Phoenix

Gner rolled his eyes as soon as he heard that. "If that's what you had in mind, why couldn't we have stayed at the port today and come back tomorrow?"

Kronos scratched his head. "I forgot. I didn't think of that."

"So what do you suggest? Sleep in the carriage all night?"

Kronos glanced around. "Looks like that's our only option. But drive the carriage farther up the mountain. It wouldn't sound good for a Warlock to spend the night sleeping in a carriage, so be careful. Don't let anyone see us."

"You're such a pain," Gner muttered. He could have been feasting on cured meat and sleeping in a warm bed. Now he was stuck eating bread and sleeping in a carriage.

Knowing Gner was unhappy, Kronos could only scratch his head awkwardly.

Gner drove the carriage halfway up the mountain, where the surrounding trees were somewhat taller. There wasn't even a footprint on the ground, let alone a road, so he stopped there.

The two made do with the bread and water they had brought, then squeezed into the carriage to get some rest.

It was still early, but there was nothing else to do. Sleeping was the best way to pass the time.

But sleeping in the carriage was truly uncomfortable. Never mind Kronos-even Gner couldn't get used to it at first, tossing and turning without falling asleep.

"Gner, I have a potion that helps with sleep. Want to try it?" Kronos had just remembered the potions he had bought from the Apothecary.

"Why didn't you say so sooner? Hand it over. This is miserable. How's anyone supposed to sleep?"

Kronos sat up, pulled his backpack over, and took out two bottles of potion, handing one to Gner.

Although he had never taken this potion before, Kronos had no intention of making Gner test it for him. He simply pulled out the stopper and downed it in one gulp.

Gner didn't hesitate either, draining his bottle in the same way.

The potion really did work remarkably well. Despite their uncomfortable surroundings, both fell asleep within a minute.

Not only did the potion help them fall asleep faster, it also improved the quality of their sleep. Luckily, they had taken it; otherwise, there was no telling what state they would be in tomorrow.

In the predawn hours, everything was utterly silent.

Two sudden, ringing cries startled Kronos so badly that he jolted awake.

That jolt sent him bumping into Gner beside him, waking him as well.

"What's wrong with you? Why aren't you sleeping in the middle of the night?" Gner clearly had a temper when woken up. He exploded on the spot like a powder keg.

But after Gner had ranted for a while, Kronos still hadn't responded at all. Gner calmed himself down and looked again, only to find Kronos sitting there as though his soul had left his body, staring blankly into space.

Gner waved a hand in front of Kronos's eyes. "Hey, hey. What's going on?"

Just then, two more ringing cries sounded in Kronos's ears.

The first cries had left Kronos completely stunned. Fortunately, they sounded a second time; otherwise, there was no telling how long he would have remained in that soulless daze.

Coming to his senses, Kronos immediately turned to Gner. "Did you hear that just now? That incredible sound?"

"What sound?" Gner was completely baffled. He had no idea what Kronos was talking about.

"It was a Phoenix! It had to be a Phoenix!" Kronos gesticulated wildly.

The first time Kronos heard that sound, an awe-inspiring image had appeared in his mind: a majestic giant bird, its body covered in feathers woven from pale flames and mysterious patterns.

Kronos had never seen a Phoenix or heard one described that way. Yet the moment he saw that image, he knew it had to be a Phoenix. It couldn't possibly be anything else.

Watching Kronos wave his arms around, Gner was rather speechless. He didn't suspect Kronos was lying. Anyone who could put on a performance like this would be a genius con artist, and would definitely have chosen the wrong pathway.

But did a Marquis's heir and Navy Major really need to get this excited?

After a long while, Kronos finally began to calm down, regaining enough composure to analyze what had happened.

"Gner, you really didn't hear anything just now, right?"

Gner nodded. Although he had plenty to say, he kept quiet. He could ask those questions later. Right now, it was best not to interrupt someone else's train of thought.

"Then either that sound was meant for me alone, or my spirituality is higher than yours, which is why I could hear it."

That was a reasonable guess. The Warrior Pathway might have had the lowest spirituality of all the paths of the divine. After all, its strength lay in physical prowess.

"No wonder the cured meat drying here has traces of the Spirit World. Either there's a Phoenix relic here, or this place somehow connects to the Spirit World, where there's something belonging to a Phoenix."

Kronos slowly sorted out his thoughts, then looked at Gner. "What do you think? Should we take a look?"

