Chapter 166: Spirit Solverign

Chapter 166: Chapter 166: Spirit Solverign

Everyone knew it. They could feel it, the way you feel a change in the weather. Something else had taken control.

Ifrith bowed his head lower.

"Welcome, Spirit Sovereign."

The being inside Theon’s body smiled. It was a quiet, amused smile, and it did not belong on that face.

"I knew if there was anyone who would notice first, it would be you."

Ifrith smiled, too, just a little.

"Of course."

A flicker stirred beside them.

Lyra body began to shake. She had rose up into the air while everyone watched, one hand on her head as flames erupted from her skin, not hot, not destructive, but bright, and they rose in a spiral around her until she was lost inside them.

The flames parted.

The Flame Empress stepped out.

She was taller than Lyra had been, her hair a river of living fire, her eyes the color of molten gold. She looked toward the Spirit Sovereign, and a slow smile spread across her face.

"My comrade."

Her voice was warm, and old.

"How have you been?"

The Spirit Sovereign looked toward her.

"I see you’ve finally returned."

The Flame Empress nodded.

"Yes."

She lifted her chin, and her smile grew.

"And this time, I’m not going anywhere."

Captain Voss stared up at them from the floor. His mouth had fallen slightly open. The dragon girl stared too. Neither of them understood what was happening.

*Young Prince...* Captain Voss’s mind raced. *Your Highness...*

*What calamity exactly have you gathered around yourself?*

The Flame Empress drifted over to hover at the Spirit Sovereign’s side. The Spirit Sovereign’s mismatched gaze moved across the kneeling group and settled on Silver.

"Nice one."

Silver lowered her head further.

"You did well this time."

The pressure of those words alone pushed Silver’s body down a little more. Her hands flattened on the stone.

"Yes, Sovereign."

The Spirit Sovereign turned toward Ifrith and her face turned cold and serious.

"You must protect this boy."

Ifrith bowed.

"I understand, Spirit Sovereign." He paused. His eyes lifted, just slightly, and moved toward the glowing form hanging in the air. "After all..."

He said it quietly.

"He is a PRIMORDIAL Vessel."

Captain Voss’s eyes widened at once.

Primordial Vessel?

He raised his head, fighting the weight on his neck. Before he could stop himself, the words were out.

"What is a Primordial Vessel?"

The Spirit Sovereign looked directly at him.

"Silence."

BOOM!

The pressure slammed down on Captain Voss like a hammer. His body dropped almost to the stone. His bones strained beneath the force, a deep creaking sound in his arms and spine. He could not breathe. Spots swam in his vision.

The Flame Empress turned her head.

"Spare him." She said.

The pressure vanished.

Captain Voss gasped, dragging air into his lungs, both palms pressed flat on the cold floor. His whole body shook.

The Spirit Sovereign looked back toward Ifrith, and her voice changed. The lightness left it.

"Since you know what he is..."

She was more serious now. The air itself seemed to listen.

"You must do everything necessary to protect him."

She let the silence hang.

"If necessary..."

Another pause.

"Even sacrifice your life."

Ifrith bowed deeper, until his forehead nearly touched the ground.

"Understood, Sovereign."

The Spirit Sovereign studied him.

"We are of equal strength," she said. "Why do you bow?"

Ifrith answered calmly, without lifting his head.

"You are currently inside my Master’s body."

His voice was steady.

"Of course it would be rude not to bow."

The Spirit Sovereign smiled. It was a thin smile, with a trace of something sharp in it.

"A Voidborn bowing before a Spirit Sovereign."

She tilted her head.

"You know we’re both mortal enemies, don’t you?"

Ifrith smiled back.

"Currently, we are not."

Suddenly his expression changed.

The smile slipped off his face. His head came up. Beside him, Silver stiffened, her eyes snapping open. She had felt it too.

A powerful presence was approaching.

It came from the east, fast, and the air shuddered ahead of it. Ifrith turned toward it, his hand dropping to his side.

The Spirit Sovereign raised one hand.

"I know."

Ifrith looked at her.

She was smiling.

"Let it arrive."

She said it lightly.

"I called for it."

On the balcony, the dragon girl’s expression changed. Her eyes contracted. The color drained from her face.

*No.*

*It can’t be.*

*Is it actually PYRO?*

A golden blade shot through the air.

It came from the horizon like an arrow, trailing a line of burning light, and slowed only when it reached the balcony. It stopped before the Spirit Sovereign, hovering in the air, perfectly still.

Then it began to rotate.

Golden flames rose around the blade, wrapping it in a coat of fire. The heat rolled across the stone. The air above the balcony rippled.

NIVARETH reacted immediately.

