Priam pinched his cheek and winced. His body, much like the landscape, was now tangible. The spiritual had rged with the material. Leaning over the pond's surface, Priam was relieved to see his reflection still bound. He wasn't a masochist; just grateful that the Mirror of the Soul hadn't lost its power.
"How can I see?"
The System must have simplified things because there was a kind of soft light that bathed the space. Moreover, Priam felt the effects of gravity even though no massive body was in sight.
Straightening up, Priam gazed once again at the profound darkness surrounding the island. A strange sense of vertigo washed over him. Seeing such darkness wasn't natural. Of course, he wasn't in any danger of falling. The boundary between his space and what lay beyond seed insurmountable. Unlike the Universe, this world had an end.
"I wonder if there's sothing beyond..." Priam murmured.
A vast question, replied the Phoenix.
Priam looked up at the creature illuminating the space. "I ant beyond this space."
There's nothing, said the Prince, shrugging his wings. If you try to breach this bubble, it will burst and spill its contents into the outside world. Exploding your body in the process.
The Phoenix's speech contradicted Bechar's.
"It's not a spatial pocket."
Indeed, its a world, but hosted by your soul. Or rather, it has the potential to beco a world... without light. I can redy that, offered the Phoenix.
"... I don't an to be impolite, Lord Phoenix, but before you give another quest and promise another reward, I'd like to get my previous ones," Priam's voice carried a slight edge. Provoking his interlocutor wasn't a good idea, but he was tired of not being respected.
Anatole and all the Abominations were dead. Yet, he still hadn't received anything. In a ga, when you completed a quest, the paynt was imdiate. Priam had a better chance of convincing a glitched NPC than forcing the Phoenix to reward him, which irked him deeply.
The System will enforce this contract. But you didn't specify a paynt date.
A contract under the authority of the System was absolute, but the user had to ensure it was flawless. Not specifying the pay date was foolish - especially when dealing with a quasi-immortal being. At least I've learned a lesson, thought Priam, his anger resurfacing. If the Phoenix thought he was willing to work for nothing...
"I would have killed Anatole and the Abominations anyway," Priam said, his voice tinged with anger.
The honor of my race forbids from taking advantage of your mistake. I was just thinking of modifying your previous reward. Instead of illuminating your soul, I could illuminate your world.
"How romantic," Priam quipped. He looked around. "A world without light would be sad for my family," he admitted. "What's the difference from illuminating my soul?"
In your case, nothing. The reflection of your soul will be illuminated by my light because it's your world. The real benefit is that you'll have true light to admire your reflection.
"You're making sound like a narcissist."
You are one. Furthermore, my light will purify your world.
"That sounds good. When can you do this?" Priam asked.
As soon as possible. I'm tired of this half-life.
Not quite sure what to say, Priam hesitated.
"... I understand," he lied. Priam was obsessed with his survival to the point that his Patron entrusted him with [He Who Eludes Death]. However, he knew not everyone thought like him.
"We can do it now."
Very well. However, I must begin by purifying your bloodline. For that, I need to incorporate the remaining sequence of the aethereal structure from my race present in the diluted tear you purified.
Like a five-year-old attending a lecture on quantum physics, Priam wasn't sure he fully understood the Phoenix's explanation. "Far be it from to sound foolish, but can you explain this in more common terms?"
I will help your body assimilate the essence of the tear, the Prince vulgarized.
In Priam's opinion, that was more understandable.
"Nice. By the way, why start with the purification?" Priam trusted the System to ensure the Phoenix's reward was authentic. However, he wanted to know exactly what would happen.
To create a stable mini-sun in your world, I will trigger a Nirvana. This will cause this fragnt of consciousness to disappear, so I must start with the purification.
For a Phoenix Prince, living as a parasite in a human soul must have been unbearable. Death was seen as a release by the creature. Priam respected his choice.
"I understand. But is it really possible to create a mini-sun in such a small space?"
Anything is possible with aether. Here, it's quite simple: Phoenixes who fail their Nirvana beco stars. I believe you've gazed upon my Ancestor.
Priam thought he would have rembered seeing another legendary bird.
"Moltres in Pokmon?"
I dont get this joke. I was referring to one of the three suns of Elysium.
The Prince implied sothing that Priam instinctively refused. Faced with his silence, the Phoenix continued. The Great King of the Phoenixes, one of our two Primogenitors.
"Your ancestor is a star?!" exclaid Priam. [Eidetic mory] sent him a snapshot of the Elysian sky. His perception was weak then, but Priam hadn't detected anything abnormal - except for the presence of a triple star system.
Not just any star. He's larger than a galaxy. According to our legends, He was a mighty existence, even among the Ninth Tiers, recounted the Phoenix. For the first ti, Priam sensed an emotion in the Prince's voice: Pride.
Several thoughts raced through Priam's mind upon hearing the Phoenix's response. A Ninth Tier could be the size of a galaxy. The Elysian firmant was more complex than it seed. But above all...
"A star can't be that massive," Priam refuted. These objects were well understood by human astrophysics. A star could have a maximum volu about ten billion tis larger than the sun. Less than a speck of dust compared to a galaxy.
"Perhaps not a natural star, but his concept rged with him," clarified the Prince. The conversation could have continued at length - astrophysics was one of Priam's passions, and he didn't appreciate fundantal truths being trampled. The Phoenix cut him off before he could protest.
I enjoy speaking about the history of my race, but it's not really the ti. Are you ready?
"... Yes," Priam replied. He would have ti to discuss galaxies later.
I doubt it, the Phoenix said.
The Phoenix folded its wings and lit up. A drop of fla condensed beneath the fiery creature. Crossing the nascent world, it reached Priam, penetrating his chest. His blood instantly heated, surpassing the boiling point.
Priam scread as magma flowed through his veins.
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