Reincarnated as a Phoenix

Chapter Epilogue 2 – Family Reunion

<What is the matter with you, Dermakvar!? We’ve been worried senseless for years and you were really hiding from us? Do you not care about us at all?>

<It’s nothing like that darling, it’s just that I was enjoying everything this world has to offer. The hunting and gathering of souls remind me of my youth, and the burning pits do wonders for the soul. I haven’t been gone for that long!>

(Minos) “It’s been five damn years father!”

A gigantic imposing red dragon stands alongside a transparent much smaller one, the big one lecturing him in only a way a mother to a father could. Except, instead of being really angry, all mother really wants to do is nuzzle into the ghostly body of my father.

Strangely enough, it appears possible to do so with her head clearly hitting resistance as she just can’t help herself. I’d say it was cute and all if it weren’t my own parents, eww! Just because I see the irony with Brooks doesn’t mean me and Petra are going to stop in front of him!

<If it isn’t littlest one and the silent dragon. Don’t be afraid to leave his side at any time, muted one. Deep down, we all know he’s a pain in the backside>

<…!>

<Dermakvar!>

“Father!”

In but a moment, Minos already wants to beat our father’s soul to death and I can’t say I blame him. One thing I’ve learnt throughout the years is don’t have sympathy for my grumpy ass father who thinks he’s funny even now.

<Who’s this really little one anyways? His scent lingers the same as you two, yet, I’m unsure how that’s possible>

Our fearless kid jumps off my back before Petra even has the chance to help him down and stares face to face against the terrifying spectral dragon. Then, he does something even I can’t expect… he freaking bops father on the nose!

“That’ll be me, Brooks! Don’t ask my mummies how it works, all they ever do is mention a stupid stork. Who buy’s that cra-”

“Heh, language Brooks”

This is one of the reasons why I say this kid of ours is a genius, apart from his tendency to pick up on words he shouldn’t say, he already questions things someone of his age shouldn’t. It doesn’t matter how hard we try to convince him babies come from birds, the tooth fairy stealing teeth and Santa Claus. All of it, he refuses to believe!

<Clever one, isn’t he? Do you know what race he is? It’s just that his scent is even more unique than the both of you birds>

…

Both me and Petra pause and ponder from father’s question, neither are sure how to exactly answer this. You’d think at first glance our kid would be human but it’s rather complicated.

“That… we’re not exactly sure on that”

“Heh, does it matter? He’s still our pain in the arse, even if he ends up growing horns or who knows what else”

(Brooks) “Oi, I heard that! Wait… I’m not going to grow horns, am I!? That will suck!”

<Hmph, fiercely disagree, dark one. It may be impossible accepting him as kin if he grows wings like a wyvern for example>

<Dermakvar… *facepalm*. Even in death, you still can’t let up on that>

As the rest of us excluding mother chuckle from father’s stubborn racism,

<Regardless little one. Does that box you’ve spoken about not say? I’m sure you said it explains things like this before>

Smiling gleefully, both me and Petra pat our kid on the head but already know the answer to this. I’ll do it to show but it won’t work.

‘Aesa… statusss’

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[<Since Brooks is considered an anomaly like other phoenixes, even Aesa can’t open up the status>]

Before you presume anything bad or sinister, we don’t have a clue why our child is considered as such. Already spoken with Aesa and taken him to the mages or other magically inclined people, none have any clue on his race or even if he’s considered a God or not. We’ve even done the magical equivalent of DNA tests for Christ’s sake! I was sure Penelope was going to turn him into a rock at one point…

We did worry a little he might be like us, summoned from Earth but we have no idea whatsoever. We’d still love him, just I would prefer it if he wasn’t a panty obsessed pervert or something. That actually reminds me of something, I’m sure some of our clothes have gone missing recently. Then again, I don’t wear underwear so who knows…

<Let me guess, you’ve been spending time with that bitch again. Have you really no shame Dermakvar?>

<Hey! I’ve been loyal to a fault this time, darling. Why would I want spectral booty when the real thing is right in front of me!?>

‘Eww… that’s gross!’

<You really know how to make a dragon blush, Dermak. Don’t you dare try to take him again, back off or I’ll send you to an Underworld even darker than this place!>

All of a sudden, both mother and father start staring and speaking away from us, mother’s aura growing darker by the second alongside the craziness. Even Minos and Mute have no idea on what they’re doing.

