The Rebirth Shrine was unlike the Fire Shrine. It didn't have the oppressive heat or heavy environment. In fact, it was filled with life and vitality.
Rivers of gold flowed and waterfalls of bronze fell. The clouds danced with all sorts of rainbow colors and the land was brimming with vitality. Every step Ryu took made him feel as though his very soul was being reinvigorated.
Unlike the Fire Shrine, the Rebirth Shrine didn't have architecture. It sat it the middle of a golden lake that seemed to shift between ethereal and corporeal, dancing between fog and liquid.
Standing at the edge of this lake, Ryu could see countless hidden formations buried within. To anyone else, they might have been completely undetectable. But to him, they were as bright as day, each more complex than the last. There was no doubt that the treasures of the Fire Phoenix Clan were hidden beneath.
Ryu closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. The shrine seemed to sing in his presence. Unlike with the Fire Shrine, he could feel the tangible soul of the Rebirth Shrine. It didn't just want to acknowledge his presence, it wanted him to take on its mantle.
Something like this should have been impossible, but Ryu could only conclude that this was due to his Emperor Phoenix Bloodline.
Normally, without at least a Minor Godhood, a Shrine wouldn't even acknowledge your existence, even for a talent like Ryu. But now, this one was tugging at him from all sides.
However, even so, Ryu completely ignored it, his eyes tightly closed and his body as relaxed as he could force it to be. And it was then that he felt the gentlest touch to his cheek.
When Ryu opened his eyes, he found a woman he knew all too well. Her beauty was still beyond words, even as the lines of age threatened to claw their grips into her. The maturity of her stature was unmatched and the elegance of her presence was beyond what even Ryu's mother could match.
"Grandma…"
Ryu spoke lightly, his voice even and controlled. However, the care and affection in his eyes were all too clear.
His Grandma Tatsuya was a fiery woman, the kind capable of reining in even the likes of his Grandpa Tatsuya. But right now she didn't seem to have any of that sort of edge.
Her red hair was done up in an Empress's bun, fitted by a crown. Her elaborate dress was worthy of her stature. And, though her image was illusory, she still carried a presence no less than that of a living person.
Merula smiled, pinching Ryu's cheek slightly. Her dress fluttering in the wind as a delicate fragrance wafted through the air.
"I won't say much as I don't have much time remaining, Little Ryu. I can already sense that your Grandpa Tatsuya has left this world and it's this Empress' duty to be by his side."
The lofty pride of his grandmother was fitting of the Dragon Race. But, maybe that was only apropos considering the fact that the Fire Phoenixes were the rulers of the Phoenix Race much the same way Fire Dragons were the rulers of the Dragon Race.
"I have already lived a long life, much longer than any mortal could possibly imagine. I've married a powerful and true man. I've raised an outstanding son. And, I've lived long enough to see my grandchild also grow into the man he was always meant to be.
"I can see it in your eyes now. That same childish excitement my little six year old grandson used to have, it's returned. I can say that the only shame in my life is not being able to witness its reappearance personally, but it seems that I can trust your wives to help you through any future fog."
Merula smiled meaningfully. A gush of wind fluttered by.
Ryu could see it with his eyes, the way the qi in the surroundings bowed down in reverence.
"Remember, Little Ryu. The Fire Dragon isn't the only royal blood that flows through your veins."
Merula raised her palm to the skies as though she wanted to caress the cheek of the sun above. Despite how bold and dauntless the action, it only seemed all the more appropriate, as though only such lofty and untouched sentiments were worthy of being associated with her.
Delicate Heavenly Phoenix Patterns began to spread out from her slender fingers. Each took the form of the graceful and subtle veins of a birds feathers, quickly wrapping around one another and stacking until a small orb of golden light accelerated into the form of a sun that overshadowed even the one in the skies.
The Heavenly Patterns flowed in and out of one another seamlessly, dancing with an enigmatic rhythm that caused the heart to thrum.
"We weren't meant to study the Mental Realm or learn Heavenly Patterns, but this Empress isn't very fond of following rules," Merula laughed, the gentle bell-like tones of her voice soothing the soul. "My father-in-law wasn't a man I liked very much, so I never respected his rules. However, for the sake of my husband, I never revealed this to others.
"When it comes to control and understanding of Heavenly Patterns, there is no one in the past or future that has or will surpass me.
"This isn't knowledge that I can pass onto you in such a short period of time, but I want to pass onto you a fundamental truth that I've come to understand over the years.
"They say that Ice Phoenix Heavenly Patterns are the ultimate defense, Dark Phoenix Heavenly Patterns are the ultimate offense, and Fire Phoenix Heavenly Patterns are a jack of all trades. However, this couldn't be further from the truth. These words are nothing more than the most superficial understanding of what these Heavenly Patterns represent.
"Dark Phoenix Heavenly Patterns…"
Merula's aura shifted, and the radiant sun of golden Heavenly Patterns in her palm began to become corrupted. A flow of black energy was injected into it.
The markers of Dark Phoenix Heavenly Patterns began to form. If Fire Phoenix Heavenly Patterns were like delicately shaped golden feathers, Dark Phoenix Heavenly Patterns were swirling cyclones of darkness, forming countless sizes of circular patterns that seemed to want to swallow up everything.
"… aren't an ultimate offense. They embody exactly what their originators did. Death, decay, destruction. At the highest order, they represent the end of all things, the final stop, the finality of Chaos…
"… Ice Phoenix Heavenly Patterns…"
The corruption of black energies suddenly came to a grinding halt, clashing against a frosty blueness.
While Dark Phoenix Heavenly Patterns were swirling of dark cyclones and Fire Phoenix Heavenly Patterns were fluttering golden feathers, Ice Phoenix Heavenly Patterns were boxy and sharp lines, traveling only directly up and down or left and right. Their organization was immaculate and it gave off the presence of an impenetrable wall.
Blackness and blueness met, clashing on both sides and each vying for supremacy.
"… aren't an ultimate defense. They embody everything opposing to that of death, decay and destruction. They fuel life and preserve Order.
"However…"
At that moment, the golden sun that had been being suffocated suddenly bloomed, growing an entire fold in size and causing spirals of darkness and shards of ice to shoot outward in all directions.
"… The Emperor Phoenixes Heavenly Patterns are beyond this. Ice Phoenixes are often mistaken to be much more powerful than they are because they are said to give life, but this is incorrect. As I've said, Ice Phoenix preserve life, they allow what already is to continue to be, they nurture what has already come into being.
"However, Rebirth is beyond that. Rebirth gives form, gives structure. It sparks life. It is the bridge between Order and Chaos not only because it is a balance between the two, but because it can turn Order to Chaos and Chaos to Order as it pleases.
"We Create!
"This is what it means to be Reborn, this is what it means to be an Emperor Phoenix!"
BANG!
The sun exploded, countless motes of light spraying down in all directions as a cascade of beautiful scenery overwhelmed the senses.
For a long time, Ryu couldn't see properly. And, when his vision truly did clear, he found that his grandmother's form had already faded, a single lingering sentence drifting through the air.
"Little Ryu, I only want you to promise this Empress one thing…"
Ryu looked up into the skies, his eyes glistening and his fists clenched.
"I'll kill every last one of them." He said coldly.
Merula's laughter spread through the skies. Even after the last bits of her aura vanished, it lingered, causing the grasses to sway and the waters to ripple.
Ryu stood in silence for a very long time, the lingering touch of his grandmother's palm still warming his cheek. His eyes closed once more, the gentle sway of nature embracing him as though his grandmother was still here.