Deep Within

Sun: "Thanks a lot, sis."

Nebula: "I wish I knew you were in trouble sooner..."

I stand up and roll my shoulders, feeling better from her healing spells. I stop in front of the golden one.

Sun: "It's my fault for being so reckless."

I punch the frozen golden armor, shattering it into pieces. I bend down, pick up the fragments, and stuff them into my Stocker.

Sun: "They might be useful as materials. Hm, I forgot about the shadow book... I think you'll want to try it out later."

Nebula: "More importantly, brother, shouldn't we be worried about that loud roar? Where is the rest of the team?"

Sun: "Underground. Don't worry, they're injured, but alive."

Nebula: "Then let's help them! I need to heal them before it's too late!"

Suddenly, the tremor begins again, this time much stronger. Something enormous emerges from the pyramid. It's a phoenix. It spits fire into the sky, which quickly falls to the sand, triggering massive explosions. D emerges from the same hole, holding Slinger and Miguel. They see us and land beside us.

D: "It appears... we may have awakened a greater foe."

Sun: "Worry not, my fellow. We just need to keep using the same strategy: punch harder!"

Slinger: "You're not a good strategist, are you?"

Sun: "Do you have a better plan?"

Slinger: "A much simpler one."

She aims her bow at the phoenix, which prepares to spew more fire. She shoots a blue arrow, which enters its mouth and ricochets inward, dealing damage and stunning the creature for a short time.

Slinger: "Aim for the weak spots."

Sun: "Easier said than done. The inside of that beast must be hotter than the sun. I'll stick to my usual plan: the eyes!"

I fly toward the phoenix and punch it in the jaw. Then I summon my sword and plunge it into its head, dragging it until it reaches its eyes. It screams in pain, then grabs my body with its flaming wings and throws me away.

The bird breathes fire, which D blocks for a few seconds with its freezing breath. Shooter fires rockets at it, and the smoke blocks its vision for a moment. Nebula launches a spear of water, which penetrates its feathers. The spear then transforms into a huge sphere of water that covers the beast.

The orb begins to shrink, forcing it to unleash a massive explosion that pushes us away. The nearby sand turns to glass. Miguel's rabbit and crow fly toward the bird's eyes, piercing them. The phoenix begins to spin, flinging the minions away. Then, it flies upward with a speed that could rival the fastest jets in my world. A sonic boom can be heard. It quickly disappears into the sky.

Is it going away...? No, it must be coming back... I must warn the others!

I fly to my crew to warn them of the impending danger.

Sun: "We must get out of here, now!"

D: "You don't think it's gone, do you?"

Sun: "It's coming back! Speed and mass can do a lot of damage when they're both large numbers."

Slinger: "Are you suggesting it'll use its own body as a missile? Won't it die?"

Sun: "It wouldn't fly out of our view if it just wanted to escape."

Nebula: "But what about the village? They're in danger too!"

Sun: "Forget them, we have no time!"

Nebula: "Then what was the point of saving them in the first place?"

Sun: "Listen, I have a safeguard. I promise they won't die. At least not permanently."

Nebula: "What does that even mean? You said you could bring Shizuru back, but she's nowhere to be seen!"

Miguel: "Guys, it's coming back."

We look up at the sky. The furious bird dives like a space needle.

Slinger: "We have less than five seconds. What's your plan?"

I freeze in place, not knowing how to react.

Are we going to die? I guess I can revive one more time, but what about them?

D quickly grabs us and protects us with his wings. Nebula creates a barrier around us. The phoenix hits the sand. A nuclear explosion pushes us kilometers away. A large portion of the desert disappears from the map.

Surprisingly enough, I'm still alive. D, however, is unconscious, his back and wings burned. Nebula is also unconscious. Slinger, Miguel, and I painfully stand up, looking at the huge hole where the pyramid and village had once stood.

The phoenix emits a powerful light, burning like the sun in the center of the chaos. Fire begins to flow from its wings, forming a growing sphere of fire.

