Phoenix Phire

0500, North of Cyphix

Two forms stood on the polar Icecap, both staring and the swirling anomaly in front of them. The Orion stayed cautiously away from it, but the human was slightly more adventurous.

"Don't touch it, Nix!"

Nix paused before making contact. "Hmm? Why not?"

"You know how these things work; you'll be sucked up into some mysterious place without any comm or gear."

"You have a point," Nix admitted before placing his hand on it anyway. "Nothing... What do you think it is?"

The Orion studied it for a moment, she couldn't see the energy streamers from normal kills, but she could see this. "Does it look any different with [Dragon Eyes]?

Nix nodded. "It's a swirling mass of energy; every kill seems to add to it." He removed an object from his inventory and placed it on his head.

You have equipped the Crown of Bones.

The swirling mass of energy turned black as night, hundreds of screaming spirits were slowly merging, the combined sound of their agony was like a roar in Nix's ears.

You have opened the Book of the Undead.

Nix held the black-bound book in his hands for a moment before glancing down at the pages. Random names continually filled the pages; when he touched one, he immediately received a message.

Do you wish to scribe this name?

"No, let's go, Del."

[Create Breach: Cyphix, Safarza WarCamp]

The Safarza War Camp was continuing to grow, dozens of large tents lined tent city, and the smell of cookfires lingered in the air. A long quartermaster tent that sold basic supplies had been setup. Nix and Del walked past without entering; more than one person seemed curious about the pair that had been seen slaughtering Howlers throughout the past twenty-four hours.

"Nix!"

The Inferno Leader turned at the sound of his name, a woman in black approached them with a small squad.

Nix rested a hand on Del's shoulder while the group from Mid-Tier Salamander approached. "Frenzy..."

"Is Gideon in Colonial?" Frenzy's dark eyes studied the pair; having seen them tear apart a group of thirty Ice Howlers, she knew that either of them could gank her group without trying.

"Gid is on a special mission, probably be out of for a day or so." Nix had only been in Colonial for a half-day before he started getting a bad feeling. He immediately returned to the TOC and sent Pathfinder on a special mission; Find Raine Xai and report back immediately. "Did you need to contact him?"

Frenzy nodded slightly. "Yes, but it isn't an emergency or anything. Oh, before I forget. Semmi was here for a bit; she flew off on one of those bone crows. Damn, that thing is awesome as hell."

Nix brought up his hud and checked her status; Semmi and the team she was with had already returned to Haven. "We're going to take down Barrot soon."

[Create Breach: Safarza War Camp, Glory]

An ice-covered Glory was something that Nix didn't imagine he'd ever see. The pair stepped out of the Breach next to the Kindled Spirit, but the sounds of distant fighting could still be heard. "Follow, Del."

Nix ran for the walls; the Knights of Colonial had stayed behind when the civilians from Glory were evacuated to Inferno City. When he stepped onto the walls a few minutes later, his presence was immediately noticed.

"Commander Nix!"

Nix sliced through an Ice Howler that was scaling the wall. "Report, Captain!" Captain Wylie Solm had been assigned to him since Dunham's Cove. On his recommendation, Shi had made her the Ice Temple Champion. Since there was currently no Temple and Nemesis Shi had returned to Haven, the talented Knight asked to be returned to regular duty.

"Regular attacks from low-level howlers are keeping us busy. Occasionally one manages to get through into the city, but we've been able to run them down quickly."

"Did Banz come also?"

Wylie shook her head slightly. Her once silver hair was now black and had been cut very short; it was no longer visible beneath the leather helm when wore. "No, he's back at Haven, awaiting orders at the TOC."

"We're short healers; I'm going to need you to join Alpha. You've been in Siberia long enough."

Wylie smiled suddenly, "I don't know what Siberia is, but I'd be glad to watch your back."

Nix frowned slightly when he noticed her gear; it seemed to be the same stuff she'd been wearing since she was assigned to Shi. "Come find me later. Going to upgrade your gear a bit."

