Ruler Kazriel spun back to the shape emerging from the lava, globs of liquefied ether bursting in all directions.

  “Don’t misunderstand. I don’t loathe fate for bringing us together. The tether of fate tells me all I need to know,” the voice said soothingly, yet my heart twisted and contorted.

  A flicker stirred, and a shape born of fire and brilliance manifested. At first, the shape in the center of the ocean was small, fragile even. It had wings that were no larger than a hand’s span, forged of liquid flames and shimmering heat.

  It ascended into the air, each movement releasing droplets of liquefied ether, scattering them like molten jewels before they fell back to the ocean surface with soft hisses.

  As the creature arose, I caught more details: Feathers shimmering in shades of gold and crimson flames. Trails of heat distorted the air as it moved, and sparks drifted from its wings like embers carried on the wind. Its thin body glowed faintly as if its very blood were liquid fire, but it was the eyes burning with ancient intelligence. Deep and bright as molten gold in a primordial furnace.

  With every breath, the creature grew; feathers hardened into radiant plates of fireglass, and its body swelled with unimaginable vigor. In a heartbeat, the trembling spark transformed into a colossal, blazing bird, wings unfurling wide enough to shroud the cavern walls with their glow.

  “What in the…” I gasped, hair standing on end as the ancient eyes turned to me, and I knew instantly that the voice in my head had been none other than this beast.

  “The Elemental Phoenix,” Ruler Kazriel said, licking his lips. “An Emperor.”

  Emperor!?

  I felt like screaming out loud, but my lips wouldn’t part. My body was frozen as the Phoenix continued to grow, its attention shifting momentarily to the Spiritcaller. One moment, the old Caldera knelt before the ocean of lava, and in the next, he stood beside me.

  “Today is the beginning of an unfortunate turn of events, Youngling,” the Spiritcaller said, his demeanor radiating kindness and genuine affection. However, that shifted as soon as he turned to Ruler Kazriel. The Ruler ignored our existence, his attention locked onto the Phoenix; a golden marble manifested in his hand.

  “I just want you to know that the Spirits do not hold you accountable for this, and that they welcome you into their homes,” the Spiritcaller added, patting my back like a father consoling his son. “And so do we. You are always welcome in our home, no matter what happens today. This is not your fault!”

  As the last words rang in my ears, several things happened simultaneously. Too many for me to recognize at once.

  The old Caldera dragged me back to the cavern tunnel with surprising strength. Even if my Gates hadn’t been drained, he would have had no issue removing me from the vast underground expanse. Then there were dozens of Caldera, each radiating greater strength than the last, who’d appeared in the cavern tunnel. Their eyes shimmered in reverence as they locked onto the Phoenix, but their expressions shifted to grim resolve as they turned back to Ruler Kazriel.

  I, too, turned back to Ruler Kazriel, who had crushed the marble in his hand. It exploded and formed a golden mist that transformed into a rapidly spinning vortex. The vortex, however, didn’t last long, as a portal like the one I’d seen only once before sprang to life.

  “Child of Earth, you are too weak. But you are also young, and your Spirit is loved. Stand back and witness the extent of true power – and what it can do to creatures with a weak spirit.”

  As the voice rang through me one more time, something within me shifted. My World resonated with the Phoenix and its words. Listening to the Elemental Phoenix, I embraced its message, even when it hurt.

  It…hurt?

  A burning sensation spread across my chest as the inner flame erupted. The crimson thread connecting the flame to my World trembled and shifted, and I glanced briefly at my chest, only to see a strand of lava drenched in golden sparks snake across my skin, leading up to my neck.

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  Not lava. Liquefied ether.

  It poured out of me, out of the flame within me, and the flame consumed itself and the soul energy it occupied to sustain it. Forcefully deprived of the soul energy it had amassed, my World shrank. I should have panicked – I knew I should have. Yet I watched my World shrink by one-fifth while the mysterious flame disappeared until only a tiny spark remained, with an odd sense of calmness.

  The flame’s outpouring clung to my chest, burned into skin and flesh, and…it connected to the weave. Power surged through me as the liquefied ether flared up, but it evaporated alongside the remaining energy seconds later. A flash of light drew considerable attention. The Caldera behind me gasped, and the Spiritcaller stared at me, his fingers trembling as he reached for the mark left behind by ether.

