Josec opened his eyes and found Buern and Harry staring at him.
"What's the matter? Why are you guys staring at me like that?" Josec asked.
"Did you by any chance have a peculiar dream?" Harry asked.
"How the heck would you know that?" Josec asked.
Buern and Harry stared at each other.
"It didn't happen to be of two titans clashing in an underground forest did it?" Harry asked.
Josec laughed.
"Yeah, that was pretty much what it was about" Josec said.
"It also appeared to recount the assignment of Souryu's generals to each of the continents. It sure was an intense dream" Buern said.
Josec nodded.
"But how did we all have the same dream? I thought all the weird stuff happened around the phoenix's heart…that would be you Josec" Harry said.
"Resonance" they heard Master Andrea's voice from behind them.
They turned to face her.
"What do you mean by that?" Buern asked.
"You have achieved a level of affinity for one another so strong that the phoenix's fragments within each of you have begun to recognize you three as a single entity. It must be because of the repeated use of fused psychorages. It must have accelerated your bond" Master Andrea said.
"I see" Josec, Harry and Buern said.
"I need to discuss this with the other Masters. If the three of you are now sharing dreams through resonance, then you've made vital progress as the inheritors of the phoenix" Master Andrea said.
SOMETIME LATER…
The five teens and the seven Masters now sat at breakfast with the people of the continent of Storms within a great cave. The people were overjoyed with the food they had received. For a while, things were so dire they believed they'd starve to death.
"We were surprised to learn that three continents had banded together to supply us with the food currently in our possession. For a while, we believed all the continents only cared about themselves" the chief of the people said.
Josec laughed.
"Just like you have your own share of problems, the other continents had their hands full dealing with their own problems. It just so happened that they managed to resolve their major problems and were now free enough to consider helping other continents".
"What sort of major problems? You can't possibly be telling me that the entire world has been caught in an ice age" the chief said.
"Well, each of their problems came in varied forms but at the root, the problems they all had to face were not very different in nature as what you people are confronting now" Master Fencer said.
"I see" the chief said.
"I don't know if there is a way to resolve our problem though. It's a force of nature" the chief said.
"That is true. Your problem is indeed manifesting in nature but the enemy you must confront is not exactly natural" Master Kyem said.
"So what do we do? Is this a problem that can be solved by waiting it out?" the chief asked.
"No, this problem will not simply pass away. It is something that must be resolved" Master Ayumi said.
"And these blacksmiths currently setting up their forges. Are they in some way related to the solution of this problem?" the chief asked.
"I believe they are. They were after all chosen by the phoenix's mind. How they will contribute to the solution of the problem though is something I cannot yet foresee" Master Fencer said.
A DAY LATER…
The Masters, Students and Jo-lan sat together speaking.
"Harry, you requested blacksmiths from the king of Gaeia. What do you have planned?" Buern asked.
"There should be some drought resistant seeds headed our way as well" Harry said.
"When did you make that arrangement?" Buern stared at him suspiciously.
"Hmm, right before we left" Harry said.
"And you're planning to sow seeds in this hostile environment? Are you insane?! With Aesakal amplifying the cold here, nothing will grow here!" Buern roared.
"We won't know until we try" Harry said.
"So what's your plan? I'll help you if I can" Jason offered.
"However, before I speak of my plan, I first need to make an apology" Harry said.
"What the heck did you do this time?!" Buern roared.
"It's not for something I've done but something I am about to do" Harry said.
"Spill!" everyone roared.
Harry turned to Josec.
"Josec…my very dear friend…sorry!" Harry said with a sudden bow.
"What for?!" Josec asked in worry.
Harry smirked and raised his eyes.
"My plan is primarily centred on your abilities as Defender. It's most likely going to exhaust you and I will be using your ability to its maximum capacity. Try not to die" Harry said with a sinister glare.
Josec stared at him and laughed.
"Well we're not going to know if I can carry it out until you actually spill your plan" Josec said.
"Fine, here goes. We're going to simulate a warm climate here" Harry said.
Everyone drew back in shock with their eyes wide open.
"What are you talking about?! How the heck do you intend to simulate a warm climate in this cold?" Buern asked.
Master Fencer walked in and heard Harry's statement.
