Arima landed lightly on the ground of the Phoenixes' home with Layla, Moira, and the Slanderer in tow. From afar, this star looked exactly like a three-dimensional five-pointed star, the kind that you would draw on paper. But once you reached its surface you would see that the ground was made out of something similar to glass or crystal and through that transparent material, the raging flames that a normal star should release were confined.
Layla stared at the flames below her and sighed in awe as she felt the heat going through the transparent surface. "It's hard to believe that a celestial body like this one could exist..."
"It's called the Sunset Star," Slanderer provided. "It was named after the very orange-red color and the golden hue this plasma releases."
"Where are the Phoenixes though?" Moira asked while looking around. "There's nothing here. It just looks like a spotless jewel at this point. I can't even see a structure or a single living creature."
Arima smiled. "Well, of course..." He muttered and pushed his nephew whilst applying a certain magic on his body.
"Eh?" Moira exclaimed and his eyes opened wide as he approached the ground. At least, that's what he thought would happen. Instead, he fell through the glass-like material and disappeared within the raging energy waves.
Arima chuckled. "Let's go in as well," he said and a magic circle appeared at his feet. He, Layla, and the Slanderer instantly phased through the star like Moira and left the surface of the Sunset Star as peaceful as it always was.
* * *
"You could've warned me!" Moira shouted the second he saw his uncle appear next to him.
"What's the fun in that?" Arima laughed lightly. "Rather, what do you think about this place? It's pretty cool, isn't it?"
Moira snorted and looked up. "Yeah."
After entering the star, the group had fallen somewhere unexpected. But, in all honesty, it wasn't that unbelievable considering the exterior of it but it was surprising nonetheless as they found themselves inside the glass; instead of outside.
This place was very similar to Nebulas. The difference being that they were not confined in a sphere but a star-shaped crystal that had literal plasma layers. And in the center of it, there was a very large chunk of earth, floating in midair, with a crimson city built on it.
"It has been a very long time since I came here last," Slanderer commented as the four of them started flying toward the city in the distance. This place was actually considerably big and the time needed to reach the center was deceitfully long. Similarly, the city was a lot bigger than what they could make of it from this distance.
"You came here before?" Layla inquired.
"Of course. Who do you think I am?"
"Hm... Then, do you think the Phoenixes will welcome us?"
The question made the Slanderer stagger. "Well... the first time, they-!"
He was interrupted by a massive fireball that suddenly materialized above their heads.
"Ah," Arima's group blinked and the fireball exploded into a fiery swirl of pure orange flames. At the same time, a dozen of figures appeared around the explosion. They were all bird-shaped one way or another and each one of them had some sort of obvious flame coating them. A few of them were literally bathing in fire, others had normal feathers and just a mane of fire, one of them just had his eyes burning, etc…
"Come on, this isn't a way to welcome someone," a voice resounded from inside the explosion and the Phoenixes stepped back. A silhouette calmly walked out of the flames with his hands in his pockets and eyes projecting a hexagram.
The mythical birds all recoiled in fear when they saw the man. They were the most reclusive species in the entire existence, but they were far from ignorant.
"Eternal Night!" One of them shouted in a high-pitched voice.
"Oh? You know of me?" Arima smiled casually and as the flames dispersed, the phoenixes started to make out the others. They also were completely unscathed. One of them looked like a child and he was holding in his hand an ebony sword which had somehow absorbed their flames. The other two were a large golem releasing the energy of Laws and an angelic woman with eyes akin to stars. The powerful child aside, they immediately recognized the two others.
"This energy…! Slanderer!"
"That woman is Eternal Night's companion! The Timeless Invocator!"
"Eh?" Layla was startled. She pointed at herself. "Me? Timeless Invocator? What is that?"
