*Adela* 

Eli smirked and threw a flurry of fists in my direction as the morning sun hung overhead. I jumped into the air as a swarm of red fists pummeled the spot I once stood on.

"Folia!" I yelled, launching a barrage of leaves at my brother.

Eli slide stepped them repeatedly as he got closer to me.

 "Doing good, My Lady!" Ling yelled. 

"Eli's not doing bad either," Alex said, grinning. I'd ask him, Nat, Shu, and Li to help me with my training. They made the floating barrier and the island my brother and I were currently fighting on. Would've asked Chang and Ona to help too, but the more people here, the more unstable the barrier would be. Too many chefs in the kitchen ruined the broth my father used to say.

Eli spun around as he dodged the last of my leaf barrage. He clapped his hands, creating a powerful shockwave that tore through the rock below and displaced great quanties of air as well.

I gritted my teeth as I avoided the onslaught of air while trying to keep my focus on Elliot. Brother was fast. If I didn't pay attention, he could sneak up on me, using the dust cloud as cover.

I gasped as Eli burst through the cloud of dust and delivered an open fist at me.

Focusing my prana veil forward, I formed a red energy barrier in front of me. The barrier shattered as the displaced air from Eli's attack made contact, sending hot prana flying in all directions.

I flew behind him and delivered a kick, but Elliot blocked my attack with his beefy arm. He might've had only one element he could use, but he was great at it. If anything, the rest of us Xian were masters of none. Bulking up his body certainly helped with the drawbacks that came with prolonged use of martial magic. Likely why Nyima and Ayawamat avoided using it most of the time. The muscle spasms were awful. Eli had to deal with them a lot when he was little. 

To overcome them, Eli trained long and hard, sometimes even to the point of passing out. Xun had to keep telling him not to push himself, but Zhuang wouldn't listen. So Big Brother had no other choice but to put Eli to sleep with his plant magic. Eli though stayed awake for a good while. Xun compared the task to trying to put a Seven-Star Snake to sleep. 

"Hehe. You're still green behind the ears if you think you can beat me in a physical fight," Eli said, smirking.

I smirked and slammed my other heel down at him. He gulped as tiny needles poked through his red aura. A little more and he would've gotten poked.

"Get off! You know how much I hate needles!" Eli said, swinging his arm around.

My heel needles snapped, sending me flying into the air.

"Lady Adela!" Ling yelled as I hit the ground.

"Think she's done for," Alex said.

"No. Lady Adela, you can't lose now!"

I rubbed my head as I turned around until I was laying on my belly. The whole island felt like it was spinning. My pancakes felt like they wanted to come out.

"Seems I over did it!" Eli said, laughing.

"You think?" I asked, glancing up a him. 

He sighed. "Well, you did come at me with thin poky things."

Nat laughed. 

"Hey! Don't laugh at Sir Zhuang, Elephant Boy!" Ling said.

"Sorry, it's just, he sounded like Carter," Nat said, trying to stifle his laughter.

"True..."

"Want to continue?" Shu asked.

I stood up. "Yeah. We're barely beginning after all."

Eli rotated his arm and smiled. "Alright, time for round two. This time, try to use your fire magic."

Right. I needed to generate hotter flames.

[Last night]

I cradled my phoenix egg in my arms as I laid on my bed. Wonder what Iah was during right now. He appeared to have used a drone to spy on us, based in Orcy's description of what she detected. Yen confirmed that as well. Would he be okay?

Why did Mrs. Wudi have Aria give it to me? I wasn't deserving of it.

"Are you trying to help it hatch?" Nyima asked, snapping me out of my melancholic thoughts.

"Yeah. Warmth will help it hatch faster." Plus, lack of warmth could mean death. Although, could someone as cold as me really hatch it?

She sat down in her bed and crossed her long slender legs. "Why not use your fire magic? Phoenixes are said to rise from the flames. That said, it's odd that that one's an egg."

