Blazing Starfall

Phoenix and Cholra screeched as they flew around at high speeds in the sky, evading each other's attacks swiftly. Nebula followed behind quickly, her horn shining and unleashing destructive beams of energy at Cholra from behind. Cholra sensed the attack then dodged the beams, flying upward while spinning. He let out a screech and spread his wings, releasing a burst of energy, sending fireballs soaring across the sky in all directions.

Phoenix flew in front of Nebula, absorbing the fireballs for her while Nebula flew forward quickly, allowing me to launch a powerful slash at Cholra. Cholra blocked my slash then knocked me off Nebula's back using his wing.

"Ryoma!" Inoka called out.

Nebula neighed and swiftly flew toward me, catching me on her back then flew back up in the air. I chuckled softly and looked at Cholra, my heart racing with excitement.

"I've fought many beasts in my days as an Emperor...but Uthean Beasts scale so much differently than Eyican Beasts. This is going to be fun," I said, my eyes shining blue and the Crest of Arcane glowed brighter on my hands.

"Emperor...No wonder I felt strong energy from you. You will be the first to know true despair!" Cholra screeched, spreading his wings out wide.

"I already know true despair. It will be you who will learn what it is!" I declared, my Crest shining and showing the Virgo Symbol on the top of my Crest. "You want a battle in the skies, I'll grant you one!"

I jumped off Nebula's back then light energy began to spiral around my body, wings manifesting on my back and my Crest of Arcane glowed atop of my head forming a halo. I let out a bellow as I transformed into my Virgo Form fused with my Angelic Form.

Inoka watched me in awe, her eyes shimmering with wonder. She felt her heart beating against her chest, sensing my rapidly growing power level. "A Zodiac Form..?"

"You have tricks...human. But this battle will end the same!" Cholra declared, screeching at me.

He flew toward me at high speeds, slashing his wings at me, noticing me flawlessly dodge his attack. I smirked then chuckled softly, countering with a powerful kick to his body, sending him flying in the air. I flew above Cholra and slashed down, sending him crashing toward the island.

"Phoenix! Go!" Inoka commanded, seeing an opening. "Vermillion Feather!"

Phoenix screeched and propelled herself toward Cholra at high speeds, cloaking herself in powerful flames then crashed into Cholra, causing him to let out a pained cry. He pushed Phoenix off him then countered with a slash of his wings, sending her crashing down toward the island below.

Inoka yelled out as she fell off Phoenix's back. She heard a neigh and noticed Nebula swoop down and catch Inoka then barrel rolled to get Inoka on her back. Inoka grunted as she held onto Nebula's leash tightly, securing herself on Nebula's back.

Cholra looked down at Phoenix, flying toward her at high speeds then prepared to attack, but a Phantom version of Azusa appeared at his side then launched him though a rocky pillar with a kick. Cholra screeched in pain as he flew backwards, but recovered with a flap of his wings. Cholra's eyes flashed with more anger then looked around, noticing me hovering above Phoenix with my arms crossed.

"Human!" Cholra shrilled, flying toward me at high speeds.

Cholra spun around swiftly swinging his wings at me, but I parried each attack from him then countered with a few flurries of my own, but Cholra blocked and parried each one. He turned into a ball of flames then flew behind me, kicking me into the roof of a shrine.

I flew out of the shrine and chuckled softly. I wiped my lip and raised my power level accordingly then landed on the roof. I got into my Dagrax Stance then my eyes glowed intensely. Cholra took his stance in the sky and spread his wings.

I glanced at Inoka and Nebula then looked back at Cholra. "Get ready, Bird!"

"Come," Cholra taunted, readying himself.

I propelled myself toward Cholra and smirked, my body turning onto Phantom Energy, confusing Cholra. Inoka bellowed from above, landing a powerful slash on Cholra with her rapier. Cholra crashed to the ground and a large cloud of smoke emerged from the ground.

Cholra flew upward and spun around gracefully, landing a clean strike upon Inoka's midsection, sending her flying into the air. Inoka winced in pain, but stayed strong, using her flames to immediately heal her body.

"Pitiful human, you wish to claim my power with such weaknesses like yours?!" Cholra screeched, flying toward Inoka at high speeds.