"You didn't know?" Arima tilted his head. "Remember last year? When Lea snuck away from home without telling you? And you know, when she was, quoting your words, 'bullied' by a tribe of cyclops, and you cut all of them with a stroke saying, "Your time belongs to death, whether it is your present, your future, your past, all of them will be cut." And then when I had to restore their planet and revive them because they had, in fact, been kind enough to take Lea in when she was lost. Does that ring a bell?"
Layla groaned and covered her face in embarrassment while Arima laughed. On the other hand, Slanderer felt a bit irked.
"Why is it always you guys who get the cool names? For instance, Arima has so many good titles such as the Ancient Spirit Demon. Malum's the Ashen Berserker Dragon, Ahura's the Primordial Sword of Unification, Night is the Awakened Crimson Bahamut, Karma's the Transcendent Severing Soul, Fafnir's the Warden of Kymestuos, Chulainn's the Hound of Kymestuos, and I'm sure I don't need to mention the Four Divine Beasts. And now Layla's the Timeless Blade..."
"Then there's me. Slanderer, Devil, and, what, Original Devil?"
Arima and Layla sweatdropped at the gradual breakdown of one of the oldest and most powerful creatures in Existence.
"You have a fourth one, you know?" Moira remarked and the giant golem looked at him. "Uncle Sland."
Something akin to glass breaking echoed and Slanderer stopped moving altogether.
"Well done, Moira. Really well done," Arima shook his head with a sigh.
"What? What did I do?"
Meanwhile, the Phoenixes were getting more and more agitated. They truly felt as if they should be doing something but they were rooted on the spot watching some sort of comedy sketch. They were barely strong enough to be considered regular guards in Sunset Star. They had no way of confronting these legendary powerhouses.
"Slanderer, Eternal Night, would you refrain from insulting us in our territory?" A booming voice resounded and Arima's group looked up to see an enormous golden phoenix. This one was easily ten times bigger than any of the others. He sported stunning golden feathers decorated with a tint of red at the tip. As for his unique flames, they formed two additional pairs of wings on his back as well as a halo over his head.
Slanderer recovered from his emotional blow and looked in the eyes of the Phoenix. "So, we meet again, Ra. I see you still have your special way of welcoming visitors."
"Visitors are synonym of bad omen. You are not welcome here, Slanderer. I thought I had made this clear to you, eons ago."
"That you did, but we're here to discuss something."
Ra scowled. "Discuss? What is it that you need to even bring the Hunter with you?"
"Phantasms," Arima intruded the conversation to answer. Ra instantly turned toward him with narrowed eyes. "Also – Realm Synchronization."
"…I'll listen to what you have to say."
Arima snorted. "Thank you. Now, I have exactly two questions for you. Have you ever heard of the Broken Depths?"
"I did," Ra replied with no perceptible hesitation or surprise. "From what I know, that is the name of an elite organization of Phantasms led by a Phantasmal King and Queen."
"Do you know anything notable about them?"
"Why should I answer you, Eternal Night?" Ra unexpectedly retorted. "I have no obligation to follow your commands."
"Well, then, let me ask you the second question. Do you know about the Synchronization of Realm, and if yes, do you know the Broken Depths' motive in executing it?"
Ra fell silent for a short moment.
"I see… So, the Phantasms seek the complete merging of the realms. I understand the reason for your visit now. But that doesn't concern me, Eternal Night. My Sunset Star will not be affected by the Synchronization and I have no desire to risk it becoming the Broken Depths' target by talking to you. You can leave."
Before Ra could turn around completely, Arima spoke again, "Haven't you gone to war against them once? Why is it that you're scared now?"
"I will reiterate myself; do not insult us, Eternal Night," Ra growled out. "We are not as many as we once were. I will not stake the lives of my people in a conflict that doesn't concern us. We have superiority over the Phantasms but that's the extent of it. All of them are strong in their own right and I will not let you lie to me and say you haven't realized yet that the Broken Depths are entirely different from regular Phantasms."
"Then tell me, Ra-Horakhty," Arima opened his arms. "What would make you help us?"