Gner raised his right hand like a schoolboy. "I have a question?"

"Go ahead." Now that Kronos had his thoughts in order, he could answer Gner's questions.

"I've only heard of Phoenixes in legends. They're divine beasts, right? Why did this get you so excited?" Gner's knowledge of mysticism was painfully limited.

"Legend has it that Phoenixes evolved from the Original Creator's hair. They were one of the races that ruled the world during the Second Epoch. Gregrace, the Ancestor of the Phoenix, became the Ancient Death God during the Second Epoch and was one of the eight ancient gods active at the time."

"The divine kingdom she established was the City of the Dead. Later, she used the authority of the Apprentice Pathway to carve out the Underworld within the Spirit World and moved her divine kingdom there. After this ancient god created the Underworld and relocated her divine kingdom, the City of the Dead gradually became a holy site for her descendants and followers."

"I can't be sure the Phoenix I just saw was the Ancestor of the Phoenix, but I'm certain her sequence couldn't have been lower than sequence two. If we could find anything connected to her, it might let us rise to the top in a single leap."

Gner raised his right hand again. "Is it dangerous?"

Kronos rolled his eyes. "Obviously. What do you think?"

"And you still want to go?"

Kronos explained, "I never thought we could actually get our hands on it. It's more likely to be in the Spirit World, and neither of us is on the Apprentice or Corpse Collector Pathway. We aren't even qualified to risk entering the Spirit World."

"But we can investigate. Then we can come back when we're stronger, or bring someone else along. Think of it as scouting ahead."

Gner finally understood. "You should've said that sooner. I thought greed had gone to your head. I'm willing to do a little scouting."

No wonder Gner had been so talkative today. Normally, he simply did whatever needed doing.

With Gner no longer objecting and both of them well rested, they got moving at once.

Gner had little to prepare, but Kronos fully equipped himself, then activated his Eyes of Mystery Prying, since the Eye of Time would be of little use in this situation.

What they needed to do now was follow the traces, little by little, and find the entrance to the Spirit World somewhere within this extinct volcano.

The trouble was that this entrance had probably existed for a very long time. Everywhere they looked, the Spirit World's presence was strong, making it impossible to tell which direction to take.

Kronos reached into the Mystic Pouch at his waist, drew out a handful of purple powder, and scattered it. Then he used his spirituality to communicate in his mind. He disliked the embarrassment of reciting incantations aloud.

This was a spell that enhanced spirituality. Once it succeeded, Kronos's spiritual sensitivity increased severalfold.

Before long, Kronos found the direction in which the Spirit World's presence was stronger.

"That way." Kronos pointed, then led Gner in that direction.

Soon, they saw a small hut with a hole in the ground beside it. This was where the villagers dried their cured meat, and the hut housed the person who watched over it.

Through his Eyes of Mystery Prying, Kronos saw that the presence came from the hole where the meat was dried. They would have to go inside to investigate, but the caretaker was an obstacle.

Before Kronos could decide what to do, however, Gner crouched low and swiftly approached the hut, knocking the man inside unconscious in no time.

Looking at Gner's proud expression, Kronos didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "I could've just hypnotized him. You didn't have to knock him out."

The smile on Gner's face froze. Then, to ease his embarrassment, he raised his head and gazed at the sky, pretending he hadn't heard a thing.

"All right, then." No real harm had been done, so Kronos said no more and led Gner into the hole.

There were several fissures inside, each blowing out hot air. This was where the cured meat was dried.

Kronos looked around, then frowned.

The Spirit World's presence was coming through the fissures, which meant the entrance to the Spirit World really was inside the volcano.

Sending two weaklings like Kronos and Gner into the volcano to find the entrance would be practically the same as sending them to their deaths.

But giving up after coming this far felt like a shame. After discussing it with Gner, he decided they would explore a little farther and retreat as soon as they couldn't bear it.

Fortunately, the fissure with the strongest Spirit World presence was just wide enough for someone to crawl into, so the two inched their way inside.

They had expected the fissure to lead deep into the volcano, but after crawling less than two hundred meters and passing a fork, the temperature suddenly dropped.

Kronos deliberately checked with his Eyes of Mystery Prying. Only after confirming they hadn't taken the wrong route did he continue.

As they crawled farther in, the fissure grew wider and wider. Eventually, they could even stand upright and walk.