I stared at it. True. Wonder how it had perished? A phoenix that couldn't touch fire would enter an incubated state like this when being reborn. Phoenix reproduction was a mystery all together. Most ecologists believed that there were only seven of them in the world, having splintered off from the flames of an eighth upon its death in very ancient times. Each possessed a different colored flame. The most seen ones were the Crimson and Coral flamed ones, followed by the Celeste Phoenix. Each of them residing in a different continent. The Crimson Phoenix in Tozan Hoshi and the Coral Phoenix in Trono, Carter's home continent.

Some folk lore stated that the seven themselves broke up into seven birds of their own. With the process happening every ten thousand years or so. That certainly explained why no one alive knew the truth of it. Although, the gods of this world probably did. They were the only ones who were around back then who still remained. But they seemed to like having us figure things out on our own. Not that I blamed them. Learning how to figure things out was part of growth. A good god would want their creation to grow on its own while also tending to it from time to time. Too much indulgence would spoil the people, providing fertile ground for the seed of desolation.

Although, if true, wouldn't the Phoenix population be more widespread? Maybe only the Crimson and Coral birds reproduced like that. The other five for all we knew could've remained a single bird during all of this time.

 "Yeah. But maybe the poor thing couldn't get to a volcano in time," I said, caressing it.

"Why not use your flames to speed it up? I mean, unless you're still scared."

Nyima really could lack tact sometimes. However, she had a valid point. My flames would help this little one come out quicker. But they couldn't be any ordinary flames. I would have to use my hottest flames. I could've asked for help from Zelde and the others as well but if it was to be my familiar, I had to do it myself.

"Maybe I'll give it a shot tomorrow," I mumbled, closing my eyes. Maybe I could get some answers regarding that vision I had during my fight with Aria if my futuresight kicked in.

***

['Present']

I attacked Elliot. "Pyro Avis Maxima!" I yelled, causing flames to pour out of my hands.

Elliot's eyes widened as a fiery bird formed from the great conflagration. "Coming at me with the big guns, eh?"

He cupped his hands together. "Wǔxiá tóuxiàng!" he chanted. His prana veil expanded outward from his skin and took on the shape of plated armor. It continued to grow and even lift Elliot off the ground as he remained at its center.

Aya and Nyima's fighting magic was strong, but their stuff paled in comparison to the arts of my clan.

I laughed. "Seems you are too, Big Bro." I moved my hands around, splitting up the flames making up my scortching firebird.

Elliot looked around as the seven flames came at him from different directions but all at the same speed and relatively close distance.

He swatted them away with his avatar's giant hand. Nothing, not even a scratch. He's managed to improve a lot on it in so little time. Wonder if helping Carter and the others provided him with the breakthrough he needed. Even a teacher learned new things while teaching.

I took a deep breath and slammed my hands against the ground. "Arbol Avis!" Roots shot up from the ground and struck Eli's giant prana exoskeleton. The roots flew out of the bird shaped spell, coiling around the legs.

Elliot smiled wagged his finger. I glared at the roots as they were snapped by the overwhelming force of his spell. This was bad. Despite being only a few years older and lacking the prana control I had, Eli still managed to maintain the gap between us alive.

I curled my hands into fists and held my hand forward. No, I wasn't giving up yet! I overcame Aria after much trial, surely I could do the same with Eli. But what spell would do the trick? I had some stronger spells under my sleeve, but they weren't meant for sparring. Although, even those might not have been enough to destroy Elliot's attack.

I zipped around him as he stood still, watching my every move. Eli might've come off like a joker, but like Hal and Kun, he could be deadly if underestimated.

My spikes had managed to go through his veil. Perhaps a bigger version of them could cut through his armor.

Elliot put his hands together and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath. Was he meditating. I laughed. That was a first.

I jumped into the air and focused prana into my hands. 

"Duo Ignis Gladii Maxima!" I chanted. Flames exploded outward from both of my stratched out hands, forming the shape of twin blades. This spell was a modified Ignis Gladius with the power of Ignis Maxima.

Elliot stepped back. Good, my spell made him cautious. That meant I might actually have a chance.

