25 - I’m Not Your Father (Patreon)

“I can’t… can’t move… please… help m–” his friend’s words cut off suddenly.

Dazien mentally shouted back, “Phoenix! I’m coming, just hold on!” he was already sprinting back down the street as fast as he could, triggering the “Charge” variant of his [Call to Arms] ability in order to increase his speed.

“I’m heading your way,” Uriel said through the connection they always kept open with each other.

Both of them continued to try calling out to Phoenix until Dazien saw purple lettering floating before him in a disturbing message.

Communication with Phoenix Fraser has been forcibly interrupted.

Phoenix Fraser is no longer your Subject.

When he reached the front of the door that was oddly still locked, he didn’t bother to knock. In a single swift motion, he conjured his new shield and used the full force of his body behind it to slam into the door, causing it to fly from its Mundane frame.

The dorm was silent and still, which was not a good sign. He made his way to the bedroom door that was also closed but not locked and grimaced at the sight he walked in on. It was empty of any person but the bed was a mess as blood stained the side facing the window. It was easy to spot the cracked glass spreading out from the thumb-sized hole in it that disrupted the uniform color of the blue-tinted pane.

A discarded bolt lay on the floor and he carefully picked it up, noticing a dark sticky substance among the blood. Smelling the tip, he didn’t recognize whatever poison it had been loaded with and he mentally said to Uriel, “I need your nose, Senesh. It’s much better than mine.”

“What did you find?” his partner asked.

The Defender grimaced as he took in the sight of the thing that worried him the most: the white ash covering the bed and floor in fine dust, “Potentially the murder weapon,” he said grimly then added, “Most Crystal Casters don’t instantly turn to ash, however, so let us hope what I’m seeing belongs to poor Tala.”

“What are you going to do now?” Uriel asked in obvious concern.

“Pray that the Paladin of Vengeance doesn’t kill the messenger,” the young Adventurer replied, quickly leaving the scene while trying to keep his own panic at bay and making his way towards the Wayland Estate.

Paul looked up from his journal as the door to his study was cracked open after a quick announcing knock and Rodger peeked inside while explaining, “M’lord, Mister Smithson is here. You told me to go ahead and bring him straight to you if–”

“Lord Wayland!” the precocious brat said over his head steward, pushing past the man in order to get to him quicker.

“What did you do this time?” he asked gruffly. He was still cross about the foolish party leader going to the Ruwena Estate without first consulting with him, only informing him after the fact and asking him to do something he was already handling while also trying to get information out of him with that silver tongue. Aside from the sheer audacity, the boy painted an obvious target on Phoenix by confirming that she still lived.

“Little King was not aware of the deception Wayland was hoping to keep in place,” Orebela reminded him but he gave a mental huff of annoyance and ignored her wisdom.

“Sir, Phoenix is either kidnapped or…” the gemite paused a moment as though reluctant to speak then finished, “Or dead, sir.”

Paul was in front of the young man in the next breath and commanded, “Explain while we move,” then at a slower pace the Crystal Caster should have been able to keep up with, he began heading towards a lower level. The paladin checked his pouch for the [Flame of Life] he kept on his person at all times and verified that his apprentice was still alive–the flame within burning strongly–and lifted it to reassure the gemite as well, feeling some of the fear in the young leader’s aura dissipate.

Dazien scrambled after him as the Defender recounted the events of the early dawn after he had left Phoenix’s dorm and he paused in the hallway for a moment to raise a brow at the young man and ask pointedly, “And what exactly were you doing with my Protégé in her home at that hour… alone?”

The gemite had the good sense to flush in embarrassment and quickly explain, “Ah, we were just talking, sir. I’ve been worried about her well-being since learning that she was involved with Arktis Neired. That woman’s reputation is not a pleasant one.”

“Indeed not,” Paul agreed and continued his walk to one of the ritual rooms below street level. He didn’t need to check the room he had given to Phoenix to bind her [Waypoint] to since a quick expansion of his aura found the room vacant of any other aura and confirmed she hadn't simply revived already. Once they reached the destination of his large ritual room, the paladin began taking ingredients out of the cupboards along the wall and drew out a complex ritual diagram with chalk, placing components into various locations throughout it.

“What are we doing, sir?” the gemite asked while staying out of his way which was a smart move since he was not in the mood to be delayed.

“A tracking ritual,” he replied, placing the [Flame of Life] in the center of the circle, “I found it during my research after the last time Phoenix… went missing.”

“But we know where she is!” the arrogant boy exclaimed, “It had to have been Arktis.”

“Arktis Neired is a Juggernaut class,” he replied as though that was answer enough.

“So?”

He gave a sigh, “Explain to me how a juggernaut went through a locked door and vanished with only an arrow and ash left behind.”

There was silence for a long moment before the amethyst warrior said, “It must have been House Ruwena, though. They have obviously been targeting Phoenix for some time now.”

