It was a beautiful day with crystal blue skies and the dazzling light from the sun baking the world. The summer has come to the world and that means more humidity.

“That’s why you all need to drink lots of water to stay hydrated. You got that?” Darian told them.

While everyone was nodding, Rumble narrowed his eyes. Then he suddenly stood up and said “Wait, wait, wait! Stop! How the hell did we start off with summer?!”

“How? Look out the window, Rumble! It’s summer and that means it’s going to be really hot around here!” Darian said as he indicated at the veranda.

Rumble sighed and he sat back down behind the dining table. At that moment, everyone was eating breakfast in the early morning. Lakshman looked at them curiously while eating. The only one not eating was Ondine as she sipped on cold water blissfully.

It has been a day since Lakshman discovered Felix. When Lakshman found him, he was half covered in black with red markings. Using Transcendent Blade and Transcendent Talk, Lakshman bravely destroyed the corruption with the power from Blade of Light.

After that, Lakshman was shocked to discover that he was destined to become the Phoenix Titan. He was not the only one shocked by the news. When Lakshman informed them, Darian, Rumble, Wolfenstine, Marilia, Emilia and Ondine were all stunned.

They were glad that Felix was safe and well, but the shocking truth of Lakshman’s destiny was unbelievable. At first, Darian and Rumble thought it was just a bad joke while Wolfenstine was puzzled over it. Emilia fainted on the spot and Ondine had to carry her over to bed.

“Um... What I said yesterday is the truth...” Lakshman said to them as they ate breakfast.

At those words, Darian and Rumble both laughed. Then they winced as Marilia knocked on their hands with her fist.

Then she looked at Lakshman and said “We’ll discuss this later. First, eat breakfast quickly before it gets cold!”

Pushed on by her stern words, they quickly ate their breakfast. Then Ondine and Emilia carried the empty plates into the kitchen to clean. While they did that, the boys and Tetra moved to the front room to sit down.

Once they sat down, Lakshman said “Listen to me! Felix said all this to me yesterday! Even Tetra said the same thing! Right, Tetra?”

As he looked towards her questioningly, she nodded back at him. Then she said “I know it’s unbelievable, but it’s the truth. Master is destined to be the Phoenix Titan.”

Rumble laughed and said “Stop dreaming, you guys. It’s a little too early in the morning to be dreaming just yet.”

“Lakshman, I know it sounds like the truth, but it’s false. I know the requirements needed to be the Phoenix Titan is to be acknowledged by the Phoenix Blade and to hear the voice of the Phoenix,” Darian said to him.

At his words, Lakshman said “Tetra’s already my Contract Spirit.”

“Yes, but that still doesn’t mean you will become the Phoenix Titan. For one thing, we don’t know what the Voice of the Phoenix is.”

“Ah! Apparently the Voice of the Phoenix is the inner voice within the Phoenix Titan! It’s something that gives advice, guidance and support to the Phoenix!” Lakshman said quickly.

Darian still shook his head and said “Sorry, Lakshman, but I just can’t take your word for it.”

“Why not, Darian? The kid seems pretty confident about what he’s saying,” Wolfenstine said thoughtfully while observing Lakshman closely.

“Wolf. Do you speculate about something and then call it a fact or do you find solid proof to call it a fact?” Darian asked him.

“We find out the proof to make it a fact,” Wolfenstine said and Darian nodded at him.

“Exactly! So, without proof, I can’t believe what Lakshman tells me,” Darian said firmly.

“Proof is possible,” said a familiar voice from somewhere nearby.

They looked around and saw Sevedant, the Death Titan, standing there. It seemed he had returned after a few days of absence.

“You got proof? Where is it then?” Darian asked and he narrowed his eyes.

“Here,” Sevedant said and he moved aside.

Standing behind him was a Phintex Raja. He bowed to them and pulled out a scroll and unrolled it. There was strange writing on it that they were not able to read.

The next moment, the Phintex Raja said “Phoenix Portal!”

