Get the Vials

Fair or not, the Phoenix didn't believe a single word coming out of his mouth, "Impossible! I don't believe you have more of them. Prove it! Show them to me!" it demanded arrogantly.

Gerald rolled his eyes, "I don't have it here, duh! But I know where they-" Before he could finish though…

"I knew it! More lies from a dishonest and deceitful creature! You cannot trick me, human!" the Phoenix hollered. It was convinced its guess was on point because it knew how harsh the environment had to be for these plants to grow.

"I'm telling you, you brainless oversized chicken! I found hundreds of Ice Phoenix Magma Flowers growing in a volcano!"

"You did?" The big bird calmed down somewhat and became suspicious. "Where?!" it demanded to know.

"Somewhere in the north, I'm not telling you more than that!"

"Bah! I have scoured the continent hundreds of times and found no traces of any active volcano! Even the islands that used to be one didn't have any of the plants growing on them! The only place where they could be found was inside what your kind calls the Forbidden Zone. But there is no way you puny creatures could enter it and come out alive. Even I nearly lost my life there, and that was at the peak of my power a millennia ago!"

Gerald scratched his head and frowned, "Peak of your power? I thought you were getting stronger with age?"

"Yes, and no. I was getting stronger at first, however, the Life Force of this world is too thin, it has barely just awakened. Don't ask me how I know it, I just do." It explained, ignorantly as ever, as if it was teaching a child of the most basic of things.

"And your powers…?" Gerald had no idea where this was going, but he wasn't going to let some juicy information slip by.

"Right… After each resurrection, I grow weaker. If I do not get stronger at a constant rate, I'll eventually become weaker every time as my resurrection is complete. Without an external stimulus, my life will decline and eventually dissipate, returning to the void from which it came."

"What…?" Gerald had no clue what the big chicken was going on about. Was it supposed to be some kind of a sob story? It was doing a terrible job if that was the case.

The Phoenix continued with a somber voice, "I only have less than ten lives left. After that, I'll truly die… That's why you must hand over the flower right now! I'll fight for it with you to the death if I have to!"

It flared its wings, and the flames rose from its body once more, determined to do battle.

"Wait! Hold on! Don't make anything radical! We can talk about this!" Gerald shouted and tried to get it to listen to reason, "I told you I know a place where these flowers grow en mass. They are just stuck behind a broken door that is reinforced with powerful Runes."

"Runes? Haha, easy! I can break any Runes I want!" the Phoenix laughed.

"Except those that were on the net tangled around your wing?" The jab hit right where it hurt, and Gerald couldn't help but release a quiet chuckle.

"Don't laugh! It takes time to break Runes the proper way and I didn't have that luxury! Not everybody is a freak that can just brute force them apart as you did."

"Then… Are we going to trade or what?" Gerald became impatient. All this talk and the Core was still nowhere to be seen.

"Hmph!" the Phoenix snorted and turned around, gazing with its eyes into the distant sky. "Hypothetically, if I were to agree to your demands, how big a piece of my Core would you need?" it asked after a good minute of silence, unwilling to meet his gaze.

"Um, about this big, I think?" Gerald demonstrated. In truth, he required less than half the size of a chicken egg, but he went a bit over just in case.

"That's it? Seems kinda small..." the bird commented after seeing the size from the corner of its eye. The Phoenix was genuinely surprised. It was so little!

"Well, yeah. I don't need much. What, did you think I'd need half of your Core?" Gerald replied in a mocking tone. All this back and forth was getting tiring.

"Hmm… If it's only that, then we might be able to come to an agreement."

"Really?" Gerald lifted an eyebrow. Talk about a headache! But now they were finally getting somewhere! They now just had to agree on all the requests and demands which shouldn't be hard. "I'm guessing you want the exact location of the volcano then?"

"Precisely!" The Phoenix confirmed immediately, "And I'm going to need the flower in your hand first as well. If I'm going to damage myself for your sake I need to have something to quickly recover."

'Finally, thank the gods! I thought this animal was going to drive me crazy!' Gerald secretly exhaled as the deal was, at last, coming to a close. Now he just had to make sure nothing went wrong.

"Alright, you got yourself a deal!" he agreed with a smile. Even if he tried to hide his expression, it was currently impossible. His genuine feelings were too much to hold back now.

"Fine, fine!" the Phoenix waved its wing, annoyed. It even considered if it perhaps made a mistake agreeing so quickly. But then again, it really needed Ice Phoenix Magma Flowers for its growth. In the last five thousand years, this was the first time it really had the opportunity to break its shackles. It had to take it!

"Sigh! Alright then, get the vials ready, and don't waste my blood, human." It said. That was it, the deal was struck, and it was going to be painful.

The Phoenix retracted its flames, puffed out its chest, and took a deep breath.