"Nothing," the legendary god of sun snapped back. "There is nothing you can give-"
"I can save you," Layla interrupted him and the Phoenix froze and looked at her with a piercing glare. Arima smiled and stepped back for this one.
"Explain yourself," Ra almost commanded.
Layla faintly smiled. "I know why the Phoenixes have been decreasing in number these last few million years. I'm telling you that I can fix that problem. Would that be enough of a reason for you to aid us?"
"How would you, out of all people, know about our current state?"
"If I told you I was once a Phoenix, would you believe me?" Layla cryptically replied.
Ra frowned deeply. "You are not one of-"
"I know that," she interrupted him again and this time, the flames hovering around him burned stronger to show his irritation. "This title they gave me, it is… surprisingly well-fitting. I'm, after all, indeed timeless. Contrary to people like Arima who have assimilated every single instance of their parallel timelines and deviated versions, I am what you would call timeless simply because I don't really have a time to which I belong."
Ra slowly pieced things together as he listened to her. "In other words, you are saying that you exist in every possible and imaginable potential future, past, and present times? And that, in one of them, you are a Phoenix?"
"Yes," Layla nodded while gracefully holding her hands in front of her. A light came out from between her palms and formed the image of a Phoenix with burning silver flames.
"This would be how I look like. Just like Arima, I never stopped training and ultimately reached this level of attunement with time. I can summon in myself beings that have existed, that will exist, or that could have existed, and appropriate myself their powers and experiences. My own selves are no exception and, in their case, I can remember most things that they went through."
"What does this have to do with the saving of my race?"
Layla looked into Ra's eyes as her own turned into a crystal-like material. "I saw, I experienced it and I came to know what caused it. Since four million years ago, Phoenixes have been dying for no apparent reason and some even lost the ability to reproduce, haven't they?"
Slanderer hummed when he heard that. "Really? Interesting. I always thought that they were just too scattered and that caused them to dwindle over time. Objectively speaking, it doesn't make sense. Phoenixes are eternal. They can also come back to life and regenerate. They can indeed be killed but I wonder what could possibly make them pass on prematurely…"
Ra groaned and stared at Layla. "And you say you have the means to resolve this situation?"
"Yes," she affirmed. "So, is it enough for you to help us?"
Ra stayed silent for a few minutes before making his decision. "All of you, go back and return to your posts," he ordered the Phoenixes behind him.
"Understood!" They complied and flew away with a speed that even most Gods would feel jealous of. "Now, I will only say it once, so listen carefully," the First Phoenix declared and Arima beckoned him to go on with a wave of his hand.
"The war that went between us and the Phantasms occurred nearly five billion years ago. As you already know, even for people like us, that kind of memory is hard to retain but I'll tell you about everything I remember. To make things clear, the Broken Depths, although I have heard of them, did not take part in the war. But I did gather information about them in the off chance that they would join in."
"As far as I know, the Broken Depths is an organization hidden deep within Meuro, the realm of Reality Dissonance, or in other words, the Boundary of Realities. They are dissociated from the normal Phantasms and they even have their own Royalty. However, there are a few things I know about them. One; the Royal Phantasms leading them are special. The term used for them would be something along the lines of 'Destiny Beacons'."
Arima's eyes widened dangerously at that. "I see… so that's why," he whispered.
"Two; their hierarchy," Ra continued. "Below the King and Queen, their children are the next on the line. From what I gathered; they do not take part in the activities of the Broken Depths but they do hold some importance that is unknown to me. Further down, and the Broken Depths are divided into three clans, each led by a council. After that, there exists a certain task force composed of ten Phantasms, called the Espectros, which are spread out among the clans. I'm afraid I forgot the specifics but I do recall the members possessing each an Aspect of Madness."
"In that case, does the name 'Tormento' ring any bell?" Arima asked.
"Hmm, it might indeed be one of the Aspects but I can't affirm anything."