In an instant, a black looking circle appeared directly in front of the scroll. It rotated while streaming black energy outward. For a moment, it continued to rotate while nothing happened. Then someone appeared out of the portal and stepped into their hotel room.

“Hey! Sorry to intrude, but I believe this is the location the Sword King, Monkey King and the Scientific King are!” Felix said with a wide grin on his face.

Seeing him, everyone quickly stood up in shock. Then Rumble exclaimed “F-F-Felix!”

“The Phoenix Emperor...!” Wolfenstine said quietly.

“Felix Phoron?! Is that really you?!” Darian said with a shocked expression on his face.

Felix spread his arms out and then bowed while saying “Sorry to not introduce myself first. I am Felix Phoron, the Phoenix Emperor and the ruler of the Phoenix Clan!”

There was stunned silence in the room. Then Darian and Rumble quickly moved forward to shake hands with him.

“Good lord! I’ve always wanted to meet you, Felix!” Rumble said while shaking his hand quickly.

He was nudged aside as Darian came in to shake his hand with a wide smile on his face. Then he said “Sorry to appear like this, but it’s a pleasure to see you alive and well!”

Hearing their loud voices, Marilia came out to see what was going on. Her mouth opened in shock at seeing Felix, the Phoenix Emperor, in their hotel room. Then she quickly went into the kitchen to make something nice.

They all moved over to the chair sand sat down. Once they did, Felix turned to speak with Lakshman.

“How are you feeling, Lucky? Gotten over the shock of learning the truth yet?” Felix asked him with a grin on his face.

Lakshman sighed and looked towards Darian and the others before saying “More than getting over the shock, I’m having trouble getting to convince them...”

As he sighed again, Felix looked at them with an amused expression on his face.

Darian chuckled and said “I mean, come on, Lakshman! Just because I told you to go around appearing as the Sacred Armoured Phoenix Titan doesn’t mean you get wrong ideas!”

“No. Lucky did not get wrong ideas! I don’t really know what he said, but the face is... Lakshman Reddy is destined to the Phoenix Titan! It is inevitable he will reach that stage eventually!” Felix said in a strong firm voice.

Darian and Rumble were smiling, but they slowly faltered. It was replaced by an expression of utter disbelief as they stared from Felix, then at Lakshman and then back.

“S-Seriously?” Rumble asked and Felix nodded at him.

“Yes! It had been quite obvious for some time, but it had been ignored due to unknown reasons. However! Yesterday I have confirmed with my own two eyes and intuition that I was right! The Phoenix Blade recognised Lucky as its master and he can hear the Voice of the Phoenix!”

“Then... How did we not notice it all this time?” Rumble asked curiously.

Felix shook his head to that question. That was when Sevedant said “Assumed. Extraordinary. Well disciplined.”

“Oh... I guess we did assume him to be unnaturally strong and extraordinarily different...” Darian said in a low voice.

As Sevedant nodded at him, Felix turned to him and sternly said “Sev! You need to stop those short words! That broken language is starting to hurt my ears top put together!”

Sevedant looked at him and said “Stupid.”

“Lazy!” Felix instantly replied and the two stared at each other with great intensity.

Seeing the Phoenix Emperor and the Death Titan staring at each other with such intensity caused Darian and Rumble to worry. Wolfenstine, however, was grinning broadly as he watched them.

Then Felix sighed and turned back to speak to them.

“Anyway! That path’s a long way away and will take time before he gets there! For now, we will concentrate on getting him ready for the Battle of Prematria!”

“One week! Training. Exercising. Strengthening. Get stronger.”

“Argh...! Sev! I told you to stop with those short words already, you slacker!”

“Too much effort, stupid!”

“Oooh...! One of these days, I’m going to really beat you up for good!”

“That day will never come!”

They looked at each other. Then Felix burst out laughing which surprised everyone. A few seconds later, he returned to smiling brightly.

“This is why I hate the Nine Pillars of Power! Every one of them do whatever they like and don’t care how it affects others!” Felix said while looking at Sevedant.

