The Lover and the Phoenix
A huge castle stood tall and strong in the middle of the City of Fire. It loomed large as it was made to. Its turrets were massive, its walls thick as stone blocks and sturdy enough to withstand any siege. There were no windows on this side and those on the other were sealed shut with spells. The magic of these walls was very powerful and was not easily broken.
The walls enclosing the whole city were sturdy and thick. The red flames that licked its stone exterior crevice were hot enough to melt steel while a soft blue glow lit up the dark interior inside.
This place is the home of the infamous Phoenix clan which had developed into a high-level City. The place was bustling with Travelers and Warriors from all around the world come to this place to trade and buy products since all the things sold here were far more advanced and new things always pop up.
The streets were busy and colorful with people moving in every direction looking for anything that could help their lives better and there wasn't a single empty spot on the street. All the shops sold everything from all kinds of food to weapons and armor to tools, even jewelry if you wanted it. The buildings had different levels of luxury depending on who lived there so the merchants had a lot of variety and quality goods available. It was a lively place where everything was at its most vibrant. The whole area buzzed and hummed with life and excitement that everyone loved to see.
All of this was thanks to their leader, the Palace Master of the Phoenix, Ellios Weiliom. It was said that all those things that were sold were introduced by the Palace Master himself.
The man who single-handedly destroyed the monster pandemonium one thousand years ago. He not only become the youngest Saint Level Warrior but also become the first to become a Monarch, a level that was considered to only exist in the legend. However, despite this, the man seems to not care anything about the world. People rarely see him, there are hundreds of people who would offer him treasure, women, and lands but he refuses all of them. Now one thousand years had passed and he was still the same aloof man who didn't care about anything that does not involve Phoenix.
A young man riding the coach was delivering packages from all over the kingdom, stop at the gates of the castle as the guards immediately check his caravan. His cart was full of boxes and boxes of products from all over the world. Most of them were given as tribute to the Palace Master. The guards settled him inside the drop-off area and carried all the packages, the butler received the receipt and notice a letter from Hanwi's guild master. It has a red mark on it indicating that it was important. So he hurriedly went to look for the head butler disregarding other things.
...
The red golden walls of the beautiful Phoenix palace were vibrating violently. There were screams of frustration from a man inside. The red golden walls of the beautiful Phoenix palace were vibrating violently. There were screams of frustration from a man inside. The room shook even more violently as more of his anger boiled up, like water over the brim of a hot pot. His eyes flashed with fire and smoke. However, the warriors watching over the doors weren't bothered. They have been accustomed to this scenario for hundreds of years.
" Lord Elios is at it again" the two sigh. However, they straighten their posture when they saw a handsome man with black hair and black eyes wearing a black suit and tie approaching their way. They were about to greet him when his hurried pace of walking shock them. If the was just your normal day the man would have paused to reprimand the two for slacking yet this time they weren't even given a glance. He just bolted inside carrying something that appears to be a letter.
"...."The two look at each other confused.
...
Inside the lavish rooms, a man wearing a black brocade was burning with frustration.
The man with midnight blue hair sat before the fire, his hands wrapped around a goblet of wine. His eyes which were like the ocean didn't look bloodshot despite the lack of sleep.
He was the Palace Master of the Phoenix Clan, Ellios.
He was staring at the Crystal orb as the light around it was more evident. It was glowing brightly and so he was expecting something to happen. However, days passed and nothing else changed. Still, as he had no idea what was about to occur he could only sigh softly in sadness and watched the orb. He smiled slightly at the memory of the man.
In his mind, they were like the happiest couple but in reality, it was far from that. He chuckled a bit thinking what would Phoenix do if he learn that he had spread the rumor about their so-called 'love story'. He had planned it to lure the man out because he knew he wouldn't just stand by hearing his name being used like this. Yet he didn't come and stop the rumor.
For one thousand years he had been searching ways to open this core just so he could find clues on Phoenix's whereabouts. He even searched for secret passages that were said to be the home of mythical creatures and sacred beasts. Surprisingly, those beasts didn't attack him, instead, they welcome him. They have been aware of his identity because Phoenix had told him about a human boy who might one day find him. He didn't leave anything except for an ember of his fire that would help the beast get stronger and his message saying goodbye. When he asks where he went, the beasts shake their head, they didn't know where he is, all they know is that he left to go back to his Master's side. Every hundred years he would go back to this place and stay at the center where the fire was located. The familiar fire keeps him sane and motivates him to not give up searching.
There were also times were he just found himself back in the cave where he and Phoenix had stayed to train. He wish those days never ended, just to two of them, away from everyone. However he knew at that time that wasn't on his mind, he was driven by his revenge and hatred to notice the anomalies in Phoenix's actions. He barely knew anything about him, where he came from, where he knew all those advanced arrays. His knowledge where profound and those things were something he haven't heard of.
When his love had bloomed for the man he suddenly disappeared never to be seen again. He didn't even wait for him to confess his feelings. He tried to forget about his deep longing but as he grew tired of the world the only image of his was all he could see. He didn't know what else to do, he had already avenged his family and become the strongest. But even then he couldn't be happy and so he built his clan, something he dedicated to the person he miss dearly. Hoping that one day he would come back.
There was some opposition from his remaining relatives but they all turn into ashes in the end. How dare they tried to question his decisions, they act as if they were the ones who had helped him as he reach the pinnacle.
Just as he was about to probe the crystal once again, the voice of the head butler echoed the hall place. He was annoyed but seeing that it was Krei he choose to pardon him. He looked up and notice the happiness plastered on his face. This made him curious. The head butler Krei has been assisting for years. Krei has given his loyalty to him after he and Phoenix rescued him from the slum as a child. He was very professional and would seldom show emotion this vividly.
" My lord pardon me for disturbing you but I have brought good news this time" he said as he handed the letter in his hand.
He accepted the letter thinking it was nothing but the moment he read what was written his hand began shaking. His eyes widen as the words register in his mind.
"This...is this true!" he asked staring at the paper.
"We have already confirmed that this came from the guild master of Hanwi himself. The image of the crest along with it was also similar to what the Lord has made" he explained.
Ellios felt like he was dreaming, he read the passage written in the letter over and over again wanting to make sure that he wasn't reading it wrong. He had been doing so for two minutes. His thoughts were racing. and his heart was beating rapidly.
"Phoenix!" he whispered