Black Phoenix Heir

Victor looked up.

For a moment, he forgot to breathe.

Something enormous was descending from the sky.

At first, it looked like a mass of darkness drifting through the purple clouds. Then the shape became clearer.

A Shadow Fox.

Its body was enormous, towering over the buildings of the village. Thick black fur covered its body, seemingly absorbing the darkness around it. Violet energy constantly flickered through its coat, curling around its limbs like flames without heat.

Its long ears rose high above its head, while several enormous tails stretched behind it, each moving slowly through the air as though floating in an invisible current.

Ancient markings covered its body.

They weren’t the simple tattoos Victor had seen on the younger Shadow Foxes. These were far older, carved into the creature’s very presence. Strange symbols covered its shoulders, back, tails, and legs, glowing faintly beneath its black fur.

And its eyes…

They glowed purple.

Cold.

Ancient.

Filled with hatred.

The massive Shadow Fox slowly descended until its enormous paws touched the ground.

The moment they did, an overwhelming pressure spread throughout the village.

Victor’s body stiffened.

His instincts screamed.

Run.

Every part of his body was telling him the same thing.

Run.

But where? 1

Victor stared at the creature.

The energy radiating from it was terrifying.

It was on an entirely different level.

Victor had already met Monklalusa, a being who had existed for thousands upon thousands of years. The ancient Lava Rock Monkey possessed strength so overwhelming that Victor couldn’t even imagine fighting him.

This Shadow Fox felt the same.

Perhaps even stronger.

Victor’s heart sank.

I’m screwed.

He slowly swallowed.

The ancient Shadow Fox lowered its enormous head, its glowing eyes locking onto the human standing in the middle of the Shadow Fox village.

A human carrying one of its own over his shoulder.

Disgust filled its eyes.

”Such a weak human.”

Its voice was deep, carrying across the entire village.

”And yet you run amok in my territory.”

Victor’s expression tightened.

The ancient Shadow Fox took another slow step forward.

Its massive body seemed to make the surrounding air heavier.

”Looks like I’ll have to teach you a lesson.”

Victor immediately raised his free hand.

”Wait.”

The Shadow Fox stopped.

Victor forced himself to remain calm.

He knew better than to attack.

Even if he used everything he had, he had no chance.

He looked at the ancient creature and lowered his head slightly.

”I’m sorry, Senior.”

The ancient Shadow Fox narrowed its eyes.

”All I was trying to do was save one of your Shadow Foxes from being executed.”

Victor glanced toward Lyra.

She was still tied over his shoulder.

The ancient Shadow Fox followed his gaze before looking back at him.

”It doesn’t matter what you were trying to do.”

Its voice became colder.

”You entered my territory.”

One of its enormous tails slowly moved behind its body.

”And to atone for that…”

The ancient Shadow Fox’s eyes glowed brighter.

”…only your death will suffice.”

Victor’s stomach dropped.

Before he could say another word, the ancient Shadow Fox moved.

Its tail whipped forward.

Victor didn’t even see the attack.

An invisible wave of energy exploded from the tail.

”Victor!”

Lyra suddenly flew from his shoulder.

Her body was thrown nearly twenty feet through the air.

She crashed into the ground and tumbled across the stone.

Her face struck the ground.

”Lyra!”

Victor instinctively reached toward her.

But another tail had already moved.

It wrapped around his neck.

Victor’s eyes widened.

The next instant, his feet left the ground.

His hands immediately grabbed the thick fur around his throat.

His fingers couldn’t even make the tail move.

The pressure tightened around his neck.

Victor’s vision blurred.

He couldn’t breathe.

His legs kicked helplessly beneath him as he desperately tried to pry the tail away.

The ancient Shadow Fox raised him higher.

Its enormous purple eyes stared directly into his.

”I’m going to slowly watch the life snuff out of you.”

Only a strangled gasp escaped Victor’s throat.

His fingers tightened around the tail.

His lungs burned.

Then he looked down.

Lyra had managed to roll onto her side.

Her purple eyes met his.

For a moment, neither of them moved.

There was nothing they could do.

Victor’s strength wasn’t enough.

His vision began to darken.

So this is it?

His thoughts became sluggish.

After everything…

I’m going to die here?

Then—

”I would like to see you try to kill the chosen one while I’m around.”

The ancient Shadow Fox’s eyes suddenly shifted.

A figure appeared.

The movement was so fast that Victor barely registered it.

A hand descended like a blade.

BOOM!

The ancient Shadow Fox’s tail instantly lost its strength.

