“The who?” Lucky asked, looking at the man in confusion.
“The Calamity Titan from the Ten Pillars of Power.”
“Ten Pillars of Power?” Lucky asked again, turning to the man and looking confused.
“What?”
“It’s not the Ten Pillars of Power. It’s the Nine Pillars of Power.”
“Nine?” The man asked, looking surprised. “But the Calamity Titan’s part of the pillars.”
Lucky shook his head and said, “The only group I know off is the Nine Pillars of Power consisting of the Phoenix Titan, Dragon Titan, War Titan, Death Titan, Demon Titan, Sun Titan, Moon Titan, Magic Titan, and Sword Titan. There wasn’t any mention of there being a Calamity Titan in the recorded history about them.”
The man looked at the kid as if he had received a shock and remained silence for a few seconds.
“They most likely expelled him from the group and then renamed it as the Nine Pillars of Power,” he finally reasoned as to what had happened.
“What happened?”
“Watch,” the man said, indicating at the moving picture while raising the volume.
“Hey, Phoenix,” the other person greeted him with a sinister smile.
“Get out of the way, Calamity! I don’t have time for you,” replied the voice of the Phoenix Titan.
“Come now,” the other man said causally by raising both of his hands in the air. “Don’t be like that to your old enemy. I just want us to battle and then you can go on your way.”
“What?!”
The Phoenix Titan appeared to be clearly shocked by being informed of the other person’s intentions.
“Why do you want to battle me now when the world is at stake here?!”
“I don’t care about the world,” the Calamity Titan said and smiled evilly at him, “but I can’t let it end when I have old score to settle with you!”
In an instant, he began to surge with power while radiating dark violent aura that surrounded him. Lucky watched this spectacle in amazement because he had never seen or heard anything about such happening to anyone.
“You’re regret this!” The Phoenix Titan said, and he too seemed like he also surged with power to battle him.
“Oh? We’ll see about that!” The Calamity Titan said, and he aimed his hand at his enemy.
In an instant, the image fizzled out and became blank. Lucky was shocked as he wanted to see more and find out what happened.
“What happened?” He asked the older man curiously.
“I’m not sure,” the man said, shaking his head. “Whatever he did, it knocked me into a deep sleep until I awake when the reincarnation of the new Phoenix Titan happened.”
“Wow! Did he possibly know that you were there watching him or maybe helping the Phoenix Titan?”
“I don’t think so,” the man said, shaking his head and added, “and I don’t believe I ever helped a Phoenix Titan in the past. I was more of a witness to their life than an advice giver.”
Lucky looked at him in surprise and asked, “What about me?”
“With you, it’s different,” the man said with a sad smile. “You see, each and every Phoenix Titan is born with extradentary power and just know somehow that they are destined for great things. You, on the other hand, are happily enjoying your life and spending time aimlessly when you should’ve been doing other things.”
“Really? What could be the cause for that?”
“I’m not too sure,” the man said, and he clicked his fingers.
In an instant, Lucky felt he was being lifted into the air and soared to the surface before he found himself standing in his room again. He breathed a deep sigh and looked in front of him, where the figure of the man was drifting slowly through the air. Suddenly, he flew through the air and went back to appearing as though he sat on the bed.
“It’s clear the Calamity Titan did something to us at that moment before his fight against the Phoenix Titan,” said the man, looking thoughtful. Then he looked up and asked, “Judging from the history that your family maid taught you, I believe it’s been nearly 4000 years since the reincarnation happened if the current date is 11th of Augustine 3991, which is strange because the Phoenix Titan reincarnation happens every 100 years.”
“Wow!” Lucky exclaimed in surprise. “Ever 100 years? Then, these near 4000 years is a pretty long time to wait for me to be born again.”
“Yes.”
The man said that and nodded before he looked surprised and turned to stare at the kid.
“D-Did you just admit that it took you nearly 4000 years to reincarnate?”
“Well, that’s what happened right?” Lucky asked, looking surprised.
The man shook his head and said, “Yes, but it looked like you admitted to being the Phoenix Titan! Does this mean you finally believe me?”
“Well, yeah. Since you’ve shown me all the evidence, I can believe you now.”
With that said, Lucky smiled at the man and made the other person chuckle happily.
“That’s good,” the man said with a smile.
“Yes, but what about my past selves, my missing link to them, and you not having any memory of the fight with the Calamity Titan. What about that?”
“Like I said, he clearly did something to us, but I’m just not too sure what he did,” the other man replied, looking as though he was thinking about it. “I probably need to investigate after diving deep into your mind. Maybe, he placed some kind of seals on us?”
“Seals?! You mean like Cursed Seals?!”
The man nodded to Lucky’s exclamation and said, “That’s probably it.”
“Oh,” said Lucky, looking shaken. “Am I cursed? What should I do?”
“Don’t panic! Curse Seals are used to restrain someone and make them weaker, it’s not the same as what your teacher is inflicted with,” the man stated. Then he sighed and said, “There’s no other choice. I’ll have to dive into your mind and go searching for whatever it is.”
“Can you find it?”
At Lucky’s anxious question, the man nodded confidently.
“I should be able to. You see, Curse Seals tend to have a physical form in the mental state of the victim, depicting that they are forcibly restraining them from using all of their powers. Heck, there could be ones that cause some side effects like make a person lose track of their goals or become stupid.”
