[Current Balance: 4,755,411,970,800 Mon]
---
Dawn was breaking over the coast of Japan, painting the sky in soft hues of lavender and pale gold.
Alaric flew steadily northwest, a silent, crimson-streaked shadow against the waking world. Below him, the rugged coastline gave way to rolling hills and dense, ancient forests. The air was crisp and clean, carrying the scent of pine and damp earth.
He paused his flight, hovering motionless in the sky, the flight seals on his arms humming with dormant energy. He felt a sudden impulse to check the time, a habit from a life where minutes and hours mattered. He reached into his coat and pulled out the ornate gold pocket watch William Penn had gifted him years ago.
He flipped it open. The hands pointed to eleven.
'Hmm...' He hummed, a frown creasing his brow as he looked at the rising sun in the east. "Uh... eleven? I'm pretty sure it's like twelve in the morning or whatever..."
He stared at the watch for a moment longer, then a weary sigh escaped him as the realization dawned. He shook his head.
"I forgot that Japan is thirteen hours ahead of Pennsylvania..."
He snapped the watch shut and put it back in his pocket without bothering to adjust it. The small device, once a reliable anchor to the rhythm of his life, now just felt like a reminder of how far he was from home, from the timeline he was supposed to be a part of.
'Now that I think about it...'
A sheepish laugh suddenly escaped him, echoing strangely in the quiet morning sky. He ran a hand through his platinum hair, a look of genuine, self-deprecating chagrin on his face.
'Damn...' he thought, his mind flashing to an ancient, fiery being he hadn't spoken to in what felt like a lifetime. 'I forgot about the big flaming chicken.'
He knew Emberis wasn't a chicken, but the thought was amusing.
The Phoenix, his powerful summon, his only true equal in terms of lifespan and raw power, had been waiting patiently in Solaraeth for... how long had it been? Years. Especially when Solaraeth's time was faster compared to this world.
He'd been so caught up in his family, in Kassandra, in the chase for Caroline, that he had completely neglected him.
Thankfully, he didn't need to find a patch of ground and perform a dramatic, earth-shaking ritual anymore. His mastery of Fuinjutsu had surpassed such crude methods.
He raised his hands before him. Intricate, glowing symbols, born of pure chakra, materialized in the air around him, swirling and coalescing into a complex three-dimensional array. It was a reverse summoning seal, manifested from nothing but will and knowledge.
As the final symbol locked into place, the seal flared with a brilliant, silent light.
---
"Solaraeth..." Alaric mumbled, the name feeling strange on his tongue after so long.
He stood in the familiar, alien landscape. The ground beneath his boots was a soft, warm ash. Towering, crystalline trees with leaves like burning embers reached up into a sky that was a perpetual, twilight swirl of crimson and gold. The air hummed with a quiet, ancient power.
"I can never get used to this place..." he said to the empty air.
"Get used to what?"
The voice was deep, resonant, and echoed not in the air, but directly in his mind. Alaric turned slowly.
Standing on the ashen ground, twice Alaric's height but still a fraction of its true planet-devouring size, was Emberis.
The Immortal Phoenix regarded him with ancient, intelligent eyes that burned like miniature suns. There was no discernible emotion on its majestic, avian face.
"Heh... how you doin'... Emberis?" Alaric offered a slightly strained smile. "How many years has it been?"
"It has been a while," Emberis's voice resonated in his mind. The phoenix's gaze was steady, unblinking. "But I do not count in years."
"..." Alaric didn't know how to reply to that. He could feel the coldness, the distance.
'He's fosho pissed,' he thought, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.
"How are you... Alaric Jonathan Kenway?" Emberis asked, the use of his full name feeling like a formal indictment.
"I'm... good," Alaric began, deciding honesty was the only path. "Things have been... busy. A lot has happened since I was last here." He paused, looking around the timeless realm. "I'm sorry I haven't visited. I should have."
Emberis remained silent, simply watching him, waiting.
Alaric sighed, the sound loud in the quiet realm. "I secured my family's future," he explained, starting from the beginning. "Moved them all out of England after some… political trouble. We settled in the colonies, in Pennsylvania. They're safe now, prosperous. They have their own businesses, their own lives, free from the threats back home."
He looked at the unmoving phoenix. "And… it's been lonely. Being this powerful... there's a disconnect. I'm sure you understand that." He gave a short, humourless laugh. "I see the world, I see people, but I'm not really… part of it. The things I can do, the things I know… it puts a wall between me and everyone else. It's… quiet."
"And this power," Emberis finally spoke, its mental voice cutting through Alaric's confession. "This strength you wield. Has it brought you peace? Has it filled the void you speak of?"
The question was simple, direct, and it cut right to the heart of the matter.
"No," Alaric admitted, his gaze dropping to the ashen ground. "No, it hasn't. It's just made the quiet louder."
He looked back up, meeting the phoenix's burning gaze. "But then… I met someone. A woman. Her name is Kassandra." A genuine smile, the first since he'd arrived, touched his lips.
"She's... different. She's strong, fierce. Stubborn as all hell." He chuckled softly. "She's like me, in a way. She's immortal. She's been alone for over two thousand years. She... understands. The loneliness, the burden. Being with her... the quiet isn't so loud anymore."
