Chapter 110: Black Phoenix Feathers acquired
[< The Mother of the Night offers you a deal >]
"Dragon?" Strax questioned her. Having the physique didn't mean he was a Dragon; far from it, he was very far from being a Dragon. Xyn's eyes glowed as a chilling cold swept through the entire environment. "Beast Physiques are like that, boy. Over time, you will become a Complete Dragon.
Don't give me that look; I know you know your physique is not of a Common Dragon," Xyn said with a mischievous smile. She seemed to be reading Strax's entire figure without any pity.
"Right..." Strax murmured, feeling a bit uncomfortable... "The horns haven't grown yet, so there must be a few levels of cultivation missing," Xyn said, looking at him, waiting for a clear response.
"You've been preparing since you discovered my physique, haven't you?" Strax questioned while his red eyes looked at her, as if deeply judging her.
"What do you think? I wouldn't just stand by with this chance in front of me, Dragon." Xyn said, her blue-purple eyes glowing. She really seemed well above him, and he felt an air of superiority. "How tiring," he murmured, putting his hand on his head and shaking it... "Come on, start talking about what you want," Strax said, watching the woman's confident smile stretch from ear to ear.
"I've been trapped in this sword for a long time. I want freedom," Xyn said, seeming quite confident that he could do it. "I want a body," she said, making everyone fall silent.
Ouroboros looked at Tiamat as if asking, "What is she up to?" and Tiamat replied with a look of, "How should I know?"
After a bit of silence, Strax looked at her with an extremely serious look. "I presume you know how to create a body to support your soul," Strax said, waiting for her response. "I'm a Phoenix, of course, I know," she said with a mischievous look. "You want freedom... and my sister?" Strax questioned. After all, if this sword stopped working, what would become of Xenovia?
She would have to find something new to use; a sword cultivator without a sword would be problematic.
"I said I want freedom, not that I will abandon her... And even when I leave the sword, I will make an equality contract with her again. Besides..." Xyn's eyes glowed as she looked at him, "A black flame sword from a Primordial Phoenix will be much more useful than this prison sword," Xyn said.
Strax spent some time in silence, thinking about many things. Freeing Xyn wasn't a problem; what he was worried about was Xenovia. After making contracts with Ouroboros and Tiamat, he had already noticed something... The Contract strengthened his soul, body, and cultivation. A contract with entities of great scale was very positive, and just with Xyn's name, he already knew what it was about...
[The Mother of the Night] is not just any title. In his past life, he had read about who was the personification of the night... Yes... Before he could continue his thoughts, he felt a touch on his shoulder, a gentle touch from the black-haired woman beside him.
"She's not lying," Ouroboros said. She could somehow feel what Xyn wanted, and Strax was more inclined to believe Ouroboros; after all, this woman was very overprotective. "I presume what you are offering are these two feathers," Strax questioned, and Xyn nodded. "Black Phoenix Feathers, they know what this means here," Xyn said, still maintaining her smile.
Strax looked at those feathers. They had a message on them, categorizing them as [Mythical] in gold.
Strax looked at Tiamat, who seemed calmer than Ouroboros, who was nervously biting her nails, looking at those feathers... "Can you explain, Tiamat?" Strax asked her with a smile on his face that almost made her melt for a second. It was a calm and gentle smile that almost penetrated her completely. "Y-Yes," she stammered before finally explaining what was in his hands.
"Back in the day... when we used alchemy, it was very common to create homunculus bodies for spirits... but these feathers... being a concentration of infinite life, that is... Phoenix essence, are very rare and only Royal Phoenixes can produce them," Tiamat said while waiting for him to process what she had said. "What is a Royal Phoenix?" Strax questioned.
"They are the direct line of Phoenixes, the first Phoenixes that existed," Ouroboros replied. "Yes, they are... a very rare species, almost impossible to find nowadays as they hide throughout the cosmos," Tiamat added. "But still... how did you get this?
You don't have the strength to produce this," Tiamat questioned, as these feathers had an immense concentration of power, much more than Xyn's own body.
"I had saved it a few thousand years ago, before that idiot sealed me in this sword," she replied, and Ouroboros gave Strax's shoulder a slight squeeze, as if confirming that she was telling the truth. "So... what exactly is this for?" Strax questioned, after all, that was the only thing that mattered...
"These feathers have the ability to transform Homunculi into real bodies," Xyn said with a smile, "But we'll need an Alchemist and a Blacksmith good enough to turn this into an artifact to create the bodies," Xyn said with a wide smile from ear to ear. "But there are only two... and we need three..." Strax murmured.
"Well, that won't be a problem. Once I have a body again, I can produce one more for you to bring these Lust Dragons," she continued to smile as if it were a big joke, and this was already bothering those women, besides Strax, of course. It seemed that her appearance was just superiority and arrogance upon arrogance.
"Is that it?" Strax questioned, looking at her. "Yes, the contract will just be a guarantee that I won't use you," Xyn said before him. It was obvious that he was already thinking that this woman was using him, how could he not? Look at how she was treating all of this, she seemed like a big villain blackmailing the protagonist.
"You then want to create three homunculi, won't that be a problem?" Strax questioned.
"Well, probably," Xyn said, as she used her flames to create something, "We need an Alchemist, I recommend an Elf, they are the most reliable when it comes to magic and alchemy, and to create the artifact...
a Dwarf would be my choice, especially knowing that the three swords will become almost useless when we leave them." Xyn explained, she had been planning this for thousands of years, but she didn't have the right people for it, quite the opposite, she never even had the opportunity.
Strax took a deep breath, trying to absorb all the information he had just received. Freeing Xyn and helping her create bodies was a complicated endeavor, but the rewards seemed promising, having Ouroboros and Tiamat in flesh and bones... He looked at the mythical feathers again in her hands, just from the way the message was still there, he was already thinking deeply...
"It's risky... but I don't have many options..." Strax thought. He looked to the side to see what his wives had in mind, but the scene was a bit... strange. The three were sleeping, Samira on one end, Monica on the other, and Beatrice in the middle.
"They seem to talk too much, they would get in the way," Xyn said. Well, she wasn't wrong; those three would likely say things to prevent Strax from proceeding.
"You really thought of everything," Strax said, seeing how determined she was to carry out this endeavor. "And you're right, we will need the best for this. An Elven Alchemist and a Dwarven Blacksmith... that's going to be complicated, especially with the current issues with the Kingdom..."
Xyn smiled, a triumphant gleam in her eyes. "Nothing worthwhile is that easy, but it will still take some time to get close to that. But I believe you can do it, and Xenovia will be with you, besides, it's almost time for her to advance."
"I understand, so let's do this," Strax responded. If it was necessary to do all this to bring Ouroboros and Tiamat into the mortal world, he was ready. "But before proceeding, let's establish the terms of our agreement." The voice of the woman came again; Ouroboros was beside Strax, her suspicious gaze fixed on Xyn. "I want to ensure this won't put my master in danger. And don't try anything shady."
Xyn raised her hands in a gesture of surrender. "I understand the concern. As a sign of good faith, they are all yours," she said, making the feathers fly to Strax, who caught them with a surprised look...
[< Mythical Ingredient: Black Phoenix Feathers acquired >]
[< You have obtained the first ingredient for the Creation of a Celestial Spiritual Body >]