After listening to Eliza's story, Noire had to admit that things might not be as simple as it sounds.
For starters, maybe he has an advantage against Monsters, but he doesn't have the least advantage against humans. If he wasn't careful enough, he would be inviting a calamity onto his head.
Also, he can definitely ignore the life or death of a maiden branch of phoenixes, but he can't turn a blind eye to a Royal Phoenix descendant.
Also, if he was to nourish her vitality and bloodline through his blood essence, that would lower the magnitude of his own bloodline to an extent where he wouldn't worry about being recognized once he reached the Core Continent.
Sadly, Eliza had no valuable information about the distribution of forces, and Noire had zero intellect about how an Imperial Hierarchy in the human world runs itself, his only option is to tread carefully and accept whatever fate is tossed at his face.
After pondering his options for a while, Noire eventually agreed to help Eliza with hatching the egg.
Meanwhile, in another palace room, Kirin was enjoying a pristine medical bath.
Her round breasts floated onto the surface of the crystal clear water as petals of orchid roamed about around her frame.
For some reason, the more she remembered the deep care Noire held for the female companions by his side, she had this enigmatic feeling bud inside her heart.
Since the great migration, it can be said that the Phoenix Household was in a state of anxiety and decline for centuries. Opposite sex had rarely made contact with Phoenix Maidens, much less keep a prolonged visit inside the palace.
Through the last two weeks, until the Queen had enough courage to ask Noire for his favor, Kirin voluntarily provided daily care for Noire.
From food, preparing the bath, cleaning clothes, and whatnot.
At first, she convinced herself that this was her way of showing her condolences to relieve herself from guilt.
But deep down she knew it was simply a mix of curiosity, jealousy, and a feeling she is yet unable to describe.
Kirin gave a self-dejected sigh before sinking further into the warm water, hugging her knees, she groaned in displeasure as she said, "Just... What is this feeling?"
....
"What are your plans after the Royal Phoenix awakens?" Noire asked Eliza as the two walked shoulder by shoulder towards the sealed chamber.
Eliza looked at Noire with a somewhat weird expression as she thought, 'Could he be worried about her?'
"Um, I don't know," Eliza said frankly. "Everything is up to the Queen once she awakens. It may be e tedious task, but I have confidence that the Queen will help us rise."
Noire felt a bit skeptical about that whole rising matter.
Unless the Imperial Family is dealt with, hopes of rising are very dim, might as well just wait until they decline. 'What I am concerned about is...'
"Hm?" While walking, Noire someone's spirit locked on him. More or so locked on the corridor.
A bit surprised he looked at Eliza for an explanation.
"Oh, you could feel it too? Our young lady happened to gain consciousness about a thousand years ago, barely enough to expand her spirit."
"Oh? That means about a thousand years ago she was already as powerful as a Twilight powerhouse, that's interesting."
'But young? I wouldn't say so...' Noire sighed inwardly. It's truly a blessing in disguise to have her vitality's progression nearly incompetent. Spirit is eternal but the body isn't, Noire couldn't think about the consequences in case a pleb was designated as Queen.
"We're here," said Eliza.
The two stood in front of a thick light curtain. The dense accumulation of energy made it seem like a few inches thick steel wall, numerous sigils swam about in and out of the curtain's surface.
The light curtain blocks intrusion from the outside only.
Eliza pulled out an azure token from her space ring, the token had exquisite patterns that released faint flaming essence in the form of azure wisps of energy, seems that this was the inheritance of an Azure Flame Phoenix.
The process wasn't complicated, Eliza pardoned herself to hold onto Noire's robes before an azure curtain of light cascaded to encase them under its radiance. After which, Noire and Eliza proceeded to walk through the dense light without any hesitation.
An egg about 4ft in size was postured onto a dark blue pedestal at the heart of the room. This egg emitted a faint aura of lingering death, but the profound texture of the shell made Noire feel a bit nostalgic.
"You can leave me here for a week," Noire said, his tone somewhat melancholic.
"How positive are you that this will work?" Eliza didn't mind leaving Noire by himself in the room, but she still had to make sure nothing goes wrong.
....
A moment later, Eliza phased through the light curtain back into the corridor, what greeted her first was Kirin.
She stood there with a complicated look, as if hesitant to say something.
Kirin was so lost in thoughts that it took her a moment to realize that the Queen stood before her. With a faint blush of embarrassment, Kirin bowed her head as she said, "My Queen."
"What's wrong?" Eliza asked, it wasn't Kirin's nature to be caught in a trance in front of her.
Kirin hesitated for a moment before parting her lips to speak, "I would like to accompany him to the Core Cont-..."
"No."
Before Kirin could finish her request, Eliza flatly declined.
Kirin felt like she has been hit by a solid block of concrete, she bit her bottom lip and gave a look that demanded an explanation.
To this, Eliza solemnly said, "Do you need me to spell it out for you, Kirin? Our bloodline is in constant decline, our numbers are scarce, not to mention there are no transmission arrays across continents. Meaning, Noire is going to cross the Chaotic Ocean, only fate knows the hidden dangers of such a long journey."
"Over 70% of our ancestors fell on their way from the Core Continent to this one, it's all written there in the scrolls. Yes, they have been chased down halfway through, but that doesn't mean the trip is less dangerous."
"Not to mention, unlike Noire, you can't hide your bloodline from human perception. Noire is an exception because he can indulge in human practice, but you'll only be a source of attention wherever you go... If you managed to cross the Chaotic Ocean that is."
Even after listening to the entire lecture, Kirin didn't seem to waver one bit, her eyes were filled with determination as she spoke, "I won't be a burden on him. Besides, we can't let him go off all alone- No, I can't. Recently, I've been having many weird feelings whenever I'm facing Noire, the most prominent of these feelings is guilt."
"I'm sorry for sounding rude, but even if he did forgive us, I can't forgive myself just like that. If you're not allowing me to depart along with him, then I'll wait for the Young Mistress to awaken and ask her instead."
After saying that, Kirin bowed again, excused herself, and turned to leave.
Eliza stared at Kirin's distant back before letting out a deep sigh, she then held her temple to knead it as she felt a surge of complex emotions.
....
"..."
Inside a pitch-black space, a young female that looked about 15 or 16 years old curled up into a ball.
She held onto her knees tightly, her porcelain skin exuding a faint aura of death, her deep blue hair had a tinge of grayness as if slowly decaying.
Her long eyelashes trembled occasionally as she closed her eyes tightly.
She felt the space around her very tight and cramped up, even though it was an endless stretch of nothingness.
Through her mind, countless scenes of bloody battles, marvelous birds shooting up into the clouds, beams of light intertwine and cause catastrophic events throughout miles of rubble and destruction.
Humans, Elves, Demons, Phoenix, and many more obscure races.
She saw a giant Phoenix with a wingspan of dozen meters, soaring through the skies as she spat blazing azure flames.
On the other side, a robust human wearing a golden crown, this human stood on the temple of a Giant Demon no less in size than the Phoenix, running around with a massive broad sword to deflect the waves of pouring flames.
The young girl doesn't know how many thousands of times she had viewed these scenes, but she could feel her vitality depleting day by day.
In the endless darkness, a tear rolled down from her trembling eyes.
For countless years she has been fighting death, for countless years she has witnessed the decline of her family, for countless years she awaited a chance to leave this spacious yet tight shell.