Black Onyx - Phoenix Resurrection

The loud sonic boom above the village was impossible to miss. Everybody turned their heads to their leader Lee who was watching over the cleaning effort, and the man himself looked at the sky, frowning.

“Oh, no… Not this guy again.”

“What does he want this time?”

Lee wiped his hands with a rag and tossed it aside as he walked towards the center of the village where Gerald was coming down. He pushed through the gathered crowd and stopped before him.

“What do you want?” He asked in a somber voice. No pleasantries, straight to business.

[Oh, what’s up, Lee? Where’s your Enchanter guy? I got a job for him.] Gerald said amicably.

Lee just stood in place, seemingly thinking, with the rest of the guys around him, looking tough and trying to show confidence and strength to the newcomer. It was like a Western standoff.

“A job…” Lee began. “Heard you gave him a job last time too. He said he couldn’t work for me anymore. Busy with your stuff and shit.”

Gerald shrugged. [Yeah, sorry about that, stuff happens. Anyway, where’s he?]

“He’s back in the grand hall on the hill.” Lee gestured with his thumb over the shoulder. “What do you-”

[Later, thanks!]

With that, Gerald’s form blinked out of existence, replaced by a massive sonic boom that summoned a whirlwind, throwing around sand and dust, and choking out their vision.

[Enchanter, bro! Where you at?] They heard the shout even at a distance. Some of the gathered men frowned.

“Boss, are we really just going to take this? The guy is clearly purposely messing with us!”

Lee frowned. “I don’t like it any more than you do, but so what? You have seen the guy fight. Even if we confront him for this disrespect, what is that going to achieve?”

“The man is too arrogant! I say we should rough him up a bit to humble him. He can’t fight all of us at once!”

“I wouldn’t be so sure…” A quiet voice added.

“Nonsense! Even if he is strong, how many of us here are at the peak of Spirit Realm? If five of us go, we can take him!” His neighbor shouted.

A chorus of voices began the discussion, people talking and shouting over each other, some of them for, others against, antagonizing Gerald.

Lee lifted his hands, the power of a peak Spirit Realm pulsing for a moment. The people quieted down, allowing him to speak in a level voice. “Settle down everyone.”

“What are you going to do about this?” A person shouted.

“Me? Nothing.” Lee answered, looking the man in the eyes. “We will wait for him to leave and then continue with our lives as normal.”

There were jeers at that.

“You have grown soft, leader.” Another added sternly. “A decade ago you would have never let things like this slide. This disrespect...”

Lee turned his head, looking at the sky, and sighed. “A decade ago, you are probably right. I still had a fire in me at that time. I still had hope of freedom. Yet, in this horrid place, just to stay still you have to run forward. I have been running for so long, with the finish line seemingly still the same distance away. I’ve grown tired…”

“Then let us do the work in your stead!” The man shouted vigorously. Many agreed, shouting with him.

“You guys…” Lee shook his head.

“Let’s do it!” A young one roared. Surprisingly, his Cultivation was quite high for someone looking that young. He only looked to be in his early thirties, while everyone else looked forty or fifty. That just meant his Talent was really good, and his lifespan was still long. If only he wasn’t stuck in the Lower Plane, he would probably be at the first step of the Sky Realm already.

With his rallying cry, people became even more animated, and it looked like they were going to storm the grand hall, whether leader Lee approved it or not.

“Okay, fine!” Lee suddenly said and extended his hand. On it rested five cherry-like red pills. “I still don’t approve of this, but if you are going to do this, at least let me give you a hand.”

He picked up a pill and showed it to everyone. “This is called a Crimson Frenzy Pill. If you consume it, it will induce a heightened state of alertness where your potential will be stimulated to its peak, and you will enter a berserk state where you won't feel any pain or fatigue.”

He continued. “If you really wish to face that man, do so at your own risk. I will not be responsible for it. The only thing I can do is give you a small chance at victory. Now, who among you is crazy enough to take my offer?”

Instantly a dozen hands shot up. Those guys didn’t even hesitate for a split second.

“Oh, wow… I only have these five here. How should we decide this?”

In the end, the strongest five of the group got a pill each, with another ten deciding to come with them as reinforcements. They took out weapons and armor they hadn’t worn in years, donned jewels and magical relics that drank Spirit Stones by the dozen. After such a long time in the Lower Plane, they finally had an excuse to take them out and fight to their heart’s content.

To defend their honor and wipe off the shame they felt in their hearts, they were ready to risk it all. Years of savings were all put on the line for it.

“Good luck.” Lee saluted them somberly. “Return victorious, or don’t return at all.” A small, barely noticeable smirk came to his lips and disappeared in an instant.

