Aemon finally allowed Leiya to run towards Xerxes and congratulate him, while he went to collect his sword and the soul fragments.
Leiya hurried towards Xerxes, not wanting to waste a single second in applauding his decisive victory.
"Xerxes!" she exclaimed, catching his attention. He looked away from the direction of the beast and began walking towards her.
The adrenaline was wearing off. "Ow! This arm is killing me," he whined, clutching his arm, which was streaked with blood and dirt.
Leiya finally reached him. "Well, look at you, Xerxes, you do have some fight in you! I honestly thought you were going to chicken out when you saw the first two beasts, but you handled it as well as I could. Well, not as well as I could, but y'know."
Xerxes replied to her snarky remark with a teasing grin. "Isn't someone complimenting me a bit too much? It's unlike your wild nature, Leiya."
"I am not wild! Do you really think I'm some sort of beast?" she huffed, jabbing a finger at his chest in frustration.
Xerxes caught her wrist and gently lowered it. "I'm only joking, Leiya. Don't overcomplicate things. Honestly, I'm surprised at myself. I feel freer than before. My path forward seems clearer, and for that, I'm grateful to you and the Truth family."
Aemon interjected, holding Xerxes' sword and observing the bloodstains on the blade.
"I damn well hope so. When I found you in that cave, you were lost. But I had a feeling you'd accomplish feats beyond my expectations."
Aemon spoke, whilst reflecting on these three months of Xerxes' dedication to the task. "With this task, you took away your fear and unveiled the path you always needed to take. You've outgrown your former shell, and for that, you should be proud."
Xerxes looked at Aemon, his gratitude growing heavier than the pain he was feeling.
"You should stand with the Truth family, not as an outsider, but as one of us. What do you say, Xerxes?"
The question lingered in Xerxes' mind. It fostered an unshakable feeling that unfurled inside him.
All this time, he had longed to return home. Yet as days passed, the emptiness within him that had grown was replaced by something that he didn't even realise. It was them.
The truth family.
Memories flashed through his mind: Aemon's stern lessons, Conrad's growing warmth that started off as hostility, Aliya's mother-like nature, which reminded him of Vanessa and Leiya's tender smile and support, which had become a source of comfort.
Despite this task voiding the fear of monsters, a sinking dread settled in his chest that made it tight. It was the thought of saying goodbye, and he knew it wouldn't be as easy as he'd originally imagined. How could it be?
They were treating him like family day by day. They fed him, trained him, sheltered him. And now, Aemon was acknowledging him as more than just an outsider.
He was recognising me as family.
Xerxes looked at Aemon and Leiya, raising his arms. Though weakened, he mustered enough strength to pull them into an embrace.
Aemon relaxed, understanding the depth of the gesture, and crouched slightly, drawing in Leiya, who hadn't expected the sudden hug.
"Even though I was a stranger, you've all treated me so well," Xerxes murmured solemnly. "And now… I'm afraid of the day I'll have to say goodbye. I fought the monsters and achieved one of my goals, but I never expected to feel like this."
Aemon knew the boy needed to unwind—he had just emerged from a battle laden with emotional weight. Yet he also knew Xerxes' words came from the heart.
"Don't overthink it, Xerxes. You're still a million miles from reaching a hundredth of my strength," he laughed, clapping him on the back.
Xerxes nodded as Leiya ruffled his hair, her own reluctance to depart from him, evident in her touch. To Leiya, Xerxes was becoming someone she could feel comfortable with.
She could train with him, talk about things that didn't involve getting back home, or training. There was a genuine companionship that she had never experienced prior to meeting him.
"It's time we returned home," Aemon said. "Xerxes, you can rest for now. Leiya, can you carry him? I'll need my hands free for the soul shards."
Leiya agreed, hoisting Xerxes onto her back. He rested his head against her, lulled by the rhythm of her steps as they set off for Truth City.
***
An hour later
They arrived at the castle once again, whilst Xerxes rested. The rest of the Truth family decided to comment on his progress and what the future held for him.
Aemon began by speaking, "He did great, Conrad, Aliya. He displayed his full use of mana and sword skills. I do not think I need to second-guess myself, but Xerxes has become quite the impressive warrior."
Leiya jumped at the chance to praise him as well, "That's right, I hate to admit it, but back when we were sparring, he was really giving me a hard time. It's crazy to say it, but his progress is not like anything I've ever seen. He's got all the tricks in the bag."