"I see. It's all right, go on please."
Ran nodded. "After that, as you might be able to guess, the hierarchy basically devolves into a very regular society of Phantasms. Then, my third and final point, concerns the Second Dragon King, God of Fate and Judgement, my younger brother, Chronepsis."
"What?" Layla exclaimed. "What do you mean?" She asked with a barely contained voice. She wasn't the only one surprised. Arima, Slanderer, and Moira were taken off guard by the sudden emergence of a very familiar name next to a very shocking narrative.
"You seem to have some relation with my brother," Ra remarked with a scowl. "How so?"
Arima glanced at Layla and when he saw she was still in a daze, answered for her. "Chronepsis is her father."
Ra blinked and his mind gradually caught up with the information. "Oh god…"
"Well, this took an interesting turn," Moira uttered.
"…was my father really your brother?" Layla finally asked and Ra was now looking at her with a completely different look.
"This… I never expected this situation," the Phoenix paused and exhaled. "Chronepsis was born and raised here, in Sunset Star. We are not related by blood, quite obviously, but he's the one with whom I made a blood pact. I suddenly lost all contact with him around two hundred million years ago."
"What's the connection with the Broken Depths?" Arima inquired.
"A thousand years ago, I received a message. To be exact, a post mortem message." Ra said and growled. "One that warned me to not look for him and which also contained his parting words."
"But there was no way you would be satisfied with that, was it?"
"Of course not," Ra replied. "I investigated the matter with all my power and resources and it only bore fruit centuries after I began. Through testimony, I learned that my brother met Kur and I went to look for him for answers."
"Kur?" Moira tilted his head.
"It's the fifth and strongest Dragon King," Slanderer informed. "He's also the oldest dragon alive to this day. Even older than Asgorath. Although he lacks in the strength department, you could say he's the most erudite of all."
"Indeed," Ra nodded. "Kur then recounted to me that he was visited by my brother with a woman at his side. The two of them had asked him for a way to get to Meuro. The woman added that she could navigate inside it, so there was no need to worry. As he related this to me, Kur added one more thing; the woman was a Royal Phantasm. Neither Chronepsis nor the woman revealed it, but there was no way to fool the First Dragon's eyes."
When Ra was finished, a silence settled between them. Arima sighed. "So, Azizos was somehow spot on, huh?" He chuckled. "Ra, does this mean you were always aware that Chronepsis' death was connected to the Broken Depths?"
"…I did."
"And you decided to ignore it?" Layla asked with a glare. "You decided to let your brother's killers remain unpunished?"
"There is no way I could have ignored it!" Ra shouted back and his eyes burst into flames along with the rest of his body. "For years, I had to push down the urge to take revenge! Every day, I had to be sure to not do something that would bring doom to my people! Although you are my niece, I can't let you reject the efforts that both I and your father made to defend our home!"
"You have no idea of how many times we have been attacked for our rebirth in the past! Phoenixes we may be, powerful we may be, but we are still living thinking beings! We have women, children, and families that need to be protected! Not thrown into the pits of war!"
Ra and Layla glared at each other and before things escalated, Arima intervened. "Calm down," he waved his hand casually and Ra's flames were extinguished while Layla was forced to step back.
Ra turned toward him with a dark look. He had almost forgotten that he was in the presence of the most terrifying man in existence. He breathed out. "My apologies, I lost my composure."
"It goes for me as well…" Layla said with a tired voice. "My feelings took the better of me. I found out who my true father was and made a grave for him all in the same day."
"Good, now that you are calm again, Ra, did Kur tell you which method Chronepsis used to enter Meuro?" Arima followed.
"He did. They used the-"
"Oh la, I'm afraid I can't let you continue," an unknown voice echoed and everyone rapidly looked toward the source. A crack in space formed in midair and a figure slowly walked out. "We meet again, Kind Demon," the man said with a smirk. "You as well, Chronepsis' Daughter."