Slinger: "This is not over yet... we must..."

As the sphere grows larger than the beast, it glows brightly enough to blind us. It explodes, further devastating the landscape. A much bigger hole forms. All the remaining sand turns to glass. Thanks to my blast resistance, I can see the havoc for a few seconds before losing consciousness.

???: "Zero..."

This is my last chance, again...

Nebula is creating the massive true ice cube to store water for the village.

Nebula: "Eh...?"

Slinger: "Did you notice something?"

D: "Sun? You look a little worried."

Sun: "No, it's nothing..."

Nebula: "I feel... revigorated?"

Sun: "What do you mean?"

Nebula: "I don't know, I just... felt a big surge of mana."

Sun: "Huh...? Nebula, do you remember anything that happened recently? Something dangerous, like dying in a huge explosion?"

Slinger raises an eyebrow, intrigued.

Nebula: "No... why?"

Sun: "Nothing, forget it. Do you feel stronger?"

Nebula: "Yes! I don't know why, but this task just got a lot easier now."

Sun: "Do you think you can fight in the pyramid?"

Nebula: "Sure! Let me just finish this real quick."

After Miguel's minions and Slinger kill the goblins at the entrance, we stop in front of it.

Slinger: "Wait a minute, I wanna test something."

Sun: "Your magic bow?"

As she takes the item from her Stocker, she stops in surprise.

Slinger: "How did you know?"

Sun: "Intuition. Marksmen and archers share a common skill: accuracy. They can also use magical weapons."

Slinger: "What...?"

She stares at me with wide eyes. Miguel squeezes his own hand, intrigued by something.

Nebula: "Are you hurt, Miguel?"

Miguel: "Quite the opposite... My minions are stronger than last time."

What is happening...? Not just me, but everyone became stronger after that confrontation. Well, before it...

Nebula: "I'm sure we're growing stronger as we fight. Which is a good thing, obviously!"

Sun: "Nebula, do we get stronger as we suffer or deal damage?"

Nebula: "Yes! That's one of the rules of this world. In other words, what doesn't kill us makes us stronger!"

Does the growth by damage carry over to the next timeline...?

D: "Sun?"

Sun: "But we haven't fought since the ice queen..."

Nebula: "That's exactly why we didn't know until now! We haven't had to fight for a while."

Sun: "While we were traveling to get here, was flying less tiring for you?"

Nebula: "Not really... I just felt better while building the true ice cube."

Sun: "D, what about you?"

D: "Now that you mention it, I do feel a little faster. Maybe it's just the blazing heat of the sun."

That's it! D wasn't with us during the last fight. While resting on our island might have given him a boost, Nebula said she only felt it after I returned to this point in time.

Slinger: "You look like you just solved a hundred-year-old case."

Sun: "Do you think so?"

But I think it would be best to avoid fighting for now... I don't want to risk my last chance again. What if that woman who summoned me has different plans for me now? Besides, I can train at home. Fighting with my life on the line is kind of exhausting...

We enter the pyramid and stealthily eliminate the common goblins. Miguel's minions have not only become stronger, but also faster and quieter. When I open the door to the main room, the creaking sound alerts the goblins inside.

— Who are you?! How did you go unnoticed?!

It's the mage leader again.

Sun: "Listen, you don't stand a chance against us. Either you surrender, or we kill every single one of you."

— Go to hell, human!

Tentacles shoot out from his book, aiming for me. Nebula steps in front of me and blocks the attack with a magical shield. Slinger fires her bow, killing all the other goblins. I extend my gauntlet toward the leader and pull him closer. Nebula impales his head with a true ice spear. The book falls and begins to glow purple again.

Sun: "Nebula, quick! Stop it from unleashing the shadow arts somehow!"

She quickly bends down and picks up the book. Her eyes glow purple, the book trying to consume her. Then, she calms down.

Sun: "Sister, I'm sorry. I thought it would be easier."

Nebula: "Everything's okay, don't worry."