Aliya then revealed a piece of information that would make them all even more surprised, "Funny, you mention that actually, throughout these months I've been taking medical reports of Xerxes and data on the egg, what I've noticed is something strange."
They were all eager to hear it, so Aliya continued, "There's been some correlation between Xerxes' growth and cracks in the egg and today it almost shattered. There's something irregular about it, and I can't boil it down to just the age of the egg. What I'm trying to say is that they are linked together."
Aemon thought about Aliya's words: a beast and a human being connected. Well, it wasn't impossible, but such things weren't exactly common. He had only seen it once in his entire life, so it was hard to believe, even if the facts all aligned with it.
"It is possible, Xerxes found the egg in a time of death, they were both at their most vulnerable states, they could be. One on the verge of death, one on the brink of life, and if you suspect that it may be a Phoenix, judging by the heat coming from it, I truly think that Xerxes could've potentially merged souls slightly."
The table gasped at how bizarre it sounded, but Aemon recalled one exact conversation he had.
"Phoenix were ancient creatures even revered in my time, they are a part of a subgroup of an 'ancient race' and this ancient race was known to supply powers to the host by merging with their souls in a specific condition. I once told Xerxes about soul fragments, explaining how destiny will lead you to advance your soul fragment. But what I never told him about was the fact that his actual soul can advance too."
Leiya questioned, her voice confused by Aemon's comments, "A soul can advance?"
Aemon believed his theory was unlikely, but all the signs led to it. It was just hard to believe that he would witness it in his lifetime. "Xerxes is a very special individual. I can't exactly put my words to it, but he isn't an ordinary person. Soul core advancements are still a mystery even to me. My old master, even with all of his greatness, explained that one's pure will can only do something like this."
Conrad and Aliya knew from those words that Aemon was serious; they knew not to take Aemon's words lightly, especially when his late master was mentioned. He was a man hundreds of times wiser, more knowledgeable, and powerful than Aemon himself.
Conrad asked with curiosity in his voice, "So what does it mean for the kid?"
Aemon chuckled, "I'd be a fool if I were to try and understand Xerxes' destiny, but know this, whatever he does within his life, it will amount to greatness. One that we have not seen before..."
***
Xerxes slumbered, but even in the state he was in, he heard the 'voice' calling out to him. "Following my words always seems to get you out of trouble, does it not?"
Confusion initially settled in, but when Xerxes realised who was questioning him, he felt slightly more at ease. With joy in his voice, he answered, "Yeah, you've been helping me ever since I arrived in The Fallen Kingdom. So why are you helping me, and who are you?"
There was a pause for a moment, and Xerxes thought he was waking up, 'Did the voice really not want to answer. Damn it?' He sadly thought.
"No, I will answer, it would be foolish for me not to. I will require your assistance anyway."
Xerxes immediately replied, "You can read my thoughts, too? What can't you do!"
A soft laughter enveloped his mind and faded away, "Of course, we are destined to each other, ever since the day you arrived here, on the brink of death, I on the verge of life, we became destined from that very point. You held me, confided in me. It felt so nice after so long..."
Realisation struck Xerxes like a potent attack. He arrived here and entered that cave. Yes, it was that cave, where he confided and broke down in front of the egg. So could it really be? Could it really be the egg that had been assisting him all this time?
He quickly received an answer.
"I am the being within the egg, I am a phoenix, a part of an ancient race called the..." The voice seemed troubled as it tried to recall the name of the 'ancient race'.
Xerxes wanted to make sure that the phoenix was okay, "Is everything alright? It seems as if you're having trouble recollecting your memories?" He didn't exactly know whether it was memories or something else, but it was strangely clear to him that it was something along those lines.
"You appear to be right, my memories are not intact. The last thing I recall is me needing to complete a mission, but for some reason, my memories have been sealed. It must have been from the ones in my era, my enemies." It said weakly, but Xerxes couldn't help but wonder what enemies they might have had. What enemies they might have had,
Ancient races were all but extinct now, so could it be someone from her time that caused this? Was her enemy the perpetrator, or from the same group of people responsible for their demise? If that was true, then the Phoenix must be from a time where war and death were as common as oxygen within the air.
They must be from the Great War of Succession.