  Even the Elemental Phoenix turned to me, standing in the entrance to the vast expanse. That was a grave mistake. Ruler Kazriel had been distracted as well, but he regained his composure faster than the rest.

  Obsidian chains emerged from his spatial ring and burst toward the Elemental Phoenix without hesitation. At the same time, Ruler Maximilian stumbled out of the portal beside Ruler Kazriel.

  “Hello there, my sweet love,” Ruler Maximilian chittered toward the Phoenix. “We’ve been looking for you for a while now.”

  Ruler Sera and Ruler Xadrak stepped out of the portal with more decorum. No words were exchanged as they leaped into action, unleashing torrents of ether as they attacked the Elemental Phoenix.

  Ruler Maximilian ignored his fellow Rulers and waved his hand, ripping a second portal in the space beside him.

  Nothing happened at first, and it did not look like the Rulers paid much attention to the second portal. They focused on the Elemental Phoenix instead, conjuring a cage of bones around the beast as the obsidian coils wrapped around its wings, restraining it.

  Ruler Sera shouted aloud as she appeared before the Phoenix, her soothing healing energy surging toward the beast. Her energy connected with the creature, only to surge back. The Ruler retrieved the healing energy infused into the Elemental Phoenix, but more flowed toward her. Reversing the stream of healing, Ruler Sera drained the Elemental Phoenix’s health.

  Or she tried to.

  A screech tore through the air and ether exploded. A pillar of fire consumed the Elemental Phoenix and Ruler Sera. Xadrak coughed up blood, and Kazriel cursed. Maximilian’s fingers tore through space, and a somewhat familiar shape materialized beside him. Ruler Sera collapsed to the ground, clothes charred, skin burned, and flesh melted.

  She healed at a visible pace, but pain and fear were etched on her face as the pillar of lava disappeared, revealing the Elemental Phoenix. There was no sign of the obsidian chains or the bone cage. All I saw – felt – was the Elemental Phoenix’s fury.

  Ash filled the air like flakes of snow, each speck burning hot as it revolved around the Elemental Phoenix. It beat its gargantuan wings, almost lazily, unleashing torrents of cinder and superheated air hot enough to melt the cavern walls.

  The vast chamber grew even larger as the Phoenix’s fury erupted, and the winds struck the Rulers, burning them mercilessly. As their screams echoed through the blazing expanse, I prepared for the worst. Yet, as the superheated air and cinders reached the cavern tunnel entrance, it brushed past me like a breeze.

  Ruler Sera screamed at the top of her lungs, her body healing faster than the superheated air and ash could burn her. A spear of healing light formed, but this felt different than the power I knew. This was not the soothing ether of life I was used to. It was the savage aspect of life – the struggle to survive– a mixture of despair and savagery that tore through the air when the Ruler released her spear.

  The Elemental Phoenix had yet to move. I expected it to move, to escape the spear as it turned to a blur before my eyes, but the Phoenix stared calmly at it. Azure flames conjured before the beast and condensed, forming a blazing Aegis that effortlessly blocked Ruler Sera’s attack.

  A spear resembling Ruler Sera’s coalesced from the blazing Aegis, and vanished before my eyes. It didn’t take a genius to know where the attack was headed, but my lips parted in shock when my eyes flicked to Ruler Sera, only to see a gaping hole where her chest had been.

  She cursed out loud, her form changing. Feathery gills crowned the sides of her head, each tendril pulsing with soft, vibrant healing power. A slimy texture poured out of her a moment later, mending the hole in her chest within seconds. When the wound closed, she did not end her Soulfusion. Scales spread across her skin, her eyes shifted to serpentine pupils, and an eerie aura erupted from her.

  As her Soulfusion completed, my eyes turned to the portal Ruler Maximilian had created. A large foot emerged from the portal, and a figure so legendary I never expected to see appeared in full.

  Raffael Torch, Ruler of Fire, walked into the battlefield, his massive body emitting a presence that dwarfed the other Rulers.

  He was one of, if not the strongest, Ruler of mankind, and he’d joined the fray, flashing his teeth, muscles bulging as he locked eyes with the Elemental Phoenix.

  “An Emperor. Just like they said.” A booming laugh tore through the searing heat of the underground expanse. “You are exactly what I need. Perfect!”

  Pointing a finger at the beast, his demeanor shifted. Possessiveness poured out of him even as the bright smile remained.

  “Just you wait, little chicken. You will be mine in a moment.”