"No mistaking where they live," I joked as we flew toward the mansion. We didn't see any guard posted outside.
"Lax security," Avarice commented as we landed at the front door.
"Yeah...I'm sensing plenty of people inside, though. Wonder what they're doing," I asked as I prepared to knock, but Avarice casually opened the door and stepped in.
Here's the answer to your question, he replied as he stepped aside so that Za'Fia and I could enter as well.
Inside, the lights were off, but a dim red hue was being emitted from the collective bodies of dozens of klevonians and pneumarians gathered around the large vestibule. Many were standing behind guardrails on the upper floors, gazing down as the occasion unfolded. Others stood at the edges of the open space on the ground floor as we all watched an initiation ceremony proceed in the center.
In the center was a flaming circle. Within the circle were three klevonians who knelt before a flaming pneumarian, and two other klevonians who stood on either side of a 5'4" girl with glowing eyes of fire, orange skin, and red-orange hair who was dressed in a green, sleeveless dress. She looked as if she could've been a teenager, but judging by the way she stood, overseeing the ceremony, it was apparent she was the Crest Head, making her old and powerful.
According to the biolenses, the klevonian on her right was a 3-star threat with a base EQN of 46,990,000 who went by the name Xoid the Fortune Shifter. She had the Galvanize eutierric cintracy, making her an Arc Phoenix, and a temp one called Transference. Viraa said that it granted her the ability to transfer physical pain or bad fortune inflicted on her onto another living target. In the past, the cintracy was used to transfer misfortune onto others and fortune onto those who inherited it, but due to the Phoenix Crest being primarily one of medical aid, Xoid often also used it to transfer pain from victims onto herself or even the Crest Head at her command.
That's noble of her, I thought.
The klevonian on the left was a larger guy called Wartru the Head Crusher, who was also a 3-star threat (I guess even a medical team needed muscle). He had a base EQN of 46,484,000 and a eutierric cintracy called Pressure, making him a Force Phoenix. Similar to Verin, he could control the gravity around him. He typically preferred to intensify the gravity around his enemies, slowing them while decreasing the gravity around himself to increase his own speed. Then he coupled it with his second cintracy, Crush, which allowed him to create a focal point that twisted objects around it until it was gone. My guess is that by targeting the head, he earned the moniker "Head Crusher".
The Crest Head herself, "Flame Feather" Hakan, it seemed, was over 850 million UST years (1.7 billion Earth years). She too was a 3-star threat, with an EQN of 525,500,000, and, as expected, she held the Blaze eutierric cintracy, but also a mystic cintracy called Rebirth. Viraa stated that it granted her the power to resurrect recently fallen subspecies by breathing her spirit energy into the target. Offensively, to mortals, it could also burn away their lifespan if the target wasn't powerful enough to resist. However, Hakan typically used it to maintain a low mortality rate in her district. This included the klevonians of her Crest, which she'd resurrect upon their death to avoid having to track down more klevonians. But this did apparently prevent many klevonians who should have died and evolved by then from doing so.
"I offer you power," the pneumarian standing before the three knelt klevonians spoke. "I offer you the assurance of survival. A chance to live without having to kill your own. In exchange for this blessing, are you willing to conform to serve and protect this Crest? To use your newfound power for The Phoenix from now until your evolution and beyond?"
"I submit to the power of The Phoenix, and accept my role wholeheartedly," they answered in unison. They each were then given ascension marks in the shape of the Crest's symbol by the standing pneumarian.
"Then you are hereby flame phoenixes. Welcome to the flock," the pneumarian said before everyone clapped and began to disperse.
I saw the Crest Head getting ready to leave and quickly approached her. From so close, her energy felt like a blast from a furnace, but there was a welcoming calmness about it, too.
"Hi, I'm Alissia, the new Chimera Crest Head," I smiled.
"Oh! You certainly caught everyone's attention when you arrived." The way she spoke was unexpected for her outward appearance. There was elegance and serenity to every movement she made and every word she uttered. High class, she was.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," she continued, moving to the exit. "Had I the time, I'd be thrilled to sit down and learn how one such as yourselves came to be, but alas, I don't have much time. I must return to the hospital shortly. Though I never expected a klevonian to assume the position, I welcome you as a fellow Crest Head. The Chimera District has been in a state of neglect for far too long. Once you get around to changing that, reach out to me, and we can discuss the benefits of allowing my Crest to reopen a hospital there."
What kind of state was it in? I found myself wondering.
"Anyhow, sorry for having to leave so soon after meeting, but as you'll eventually see for yourself, being Crest Head is a demanding job," Hakan smiled warmly as she readied to take off. Her guards stayed behind.
"Well, if you don't mind, I'd like to see you in action. See what your Crest is all about," I insisted. "I hear you're very skilled at healing others."
Hakan nodded, surprised by my interest.
"I wouldn't mind, but I'll be leaving immediately, even if your hybrid forms have wings—"
"Oh, no worries, we each know how to defy gravity with our energy," I assured her as Avarice, Za'Fia, and I began to hover several feet off the ground.
"Okay," Hakan said, pleasantly shocked. "Then follow me."
We traveled quickly to the hospital I'd seen earlier, ignoring the flight restrictions on the way. Within minutes, we'd arrived at the hospital, where we took Hakan's private entrance and exited an elevator that led straight to chaos.
There were wounded everywhere. Noncindarian and some klevonian moaned in pain as they sat, waiting for the next nurse to grab them.
Once everyone saw Hakan, their eyes widened with hope, and she wasted no time identifying those with the worst injuries – the ones with wounds from being assaulted, in a bad vehicle collision, and even one or two who'd been transported from other districts.
We quietly watched as Hakan moved from patient to patient, room to room. When she used her flames of restoration, her normally orange-red flames transformed into a beautiful shade of orange-green, mending the worst of the victims' wounds.
"Why not heal them completely?" Za'Fia asked as she watched Hakan heal the internal bleeding of a victim, then stop to move to the next.
"The day is still young and there are always tons of patients," Hakan responded as she moved to another patient and examined their wounds.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRhKbMo7SN3
and then Add to home screen.