Chapter 162: Searching Alone, Finding the Truth

The sun was shining bright above her head, harsh wind blowing against her skin. She had no clue about where to begin her search. She was standing in the middle of a dessert. A place Phoenix could possible keep the core warm. She looked around the place, she could feel her skin burning. She has no idea where in the middle to find him. She closed her eyes and tired to use her sense. But she did not find anything close to an angel except the demons and beats lurking around the dessert. She then apparated and went to the Beast Realm. She used her sense again, she searched from above to see if there is any Phoenix, or a boy with the mark. She did not find again. Aqua did not give up. 

But the Beast King caught, seeing her walking around, trespassing. 

"What are you doing? Princess Aqua," he asked her. 

"I.. I.. " no lies dawned in her head. "Well, I dropped my ancestral bangle the last time I was here, i was asked to give it back," Aqua managed. "I do not remember exactly where it is, am going everywhere," she said and looked at the Beast King. 

"Come with me," he said. He did not looked like he liked her arrival. She could tell that and she was surprised to see it. 

"I heard about you, banished," he reminded her. 

"I had to do everything for the sake of our Realm. Water Realm," she said.

"It was not right, you are a crown princess," he said to her little rudely. 

"And that's exactly why I had to everything I did back then," she defended. She hated the change she saw in the Beast King, letting go of all the favours she had done to them. 'What a rude punk he is!' She thought and smirked as she followed him to the palace. 

"Did you find any ancestral bangle or something of the Water Realm in the lands of Beast Kingdom?" He asked his wise men.

"No sir, nothing, no artifacts or jewellery were found on the grounds of Beast Prince," they reported him instantly.

"You heard that?" Beast King asked her. 

"I did, thank you,' she said and disappeared, utterly disappointed. She swore to never set her foot in the Beast Kingdom seeing the way he behaved towards her. To have forgotten about their past. 

Aqua hurried back to the place she stood and decided to go search the Wind Realm, Late Celestial Emperor of Phoenix family kept close ties with them. She called for Prince Ash and he came to assist her immediately. He was the only one she could trust with. Everybody had turned against her, changing colours like a chameleon, easier than the chameleons would. And Aqua no longer had the faith to trust them.

She accepted the reality. The reality were she was shut out, reality were people no longer believed in her the moment she stood up, raised her voice, stood for her family and herself and fought against the imperial. Nobody liked that, afraid that her powers are enough to take over the universe, but bend her in the name of laws. Aqua had no will to surrender. 

"Has anyone been rescuing and looking after a weird kid in your country in the past few years?" She asked him in a hurry. 

"Not that I know of which are recorded in the palace, the orphans are very less in our Kingdom like yours," Ash told her. "No no, Aqua there are none, no weird ones," 

"Are you sure?" She aksed again.

"Very sure, why? Is anything bothering you? He asked her. 

"No child with a mark of a bird or fire or anything?"

"Nope," he clearly said it. "Why?" He asked again. 

"Nothing I just wanted to know if you have seen any ,if you do, let me know," she explained 

"Sure," he said. "You sound very eager and in need of something, I mean what's going on? He enquired. "Is it true that you got banished from heaven? Everyone asked her as if it was a big deal. "Will they really do that to you?" 

"Yes kind of," she replied him, looking away. She did not have time for chat.

"Listen do let me know if you have any sort of difficulties going on in your life, call for me, you know how to call me don't you?" He said to her, asking her to ask any sort of help to him. "We are after Master Bo hai's students. Atleast some of us must follow what he taught us, don't you think," 

"I do yes we should and I am, alright, its really great seeing you, But see if you meet the child am saying again and again, senior Ash don't forget about it ok? It is really urgent and important. Inform me straight," she said, bid farewell and vanished even before he finished saying goodbye.

"Bye," he waved, but she was not there. He smiled shaking his head and walked away. He was reminded of their school days and his time with Huo. He also could not help but think about Volca, how smart she used to be and how evil she turned into. 

"This is life after all, the people you see today are not people you will see tomorrow nor whom you met the day before, changing colours, and living different lives," he walked back to the Wind Palace. 

"Only if I could turn back time, sit under the willow, drinking plum wines made in Water Realm." Prince Ash smiled at his thoughts.

"Tell tales to the young girls, about adventures Huo and I encountered and excite their hearts, get yelled from shifu and get detention, we were happy then, all of us, and only if I could turn back time," 

Aqua left ti earth then, feeling very sure how the baby Phoenix is not living in heaven. His core would have been put to sleep, sealing the powers, which makes it harder to spot him, search for him and identify him. Aqua was sure that he could be living as a human. She closed her eyes and recalled what Ariana and Prince Feng looked like. She recalled the moment of birth she had witnessed inside the memories of Ariana. She tried to see if she could remember the face of the baby. But it was not clear, she was not sure. She concentrated hard. But there were no good results. 

Aqua was getting tired, distracted and was unhappy. "Damn," she cursed. She reached earth. But she did not know which part to search for the boy. She had no idea how he would look like, what age he would be on earth, the work he would be engaged with. Nothing was clear to her. And moreover she could not believe the fact that Ariana is living without even knowing the existence of her only son she bore with her love. She was disappointed. 

She reached a small village, she stayed afloat invisibly and used her power to spot anyone with a birthmark, apparently everybody had birthmark and she tired to filter the ones with Phoenix mark. There were none. She was aware how she is running out of time. 

"Look there is an angel in the sky," a little girl shouted. Aqua had no idea how the little girl spotted her. And then she looked down and saw a half fox, pointing her tiny fingers at her. Aqua smiled. She sent the little girl a candy and disappeared instantly. 

She went to another town to scan if there is one living whom she is searching for desperately. She scanned people, and found nobody. Aqua's heart grew tensed. "What if I cannot find the heir?" She kept thinking. "No I should find him. I have to at any cost, Tai cannot continue on the throne anymore, I have find a Celestial being," she felt determined. 

She went to another couple of towns and villages, she found nobody, not a soul from heaven even. But she got to spot vampires let lose and wondered why the hell has not taken action yet. She could feel the kind of adjustments going on between the vampires and heaven, where hell is kept under the shadows, she made up her mind to tell King Huo about it. And she went to another place, a city this time. She searched for the souls again, the Marks any doppelganger of the Phoenix kid. But instead she found one, her family. She smiled seeing him. "Aizen, I hope you're doing well," she thought as walked past him, who was busy speaking to a girl, Fariya. It appeared no matter the number of lives he lives, he is such a sucker for Fairya, stuck in love with her. Deeply. She then walked around the place, floww again and scanned the whole city. And she immediately landed inside an apartment compound. The Television was running inside the living room. And she stood behind the couch. There sat a boy, alone, eating chips. He looked weak, and fragile, about to die. Aqua walked over. And knelt down, trying not to scare the child. She extended her arms. She was not sure about anything.