*****Author's Note******

Delphi is the Captain of the Phoenix, the ship that Nix spend quite a bit of time on before he moved to Oasis. It is the flagship of the Glory Fleet.

********************

[Whisper: Nix to Delphi] How's the Phoenix looking, Captain?

[Whisper: Delphi to Nix] Nix! I thought you forgot about us!

[Whisper: Nix to Delphi] Not at all. Are you close by?

[Whisper: Delphi to Nix] The fleet is anchored at the mid-point between Glory and the Central Kingdom. I was worried if we came too close, we'd aggro Barrot."

[Whisper: Nix to Delphi] Good thinking. Commander Mtui is our logistics officer; if you require anything, just let him know.

[Whisper: Delphi to Nix] Understood. Thank you.

When Nix and Del stepped onto the Gemini Temple platform a few minutes later, Del immediately asked to leave. They'd been hunting most of the night, and she was exhausted. Nix stifled a yawn and headed into the TOC.

Semmi, Pon, and Jun Li were studying the holographic map of Colonial; all three looked up when Nix headed toward them.

"Been sleeping all day, Bastard?" Pon smiled despite his words; he knew that Nix hadn't slept in at least a day, probably more.

"Going that way in a bit." Nix grinned suddenly; for some reason, he felt a perverse pleasure in delivering bad news. He zoomed the TOC map to the area North of Cyphix. "Got some sort of anomaly forming here."

Semmi stared at the point. "Anomaly? When did it start?"

Nix shrugged slightly. "Best guess is that it started when we began killing Howlers."

/Inferno: Nix: Can you come to the TOC, Vooni?

/Inferno: Voon: On my way, Nix.

The blonde officer's confusion was written on her face. "What does it look like?"

"Like a swirling mass of energy. I noted last night that every kill we made sent a streamer of energy to the North." Nix let the comment sink it. "I tracked the streamers to this position. We're feeding the damned thing."

Semmi shared a glance with Jun Li. "Any ideas, Junie?"

Jun Li shook her head slightly. "A lifeform made up of everything we kill in Colonial? That could be very bad."

Semmi considered it for a moment. "I didn't see any streamers when I killed howlers."

Nix noticed that Vooni entered the TOC and waved her over. "It's a heat signature, not noticeable unless you have some sort of thermal vision active."

Vooni's black armor stood out only slightly less than the enormous sword strapped to her back. The dragon descendent was a peerless tank, even among the Sky Kingdom elites. "Hey, Nix." She didn't bother to hide the soft spot she had for the Inferno Leader; even before she started seeing his father, Nix had become one of her favorite people. "Got something for me?"

Nix nodded and quickly described the phenomenon of the energy streamers. "I only spent a few minutes studying it; see if you can figure out anything else."

"I'd like to come also. If it's some sort of spatial anomaly, I may be able to tell you more about it." Dragon Master Sinfaya wore a dark robe; her black hair hung loosely down her back. She glanced at Nix, her dark eyes watching the Inferno Leader.

Nix shook his head. "I can't risk having something happen to you."

"Of course, Nix. I only thought I might help."

Nix accessed his inventory and removed a Ravager puppet. He handed it to the Dragon Master and then gestured toward Vooni. "Vooni will accompany you to Colonial; any sort of information would be great."

Semmi nodded in agreement. "The sooner, the better, we'll be taking down Barrot tonight."

Sinfaya accepted the puppet and then immediately opened a breach. "I'll meet you at the Gemini platform."

"Hey..." Nix stared at the dragon for a moment. "Bring my puppet back in one piece!"

Sinfaya stepped through the Breach without saying anything further.

"Damn, Nix. Would it kill you to be civil toward her?" Pon had a healthy respect for dragons.

"The hell are you talking about, Old Man? You're the last person to talk about manners." Nix followed Vooni as she headed toward the door, pausing halfway up the aisle. "Going to North Haven for a few minutes, then I'll be sleeping until later."

Jun Li nodded. "Okay, Nix."

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