Josec, Harry, Buern, Estelle, Jason and Fleur spent their days in their section of the land they had cultivated through farming the Desert Of Confusion. For days they had been reviewing their lessons on the Psychorage Fusion and had slowly built up enough confidence to attempt it. They had also discussed their experiences from their battles with Apollo and Gargolem. Fleur surprisingly displayed great insight in her ability to relate to these topics. The Students recalled that she had begun to intensify her studies into flora, fauna and Psychorages shortly before she discovered the Hidden Phoenix Village.
"Well then, I suppose it's about time we got some actual practice" Jason said with a laugh.
"It might be easier to attempt the Psychorage Fusion through Projection since we've already done it twice" Estelle suggested.
The Students gathered around one another and began to release their joki but when they finally psychoraged, Josec assumed the form of the Silver Phoenix, Buern took on the form of the Leviathan, Harry was in his Rune Knight State, Estelle became a great Kerberos, Jason became an embodiment of nature and Fleur took on the form of a giant lioness.
"We failed. It's just our usual Psychorage forms. It appears we can't even utilize the Psychorage Fusion by Projection under normal circumstances" Harry noted as they reverted to their human forms.
"Yeah, the feeling is not quite the same as when we fought the generals" Josec sighed.
"The feeling? What do you mean Josec?" Buern asked.
"When we fought Apollo and Gargolem, right before we assumed the forms of Torpedo and Rikishin, there was this strange feeling. I don't know how to put it into words but it sorta felt like a beckoning" Josec said.
"Kinda like the great force of attraction that acts on us right before we find ourselves on Benedict's Ark right?" Harry reasoned.
"Exactly!" Josec said.
"Well, I can think of a few reasons why this doesn't seem to be working" Harry said.
"Really?" Estelle asked.
"Let's try this once more" Jason suggested.
The Students attempted the Psychorage Fusion once more but this time, they released a bit more power than usual and as they psychoraged, the variations in the affinities and intensities of their joki ended up inflicting light wounds upon a few of them. They quickly reverted to their human forms.
"Whoa, that was quite dangerous. The variations in affinity and intensity of our joki caused our joki to act as offensive techniques while we psychoraged. Ouch, I even obtained a few wounds" Harry said.
"This technique could be harmful if not utilized properly" Buern noted as she observed her own share of wounds.
Fleur and Jason surprisingly were completely unharmed. Josec and Estelle were also slightly wounded.
"Hey Buern, you recall that in Fencer's Cave, I had to adjust the affinity of my joki to yours before I could assimilate your flaming joki without getting burned? I think this situation is just like that" Harry noted.
"In our battle against Aeros as well, we had to sync our techniques in order to build up a single powerful twister strong enough to counter Aeros. We had to ensure that the intensities of the wind we generated were almost equivalent, and we also had to maintain the same rotation speed. If even one of us was out of sync, the twister we were building up to counter Aeros would have collapsed in on itself and that would have been harmful for all of us as well. The Psychorage Fusion is a powerful technique however it is also a high risk technique. We need to be careful" Estelle noted.
The others nodded, taking her observation very seriously.
"We need to be mindful of each other" Josec added.
"That's true but right now I can think of two flaws to our method of utilizing the technique" Harry said.
"And those are?" Buern asked.
"The first is that we currently can't seem to generate a form to psychorage into and even if we were to attempt fusing Psychorages by Projection, we lack the ability to sync the form to everyone in our party through telepathic synchronization. The second flaw has to do with the disparities in our current affinities as well as the intensities of our joki" Harry said. "Those disparities cause our joki to act as offensive techniques when we attempt a Psychorage Fusion resulting in these wounds" Harry explained.
"Then why don't we in the meantime assume an improv of a single affinity until we figure out how to bypass the second problem Harry stated" Jason suggested.
"Hmm, to bypass that problem, we'll need to eventually come up with a way to translate our affinities into forms that are tolerable for all of us" Harry explained.
"Fleur, do you know how to utilize the Psychorage Improvisation?" Buern asked.
Fleur nodded.
"Yggdrasil taught me the basics. I've had enough practice within the Hidden Phoenix Village" Fleur said.
"Then let's all assume the lightning affinity" Buern suggested.
Josec nodded and shot bolts of electricity at each of them. They all assumed lightning improvs.
"I have an idea" Harry said.
"What is it?" Buern asked.
"Remember what Master Ken said after he taught us Amplification, Catalyst and Transformation Delta Type Techniques?" Harry asked.
"He said since elemental affinities play a role in determining personality types and wavelength variations are determined by the vastness of one's experience, joki in essence is also a manifestation of will" Josec reminded everyone.
"I see, if joki is indeed a manifestation of will, then it should be possible for us to transmit our feelings through our joki!" Buern said excitedly.
Unknown to the six Students, William Fenix was observing them secretly. William Fenix recalled a meeting amongst the three elders of the Phoenix Clan.
"How did your conversation with Hieron go Lucas?" William Fenix recalled his question to Lucas Bane.
Lucas Bane shook his head.
"He is not completely against the idea of reawakening the Holy Class Of Rune Knight in all the Phoenix Clan however he doesn't intend to do this hastily. The Holy Class Of Rune Knight is a double edged sword. For now, Hieron intends to observe the current Phoenix Clan and if we meet his expectations, he will reawaken the power of the Class Of Rune Knight" Lucas Bane said.
"William, you dueled the Heart and Spirit Of The Phoenix, what is your assessment of their current ability?" Victor Vern asked.
