cavern and nearly two-thirds the height, exposing a huge section to a blanket of direct sunlight and letting the atmosphere outside freely flow in, even if the climate inside would remain somewhat contained because of the direction of the winds outside.

But of course, with the inside of the cavern currently being several times the temperature and density of the cool upper atmosphere, the hole had turned the cavern into a popped balloon, causing the air pressure to plummet dramatically.

-But it shouldn't be a problem for anyone but the rodents and maybe the youngest of thunderbirds. ..-

Finally successfully shifting gears, I stood up, grabbing the Secretary's head with my aura before immediately jumping through the void, seemingly instantaneously appearing over the tree stump the fight began on.

It had been a few minutes since the fight at that point, but even as I reappeared over the stump, Chrysi was frozen. He hadn't moved since he almost died. -Did he pass out from shock?-

*Fwip* *THUMP* Tossing the Secretary's head down next to him, he finally jolted out of the thoughts that entrapped him in his mind.

"H..Huh- AH!" Jumping back as he noticed the massive head laying next to him, he finally looked around and noticed the unfathomably massive hole exposing the bright afternoon sky before freezing again.

"Have you been frozen since you almost got killed?" Thinking back to the antimatter blast I protected him from, I remembered just how ridiculous the temperatures were before tilting my head slightly and landing. -He's more heat-resistant than he looks...-

"I-I just got mesmerized by the runes Lady Corella used..."

"Lady Corella? Was that this bitch's name?" *thump* Gently kicking her head toward him, I watched him shy away with disgust before answering my own question. -It must be...- "So, what were you doing here? It looked like you were acting as her servant."

He immediately clammed up. "I wasn't just acting."

"Excuse me?" I gave him a look of both disgust and disappointment. "I'm gonna need you to run that by me again..."

Noticing the sudden shift in my tone, his posture shrank, and his wings once again clamped to his body. "W..would you like me to just explain from the-"

"Yes, from the very beginning."

He quickly paused before continuing somewhat shyly.

"Well, not too long after, uh.. you and I first met, I ended up finding an Ancient Island Turtle in a bay couple thousand kilometers from here, and managed to actually speak with him.

He told me the phoenix used to reside in the mountain here and told me where I could find an entrance.

" He paused as he idly looked around the cavern.

But somehow, he failed to notice the expression on my face. -HUH?!- I felt like I had to of misunderstood something.

To quickly summarize, an Ancient Island Turtle was a Mythical creature similar to the likes of the phoenix: a monster that, to obtain sentience, had to be well over ten thousand years old and literally be the size of an island, typically several kilometers from head to tail.

Unlike the phoenix however, it wasn't a strikingly powerful god, nor was it alone.

Spread all throughout the world, there was believed to be at least a few dozen or so that had the ability to speak, but with their habits of sleeping and not moving for several thousand years at a time, it made them quite hard to find.

-But he found one not only moving, but one that was old enough to recall hearing about the phoenix?!- It meant the Turtle he found was at least more than twenty or thirty thousand years old.

But Chrysi seemed to just brush over it.

"When I was looking for the entrance he told me about, I ended up actually getting lost, and resorted to backtracking my steps and trying again.

I continued that cycle of flying back and forth, trying to retrace my steps and follow the turtles directions for well over a week to no avail.

However, after a while, I eventually ran into a thunderbird, and they said they could guide me. "

-A thunderbird offered to guide a dragon into their nest?- It was a scenario that was simply laced with red flags.

"The girl was one of Corella's maids, out supposedly coordinating things with another servant outside the nest, but she promised to give me information on the phoenix if I followed her, so I did.

Once we came in here, I knew I was on the right track so I continued along before meeting Lady Corella.

She made the same offer, giving me information if I helped her. "

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"Helped her.. how?"

"Just with general chores and occasionally asking questions about Bahamut."

I felt the air around me turn thick with a mix of pity, disbelief, and disappointment as I sagged my head a bit. -How does a dragon let himself get so taken advantage of and somehow not even realize it...- I didn't even know what to say. "Did you at least get information about the phoenix?"

Expecting the answer to be no, I just sagged my head, but he responded swiftly. "Yes! Quite a bit."

His response didn't instill any confidence in me though. -Oh boy...- Thinking they just fed him random lies, I spoke softly. "And what did they tell you?"

"They also said the phoenix was in the mountain, just like the turtle said. When they first moved here, they said the phoenix's fire fueled the dwarven city in the lower cavern."

My ears quickly perked up.

"It's fire kept the cavern warm, and powered the dwarven furnaces to the point they could melt even high grade mythril, but not long after the thunderbirds took over the cavern, it seemed to disappear, retreating deeper into the mountain to avoid being disturbed by the thunderbirds.

They said, according to the dwarves, it was the thing that created these caverns as well, leading them to suspect there might be another cavern beneath the lower cavern. "

Staring at him with wide eyes, thoughts ripped through my head.