“Petra… have those two gone insane? They’re speaking to no one”

“Heh, no Ikarus. Since you never met that darker jade-coloured dragon, I presume you can’t see her”

<…!>

(Minos) “Don’t worry about it, Mute. I can’t see her either”

Trying my best not to pout that even Minos understands Mute better than I, I’d love for us to have a proper family reunion but that might be a little difficult right now. After a long day presumably teasing Jaquelin, Brooks appears to be tuckered out. So much so, Petra picked him up a moment ago and he’s alreadu out cold.

(Ikarus) “You mind if we call it a day? Our own little one needs his sleep”

“I-I’m not… s-slee-… zzzzzz”

<You can all go ahead, Mute and Minos as well. I’ve got the frustrating task of dragging your father’s sorry spectral hide to Hades now. Those two have been looking for him as much as I have>

<Seriously darling!? You just know they’ll put a tracker on me! Have I no privacy left?>

<That’s not it, Dermakvar. You know they like to have everything documented and tracked. It doesn’t help when dragon souls are nearly impossible to trace down here…>

__________

“It’s already night out? Good to know our kid’s internal clock is working”

“Heh, shh Ikarus. You’ll wake him”

“Zzzzzz”

Teleporting back to our leaders home, Petra tucks him into his bed while I go to turn off the lights. Guess I left the lightbulbs on again… ah right. That reminds me, we’ve got running power in the town now! Albeit, we’re still in the steam engine era but, those books from Earth are helping our island develop. So much so, we’re shipping generators and intricate parts all around the world now.

Thankfully, that gold mine of ours has more than just gold, the miners are even finding other materials like tungsten and copper now. Heh, it’s a literal gold mine with how much crap the miners are uncovering down there, I’m sure I heard about even diamond being found at some point.

Anyways, now that Brook’s is nicely tucked in, Petra gives him a quick peck on the check while I get myself comfortable, running to our own room, immediately tossing my clothes in the corner and hiding under the sheets.

“Heh, really Ikarus? You know we’ll wake him”

“Get your mind out of the gutter woman! It’s summer and I’m down for sleeping in the nude. Ya alright with that?”

I used to be a practitioner of the divine art of commando-ism, now I’m into exhibitionism! I jest but we’ve never cared about nudity, dragons are always nude after all. I purposely don’t mention about the fact father now has a spectral dong… okay, we’re definitely not doing anything tonight! That image is going to scar me now…

“Heh… think I’ll join you then”

‘Great, that means she’s going to use some excuse like preserving body heat to snuggle into me now! I’m not against it… just it is kinda hot’

It doesn’t take long for Petra to switch off the lights, jump into bed with me and for me to end up being the little spoon pretty damn quickly. Don’t fix what ain’t broken…

…

But wait, just as I’m about to drift off into the faint embers of dreamy bliss, the faint sound of footsteps appears to be travelling through our room and into the closet. Like some fucker is sneaking around, maybe even trying to burgle us!

“Petra… you hear that?”

“I do Ikarus… let’s investigate”

Both of us whisper as the footsteps enter the closet and now scurrying can be heard. It honestly sounds like a rat trying to find food or something…

‘Shit! It’s going for my secret stash!’

[<Aesa did warn Ikarus everything important should be placed inside storage>]

‘But I don’t wish to taint that even further! We’re still carrying around that poxy demonic sword thanks to the first phoenix’

Deep in the heart of the closet, behind the racks of clothes is a removable wooden plank. Behind said plank… let’s just say I store my undesirables there and leave it at that. Eh, it’s mainly just food I don’t wish to share and… other things that I’d rather not discuss. The point is, a freaking rat is getting to my goodies!

Both of us equipped with nothing other than our birthday suits and our fiery fists get ready to attack the intruder, slowly moving along to the closet.

Still slowly in the dead of night, the scurrying doesn’t stop as the culprit will be seen any second from now. All we have to do is open the door and whack whatever is inside…

Crash! We open the door; a box of clothes falls off one of the shelves and a sneaky creature stands in front of us. Except, the creature isn’t exactly a creature…

“I-I… erm… s-shit”

And there he is, Brooks, our boy waking up in the middle of the night to try on our clothes and he looking like he wants to cry or tear the world apart. And he just swore as well no less! I think we can let that one pass for now.

I want to focus on what’s going on but instead, Petra says something that causes me to immediately lose my composure.

“Heh… looks like he definitely takes after you, Ikarus”

“D-Damn it, Petra! This is serious… I think? Brooks, if ya want to be a girl or something, just say. Both of us won’t care at all”

For some reason, that suggestion immediately brings him back out of his timid shell and back to the demon like child we know and love.

“Why the hell would I want to be a girl!? I was just bored and the stuff you wear is cute and all. Being a girl sounds yucky!”