“Yes, sir!”

“Hell, yeah!”

“Let’s get that bastard!”

The group blasted off, lifting up even more sand and dust than Gerald alone did not too long ago. Watching them leave, Lee sighed and turned around, turning his attention back to the beast corpses.

“You are not going to watch? Aren’t you interested in the results?” One of his close friends asked. He was a guard and served Lee for more than a decade, yet he had never seen the leader so dispirited before.

“What is there to watch? I already know the results anyway. They are dead men walking.”

The man opened his eyes wide. “Are… you sure? Even with the pills? Couldn’t they take you on with all that gear? Surely that kid…”

“Yes, yes… They could probably fight me to a standstill with the boost I gave them.” Lee waved his hand in annoyance. “And the same is true that they wouldn’t last a second against that guy. The difference is that vast.”

“What?! But-!”

Lee turned and gave him an annoyed look. “Listen… Are you just going to be chatting here the entire time or are you going to help? It’s about time you decide what’s important. Satisfying your curiosity or helping a brother out?”

The man bit his lip, shifting his attention between the pile of flesh still to be processed and the grand hall on the hill. He felt so conflicted. There were things he had to do, and then there were things he wanted to do. It was like that his entire life. And he always chose duty over himself.

While he was deliberating, a sudden wave of energy expanded outward from the grand hall, and at that moment, he had made his decision. He dropped his tools and ran, desperate to bear witness to probably the greatest battle of his life.

[Yo.]

The short greeting was everything the Enchanter got that alerted him to Gerald’s presence behind him. The man did his best not to flinch, yet his body still shook a bit. He regulated his emotions for a moment, before turning around with a thin smile.

“Hello, mister Gerald.”

[Any progress?] Gerald pointed at the piece of Celestial Metal the man had on his table and was previously hunched over.

The Enchanter lowered his head. “I’m afraid not… While I was aware of its existence, it is the first time I am working with it, and as such I’m not quite sure how to manipulate it yet. I have tried various things, yet all proved useless in changing its form. The material is surprisingly resilient to change.”

[Hmm. I see. Have you tried fire?]

“Fire?” The Enchanter appeared confused. “I tried to heat it up, yes, however….”

[Yes, fire. You should use it. A lot of it. It has about fifty times higher melting point than common iron.]

“F-Fifty?!” The Enchanter nearly collapsed. He was desperately trying to save energy, not trying to burn even more of it! Exponentially more energy was needed to raise the temperature, but to go fifty times the melting temperature of iron…

Things became extremely dangerous at those levels. Even just normal air became deadly when heated that much. Those extreme environments were created under very specific conditions, such as in the heart of an explosion, and they lasted a millisecond, nothing more! They were that unstable!

And for him to make… He was just trying to reshape the metal, not make a bomb!

The Enchanter guy felt like crying. He knew the newcomer would be trouble, but he was hoping to at least get some time alone so he could come up with excuses, and yet…

“Ahaha…” The man laughed awkwardly. “Yes, I will try fire, as you suggest, mister Gerald. It’s just that... I’m incredibly poor, so to reach those temperatures, it might take some time.”

[Oh, that…]

Gerald extended his hand and a pile of Spirit Stones poured out. A veritable mountain of them crashed on the ground, a pile that contained a few thousand at least.

[There. How about that? Think it’s going to be sufficient?]

The man swallowed, barely saving himself from choking on his saliva. When was the last time he saw so many Spirit Stones at once? Decades ago? Maybe never?

“Yes… Yes!” He quickly said, bowing. “It’s more than enough, thank you!”

With that amount of Qi, he just might have enough time to figure out a way to leave the Lower Plane. His hope reignited. There was a chance!

[Say, how much do you know about alloys?]

“Uh…” The question came out of nowhere and confounded the Enchanter for a bit. “I’ve dabbled. Why?”

Gerald slowly stroked his chin as he stared into his Soul. At least that’s what it felt like. [Hmm. And let’s say I asked you to make a new material, think you could manage?]

“Well… If the instructions were clear and I had the necessary materials and tools, I don’t see why not. It would probably take a lot of time, but that’s what this place has going for it, right? Lots of time for trial and error. Haha…” He added a nervous laugh at the end.

[Excellent!] Gerald clapped him on the shoulder, and the man nearly collapsed from the force of the blow. [Then how would you like to leave this dump? Come work for me, and I guarantee you all the materials and Spirit Stones you might ever need!]

The Enchanter began to sweat as he noticed a group of armed men enter the hall, all of them carrying anything but kind expressions.

“Well…” He stammered and pointed with his finger behind Gerald. “I think they might have something against it.”