It was a concerningly reasonable explanation for how such unnaturally uniform, bubble-shaped caverns perfectly centered over one another were made.

-I assumed the dwarves carved it out...- The reasoning for the dwarves creating a smithing city using the phoenix's heat was also within the realm of possibility. "Was there anything else?"

He quickly shook his head. "Lady Corella said she would investigate the existence of a lower cavern if I kept up what I was doing, but that was well over a week ago."

-Ugh...- I felt my chest ache again as I was reminded of him simply handing information about dragons to an enemy. -But I guess it doesn't matter anymore...- "Were you here when Acanthis was still around?"

He quickly nodded with a flicker in his tail. "Yes, him and Lady Corella.. uh.. had some.. special time..." He paused as he awkwardly motioned his back left leg in the air.

-Oh...- It was a motion dragon's used to signify mating.

-It might be troublesome if I tell Acanthis I killed her then.

.. But then again, he also had a kid with a dragon, so he may not care.

..- However, as I thought about that, I had a sudden realization.

-Wait.. what if Acanthis coming to Bahamut wasn't because of his son.

.? What if it was because Chrysi gave him information on us? -

With Chrysi not knowing the awakening of Myles, or the return of Hera, he could have easily instilled confidence in Acanthis.

-Looking through Acanthis's eyes, I would've been confident too.

..- Taking Myles out of the question entirely, Bahamut was indeed in a state where Acanthis could have dealt a very significant amount of damage to it.

-Maybe they wanted to make use of the opening. ..-

To an extent, we were lucky. Had Chrysi not spilled information on us, Acanthis never would have come, and the thunderbirds would have likely joined hands with the Holy Kingdom without us even noticing. -That must have been the reason those humans were here too...-

Had they managed to form a proper alliance and cultivate one another for a few years, Bahamut could have been put in a really tight spot. -Corella was concerningly strong too... If I wasn't lucky, she could have really fucked me up...-

But now she was nothing but a few pieces of meat laying on the ground. "I guess fate smiles on some and not others." -In any case...- "How are you planning to continue your search from here?"

His gaze slowly darkened as he sank into thought before looking at the massive hole in the wall.

"I'm.. not sure... I would like to check for a lower cavern, but to do so, Id have to burrow through at least several kilometers of rock before I could say the cavern wasn't there, so.

. I might start by exploring all the caves that lead from the nest into the mountain.

If I'm lucky, one might lead to another cavern. "

I paused as I looked him up and down, watching thoughts zip through his mind before suddenly looking back toward the center of the mountain.

For just an instant, I felt the presence of a divinity flicker, as if waving at me before completely disappearing. -Hm...- "How about this, then."

Getting his attention, he quickly looked up at me with a glow in his eyes.

"I'll check for another cavern for you, and dig you a path to it. However, if you do indeed find the phoenix and somehow survive, I want you to promise me to become my subordinate." Looking back at him, he quickly clammed up and sank into thought.

But after a moment, he eased. "You are Vasilias.. correct?" He paused before looking up at me. "Is your offer from before still available?"

I nodded. "It is. I can also extend an offer to let you study in Siratha. Do you still have the medallion I gave you?"

He hastily nodded but responded hesitantly. "I do, but... Are you really not going to ask for a phoenix feather?"

I quickly gave him a look as if I wanted to laugh. "Why would I ask you to retrieve something like that for me?"

"W..Well, it might be dangerous-"

"Chrysi, if it's dangerous for me, you're really fucked.

" I let out a light chuckle as I turned away from him, glancing toward the gate at the center of the cavern.

"Personally, I think you're crazy for even wanting to find the phoenix, but somehow I don't want to stop you anymore.

" -Before coming here, I thought you were delusional even just saying it existed, but now, who knows.

.. Maybe you have fate on your side...- "All I ask is that if you somehow survive, you become a subordinate of mine.

I see a bit of a reflection of myself in that crazed curiosity of yours, and I'd like to make sure that talent never rots. "

A gleam of hope suddenly intruded his gaze as I glanced back at him, but he continued with a doubtful tone. "If you think I am capable of such a feat.. I will follow your lead..." His expression and voice quickly stiffened. "However, only after finding the phoenix."

-I can't say I didn't expect that...- "Alright, then, once I finish things here, I'll take you to another cavern or at least point you in the right direction."

A smile immediately washed over his face. "O-Okay! T-Thank you, my Lord!" He quickly threw himself into a nearly perfect bow as if he had done it a million times.

"You said you'd only follow me after you found the phoenix. What are you doing calling me your lord?"

"A-Ah, sorry! It was a slip of the tongue!" He seemed quite genuinely sorry.

But little did he know, as I was looking away, I had a smile on my face. -I'll be really disappointed if he dies now... I've taken quite a liking to him...-

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