Chapter 99 - End Of First Arc

"She won't disappear from my mind? So it's not a devouring?" Alexander asked doubtfully.

Flamebright laughed. "Devour is a gross oversimplification of the process. It is true that her soul will be absorbed by yours. But if you choose to, you can allow her to retain a semblance of autonomy. A partition of sorts. Of course it is an extremely one sided partition, one that is fully controlled by you. But if you can respect that partition, Flamewing can retain her individuality. That is the path that many Dragon Knights chose back in the day. That is also why I am not objecting to your relationship with Aleyria. Flamewing can still shut herself out of your… interactions with other women if that partition is in place."

Alexander smiled weakly at Flamebright. Although he wasn't the type to blush and be shy about such things, he was processing quite a number of heavy information right then.

"I've never heard of such a thing before. Are you sure that your information is correct? We're dealing with Flamewing's future here!" Blackfire said softly with a frown.

Flamebright chuckled. "You were never the studious type, Blackfire. If you had spent just a little bit of time focusing on your studies when you were younger, you will definitely know this for a fact."

"Well… If you say so." Blackfire chuckled as well, with more than a touch of relief. "But you should know that this young man here… He is… Well. Alexander why don't you tell her yourself."

"I have the Power of Magius, Perses and Zegaro within me. The Power of Zegaro bloomed within the soul of the previous owner of this body." Alexander explained very concisely.

"Well… Well done." Blackfire was rather surprised at how easily Alexander explained such a heavy topic. And quite entertained too by the look of shock that graced Flamebright's face. 

She stared at Alexander in shock. After a moment, her head swivelled and glanced at Flamewing who was still happily chatting with Aleyria. 

"The body of a dragon will allow him to withstand the overwhelming power of the four Gods, while the death energy of Zegaro is contained within the shell of the previous body's soul. It might work." Blackfire said softly. 

Flamebright turned to look at Blackfire, the Alexander and nodded slowly. "Blackfire is probably right. The death energy within you would be safely grounded and anchored in the shell of the soul of the previous owner. I don't foresee any problems there.

However, you know that if the fusion succeeds, you will wield a power that, although not comparable to Magius's in quantity, overshadows his in quality? And that you will become a very real threat to him? Who knows the whimsies of a God? Magius may be a much more honorable God than most. But he is so because he stands unrivalled in this Universe now. But with you and your special power…" 

"Let me stop you here, Flamebright." Alexander said firmly. "For one thing, the fusion is a long way from completion, I will not be a threat for many long years. For another, I have no interest in becoming a rival to Magius. I am an ambitious man, much more ambitious than most. But I truly have no desire to ascend to Godhood. I WANT to reach the end of my lifespan. I WANT to bask in the glory of my FINISHED work. Life is much more beautiful knowing that one day, everything will end. Not soon, of course. I'll appreciate having a thousand years or two to enjoy everything life has to offer, but definitely not never. 

Magius needn't bear with me for much longer than those few thousand years. A blink of an eye in the eyes of a God." 

Flamebright nodded slowly in understanding and in appreciation of Alexander's view about life. It was very mature and insightful. He was very impressive.

"Very well then. Let's hope Magius understands and believes you. As I have said before, the fusion is an unstoppable process. Sooner or later, you will fuse with Flamewing. There are some ways to accelerate the process, and Flamewing knows about them. I will allow you two to take your time to slowly discuss these things on your own and come to your own decision." 

"Thank you, Flamebright. I appreciate that. I know it is hard for you." Alexander said sincerely to Flamebright.

Flamebright sighed deeply. "I am just glad that she is alive and well. Anyway, the Golden Lich Emperor is dead, and the Lich King in charge of Arcanus 26 is dead too. What do you intend to do next?"

"The original schedule was to take over Arcanus 26 and participate in Prince Flario's General Wars. But that has changed." Alexander said with a smile. 

"Magius has given me a challenge. To help Princess Anastasia sit on the throne of Symphonia. I believe I will do that first. Oh, and maybe a quick visit to earth someday. But for now, I want to focus on making Princess Anastasia an Empress. And giving Caerose the current Emperor's head. Once that's done… I'm pretty sure the Universe has no lack of bad guys to kill or empires to conquer." Alexander chuckled. 

Flamebright nodded once more and sighed deeply. "I trust you. Take good care of Flamewing, and make sure you treat her well, alright?" Flamebright said seriously as she looked Alexander in the eye.

"You don't have to worry about that. I will take good care of her and treat her well. We have a very good relationship." Alexander reassured her.

"Alright. I've taken enough of your time. Blackfire, let us give the young ones some room." Flamebright said.

Blackfire merely smiled at her and waited for Alexander's response. 

"Go, I will call for you when I am done." Alexander said.

"As you wish, My Lord." Blackfire bowed.

Flamebright merely frowned and didn't say anything.

They quickly left the room, leaving Alexander, Aleyria and Flamewing by themselves.

Although they all had so many things to say, so many updates to make, none spoke a word for one full minute. 

For Alexander, he was fully enjoying himself, basking in the incredible beauty of the two women in his life. Both were dressed in white, and both were exquisite beyond measure. They both were very different yet at the same time, similar in their beauty which could cause the downfall of kingdoms. His mind was blank and that was the reason for his silence.

For the two girls, however, it was a vastly different story.