He fell silent, the confession hanging in the air. He had shared more of his true feelings in these few minutes with this ancient, fiery being than he had with anyone else in his life. He trusted Emberis, not just with his secrets, but with his vulnerability.
Emberis tilted its massive head slightly, its solar eyes seeming to soften, if only for a fraction of a second.
"Loneliness is the curse of the eternal," the phoenix's voice echoed, its tone less a judgment and more a statement of ancient fact. "You have sought power to protect those you care for, to build a world where they can be safe. That is a noble goal. But in doing so, you have walked a path that few can follow, a path that inevitably leads to solitude."
"This woman, this Kassandra," Emberis continued, "she does not erase your power, nor does she lessen your burden. She simply… walks the path with you. It is the nature of beings like us, Alaric. We do not need to be saved from our loneliness. We simply need to find another who can withstand the journey beside us."
Alaric listened, the phoenix's words resonating with a truth he had only just begun to understand himself. The weight in his chest seemed to lift, just a little.
"Yeah," he whispered. "Yeah, I think you're right."
He looked at Emberis, a genuine, heartfelt gratitude in his eyes. "Thanks, my friend."
Emberis gave a slow, almost imperceptible nod. The coldness was gone from its gaze, replaced by a steady, ancient wisdom.
"You are welcome, Alaric Jonathan Kenway," the phoenix's voice resonated. "Now, tell me more of this... Kassandra. Does she also have a penchant for starting fights in taverns?"
Alaric blinked, then burst into laughter, a real, unburdened sound that echoed through the timeless realm of Solaraeth.
---
Alaric's laughter slowly subsided, the genuine, unburdened sound fading into the quiet hum of Solaraeth.
He wiped a tear of mirth from the corner of his eye, his smile softening as he looked at the majestic, silent phoenix before him.
The earlier tension between them had completely evaporated, replaced by a renewed, easy companionship.
"You know," Alaric began, his voice more thoughtful now, "you said we eternal beings just need a companion to walk the path with."
Emberis tilted its massive, fiery head, its solar eyes remaining fixed on Alaric, waiting.
"Well... this place, Solaraeth..." Alaric gestured around at the breathtaking, crystalline landscape. "It's magnificent, but it's empty. You're alone here, aren't you? Genuinely alone."
The question hung in the timeless air. It wasn't an accusation, but a statement of shared understanding.
Alaric knew loneliness. He lived with it every day, a quiet companion to his immense power. But his was a loneliness amidst crowds, amidst family. Emberis's was absolute... well, he does face dragons in other worlds. 'Not like I know how that works…'
"It is the nature of my existence," the phoenix's voice resonated in his mind, a simple, factual statement devoid of self-pity.
"Doesn't mean it has to be," Alaric replied, a new idea taking root.
"How about... I summon you to my world, from time to time? Not for a fight, just... to see things. The oceans, the mountains... meet Kassandra." He chuckled at the thought. "She'd probably challenge you to a fight, actually. Or a drinking contest."
Emberis remained silent for a long moment, processing the offer. Alaric could almost feel the ancient mind weighing millennia of solitude against this unexpected invitation.
"My presence in your world could cause... significant disruption," Emberis finally stated, its tone cautious. "The balance of power, the very fabric of reality, could be compromised by my full manifestation."
"Yeah, I know. I figured as much," Alaric nodded, his expression turning surprisingly serious. "That's why I'd need you to promise me something first. A very, very important promise."
He took a step closer, looking up at the towering phoenix, his blue eyes holding a mixture of genuine respect and a hint of almost comical fear.
"You can only use, like, one percent of your real power," he said, holding up a single finger for emphasis. "Maybe even less. Let's go with 0.0001 percent, just to be safe."
He was half-joking, but half-serious.
"I'm not kidding, Emberis," Alaric continued, his voice earnest. "You unleash your full power, and you might accidentally sneeze the galaxy out of existence. I've got family there, you know. A pregnant wife. I'd rather not have our solar system blinked out of reality because you saw a particularly interesting-looking seagull and got excited."
Emberis stared at Alaric, its massive, fiery head perfectly still, its sun-like eyes giving away nothing. It processed the absurd, yet entirely logical, condition. It calculated the risk, the parameters, the intent behind the human's strange request.
After a long, unnerving silence, the ancient being gave a slow, almost imperceptible nod.
"I understand."
The simple, two-word agreement held more weight than a thousand oaths.
Alaric let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding, a wide, relieved grin spreading across his face. "Alright then," he said, clapping his hands together. "It's a deal."
He felt... lighter. He had his purpose… finding Caroline. He had his love… Kassandra. And now, he had a plan for his oldest, most powerful, and perhaps loneliest friend.
"Right," he said, his tone shifting back to business. "I've got to go. A cousin to find, a city to visit. Edo awaits."
He gave Emberis a final, genuine smile and a wave. "I'll call on you soon. Try not to get too bored while I'm gone."
With that, he focused his will, activating the Hiraishin seal. In a silent flash of displaced space, he vanished from Solaraeth, leaving the Immortal Phoenix alone once more in its timeless realm, but now, for the first time in eons, with the promise of a world beyond its own.
'Heh… even Hiraishin works here…'
'…'
'Wait… Hiraishin works here…'
.
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