Victor dropped.

But before his body struck the ground, an arm caught him.

Victor coughed violently.

Air rushed back into his lungs.

He dropped his hands to the ground and sucked in several desperate breaths.

Someone was standing in front of him.

Between him and the ancient Shadow Fox.

The figure’s back was facing Victor.

His presence alone caused the entire village to fall silent.

The ancient Shadow Fox’s enormous eyes narrowed.

The figure slowly raised his head.

”How dare you touch the chosen one!”

Victor froze.

He knew that voice.

His eyes widened.

”No…”

He looked up.

Long silver-gray hair was gathered loosely near the crown of the man’s head, while the rest flowed freely down his back and around his shoulders. A thick gray beard descended nearly to his waist, framing a stern, heavily weathered face.

He wore the same simple tribal clothing around his waist, consisting of layers of dark, weathered fabric and leather strips decorated with old charms and pieces of bone and metal.

Victor couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

Gregol.

The same man who had once stood among the tribe and sentenced Victor to execution.

The same man who had looked at him as nothing more than an outsider.

And now…

He was standing between Victor and an ancient, powerful Shadow Fox.

Victor stared at him in disbelief.

Why is he here? 1

And what the hell did he mean by chosen one?

Thousands of questions slammed into Victor’s mind at once.

Gregol glanced over his shoulder.

His expression softened slightly when he saw Victor.

”I’m sorry I’m late, chosen one.” 1

Victor’s eyes widened further.

”I should have been quicker.”

Then Gregol turned around.

And bowed.

Deeply.

The entire Shadow Fox village froze.

Silence descended.

Victor stared at the man bowing before him.

Gregol was bowing to him.

A cultivator whose presence had just caused an ancient Shadow Fox to stop attacking was bowing to a fourteen-year-old human.

Across the square, Shadow Foxes stared with fear in their eyes.

Some instinctively stepped backward.

Even Jackson’s expression had changed.

The Patriarch stood completely still.

His face had gone pale.

And even the ancient Shadow Fox’s expression had changed.

For the first time since arriving…

There was caution in its eyes.

Victor was at a complete loss.

He looked at Gregol.

Then at the ancient Shadow Fox.

Then back at Gregol.

He had absolutely no idea what was happening.

Eventually, he could only accept the situation in front of him.

He nodded.

”Thank you for your help, Gregol.”

Gregol straightened.

Victor turned away.

His eyes landed on Lyra.

She was still lying on the ground.

Victor immediately walked over.

He knelt beside her and began undoing the ropes around her wrists.

Lyra stared at him.

Her expression was completely bewildered.

Victor looked at her.

”Are you okay?”

She nodded slowly.

Victor untied her feet next.

Once she was free, he helped her stand.

Lyra remained silent.

She kept glancing toward Gregol.

Victor understood the feeling.

He had just as many questions.

But this wasn’t the time.

Victor looked toward Gregol.

Then toward the ancient Shadow Fox.

”We’ll leave.”

His voice was calm.

”There is no need for any more bloodshed.”

The ancient Shadow Fox stared at him.

Hatred burned deep within its purple eyes.

But now there was another human standing beside Victor.

One whose presence forced even it to hesitate.

The ancient Shadow Fox’s tails slowly moved behind its body.

For several seconds, nothing happened.

Then Gregol appeared beside Victor and Lyra.

Before either of them could react, he grabbed both of them.

The world blurred.

Space seemed to twist around them.

And then—

They disappeared.

The ancient Shadow Fox stared at the empty space where the three had stood only moments earlier.

Silence.

Its enormous chest rose slowly.

Then its eyes shifted toward the Shadow Foxes.

Toward Jackson.

Toward the ruined execution platform.

Toward the unconscious members of the clan scattered throughout the square.

A low growl emerged from its throat.

ROOOOOAAAAAR!

The entire village trembled.

Several weaker Shadow Foxes collapsed to their knees.

Others covered their ears.

Jackson lowered his head.

Nobody dared speak.

The ancient Shadow Fox’s hatred lingered in the air for several seconds.

Then its enormous body blurred.

Purple energy erupted around it.

And the ancient creature disappeared.

Leaving behind nothing but a fading pressure.

The Shadow Fox Clan remained frozen.

The execution platform stood broken in the center of the village.

The human was gone.

And the mysterious cultivator who had called that human the chosen one was gone with him.

For several long seconds, there was only silence.

Then Jackson slowly looked toward the empty sky.

His fingers trembled.

For the first time since becoming Patriarch…

He had no idea what to do next.