“Most likely, but that doesn’t tell us where they took her, and–despite my new deity–I can’t just walk into another noble’s home and burn it to the ground.”

“Can’t you?” Dazien asked softly, which caused him to pause and look up at the gemite.

The look the young leader gave him was not the humor he had been expecting and he answered with equal sobriety, “No, kid. I don’t serve the Destroyer.”

Dazien looked away, shame and anger filling the Crystal aura at his words, and he tried to help clarify, “This information doesn’t leave this room but Avenger whispers to me when someone is deserving of retribution. While it aligned with my desire to keep Phoenix safe, it was Avenger who gave me the quest to kill Murinah Ruwena via miserling–the same manner she killed others–not my own whims. He has not given me such a command for Arktis or any other Ruwena… yet.”

“Others? She killed people with miserlings?”

His face twisted at the memories of the list of victims Avenger had given him before, and he decided to enlighten the gemite a bit, “Apparently, the late noble enjoyed that particular method and didn’t usually need a portalist to help her accomplish luring her victims. A pretty smile and a well-respected name can do a lot of convincing. Tell me, did you know ‘Violet Barrelli’, ‘Martin Kethis’, or ‘Alexis Sarkov’?”

The young warrior’s face blanched as he replied, “Violet and Martin were ex-lovers of mine. I thought Violet just left since I knew we weren’t doing very well and I was told Martin died in an accident.”

“Yes. An accident involving miserlings, apparently,” Paul replied dryly, “From what I’ve gathered, Murinah was obsessing over you, which I know isn’t completely unheard of for Shiny gemite, but most people don’t go killing off the competition.”

“So who was Alexis?” Dazien asked in confusion, “I don’t remember anyone by that name.”

“I didn’t think you would,” Paul replied, “You would have only been around ten when the fifteen-year-old Murinah locked Alexis, a younger house servant, into a cage with a miserling that her father was studying.”

The gemite stared at him in horror, “What? Why?”

“Apparently, Alexis didn’t want to cut their hair when Murinah ordered them to,” the Paladin replied with a shake of his head, “Don’t blame yourself for her twisted mind, kid. There would have been more bodies one way or another. Be thankful Phoenix still lives.”

“Wait, she didn’t mention anything about miserlings–”

Another knock came from the door to the ritual room and he gestured for the Defender to open it as Roger stood outside and said, “Noble Stratfured, is here to see you. She says she has information about your Protégé’s whereabouts.”

“Noble Stratfured?” Dazien asked him with a raised brow.

“Bliss’ party leader,” Paul replied, “You’re not the only one who cares about Phoenix,” he added, then called to Roger, “Bring her here. She can help coordinate with Bliss.”

“As you wish, m’lord,” Roger replied with a polite bow.

Paul glanced at the worried gemite who was awkwardly running a hand through long amethyst hair and he suggested, “Why don’t you go get the rest of your party and wait in my study.”

“Should I help coordinate things? Is there anyone else I should inform? Perhaps I should inform the temples as well, I’m sure they have resources and would help with one of their Favored,” the boy said in a sign of increasing distress.

The paladin grumbled, “I’m not your father, kid, so I can’t order you like one, but just keep calm and stay out of the way. Be ready to respond and I’ll let you know when something changes.”

It was only with his Emerald Caste hearing that he was able to catch the upstart king muttering under his breath, “You might as well be our father with the way you treat us.”

“See? Even Little King agrees with me,” his Familiar chimed in.

“Not now, Bela,” he replied with an annoyed huff.

You have died.

All equipment has been returned to your collection.

[Waypoint] has guided your soul back to your designated location.

You have been reconstituted to a state of full integrity.

24 hours remain until this effect can be triggered again.

Phoenix felt immense relief at seeing the book's message hovering above her as she lay in an unfamiliar bed. She sat up and looked around the room that Paul had offered for her to use and that she had moved her spawn point to after his insistence, summoning her clothes and standing.

She glanced around the room, taking in its layout and amenities. Aside from the large four-poster bed that she had just climbed out of, there was a large fireplace on the opposite wall with two plush chairs to each side and a large couch between the fire and bed. A low coffee table lay between all of it for the seat occupants to conveniently use. To her right was the room’s entrance while across from that was a wide wooden desk against the solitary window. In the far corner of the room was another door to a washroom that currently hung open but remained dark.

Paul had been right; she should have moved here instead of insisting she stay in her obviously insecure dorm room. She took a few deep breaths to center herself but found that she felt much calmer now than she had after her previous deaths. Perhaps that was because she had been the one to cause it? She would need to think about that more later. Maybe she would ask Priest Jacob about it next Trisol.

For now, however, she sought out her mentor who surprised her by being right outside the door to her room as she opened it. They stared at each other for a long moment, silent words passing between them as his eyes became angrier and her mouth tried to find words that wouldn’t cause him to go on some kind of rampage through the city.