Sevedant shrugged his shoulders in response and did not say anything.

Just then, Marilia came into the room carrying drinks. Behind her was Ondine and Emilia carrying trays with drinks as well.

“Ah! Thank you very much for this,” Felix said and he smiled at her.

“No! It’s an honour to meet the Phoenix Emperor!” Marilia said cheerfully.

“Ah. I see,” Felix said and he nodded in understanding.

After handing out the drinks, the girls sat down. Marilia sat down next to Darian, her husband, while Ondine and Emilia sat down next to Lakshman. Ondine greeted Felix normally, while Emilia tried her best to hide behind Lakshman.

“So! When will you return to take your position in society?” Darian asked drinking a bit.

After completing his glass, Felix said “Not yet! I want to observe a few things before making my move. For now, I’ll have the Phintex Rajas to go out and keep things in order as much as possible!”

“Why? You believe something nasty will happen if you make your move directly in the open?” Wolfenstine asked and Felix nodded at him.

“That’s right, Wolfenstine. I’m sure you can relate to my actions to one of your crazy experiments.”

At those words, Wolfenstine chuckled and said “I actually miss experimenting with stuff. Maybe I might get a chance later on?”

Felix nodded and looked like he was thinking for a bit. Then he said “Actually... There is something that I would like to speak to you about later on. I’m sure you’ll agree with me about it.”

“Really? Cool! I can’t wait!” Wolfenstine said and he suddenly looked like a wolf eager for his prize.

Felix nodded at him and turned to speak to Lakshman.

“We only have one week before the tournament! Lucky! The training that I and Sevedant will make you do will be as tough as training under thousand times gravity! Are you ready to handle that kind of training?”

Lakshman looked at him in surprise. Then he chuckled and said “Can I say I’m born ready?”

At those words, Felix laughed and said “That’s the spirit of the man to be the Phoenix Titan in the future!”

They smiled at each other cheerfully. Felix knew Lakshman would make an extremely powerful Phoenix Titan in the future. He has the right aptitude, attitude and beliefs. That was why Felix was determined to make him the strongest Phoenix Titan in over eight-thousand years.

Then Felix noticed the Emilia trying to hide behind Lakshman. Curious, he gestured at her and asked “Who’s that girl desperately trying to hide behind your back?”

“She’s Emilia Serabell. She’s my slave that I bought from the Slave Market!” Lakshman said with a smile.

Felix’s eyes widened in surprise and he said “My goodness! You are the very spitting image of my friend, but luckily his wife’s got a leash on him to make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid!”

“Um...” Lakshman said hesitantly.

He knew Felix was referring to his father. Over the past few months, Lakshman had heard a lot about his father. Most of it came as a shocking surprise to him and it only made him want to be different. However, at that moment, he suddenly realised he was heading in a direction like his father.

As he sighed, Felix said “Not a problem, but make sure you take responsibility! You’re a man! Got that?”

At those words, Lakshman looked at him and smiled. Then, as he nodded, Emilia quietly said “Master treats me well. Please don’t be so harsh on him.”

“I’m on harsh on him... um... Emilia, was it? I’m just making sure he will be more careful than his silly father who is also my best friend!” Felix said and he let out a sigh of resignation.

At that moment, Sevedant quietly said “Time for training.”

“Ah! That’s right! We don’t have any time to waste! Let’s get straight into training starting now!” Felix said and he got to his feet.

“Train in my world,” Sevedant said and he motioned to the white hole in the wall.

“Got it!” Felix said and he walked towards it.

As Sevedant went in, Felix stopped and looked over his shoulder at Lakshman and asked “Come on! I can’t train if the trainee isn’t present!”

Smiling energetically, Lakshman jumped to his feet and quickly walked over. Then Felix walked through the white hole and soon followed by Lakshman Marilia wanted to stay behind because she disliked boring training until the girls urged her to come as well. Together, everyone walked into the white and vanished in a flash of light.