"Whe-e-ew whew!" he whistled. "Impressive! You intend to take your lesson of adaptability to another level" he thought silently.
"Using Josec's Killer Ghost, I'm going to have him multiply and head into a few numerous regions around here that are quite close to this cave. Using his shields, I'm going to have his clones raise multiple domes to isolate the cold weather outside the domes from the weather within it over a period of time. When the temperature within the domes rise significantly, I'll have Josec simulate the same kinds of pores Master Fencer's cave had using the domes to allow in the barest minimum amount of air. I'm certain that over a period of time, the icy ground within the domes will melt. Next, we'll have the blacksmiths construct pipes which we'll lay leading from the cave to all the domes. Whenever ice collects on the ground within the domes, we'll have the Masters pass a mixture of heat and air through the pipes to further warm the soil. All throughout that period, we'll sow the drought resistant seeds" Harry said.
When he had finished speaking, everyone was staring at him in utter shock.
"What? Is it perhaps too ambitious a plan?" Harry asked.
"No, we're shocked because it actually makes sense" Buern said with her mouth wide open.
"Hey! Take that back Buern! It may sound like a compliment but it's actually an insult!" Harry roared.
Buern laughed.
"No way" she said.
"I can see why you apologized. This will certainly be an exhausting task. I'll have to maintain my domes in multiple areas over an extended period of time" Josec said.
Harry nodded.
"But thinking about it, it's almost as though the dream we had is coming true right before our eyes" Josec said.
"What do you mean?" Buern asked.
"A forest growing underground yet thriving supported by crystals of light and a meeting of two titans of life and death. This is a battle to take back the life of the land. It's as though the elements of our dream are manifesting in our current reality" Josec said.
"I see, it does make a strange sort of sense" Buern said.
A DAY LATER…
The Masters got the people of the continent of Storms together as well as the blacksmiths and discussed their plans with them. The people were all excited.
"Josec, head out and set things up. We'll get things ready on our end as well. The forges are almost all set up" Master Fencer said.
Buern walked up to Josec.
"You can keep yourself warm by utilizing Dragon's Breath. Utilize an improv. of a fiery nature, release your joki to warm the air around you and breathe it in. You can keep one of your clones here so that whenever you need to utilize Dragon's Breath, I'll supply you with the fire needed for your improv." Buern advised Josec.
Josec nodded and headed out but at the same time, he remained in the cave. Buern hit him with her joki and he assumed a fiery improv.
"Now all I have to do is map out the locations I'm setting up the domes in" Josec said and headed to the Masters to get some pen and paper to map out the locations he was setting up the domes in.
"I'm glad the Masters helped me raise my stamina" he thought to himself.
In several locations with close proximity to the cave, Josec raised up several domes completely isolating the air outside the dome from the air within it. Whenever the air got thin, he'd simulate pores thus allowing in the barest minimum amount of air. Over time, the temperature within the domes began to rise and the ice covering the ground melted.
The blacksmiths had also begun busily working on the pipes. A month later, they were all set and the people dug and lay the pipes.
Josec by altering the shape of his domes created a network of tunnel like paths leading from the domes to the cave so the people could lay the pipes without worrying about the cold.
The pipes led from the cave to the surrounding areas around the domes and ended within the domes.
Then the people began to sow the drought resistant seeds. Because the ice had melted into the ground, the ground was quite moist and because of the warmth within the domes, natural decomposition was occurring within the soil with regards to the dead organisms within it thus making the soil very fertile.
From then on, Josec let the pores within the dome remain permanently. Every now and then, when the ice gathered on the ground, the Masters would pass a current of air and heat through the pipes into the domes utilizing the pipes as vents. This warm air ensured that the climate within the dome was always reasonably warm and the soil always reasonably moist.
Jason periodically travelled to each of the domes to imbue the ground with life. Roughly two months later, the crops within the dome had already grown considerably and had begun to bear fruit.
"This was an impressive effort Harry. The mind of the phoenix truly is formidable. I suppose now, the only thing left to do is confront Aesakal. His power was already considerably weakened after Apollo's defeat but now that Gaeia's forest life has been restored, he should be even weaker and now we know for a certainty that in spite of Aesakal's cold, we can sow seeds here and that's another victory" Jo-lan said.
Harry laughed. The Masters congratulated him.