Cocytus spread his vast, tattered wings, lifting his monstrous form into the air. Around him, the very moisture in the atmosphere froze, crystallizing into thousands of jagged glacial lances that hovered, their needle-sharp points all aimed at the black phoenix.
The phoenix ascended, a dark streak against the pale sky. He wove and twisted, his movements a blur as he evaded hundreds of the icy projectiles. Yet, thousands remained, closing in from every conceivable angle, a blizzard of certain death.
The phoenix tucked his wings close to his body.
"Kwaaaa!!"
With a piercing cry that split the air, he unfurled his wings violently. A wave of dark blue flame erupted from him in a perfect, expanding sphere. It met the lances, and they did not melt; they vanished, turning instantly into a vast, rolling bank of superheated white fog that blanketed the landscape.
From within the fog, a colossal claw, larger than a warship, tore downward. The phoenix brought his own wings up as a shield. The impact echoed like a thunderclap. Cocytus's razor-sharp claws failed to deal serious injuries, only chipping away a few obsidian feathers, but the sheer force of the blow sent the phoenix hurtling backwards through the air.
The phoenix righted himself, his violet eyes narrowing. 'He is the same level as the Kraken. I can't afford to hold back any longer.' The twilight flame, usually a soft glow, erupted around him in a blazing corona. The very aura around him shifted, becoming thick with a ferocious, ancient evil, like a palpable dread of the deepest Underworld dungeons given form.
Suddenly, Cocytus's breath hitched. His massive body grew heavy, his powerful wings feeling like lead. An instinctual terror, older than his own consciousness, seized him. 'What is he? This is not a battle; this is a predation.' His limbs trembled, and his eyes, against his will, refused to focus on the terrifying figure before him.
The phoenix opened his beak. A concentrated ray of that same blue flame, cold enough to burn existence itself, lanced out. Cocytus reacted on instinct, blasting a torrent of his absolute-zero frost breath. The two forces collided, but the dragon's power was overwhelmed in an instant. The blue flame washed over him, searing his scales and drawing a roar of agony from his throat. The damage was superficial because Hades was holding back his power, as he needed the river god alive, not dead.
"ROAARRR!!!"
Blinded by pain, Cocytus thrashed, his eyes scanning the fog. He didn't see the phoenix, now wreathed in destructive twilight flame, diving into a blistering charge. An immense impact shattered the silence, striking the dragon square in the back. The force was catastrophic. Cocytus plummeted from the sky like a fallen star, crashing into the icy plain below. The entire North Pole shuddered from the impact, and a massive crater was born, its edges glowing with residual heat.
The phoenix hovered, looking down at the unconscious form. Then, his head snapped toward a distant mountain. His gaze pierced the thick snow, finding a Titan spy hiding and observing the entire battle. The phoenix's beak opened, energy gathering for a final, erasing strike. A low groan from the unconscious Cocytus in the crater caused a microsecond of distraction.
BOOM!!!
The blue flame ray released. The entire mountain evaporated into nothingness. But in that fleeting moment, the Titan spy fumbled and activated a teleportation amulet, his form dissolving into light just before the annihilation reached him.
"Aaaaaa!!! The rat escaped!" The phoenix's cry of frustration echoed across the tundra. He glared down at the crater. "This happened because of you." His head tilted skyward. 'I have even less time now.'
'Shadow Bind.' 'Gate of the Underworld.'
From Cocytus's shadow, chains of solidified darkness erupted, wrapping tightly around the unconscious Cocytus. The ground beneath the dragon opened into a swirling violet portal, and the bound form was dragged down into the depths, the gate sealing shut behind him.
The phoenix stretched his senses across the world. 'Lethe has moved from her original location... she is in the east, with Styx.' With a powerful beat of his wings, he turned and flew toward the eastern horizon, a streak of black against the sky.
From behind a dense cluster of frost-covered bushes on a distant stellar peak, a small, furry head peeked out. "Haah…Haah…Is the monster gone?" The divine beast, Stellar, watched until the phoenix disappeared. Only then did he stumble forward, collapsing onto the snow. "Phew…He's finally gone."
---
The Titan spy materialized in the courtyard of Atlas's palace, his body slamming onto the polished stone. He lay there, breathing in ragged, painful gasps, his heart hammering against his ribs. Sweat poured down his face.
He looked at his own hands; they would not stop trembling. 'Hah…Hah…What was that thing?' He tried to push himself up, but his legs buckled beneath him, shaking uncontrollably like a newborn calf's.
The grand doors of the palace opened. The Titan Atlas emerged, his muscular frame clad in a simple chiton, his blond hair and golden beard gleaming. Behind him followed a grieving nymph and a cluster of servants.
"Greetings, Lord Atlas," the spy gasped, forcing his trembling body into a kneeling position.
Atlas looked down at the miserable creature. "What happened to you? Why did you use the teleport amulet?"
"Lord Atlas... I have found... the murderer of your son."
"Speak," Atlas commanded, his voice low and dangerous.
"In the North Pole... a giant black bird with gleaming violet eyes was figh—"
The nymph interrupted, her voice a wail of despair. "My lord, that's it! That black bird killed my innocent son!" She collapsed to her knees, clutching at Atlas's feet. "You must have revenge! He slaughtered our boy mercilessly!"
Atlas flicked a glance at the servants behind him. They immediately stepped forward, gently but firmly pulling the sobbing nymph away.
His eyes returned to the kneeling Titan. "Continue."
"That black bird... he trashed Cocytus as if he were nothing. After that, he spotted me and attacked. I am only here because of the amulet."
'Cocytus is a mid-level God Chief. For a creature to dominate him so utterly... it must be at the peak, or perhaps even God King level. A significant threat.' Atlas gave a slow, deliberate nod. "You have done an excellent job. Go to my villa and rest. We will discuss your reward later."
"Thank you, my lord, for your generosity."
'This could be a major threat. I must investigate this myself.' As he thought this, a servant approached. "My lord, your chariot is ready."
"Hmm… good." Atlas looked at the competent servant. "You may take an artefact from my treasury for your service."
The servant dropped to his knees. "Thank you, my lord! I will never forget your generosity."
"Kwaaa!"
Atlas flicked the reins lightly. The gryphon shrieked and began to run, powerful wings beating as it lifted the golden chariot into the sky.
---
Atlas reached the North Pole, his chariot circling the devastation. An entire mountain was simply gone, and the ground beneath was still smoldering, stained a deep, crimson red from the intense heat. His eyes fell upon the massive crater. Within it, he spotted a single, obsidian-black feather.
He landed and picked it up. The edge was so impossibly sharp that it sliced his finger, and a single drop of golden ichor welled up and dripped onto the snow. 'A feather as sharp as a sword of divine artefact level...'
"First, an unknown creature rampages in the sky realm, and now this black bird," he murmured to the desolate wind. "I do not know why, but I feel this is all a sign. An indication of something ominous on the horizon." His gaze then fell upon a trembling form trying to hide behind a glacier—the divine beast, Stellar. He pointed. "You."
"No-o, n-no! I didn't…do it!" Stellar stammered, his whole body quaking. "I-I am just a weak divine beast! T-This was all... a giant black bird's fault!" 'Aah! I want to leave, but my body won't move! Of all the days to be a witness...'
"Hmm… Do you know where that black bird went?" Atlas asked, his voice calm but leaving no room for disobedience.
"Y-Yes, my lord. It flew... toward the eastern direction."
Without another word, Atlas tossed a piece of ambrosia onto the snow before the terrified beast. He turned, boarded his chariot, and with a command to his gryphon, headed east. The hunt was on.