The sword hanging above the Spirit Sovereign’s head swung down and shot forward, its blade ringing with a low, angry hum. The two weapons surged toward each other.

They almost collided.

The moment they touched—

BOOM!

The energies exploded. Blue and red tore into gold, and the whole balcony lit up white. The stones cracked underneath them. The two swords shuddered, shrieking, and their auras began to twist together as though trying to fuse into one thing.

The Spirit Sovereign moved.

She flicked two fingers, and an invisible hand pulled the weapons apart. The glow around them dimmed.

"Calm down."

Both swords stopped, trembling in the air like hounds held on a short leash.

The Spirit Sovereign looked toward Ifrith.

"You know what this means."

His expression had gone serious.

"Yes."

He stared at the two weapons for a long moment.

"Those two swords must never be drawn at the same time." he replied.

"Good."

The Spirit Sovereign lifted her hand, and in the empty air beside her, a new sword began to form, a long, narrow sheath of dark metal, woven from threads of green light. It solidified with a soft ring. She took the golden blade, still wreathed in flame, and slid it inside.

The Phoenix Flame Sword went quiet.

She extended her hand.

The sheathed sword floated across the balcony toward Ifrith. He raised his hand and caught it.

NIVARETH drifted back to its place above the Spirit Sovereign’s head and resumed its slow spin.

Then the Spirit Sovereign’s body flickered.

The edges of her adult form wavered, as though she were being drawn on wet paper. A thin crack of light ran across her shoulder.

"My time is almost up."

She looked down at Theon’s hands. They were large and strong, and they were shaking.

"I need to return."

She paused.

"If I remain any longer, his body could be destroyed."

The dragon girl raised her head from the stone.

"I’m sorry, Sovereign."

The Spirit Sovereign looked at her, her gaze held something close to warmth.

"You are a true Primordial Frost Dragon."

Her voice softened slightly.

"We may not be of equal strength, but you are powerful."

She nodded.

"I permit you to speak."

The dragon girl bowed her head again.

"Thank you."

She looked up. There was a question in her eyes that she had been holding back since the pressure fell.

"Why must you leave so quickly?"

The Spirit Sovereign answered without hesitation.

"This body is still that of a ten-year-old child."

She looked down at her borrowed hands, turning them over slowly.

"It cannot withstand the amount of power I am putting through it."

The dragon girl bowed once more.

"Understood, Sovereign."

Behind her, the others lowered their heads.

"Goodbye, Sovereign."

The Spirit Sovereign turned her head toward the Flame Empress.

The Flame Empress was smiling. There was a brightness in her golden eyes that had not been there before.

The Spirit Sovereign smiled back.

"Till we meet again, old friend."

The green and red aura around Theon’s body began to collapse inward.

It happened quickly. The swirling light drew tight around his chest, drained into his skin, and vanished. The adult form came apart at the edges. His body shrank. His shoulders narrowed, his hands became small again, his hair fell back around a child’s face.

His ten-year-old form returned.

Then his eyes closed.

His body went limp and began to fall.

Silver moved before anyone else.

She crossed the balcony in a single step and caught him in her arms an inch before he hit the stone. She pulled him against her chest, one hand cradling his head.

"Theon!"

He didn’t respond. His face was pale. His breathing was shallow but steady.

Silver lifted him without another word and carried him toward the chamber. The Headmaster followed after him, rod in hand. The dragon girl followed too, silent, her eyes on the boy’s small, slack hand hanging over Silver’s arm.

Behind them, the Flame Empress’s form began to dissolve. The fire that made her up loosened and scattered, a shower of sparks drifting upward in the dark, and Lyra returned.

Her eyes were closed. She swayed where she stood.

Ifrith caught her before she fell.

He lifted her into his arms, as he had done once before, and carried her inside.

Silence remained outside.

Captain Voss was still on his knees.

The balcony was empty now, except for the cracked stones and Celestial who had gone unconscious on the floor due to the pressure. Far below, the students had begun to gather themselves, whispering, pointing at the sky where the last trace of the beam was fading. No one was looking at the balcony.

Captain Voss stared at the empty space where the Spirit Sovereign had hovered.

His breathing had grown heavier. He could hear it in his own ears but his mind struggled to put the pieces in order, and the pieces refused to stay still.

A Supreme Demon General.

A Primordial Demon Sovereign.

A Spirit Sovereign.

A Flame Empress.

A Primordial Vessel.

Two ancient swords.

And at the center of it all, a ten-year-old prince.

Captain Voss finally raised his head. His hands were still pressed against the stone, and when he spoke, his voice shook.

"What exactly are you beings!?"

The question echoed through the empty balcony, out over the academy, and into the night that no one answered.