“Oh! That’s bad.”
“It sure is.”
“So, is there anything I should do?”
“Go about your daily life like normal,” the man said before realising something and raising a finger in front of him. “Make sure not to tell anyone about the fact that you are the Phoenix Titan, and that you have a wandering spirit in you.”
Lucky was surprised and asked, “Why? I think my parents would be thrilled to know who I am, right?”
“It’s not about them,” the man said with a shake of his head. “Things like this have a way of spreading very quickly, be it by you telling your parents, or your parents losing their composure and exposing the truth to someone. From there, you can be sure a wildfire will erupt and probably sweep up your current lifestyle.”
“What do you mean?”
“Think about it, Lucky. Over the many years, the Phoenix Titan is looked upon as a symbol of freedom and justice, and many of his targets are criminals that lost their powers and fortune. So, if their descendants heard that there a new Phoenix Titan appeared, they’d target you and your entire family, jeopardising everyone’s safety.”
“Ah!” Lucky said, realising the dire consequences that awaited him if such a thing happened. “That’s bad! I don’t want my family to face such a situation!”
“Exactly!” The man said, looking seriously at him. “And remember, you’re in no position to protect anyone right now. You’re weak, as weak as new-born baby, not as strong as you should be for being a Phoenix Titan.”
“Then, what should I do to get stronger and better?”
“Do as your dad said and train hard,” said the man, looking at him as if that was the obvious thing to do. “There is no magic to increasing your strength in a single day, and there is no miracle that would help you become better. It all comes down to training, every single day, enduring the pain, and reaching new heights.”
Lucky went silent at that. He had been hoping to hear an easy way around it upon accepting that he was the reborn Phoenix Titan. However, reality made it clear that there was no other way but to train like his father to become stronger. This made him feel a mixture of emotions such as sadness, irritation, annoyance, and tiredness.
“Don’t like the thought?” The man asked, correctly guessing what the kid was thinking.
“Well, I just thought it would be easier since I am the Phoenix Titan,” the kid admitted in frustration.
“That would normally be the case, but something happened in the past that made you weak right now. It’s not your fault, but if you let that get you down, no one’ll help you. You have to decide to stand back up, you have to decide to face the challenge, and you have to decide to be the best that you could possibly be. It’s all up to you to decide.”
Lucky nodded silently and sighed, accepting the reality and decided to do his best. Nothing had changed from before when he made his goal of being an undefeatable warrior that isn’t a burden to others. Be it him being the Phoenix Titan or not, the goal remained the same.
“Okay. I’ll start doing my best, train hard, and become a truly powerful warrior!”
“That’s the spirit!” The man said, grinning broadly at him.
As the two looked at each other and smiled, Lucky wanted to thank the man. That was when he realised, he did not know what his name was.
“Um, would you mind telling me your name?” He asked curiously.
“My name?” The man asked, looking surprised. Then he looked up at the ceiling and said, “My name, ah? Well, I used to have one in the past but it’s not necessary to go with it.”
He seemed to ponder about it before deciding on something and telling him, “Call me Decisive Player.”
“Decisive Player?” Lucky asked with a frown. “Why that name?”
“Well, it feels like I’m going to be the decisive one between the two of us,” said the man with a smile.
“Huh?!” Lucky exclaimed, looking shocked. “I’m being decisive too, you know?”
“Maybe, but you don’t know what it truly means to be a Phoenix Titan just yet. So, I’ll teach you slowly as you grow older of its true meaning. Okay?”
“Being secretive with me, are you?” Lucky asked with a frowning face.
“Never!” The man remarked, looking horrified at the very thought. “I would never betray you, or lie to you, Lucky! I am your friend, and I’m here to help you! Please believe me!”
“You just said you’ll teach me slowly as I grow older.”
“I have to because I feel it’s not right to bombard a seven-year-old with all the knowledge and information I have with me. No one learns everything in a single go, Lucky. It takes time to grow, and I felt it’s easier for me to teach you the ways of the Phoenix Titan over time. Do you get it now?”
“Ah. Yes. I get it now,” said Lucky, nodding in understanding and smiling at him. Then he stretched his body from the tiredness he was feeling and said, “Anyway, it’s time for me to sleep, and I have training tomorrow.”
“You can do it! I believe in you!” The Decisive Player said with a smiling face.
“Yeah!” Lucky replied excitedly.
The Decisive Player became surprised when the kid offered him a hand in friendship. When he looked at his face, the kid was smiling and seemed to have wanted him to shake his hand.
“You know that I can’t touch anything, right?”
“So, what? Pretend you’re shaking my hand.”
Chuckling to himself, the Decisive Player floated off the bed and came to him. After taking on a standing position, he extended his hand and seemed to go straight through Lucky’s hand. He felt a little sad, but he quickly recovered and pretended to shake the boy’s hands while Lucky did the same, smiling at the older man.
“It feels strange shaking my hand in empty air,” commented Lucky cheekily. Then he looked at the older man and said, “Let’s do our best together, Decisive Player.”
“You got it, Lucky!”
With that, the wandering spirit and the kid smiled and nodded, coming to an agreement of friendship without the need to express it in words. Only time would tell the kind of progress that Lucky would make in his growth as the Phoenix Titan with the help from the Decisive Player.