Flamewing was extremely shy. She may be a boisterous voice in Alexander's mind, prone to arguing with him over the littlest thing. But in real life, she was actually quite shy of him and didn't know how to begin interacting with Alexander. "What do I say to him? And Aleyria is here as well, what should I do? Oh no…"

Aleyria was also at a loss on how to deal with Flamewing AND Alexander together, knowing that they had a mental link with each other and were in the process of fusing. Her mind was simply filled with one big question mark. "If we ever get married, does that make me the second wife???" 

However, Alexander finally woke up from his reverie and noticed the awkward silence that was hanging in the air.

He grinned widely and pulled both girls into his embrace. 

"Hey." He breathed into their ears.

"Hey. Aleyria whispered back.

Flamewing giggled. "It tickles!" She squealed out and pushed Alexander away. A little too strongly. 

Alexander lost his balance and fell down, bringing Aleyria along with him.

Flamewing looked at them in slight horror for a moment, before bursting out into laughter. 

Alexander and Aleyria looked at Flamewing in shock for a moment before laughing along with her.

And with that, the ice was broken.

*-*-*-*-*

"I AM A PRINCESS OF SYMPHONIA! I COMMAND YOU TO GIVE THAT BUNNY TO ME!" Princess Anastasia shouted angrily at Jane. 

"Oh yeah? I AM THE QUEEN OF… of…" Jane scrunched out her eyebrows as she tried to think of a very big country. However, she couldn't. She was about to despair when she heard a soft voice whisper in her ear.

"Of the world!" The voice said.

"OF THE WORLD!" Jane declared triumphantly. "QUEEN IS BIGGER THAN PRINCESS! SO I WIN!" 

"SYMPHONIA IS BIGGER THAN THE WORLD! I STILL WIN!! I WILL HAVE YOU PUNISHED IF YOU DON'T GIVE ME THE BUNNY!!" Princess Anastasia shouted while shaking her fist furiously at Jane, who was hugging the bunny tightly.

"COME AND TRY! I'M RIGHT HERE!" Jane taunted Princess Anastasia and stuck her tongue out. 

"GRAMPA DUBAZAAAAAAAA" Princess Anastasia wailed as she burst into tears. 

Dubaza sighed deeply. He went over to Princess Anastasia and carried her. "Hush now, Princess. I'll get you another bunny, alright?" Dubaza tried to calm her down.

"Nooo!! I WANT THAT BUNNY!!" Princess Anastasia wailed loudly and began to kick and hit Dubaza like the spoiled Princess that she was. 

Dubaza sighed and turned to his King's Guard.

"No." Isabella said. 

Dubaza opened his mouth to say something.

"No." Isabella cut him off coldly before he could say a single word. "We will not go looking for bunnies." 

Dubaza glared at her as he patted the still screaming and kicking Princess Anastasia. 

"I'll go!" Gabriella said brightly. "I'll go search for a bunny for you, Dubaza!" 

Dubaza turned to look at Gabriella gratefully. "Ehm, yes, that will be really helpful, thank you Gabriella." 

Gabriella giggled. "Okay!" She leapt onto her feet and began to walk around the farm to look for more bunnies. 

"I'll go look for bunnies too!" Valen said as he stood up and walked in another direction. 

"Me too!" said Shira excitedly. She had seen Jane playing with the cute bunny, and secretly she wanted one as well. 

Kan-Dari looked at Shira suspiciously. "Are you done absorbing the efficacy of the fruits?" She asked Shira. "They are amazing gifts from the King! People would sacrifice their families to get them you know. Make sure you absorb every last drop into your body!"

"Dari, stop being so suspicious of me. Of course I'm done! Come! Let's look for bunnies!" Shira dragged Kan-Dari up from her seating position. "Liz'An, sorry but you can't come. You'll scare all the bunnies away!" Shira said seriously.

Liz'An smiled and waved them away. She was still getting used to having Verdant and Water magic. It was incredible for her. She had a near infinite pool of magic power, and now she had a really high affinity with Verdant magic and MAXIMUM affinity with Water magic. 

She had just risen dramatically in power. She felt slightly guilty thinking about it, but she was sure that she could challenge her mistress and possibly even beat her. 

"Stop thinking of such things." She sternly reminded herself. "Maybe I should catch a bunny to distract myself." However, when she turned to look at Shira and Kan-Dari, they were already out of the little pasture that they were relaxing in.

They soon disappeared into the large farmland littered with patches of trees here and there. 

Liz'An sighed deeply and fought down her rising sense of excitement over her new powers. She was itching very badly for a fight. 

*-*-*-*

It had been a full day ever since everybody was reunited. 

Blackfire, Flamebright, the entire King's Guard, Princess Aleyria's personal guard, as well as the four kids had set up camp by the farmhouse and settled down temporarily. 

Alexander, Flamewing and Aleyria needed to come to terms with the new reality that had settled upon them, and they also needed a short break from the incredible pressure that they had been facing for the past few weeks. 

And so, it had been a very relaxing day for the group. A much needed break indeed, and their final one for a very, very long time to come.

Unbeknownst to them, three massive Galaxy Class Starships were speeding towards them. And the nearest one had already come within sight of Arcanus 26.

*-*-*-*

"So that's Arcanus 26." Murmured Prince Jolto. "Ready the Tigers One through One Thousand. We enter in twelve hours."

"Acknowledged." A masked soldier saluted smartly and left the bridge.

"A thousand motherships?" Princess Jenny said with a laugh.. "You're crazy."