Elliot dodged as I dashed forward. Tsk. Missed. But I would get him sooner or later.

The two of us continued our little dance for about an hour until I finally hit the chest of the armor. I smiled but a moment later, my fire sword vanished.

"Seems you've exhausted your spell too," Elliot said as his armor suddenly dissolved as well.

I panted as I jumped back. Seemed I celebrated a tad too early.

Eii grinned as he spun around in the air. A giant plume of dust covered the area he had just crashed again.

"I-is he okay?" Nat asked.

Shu laughed. "Elliot does this all the time."

"Yeah. But I still worry whenever he does," Alex said, sighing. 

As did I.

"Ready to start the ceremony?" Elliot asked, grinning as he emerged from the dust cloud, almost unscathed. "If we continue fighting, you might not have enough energy to hatch your phoenix egg."

I pushed myself up.  He had a point there. Plus it would be a long and arduous task.

"Alright," I said.

"Wait, Lady Adela," Ling said as she entered the large dome Elliot and I had battled in. She pulled out a prana elixir bottle from her pink qiankun pouch. "Take a prana drink first."

"She's right," Elliot said, putting a hand on his hip. "You don't want to pass out. Do you?"

I shook my head and took the drink from Ling. It tasted like strawberry and mint tea with a hint of rosehips.

"We should probably restore this thing while the potion works its msgic," Nat said.

Eli snorted.

"What?"

"Oh, sorry. Thought you might've been making a pun."

Nat laughed. "No pun intended."

I smiled and sat down crossed legged. Focusing on my prana would help it restore quicker.

"That stance reminds me of that thing Hide does to draw mana to himself," Nat said.

"Wish it were as easy to restore our energy as you angels."

Nat scratched his head. "If you ask me, you have an easier time. You only need to drink something and a bit of your prana gets restored, if not the whole thing."

"True. Guess both mana and prana have their pro and cons." I took out my own red qiankun pouch from my cloak. The things were made from the bark of a special tree that grew in the forests of Xian. It and Mokin were some of the most widely used trees due to their unique properties. Eli's wand was made from a fusion of the two. Thankfully, he hadn't brought it out. Well, neither has I used mine.

I took out my egg from the pouch and started to focus a bit of prana toward it, distributing it bit by bit. An uneven flow of heat could hurt the phoenix or worse.

"We should probably back away soon," Elliot said.

"Yeah," Shu said, taking a step back.

"Is she going to expand her flames outward?" Nat asked.

"Yeah. It's going to get very hot soon."

"That's why we went up here," Alex said, glancing at the island below.

"Why not over the ocean?" Nat asked.

"Because, it mimics a volcano," I said as crimson flames flew out of my body.

"Run!" Shu yelled.

I smiled as the flames expanded outward, gradually engulfing the floating island.

"Now that I have some silence, I can concentrate," I said, taking a deep breath. This process could last more than half a day for all I knew. That would be no problem if I was home, but Lei's match with Nyima was tomorrow. I didn't want to miss it.

My eyes twitched as I caught glimpses of the man in gold and navy armor. Who was he? He felt familiar. Could he have been Iah?

I shook my head, pushing aside. That could wait. If I didn't focus, I would lose my phoenix.

I continued the process for several hours focusing all of the heat and flames into the egg. This felt like a grade five pill. Which meant it could've taken up to a week at my current level.

"Keep going, Adela!" I heard a voice helled.

My head darted upward. Lei floated above the island. Why was he here? Had Nyima told him what I was up to?

I returned my focus back to the egg, my face red. It was bad enough that Nat, Eli, Shu, and Li were watching, but Lei too?

Wait, could the others have been too?

"You're almost there!" Lei yelled.

I gasped and noticed the egg had started glowing deep crimson. I-it was hatching!

Cracks formed on the egg shell. The parts that fell off turned into embers. I caught them and used them to provide further heat to the little chick inside.

More pieces snapped until a tiny beak poked itself out.

I smiled as I held a little bird with fluffy fiery feathers in my hands. I-it hatched.

