Black Phoenix Heir

Chapter 77: Chapter 77 — A Distant Memory

Chapter 77 — A Distant Memory

Victor opened his eyes.

The cave was gone.

For a moment, he didn’t understand what he was looking at.

He stood beneath the canopy of an enormous forest, surrounded by trees so ancient their trunks resembled pillars holding up the world.

Yet something felt wrong.

Or perhaps—

Not wrong.

Different.

Victor slowly turned.

This was still the cavern.

He could feel it.

The distant ceiling stretched high above the forest, and faint luminescent stones glowed somewhere beyond the canopy. But the wild, untamed forest he had come to know was nowhere to be seen.

Everything around him was orderly.

Stone paths wound between the trees in carefully planned lines. Spiritual plants grew in organized sections on either side, their leaves and flowers arranged with a precision nature alone could never have created.

Some glowed softly.

Others bore leaves of deep blue, crimson, and violet. Strange fruits hung from carefully tended branches, while smaller herbs grew in neat rows beneath them.

Victor stood silently.

It looked like a garden.

But calling it a garden didn’t feel right.

It was far too large.

The carefully maintained land stretched farther than he could see, disappearing beneath the ancient canopy.

Where am I?

There was no answer.

Then—

Movement caught his attention.

Victor turned.

Two figures were walking along one of the distant stone paths.

At first, they were too far away to see clearly.

Then Victor froze.

The man was unmistakable.

Samal.

He wore the same style of clothing depicted in the oldest cave painting—the organized garments, the symbol displayed prominently upon his chest.

The upside-down flask.

But seeing him here was completely different from seeing him carved into stone.

Samal was real.

Or at least...

This version of him was.

The second figure walking beside him was a woman.

For a moment, Victor didn’t recognize her.

Then he noticed her presence.

Her long hair.

The strange, powerful aura surrounding her even within the vision.

Victor’s eyes widened.

The Guardian Spirit.

She was in human form.

Victor remained where he was.

Something told him that he wasn’t meant to interfere.

He was only here to watch.

As the two figures drew closer, Victor noticed something strange about Samal.

His expression.

Worry.

It was faint, but unmistakable.

The man depicted standing proudly before an entire fighting force now looked burdened by something Victor couldn’t begin to understand.

Eventually, Samal spoke.

”The beasts have finally won the war.”

Victor’s expression changed.

The Guardian Spirit stopped.

Samal did as well.

For several seconds, neither of them spoke.

A war?

Victor’s thoughts immediately began racing.

What war?

What beasts?

The Guardian Spirit slowly turned toward Samal.

Her expression darkened.

Samal began walking again.

”There were just too many.”

His voice was quiet.

Heavy.

”The other clans have all fallen.”

Victor’s attention sharpened.

Other clans?

Samal continued walking.

”We are the last remaining front in the war.”

His gaze moved toward the distant forest.

”And it’s only a matter of time.”

The Guardian Spirit followed beside him in silence.

Then she finally spoke.

”But we can still fight.”

Her voice carried quiet determination.

”It isn’t over.”

Samal looked toward her.

For a moment, something resembling sadness appeared in his eyes.

”We’ve been fighting.”

The words were simple.

But Victor understood what they meant.

They had already been fighting.

And they were losing.

Samal looked ahead.

”But it won’t be long before we’re overrun.”

The Guardian Spirit fell silent.

Her eyes slowly lowered.

For several moments, only their footsteps echoed softly against the stone path.

Victor stood motionless among the carefully tended spiritual plants.

He had more questions than answers.

The cavern.

Samal.

The Guardian Spirit.

A war between humans and beasts.

The other clans.

Everything was connected somehow.

But Victor couldn’t yet see how.

Then Samal stopped.

The Guardian Spirit looked toward him.

”It seems we have no choice.”

Her expression changed immediately.

The determination vanished.

For the first time, Victor saw something close to fear in her eyes.

She knew exactly what Samal meant.

Samal turned his gaze toward the distant garden.

The carefully maintained spiritual plants stretched beneath the ancient trees as far as Victor could see.

Then he spoke.

”I’ll have to use the forbidden technique.”

”No.”

The Guardian Spirit turned toward him immediately.

Her voice was sharper now.

”Don’t.”

Samal remained silent.

She stepped closer.

”Samal, please.”

Victor watched carefully.

There was something in her voice that surprised him.

This wasn’t simply a Guardian Spirit speaking to someone she had once protected.

There was history between them.

Something deeper.

Samal finally looked toward her.

Then he smiled.

A small smile.

A tired one.

”It’s my duty, Rakasha.”

Victor’s eyes narrowed.

Rakasha.

So that was her name.

Rakasha’s expression hardened.

”Screw your duty.”

The words came without hesitation.

Victor almost blinked.

”You owe them nothing.”

For the first time, Samal’s smile faded.

He looked away.

His eyes returned to the enormous garden stretching into the distance.

Silence settled between them.

Then Samal spoke.

”As their leader...”

He paused.

His expression was calm.

But there was something final in his eyes.

”...I must protect them.”

Rakasha stared at him.

She didn’t answer.

For some reason, those words settled heavily inside him.

Samal and Rakasha remained there for another moment.

Then they began walking again.

Victor instinctively stepped forward.

”Wait—”

His voice didn’t reach them.

He moved faster.

But no matter how quickly he walked, the distance between them never changed.

Samal and Rakasha continued down the stone path.

Victor tried to follow.

It was impossible.

As though the world itself had decided he could only watch.

Then, without warning—

The two figures disappeared.

Victor stopped.

He stood alone.

The enormous garden was silent.

Victor slowly looked around.

Nothing made sense.

What was the forbidden technique?

What war had Samal been fighting?

Who were the other clans?

And what had happened to them?

His thoughts raced through everything he had just seen.

But before he could make sense of any of it—

The world began to fade.

The ancient trees dissolved.

The stone paths disappeared.

The glowing spiritual plants vanished into darkness.

Victor reached out instinctively.

Then—

Everything went black.