Chapter 130 - Black Phoenix

"KYOOOOOW!!!!" The shrill cry of a phoenix resounded loudly. 

That in itself was a great testament of the Phoenix's great power. Who else but it, could actually produce sound in space? Just a simple cry contained so much unique energy that everything within thousands of kilometers vibrated and obediently allowed the transmission of its majestic yet mournful keen.

Black fire undulated elegantly from the Black Phoenix which was slowly fading away, giving it a dark, chillingly beautiful yet at the same time, tragic feeling. Along with the fading Phoenix, the temperature around them also gradually fell to an acceptable level.

"There must be a heartbreaking story as to how the Black Phoenix bloodline ended up with Aleyria. This aura of hers… It's incredibly painful." Alexander said internally to Flamewing.

"Yes." Flamewing agreed emotionally. Somehow the pain that the Black Phoenix was exuding resonated with her.

Although everyone was shocked and somewhat affected by the heavy and melancholic feeling, they were still within the range of acceptance. Everyone, except Magius. 

He stared at the quickly fading Black Phoenix with a shock that was unnatural, to say the least. His gaze towards it was filled with deep longing, yet at the same time, a disbelief and rejection that was so thick and palpable that they practically oozed out from his being. 

By his side, Fluff-fluff glanced at Magius with a strange expression. 

"Weird. Do I sense… sympathy from Fluff-fluff? For Magius? And what's with that smoldering intense look that Magius is giving Aleyria?" Alexander asked Flamewing. 

"From within the grave thy beloved shall wait,

A thousand years of darkness, 

A thousand years of silence,

A thousand years of oblivion.

From beyond the grave she will yet wait,

A thousand years of torment,

A thousand years of torture,

A thousand years of pain.

But from the ashes she will rise,

A thousand years of conquest,

A thousand years of glory,

A thousand years of triumph.

The Black Phoenix victorious at last,

Joyful, content and at peace,

In the arms of another."

Flamewing whispered in a strange voice. 

"What is that?" Alexander whispered back. He was affected by the heavy mood that hung so thickly around them at that moment.

"For the longest time, I thought it was just a nursery rhyme. It was a song that the dragon clan used to sing to little kids as they tell the story of Magius and his costly victory in the final battle of the Gods.

In the story, Magius and Zegaro were locked in combat. For the longest time, Zegaro had managed to resist all of Magius's attempts to kill him with ease. The power of death was such that it grew stronger the longer the battle lasted. 

However, Zegaro was unable to gain an edge because along with Magius was Lady Kyara, his beloved and a magnificent Golden Phoenix who burnt his troops into ashes, leaving them unable to arise. With her aid, Zegaro slowly fell into an unrecoverable disadvantage. 

Moments before he perished, however, Zegaro laid down a vicious curse upon Lady Kyara and condemned her to an eternity of pain and torture. In the story, Zegaro hated her so much that he burned a huge portion of his Godly Essence to make sure that the curse came to be and took effect. That vicious and potent curse claimed her life within a few short hours. 

Thankfully, an Emissary of Fate descended upon them before she died, and with great effort, she managed to modify the curse slightly. Instead of an eternity of torture, the Golden Phoenix was given another chance at life. She would rise from the ashes as a Black Phoenix after going through thousands of years of pain.

The song just now was the Emissary's words to Magius and Lady Kyara before she succumbed to the curse and descended into the underworld." 

Alexander remained silent upon hearing that story. If the Black Phoenix that had ignited in Aleyria was the Black Phoenix in Flamewing's story, it would make his relationship with Magius very awkward indeed. 

Considering the deeply melancholic and mournful aura that Aleyria was currently giving off though, it seemed pretty likely that the story had a sliver of truth within it. If not about the six thousand years of pain, then at least the part about the Golden Phoenix reincarnating as a Black Phoenix should be true. 

"It has been more than six thousand years, Magius. It should not be her." Fluff-fluff said gently. 

However, Magius was like a man possessed. He did not seem to have heard Fluff-fluff at all. He stared at Aleyria intensely, as if seeking a clue or any sort of indication that the Black Phoenix which was fading away so rapidly was Kyara or not. 

Very slowly but surely, Aleyria regained control of her body and the energies within it. She gasped lightly as the final vestiges of the Black Phoenix disappeared. 

At that point, her white dress became completely black with a few golden and red trim that accentuated her dark and tragic beauty even more. 

"Aleyria, how do you feel?" Alexander held her hand tightly and asked. 

Aleyria opened her eyes and immediately, the temperature around them spiked. The eyes are the windows to the soul, and Aleyria's soul had been enhanced to a level that was beyond what the main realm had ever seen before. Power radiated from Aleyria like a massive furnace at full blast. 

She took a deep breath and clamped down on the wild dark energy that was still circulating at full speed within her body. She exerted her will and forcefully made the energy slow down to a more reasonable speed. 

Although her power level continued to rise even as the dark energy continued to dig out her potential to the full, it was not at an insane speed anymore. 

Just that point alone underscored what a terrifying genius Aleyria was. Somehow within a few short minutes, she had learned how to control the Black Phoenix bloodline. 

"I am fine." Aleyria said with a smile. Although her voice sounded like her, it had a very different quality to it. Apparently her level of control had not reached the point of being able to restrain her energy down to the littlest things.

"In fact, I feel more than fine." She turned around and looked around her. 

For the rest of them, it felt like a powerful Sovereign of the Universe was checking them out and they felt supremely uncomfortable. Aleyria seemed totally oblivious to it. 

"I feel like the entire universe is… within my grasp." She said with a smile. She glanced at a very distant spot many thousands of kilometers away and pointed at it.

"Right there is the Star of Symphonia. If I want to, I feel like I could just lightly pull at it…" Aleyria did a little tugging motion.

WHOOOSHH!!!

The Star of Symphonia was dragged unceremoniously back until it was frozen in place before them. 

Although the Star of Symphonia was extremely large compared to them, much like a giant mecha compared to a small cluster of ants, it was completely helpless before those 'ants'. Especially a particularly beautiful and rather angry ant that was currently staring at it coldly. 

Magius, Alexander, Flamewing, Fluff-fluff and Blackfire all gulped collectively at that. 

Ridiculously powerful. 

The Ascendant werewolf merely blinked in confusion. It probably had no idea what was happening around it. 

"This power within me is not bounded by space at all, it's weird. Everywhere is just… here." Aleyria marvelled. 

Whoosh!

All of the motherships and their fleets suddenly appeared next to the Star of Symphonia as well. 

Whoosh! 

Krakus, his subordinate, and all of the mechas and fighters were all shoved into one corner near the Starship. Aleyria didn't like to see all the people that made her life difficult mere moments ago to be all spread out. 

However, Aleyria was not done. She pointed at two more directions and made two quick pulling motions once more. Immediately, two more Starships were dragged out of their positions and froze into place next to the Star of Symphonia! 

It was a display of power that was hitherto unseen before in the universe. 

Except maybe the time when the Almighty God made the four Lesser Gods. 

"Alexander, what do you want me to do with them?" Aleyria asked him deferentially. She may be the most powerful being in the universe, but somehow she retained her mindset and she still saw herself first and foremost as Alexander's woman.

At that, Magius's face turned extremely sour for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure. But nobody missed that look. Nobody except Aleyria, apparently. 

"Leave them be for a moment Aleyria." Alexander said. "We have more important things to discuss." He turned to look at Magius. Aleyria turned around as well and looked at Magius curiously.

"What's going on?" Aleyria asked. 

"Aleyria, do you feel like… the energy within you is alive…? Or has it communicated anything to you…?" Fluff-fluff asked hesitantly.