"Hmm, they have all grown well into the roles inherited by their Clans and their ability to react in a prudent manner to unfamiliar challenges is quite extraordinary. According to Ken, their tutor, they have excelled at every challenge thrown at them and their actions have also inspired excellence in the other Students" William Fenix noted.
"You look so serious taking into consideration that your evaluation of their abilities is a positive one" Lucas Bane said.
"Well, there was this incident that occurred as I dueled the Heart and Spirit Of The Phoenix. At the end of the battle, I believe those children may have manifested the Talons Of The Phoenix" William Fenix said seriously.
"The Talons Of The Phoenix?!" the other two elders exclaimed in shock.
"Yes, I was quite shocked myself and your current surprise is justified…after all, the Talons Of The Phoenix is an ability that has been dormant since the first generation of the Phoenix Clan. It is the greatest offensive ability of the Phoenix…an offensive technique devastating enough to breach Souryu's impenetrable scales" William Fenix said seriously.
There was a moment of silence amongst all three elders of the Phoenix Clan.
"The Students of Ken's class are currently studying the Psychorage Fusion" William Fenix said.
"The Psychorage Fusion is also one of the greatest if not the greatest ability of the Phoenix Clan. It is a very powerful technique but equally risky" Lucas Bane said.
"I believe it is best they learn the risks of the Psychorage Fusion through actual practice. To utilize the Psychorage Fusion requires an unparalleled ability for both caution…and empathy" William Fenix said.
Lucas Bane felt his heart pulsate with power.
"It appears Hieron is also interested in their progress. He intends to observe them through the eyes of Harry Bane. This trial almost perfectly mimics the double edged nature of the Class Of Rune Knight" Lucas Bane said.
William Fenix observed the Students through his Killer Ghost Concealment.
"I'll act as the point of contact. You guys should channel your joki into me. Try to channel your emotions through your joki as well as your intentions. If what Master Ken said about the Bane Clan possessing the ability of telepathic synchronization is true, I should be able to amplify and transmit your intentions into everyone else" Harry said.
Harry stood in the centre as the other Students shut their eyes and flowed their lightning joki into him. Since Harry had assumed a lightning improv and they'd all adjusted their wavelengths to one another, the energy flowing into him from the others was not harmful to him. Harry shut his eyes and began to concentrate. Gradually, images of his comrades began to form within his mind.
"Can you hear me?" Harry thought as he channeled his intentions and emotions into everyone through his joki.
"Whoa! You're inside my head. I thought Master Colette was the only one with that ability" Harry heard Buern say with a laugh.
Buern hadn't spoken though. These were her thoughts flowing into Harry through the mixture of their joki.
"You're in our heads as well Harry, Buern" the others thought with laughs.
"Okay, here's what I want you to do. Each of you should focus on a role you wish to play in the Psychorage Fusion and transmit this role through the mixture of our joki" Harry said.
"Well you know me, I'm always on defense" Harry heard Josec say with a laugh.
He and Jason laughed in response.
"Then I'll become our offensive strength" they all heard Buern say.
"I will amplify Buern's abilities with my own" Estelle said.
"I will obviously act as our link ensuring that our roles and intentions are transmitted to everyone" Harry said.
"You become more of a Bane with each passing day" Josec laughed.
"I'll take that as a compliment" they all heard Harry's voice.
"Fleur, you and I should ensure that no one gets wounded if things start to go awry" Jason's voice sounded within their minds.
"Yeah, no need to worry about wounds when we're on the job" Fleur laughed.
"So Buern's the Sword, Josec's the Shield, I'm the Mind, Estelle is an Amplifier and Fleur and Jason are Healers. Looks like everyone's roles are defined, let's begin!" Harry suggested.
Josec immediately raised up the Zone Of Absolute Defense around them. Buern flowed her joki through his Zone and Estelle amplified their abilities by flowing her joki into the Zone as well. When Fleur and Jason began to flow their joki into the Zone, the wounds they obtained from their previous attempts at the Psychorage Fusion began to heal.
"It appears Jason and Fleur's abilities might give our Psychorage unique characteristics. They both have the ability to restore life to the earth. It appears that in the Psychorage Fusion, these abilities are translated into regenerative abilities" Harry informed everyone.
"PSYCHORAGE FUSION!" they all called out.
"Hey, have you guys thought of a name for this fusion psychorage yet?" Harry's voice sounded within their minds.
"Yeah, we're beginning to perceive the form of this Psychorage. Let's call it…" Jason's voice sounded within their minds.
"Yeah, I think that's a good name" Harry thought with a smirk.
The Students focused as the force of their fused joki caused a great amount of dust to envelope the area. When the dust began to clear, the form concealed by the dust began to become more apparent. Fierce flaming talons came into view first.
"The Talons Of The Phoenix. So it wasn't a fluke after all" William Fenix stared in surprise.
The next thing that came into view were huge golden wings with metallic feathers folded protectively around the body of the form. The creature spread its wings apart scattering the dust and thus revealing its form.
"ARMOURED GOLDEN PHOENIX!" the voices of the Students called.
The creature opened its beak and gave a tremendous shriek.
"They've mastered it. The Psychorage Fusion and they've awakened also, the Talons Of The Phoenix. With these abilities, they should be able to breach Souryu's scales and widen the wound inflicted by Vega Fenix years ago through the Light's Wound Limit Break!" William Fenix thought excitedly.