The sky turned red with heat. The humidity in the air increased exponentially. Baldwin started to run northward.
Every step he took seemed like his last. He felt his spine tingling with fear.
Baldwin moved his leg as fast as he could. Trying to outrun death in its purest form from catching him in its clutches.
The orb throbbed faster as time went on.
Baldwin could see as everything around him drying up. The dried plants caught fire.
Then, the orb shook violently, it shone with an orange light, increasing in density; like a dawn to an afternoon sun.
Baldwin stopped running as he felt weak. 'Phoenix fear' Baldwin thought. It was a spell, the phoenix when it exerted its energy at its angriest form. Baldwin looked behind and fell to his knees.
The ground itself was oozing lava. And above it with open wings; an entity straight out of nightmares. The body of the entity burned as its fur was made from oil, slow blue ember coated the body. Its wings started with blue flames that extended into red hot flames. The entity's wingspan was 60 metres. Its eyes laced with green sulfuric flames.
The phoenix started to approach Baldwin defensively.
The fear that crept up his body started to affect Baldwin's mind. He started to laugh. Each step the Phoenix took, Baldwin's laughter grew; as if the whole situation was a twisted joke, which would end with his life.
As soon as the phoenix reached Baldwin.
THWACK! A sudden noise echoed behind the phoenix. The phoenix cried out as it turned circles.
Then Baldwin saw it a figure that held the axe that was engraved in the phoenix's back.
'Claus!' was the only thought that coursed through Baldwin's mind.
"It's not your time yet, captain." Claus said, desperately clinging to his axe.
There it was; a flicker of hope that Baldwin could put his trust in.
The phoenix rammed its back into a nearby stone wall. As it came forward, Claus slid down from the stone with his axe in his hand. His entire front body showed evidences of 1st degree burns. The phoenix raised its talons to slash at Claus. Claus took a defensive pose by holding his two handed battleaxe in front of him. He coated it with Ki.
Just as the talon was about to hit Claus, it was caught by his slithering sword. Baldwin had extended Urumi to hold the talon from attacking. His every Ki-imbued muscle screeched in pain. Claus took this moment to put some distance between the Phoenix and himself. Then He jumped high and used the momentum of his body to attack the phoenix. Before Claus could reach the phoenix, he was flung backward as the phoenix flapped her wings. She then roared in its raspy voice "SKREEEEEEEEE!"
Both Baldwin and Claus had to let go of their weapons and hold their ears to protect the eardrums. Then, the phoenix sucked all the air around her. Baldwin and Claus dug their legs deep inside the ground to stop themselves from being sucked by the air pressure pulling toward the Phoenix. Then, as she stopped sucking the air, the phoenix's flames shot outside its body.
Everything in the path of the flames burned. Giant rocks melted, the lava that seeped from the ground became flaming hot as it flew away from the phoenix. The flame engulfed both Claus and Baldwin. They both used their Ki's to cover their outer skin.
But it protected them both, Baldwin then charged towards the phoenix and caught hold of Urumi's handle. His sword was still warped around the phoenix. He transferred his Ki through Urumi's balde and untangled it then he extended other side of Urumi to stab the phoenix in its stomach. The blade; still coated with Ki collided with the phoenix's stomach.
The blade left a tiny scar which vanished as the flames burned around it. Claus lifted his weapon from the ground and charged towards the phoenix. When he reached the phoenix, he used his Ki coated battleaxe to slash the talons of the phoenix, The battleaxe deflected without causing any damage.
The phoenix the opened its mouth and pointed it towards Claus and breathed a blue-violet flame. Claus covered his body in thick layer of Ki. The Ki itself burned as the flame reached Claus. Suddenly, Claus was covered in ice from head to toe. The flame melted through the ice but the ice just grew. The phoenix stopped as she ran out of breath.
'Where did the ice come from?' Baldwin thought. He followed the ice to see a thin layer that started from an old man with a staff in his hand. The old man was panting heavily.
"What…. are… you…..doing, Baldwin?" The man asked as he gasped for air each word heavily.
The phoenix was confused as she saw the newcomer. Her anger had subsided but now a new feeling took over. One of wounded pride. For the first time, a human had stopped her breath. But, for the Phoenix her life was more important than pride.
The phoenix extended its wings and soared away.
"Grandmaster Vince." Baldwin shouted as he recognised the man. It was grandmaster Vince; the strongest mage in the world. Mages were people who studied the mysteries of the world. They were able to conjure various spells using mana that coursed through the world.
The world was made of three types of energy; mana, Ki, and the miasma. Mana was the energy that fuelled various elements such as Air, Water, fire, lightening, etc. The Mages used mana to conjure on fuel any spell. But it required a conduit to transfer the messages, hence the used a staff. Grandmaster Vince's staff was made from a special tree called Yggdrasil that had lived for multiple millennias.
The ki was energy that fuelled life itself. It was the essence of life that grew inside every living thing. Though controlling the Ki was a feat on its own. Warriors that could use Ki, enhanced their physical strength and speed. Ki being a life energy usually dispersed as its contact with life was broken.
"Your orders were to standby. You were not to attack the Phoenix. Only to scout." Grandmaster said.
"The phoenix had laid its egg. The phoenix could not be seen anywhere near so I had to fight it." Baldwin replied.
Vince nodded. Then his gaze landed on the orb, "Is that? A phoenix core?" Vince asked.
"Yes, I picked it after breaking the egg." Baldwin said as he handed the orb to Vince. Vince looked at the orb in awe.
"Let's go!" Vince exclaimed as his put the orb in a blue bag with Royal engravings on it.
The orb was handed to the Royal family after the fiasco.
Baldwin had received the credit for the mission.
The Crimson knights threw a celebratory feast for Baldwin's promotion to General.
Baldwin had failed to find Claus at the celebration..
AT PRESENT TIME,
Baldwin got up from his bed, he had been in bed for seven hours. It was already time for his shift. He went to the basin in his house. The water from the fountain was cold. He splashed the water on his face. He felt a chill going through his spine.
His body still ached from his strenuous battle against Claus. When he looked in the mirror hanging on the wall, he could see dark circles around his eyes, his skin had wrinkled a bit. A sign of Ki overuse. His body had broken down but, his mind held the resolve. A resolve to find answer to the haunting question in his mind; 'Why did Claus betray the Kingdom?'
Baldwin then changed his clothes, put on a fresh uniform and headed toward the Crimson Knights' headquarters.