Black Phoenix Heir

A little while later, Victor and Lyra stepped outside the cultivation chamber.

Neither of them said anything.

They walked only a short distance before eventually sitting down beside each other near the entrance. The stone beneath them was warm from the spiritual energy radiating from the chamber.

For a while, they simply sat there.

Victor looked toward the village.

The Lava Rock Monkey settlement had become much quieter compared to earlier in the day. Most of the monkeys were beginning to return to their homes, preparing for the night. A few still wandered through the village, carrying food or talking with their families.

The luminescent stones scattered throughout the settlement continued to glow softly, bathing the wooden houses and elevated walkways in gentle light.

Quiet conversations drifted through the air.

Somewhere deeper in the forest, insects buzzed.

If there are crickets in this world, I guess those are probably crickets.

He almost smiled at the thought.

Victor quietly appreciated the moment.

Then he glanced toward Lyra.

She was staring toward the village, but there was a melancholy expression on her face.

Victor hesitated for a moment before speaking.

”It’s probably not easy having your entire clan prepare to execute you.”

Lyra looked at him.

”Honestly, it’s really not affecting me that much anymore.”

A faint smile appeared on her face.

”Ever since my parents disappeared, the clan never really felt like home anymore.”

She lowered her gaze.

”Everyone was fighting for power. Everyone wanted to fill the position my father left behind. And most people didn’t really treat me like a person. I was more like a pawn to them.”

She turned toward Victor and smiled.

”So having to leave the clan isn’t really that bad.”

Victor remained silent for a moment.

Then he glanced at her.

”So… what now?”

Lyra looked at him.

”What do you mean?”

He paused.

”What do you want to do?”

Lyra blinked.

She didn’t answer immediately.

She looked down at her hands and thought.

There was one thing she couldn’t ignore.

The moment she had returned to Victor’s side, she could already feel it.

The curse was weakening.

Not only was it weakening again, but it seemed to be degrading slightly faster than before.

And that changed everything.

Breaking the curse had always been one of her greatest goals.

If she could break it, she could continue cultivating. If she could continue cultivating, then one day she might become strong enough to search for her parents.

To find out whether they were still alive.

To save them if they were.

Now she had discovered something that could potentially help her accomplish that goal.

Victor.

Lyra shook her head slightly at the thought.

Looks like I’m stuck with him.

She raised her head.

”Honestly, Victor…”

She paused briefly before continuing.

”Because of this curse that’s blocking my ability to cultivate past the Beast Soldier level, it’s made things difficult for me for a long time.”

Her expression became more serious.

”It’s always been one of the things I’ve wanted to find a way around. If I could break the curse, I could continue cultivating and eventually become strong enough to search for my parents.”

She looked toward Victor.

”And the miraculous thing is…”

A small laugh escaped her.

”The moment we formed the Soul Bond, the closer I am to you, the more the curse starts to degrade.”

Lyra gave him a helpless smile.

”So whether I like it or not, I’m kind of stuck with you.”

1

Victor stared at her.

He wasn’t entirely sure whether that was supposed to be a good thing or a bad thing.

After a moment, he simply shrugged.

”That’s fine with me.”

1

He looked toward the forest.

”Then we’ll travel together until we can figure out exactly what’s happening with your curse. At the very least, until we’re sure it can completely degrade.”

Lyra smiled.

For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.

Then—

”WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOUR CURSE IS DEGRADING?!”

The voice exploded from inside the cavern.

Victor’s eyes widened.

Lyra barely had time to turn her head before a figure appeared directly in front of them.

Monklalusa.

The ancient Lava Rock Monkey had somehow crossed the distance in an instant.

His face was only an inch from Lyra’s.

”Is this true?!”

Lyra froze.

She could feel an oppressive pressure coming from him.

It wasn’t intentional.

Monklalusa was simply too powerful.

Even a tiny release of his aura was enough to make her body instinctively tense.

Victor’s lungs tightened.

He immediately looked toward the ancient monkey.

”Monklalusa, you’ve got to calm down. Your pressure is suffocating us.”

Monklalusa blinked.

He finally seemed to realize what he was doing.

His pressure vanished.

Victor and Lyra both took a deep breath.

Lyra’s expression remained frozen between shock and confusion.

Victor looked at Monklalusa.

”Have you been listening to our conversation this entire time?”

Monklalusa waved him off.

”That’s not important.”

1

He immediately turned back toward Lyra.

”Lyra.”

His expression became serious.

”Is what you said true?”

Lyra nodded.

”The curse has been weakening ever since Victor and I formed the Soul Bond.”

Monklalusa’s eyes widened.

Then—

”YES!”

His voice erupted through the cavern and village.

The ancient monkey let out a powerful roar before turning toward Victor with an enormous smile.

”Do you know what this means, Victor?”

Victor stared at him.

He thought about it.

The curse.

The Soul Bond.

Lyra’s cultivation.

The fact that her curse had begun degrading after meeting him.

The only conclusion he could reach was that somehow, for some unknown reason, he was affecting the curse.

But he still didn’t understand how.

”Not exactly.”

Monklalusa’s smile grew even wider.

”Somehow, you’re able to degrade the curse that has affected both the Shadow Fox Clan and the Lava Rock Monkey Clan for more than seven thousand years.”

Victor froze.

Monklalusa’s voice became quieter.

”And this is the first clue I’ve had in over seven thousand years that shows there may actually be a way to remove it.”

Victor’s eyes widened.

He finally understood.

This wasn’t just about Lyra.

The same curse had imprisoned the Lava Rock Monkey Clan for thousands of years.

Monklalusa had spent most of his extraordinarily long life trapped by it.

His descendants had inherited it.

The Shadow Fox Clan had suffered from it.

And now, for the first time in thousands of years, something had changed.

Victor looked at Lyra.

Then back at Monklalusa.

”But I don’t know exactly how I’m affecting the curse.”

Monklalusa simply smiled.

”That’s okay.”

His eyes gleamed with excitement.

”At least now we finally have an option.”

Victor stared at the ancient monkey.

Monklalusa looked at him as though he had just discovered the most precious gem in the world.