“They really do stink boy, especially the ones who aren’t forcibly genderbent like- ouch! They also appear to be a huge pain in the arse as well”

Getting a pinch on the backside and a pout, I’d say that’s a fair response for implying Petra stinks. If she had been patient and waited just a second, she’d have known I was going to add that she has a good smell! Like roses that have been thrown in the woodchipper or a grassy meadow that has fertilized with the most effective kind of fertilizer…

“Aesa must inform wife Ikarus just compared her scent to a field getting fertilized with manure”

Teleporting right in front of us, thankfully wearing clothes for a change, Princess Aesa has to throw me right in the mud! Why the hell did she do that!? Petra’s never had a noticeable scent and I’ve always liked that about her.

“It was a freaking joke, Aesa! Petra always has a great smell, all natural is the best way of things with none of that overbearing perfume crap!”

“Heh… actually Ikarus, I’ve always been wearing perfuse. Even in the days of the old empire… you just never noticed it”

 “Damn it… don’t you start laughing at me! All I was trying to do is be a decent father but nooo…”

__________

In a dark, desolate corner of the Underworld, a decrepit building sits with only two souls trapped inside. The desolate building is roughly the size of medieval manor, but contains nothing of the luxury commodities, everything inside is destroyed baring a few chairs and a dusty bed. What once was the original house of Hades, now is filled with dust and cobwebs as thick as nets.

<So… you finally found where your path leads. Heh, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance once again. It’s been quite the journey, hasn’t it my dear Hestia?>

“Still with that showmanship, even after death. You were a means to an end, a messenger only to deliver contents of the future. You never meant a thing to me, Asmodeus”

The woman scowls at the spiritual dragon who sits proud right where the old throne once sat, the oracle practically spitting at the grinning transparent dragon.

<Heh, and yet I’m the only name you’ll speak, isn’t that right Hestia? Care to humour me even further and show me the other side of you>

“Such a thing is…”

<…Pointless. You find this joke funny? Or are you looking for someone to stroke your ego, perhaps?>

Switching herself to her own transparent dragon form, the dragon form of Asmodeus can’t help but check her body out, all the while still possessing that absurd grin even as a lizard.

While he does this, the dragon turned Hestia can’t help but look for some kind of exit, scanning the wall for any sort of gap of crack but none are to be found. The only way into this palace was through using teleportation, the fake windows scattered around the place only being created for light magic to seep through. The openness is an illusion, Hades designed this place to withstand any attack from the inside or out.

<Heh, I only made sure to guarantee our futures Hestia, you can thank the Underworld leaders for this. We knew our fates were sealed, made this deal long ago so we’d end up somewhere better than eternal torture and damnation>

Unknown to most, there are even darker corners of the Underworld that none shall visit, housing the souls that even Hades won’t touch. This place even holding a titan or two when Hades grow tired of it.

<So… I’m your prisoner in this place then? No exit at all, no way out?>

Now looking around frantically and even trying to crash into the wall, she scales the other side of the gigantic throne room only to find more imposing walls on every side. Try as she might, the impenetrable walls will never come down as they were built into the landscape itself. This building might as well be a bunker, hidden far and deep underground from anywhere or anyplace.

<Heh, you are not my hostage, Hestia, I’m stuck just as much as you. We can speak, sing, laugh, dance, drink, play, fight… even hump if you’re ever feeling frisky. We’re both stuck here… forever…>

“…So, you might as well get comfortable. We could clean first… or tomorrow… or in a year from now. Time is endless!”

Switching to his demonic ghastly form, Asmodeus grabs a dusty bottle of alcohol off the floor and pops off the cork. Part of the deal with Hades means certain commodities would be teleported in on occasion. None know of what Asmodeus offered to the God of the dead in order to choose his resting place, but it would’ve been an impossibly expensive bribe for him to break his own rules like this. Whatever it is the demon lord wanted, this was always part of his plan.

<You always were deranged, Asmodeus. You really think this will ‘fix’ the one I am now?>

<Heh, maybe, maybe not, but that’s not the point. Not being able to see the future will eat you up soon, my dear Hestia. You’ll lose your way and want to purge your own soul. I’m here to stop that from happening>

<Such petulance, Asmodeus. This isn’t a victory for either one of us… there has to be something here!>

Understanding his point perfectly, the dragon turned Goddess freaks out even more as she still desperately searches for an exit, even just the sound of something hollow behind would be a lifeline. There only way in and out was originally by portal though…

<Heh, agree to disagree Hestia, but there’s nothing to worry about. We’ve got eternity to debate and argue as much as we’d like…>