"Told ya it was about to hatch," Lei said as he flew down.

My cheeks reddened. "Uh, t-thanks."

He smiled as he knelt down and patted the little bird. "What a cutie. Wish I had some bird seed."

"They eat flames," I said, glancing in his eyes. He was awfully close.

The chick chirped.

"Seems you're still still giving up a lot of heat," Lei said, chuckling.

Was he playing dumb again? He had to have known why.

"Seems getting Lei here worked," Eli said, grinning as he walked over.

"Wait, you told him to come?"

He nodded. "Yup! Anger and embarrassment cause flames fo burn hotter!"

My bird danced happily as flames began to pour out. "Eli..."

"Hey! Don't get mad at me! Your chick hatched."

Lei turned away. He seemed to be blushing too. "Uh, well. I better get going." He stopped. "Wait, what are you gonna name it?"

I stared my chick. It appeared to be a girl. "Well, since I got Lan the Rat, Wudi the Dog, how about Taiyang the Phoenix?"

Lei laughed. "After Nyima?"

I smiled as my bird chirped. She seemed to like it. "Yeah, it was her suggestion to hatch her like this after all."

Lei chuckled. "She'll probably get mixed feelings from it, but I like it!"

My bird began to cry as he walked away.

Again, my cheeks heated up. It seemed to be calling Lei 'Papa'.

"Hmm? Is she hungry?" Lei asked, looking over his shoulder.

"No. Uh, she seems to be attached to you."

Lei laughed. "Really?"

I lowered my head. "Yeah."

He walked over and let out a small spark which Taiyang ate. "Same here."

"Eh? Did it just eat lightning?" Eli asked, blinking.

"Its a form of plasma like fire too," I said.

"Yeah," Lei said, smiling as little Taiyang kept eating his electricity.

My cheeks reddened. Why was he so cute?

"Uh, well, it's pretty late now. We better get going."

"Right! Ny has dinner waiting for us!"

My stomach grumbled.

"Had nothing to eat?" he asked.

I nodded, face red. "Only had a couple prana drinks."

He swung his hands behind his head and smiled. "Ny must've figured this would happen."

She did? Ha. An had a point about her being my team's 'mom'.

"Lady Adela! I got a sandwich if you want one!" Ling yelled, running over. Shu hung around too. Nat and Alex were gone, though, likely going to the tea party they mentioned. Elliot must've taken their spot in supporting the barrier.

"That's alright. I'll eat when we get back to the dorm," I said.

My stomach grumbled again.

"Think you should take it," Lei said. "At least to tide you over."

"Okay."

Elliot laughed. "Better eat it fast before you cause an earthquake!"

I glared at him. I loved Eli, but at times like these, I wanted to kick him into the furthest moon.

Lei patted my back. "Eli's just joking."

I looked away. I knew that, but just because it was a joke didn't make it any less mortifying. Especially when he was saying it while my crush was next to me.

"Sir Zhuang does need to learn tact," Ling said.

"Funny hearing that from you, Li," Shu said, snickering.

Ling grumbled. "That's different."

"Yeah. Zhuang is at least more jovial."

She rolled her eyes.

Lei laughed. "Today sure was an eventful day. Got to see Ayawamat fight Shiromaru and the hatching of a phoenix egg!"

"Shiromaru?" Shu asked.

"The guy you mentioned the other day?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yeah. He was really strong! But Aya put up a good fight too!"

Did he? Ayawamat sure had gotten strong. But Nyima still won. Well, she had defeated me the previous year too.

"Ready for your match tomorrow?" I asked.

He grinned. "Yeah! Got a lot of rest like you girls said!"

I smiled. "I'm glad you listened to us for once."

He turned away and blushed. "H-hey. I listen more than once. Kun's the one who doesn't."

I giggled before taking a bite of the sandwich Ling had given me. We walked toward the edge of the island. The view sure was beautiful. Being here with him felt familiar. Had I watched a view like this in my past life?

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the chapter ^^ Thoughts? Predictions?**