Paul was the one to speak first as he said with a coldness that belied the fire in his gaze, “Did Arktis kill you again?”

She hesitated for a moment, this cold fury almost worried her more than if he would have yelled, “Not exactly.”

He narrowed his eyes, then pointed at the couch nearest the center of her room. She lowered her head, as though about to be scolded, “Were you already waiting here?” the Wayfarer asked as she moved and sat on the seat.

The paladin took his place next to her as he answered, “It was lucky timing. I sensed your aura just as I was going to inform my sister about a political move I was about to be forced to make,” then he returned to her previous comment and inquired, “By ‘not exactly’ does that mean they used another monster?”

“No. I, um… I killed myself to escape,” she said nervously.

Her mentor’s eyes widened then narrowed again, “Explain.”

She launched into the story, not wanting to give the Ruwena family more time to potentially escape, hide the evidence, or enact their plans to help the Renseres with whatever a Tulisuda was. Phoenix could sense the anger building in Paul’s aura and raised a brow when he started fiddling with his bracelet but didn’t ask him about it or pause in her retelling.

When she had finished, they sat in silence for a long while. Phoenix was still wondering why this death felt so much different than her last ones but she was more concerned about how Paul would react either towards her clear disregard for not dying or towards the family that had made her so desperate.

After a few more minutes he finally spoke, “I don’t like you using that ability in that way… but I’m glad you had the courage to do so.”

“Thanks? I get that it should be a last resort kind of thing,” she replied, then asked something that had been nagging at her, “What’s Tulisuda?”

“It’s the name given to a Reality Rift,” the paladin explained, “One that sits at the heart of this city a couple hundred meters below street level. If they manage to sabotage it like the Soul Reapers, Tulimeir will cease to exist.”

She gasped softly at the mental picture but let him continue. His next words took her completely by surprise though, “Phoenix, I want you to join my House. Officially. I’d like to adopt you.”

The Wayfarer stared at him with wide eyes trying to process the words that her translation ability allowed her to know but that she couldn’t fully understand in that moment.

As she remained silent, Paul offered more explanation, “As an official member of House Wayland, I can offer you more protection politically as well as additional support and resources. You can live here without suspicion and I can be more readily available for you.”

He met her stunned gaze and said softly, “I know I’m not your father, nor will I ever truly be, but I want to offer what I can.”

“Why?” was the only word that came to her mind.

Her mentor gave a gentle smile and repeated the words he had told her what seemed like an eternity ago, “Because you need it and I can… but more importantly, I want you to be part of my family.”

They fell into silence again as Phoenix contemplated his offer. She assumed that noble adoption worked similarly to the regular kind, even when she became an adult in this world, she would always be seen and treated as his child. She assumed that didn’t mean Paul would suddenly gain control over her choices even more than he did as her Mentor but it would place her within the noble hierarchy and whatever that would entail.

“I’ll need to think about it some more,” she said softly. She wanted to learn more about what joining the nobility would actually require of her. Despite Dazien’s obsession with the aristocracy, she actually knew very little about it. Perhaps she would ask her friends for advice.

Paul stood and patted her head affectionately as he reassured her, “There’s no rush. Just know that the option is there for you. I'll be working to protect you either way. For now, I’m going to inform the AOA and Duke about the Ruwena family’s traitorous actions and the threat to Tulisuda. Stay here until I return. I’ll have your party join you. You gave those boys quite the scare.”

“Ah, crap,” she groaned, “What am I going to tell them? Should I let them know about my [Waypoint]?”

The paladin seemed thoughtful for a moment, “Let’s wait a bit on that,” she raised an eyebrow and he expounded, “I’m not suggesting they’re not trustworthy. It’s just…”

Her mentor seemed at a slight loss of words, which made her worry even more and she asked with wide eyes, “Will they hate me for it?”

“It’s more like it will be difficult for them to truly understand both the concept and the potential repercussions,” he tried explaining, “Phoenix, your talent is… well, frankly, it’s a miracle. Resurrection like yours has always been believed to be impossible. A dream even further beyond myths and legends. Most of the people that chase after Obsidian Caste do so to gain immortality–to stop aging–but to come back from death is a completely different thing.”

He ran a hand through his short golden hair and added, “We should wait until things calm down a bit before sitting them down to carefully explain both the power and the enemies it will bring should they utter a single word about it. Let’s first focus on taking care of the people that are targeting you for more mundane reasons.”

She nodded and, as he moved to leave, she called out to him, “Paul?”

The lord paused at the door, “Yes?”

Phoenix gave him a genuine smile, “Thank you for caring about me so much. I don’t deserve a mentor like you.”

The paladin returned her smile and said almost regretfully, “Trust me when I say that you deserve much better than me.”

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