"Tormento…" Arima raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, officially, I'm on a mission," the Phantasm of torment smiled and pointed at Layla. "I was sent here to, and I quote, kill the daughter at all costs. What do you think? Funny, isn't it?"
Arima snickered and if he was angry about someone being sent to kill his wife, he wasn't showing it in the slightest. "Funny, indeed. It's already hard enough for me to do anything without Layla knowing through her vision, much less you."
Tormento chuckled and slowly raised his hands. "That is also true. But I see… that even children become terrifying when they're related to you," he remarked as he was being surrounded by a static volley of all sorts of swords. And a handful of them was touching his neck with their tip.
Tormento glanced at Moira who had reacted inhumanely fast when he made himself known. The child had his hand pointed at him and his eyes had quite literally turned into metal with a white glowing circle on it being the only thing resembling a pupil.
"Could you perhaps let me go, young man?" He spoke carefully. "I'm here to talk, not to fight."
Moira's unreadable eyes turned to Arima who nodded calmly. Right after, the swords stopped threatening Tormento and flew back to Moira who did nothing as they impaled him.
Tormento only had the time to blink before the swords abruptly disappeared as if they had never been there. "Really scary…" He whispered to himself then faced Arima's group and Ra fully. "We meet again, Phoenix Lord."
"Tormento…" Ra repeated this name in his head until he came to a realization. "You, I remember your name now. You were present during the war."
"Correct, I wasn't part of the Broken Depths back then, so I did indeed take part in the battle. But I'm not here to reminisce the old times," Tormento unexpectedly took on a serious expression. "I will be direct; I was the one who undid the seal on Chronepsis' grave."
"So, you were the one who allowed us to find that planet?"
"Yes, and in doing so, I broke some rules. The council then had the ingenious idea to send me to kill the lovely lady over here as a punishment, while probably aware of the unlikeliness of such a mission being a success."
Slanderer crossed his arms. "Then what are you here for? Plead for your life?"
"Hahaha, well, I wonder. My current objective is not to kill anyone, but rather, I'd like to ask you to grant me a favor, Kind Demon."
"Oh?" Arima raised an eyebrow. "Let's hear it."
"It's quite simple, please don't come to Meuro. Let the Broken Depths live for now," Tormento implored while bowing. "Although I abhor this organization, I truly believe in its goal. I beg you to wait before making a decision. The Realm Synchronization has potential; the potential to be something incredible."
"…" Arima closed his eyes and fell silent. As a God with an incalculable number of followers, there was one thing he knew for sure; Tormento's sentiments were genuine. Hope, desperation, and determination… He could sense them so clearly that he had no way of answering.
He shook his head and sighed. "I'm willing to grant you that favor," he finally said. Ra, Moira, and Slanderer looked at him wide-eyed. "I've come to believe that the Synchronization you are looking for isn't as simple as I thought. You, or should I say, the Broken Depths have discovered something that I don't know about, right?"
Tormento smiled meaningfully but didn't reply.
"I see… Then, there's only one thing I can say to you. I'm not the one you need to convince," he declared and patted Layla who had been standing stiffly next to him.
"H-hey! W-what are you doing all of a sudden?" She stuttered with a red face but didn't do anything to escape his hand.
"Relax," he said and pulled back his hand. "The choice is in your hands. I know this whole thing is tiring for you and it's precisely why. Whether I act against the Broken Depths or not, depends on if you're willing to get revenge for your father."
Layla opened her mouth but closed it just after. She breathed in and looked at Tormento in the eyes. "In that case… Tormento, tell me everything you know about The Watcher, Chronepsis. Give me a satisfactory answer and your favor will be granted."
Tormento held the gazing contest with her for a short moment before relenting. He slowly rubbed his face and looked at the people around him with only one eye open. "Even though I just said that I wasn't here to reminisce… We might want to head to Sunset City and get comfortable because this will be a long story."