I warped above Cholra and struck the top of his head, a second impact blowing him toward the ground. I grabbed Inoka's hand, using Milcham's and Elisa's technique, spinning around rapidly and launching Inoka toward Cholra.

Inoka bellowed and thrusted her rapier toward Cholra, but he dodged the attack countering with a stomp with his talons, but Inoka's body turned into Phantom Energy. Cholra looked a bit surprised then groaned in pain as the real Inoka landed a chop to the back of his neck, sending him crashing into the ground.

"Good one, Ino!" I called out, landing on the ground.

Inoka grunted softly as I caught her in my arms, holding onto me and smiling. "Your Phantom Technique comes quite in handy~"

Cholra screeched in an enraged fashion, his fiery aura surging powerfully and he looked at us with fury in his eyes. He lowered his stance and stared at us. "You humans...are quite annoying! I will destroy you all!"

Cholra propelled himself toward us and closed his wings together to make two blades. He thrusted one blade at us, forcing Inoka and I to split apart to dodge. Cholra spun around and slashed his other blade at Inoka, and she blocked with her rapier but the force of his attack pushed her away.

I ran forward and summoned my sword, somersaulting forward and slashed down at Cholra. He dodged my slash then hopped in the air, double kicking me away with his talons then flew after me. I recovered in the air then the Crest of Manami shined on my hand, her spirit appearing in front of me and blocking Cholra's next attack with a magic barrier and repelling him back.

"Inoka! Let's go!" I called out then dashed after Cholra.

Inoka nodded then ran toward him as well. "Let's do this!"

I leaped in the air, landing a powerful axe kick and knocking Cholra to the ground. Inoka followed with rapid thrusts of her rapier, landing each strike in rapid succession. Cholra screeched and used a powerful heat wave to push us back then flew forward, swiping his wing knocked Inoka away then fired a massive fireball at me from his beak.

I took a deep breath then palm struck the fireball, dispersing it into magic particles. Cholra used the distraction to land a clean kick to my face, sending me flying through multiple rock formations. He flew after me and heard a screech, looking up and noticing Phoenix crashing down onto him.

"Good one, Phoenix!" Inoka called out, running toward Cholra.

I flew toward Cholra and began to synchronize my attacks with Inoka, Cholra unable to find the right time to block or defend. I grabbed Inoka's and and spun her around rapidly, flinging her toward Cholra at high speeds. Inoka began to rapidly strike Cholra from every angle, each strike a burst of flames flashing upon impact.

I rushed forward and drifted around Cholra, getting into a running start. "Zodiac Arts: Battery Impact!"

The Aries Symbol shined on my hand then I charged forward with a bellow, preparing to ram into Cholra. As I neared closer, Cholra screeched powerfully, stopping my attack then his flames became black and purple.

"Get off me!" Cholra screeched, his flames pushing me and Inoka away with a powerful repulsive force of energy.

I grunted softly at the boost of strength Cholra displayed, preparing to transform into my Emperor's Form. "This Beast is growing too fast!"

"Not so fast, Emperor," Cholra shrilled, flying toward me at high speeds.

Cholra's speed and power had vastly increased, each of his attacks landing and dealing devastating damage to me. He rushed me with attacks from every angle then knocked me into the ground, sending me crashing into the island's core.

Inoka grunted then bellowed, her energy linking with Phoenix's energy. Phoenix let out a screech and turned into a ball of energy then entered Inoka's body, fiery wings manifesting from Inoka's back and her Crest shining brightly on her hand.

Cholra glanced at Inoka then folded his wings, staring at her. "You believe combining powers with your Phoenix will be enough to stop me?!"

Inoka let out a battle cry then propelled herself toward Cholra. "Even if you manage to deal a killing blow upon me, I'm immortal! I will keep rising back up until you acknowledge me!"

Cholra laughed menacingly then flew toward Inoka with a screech. The two clashed and entered intense combat, their wills being pushed to the limit. Neither side gave up the offensive, but Cholra still had the upperhand in terms of raw strength and speed. Inoka did what she did to keep up with him, but she knew she was still slightly slower than Cholra.

Cholra parried Inoka's next attack, knocking her off balance then slashed his wing at her, knocking her back. Inoka recovered off one hand then landed onto her feet, letting out a powerful bellow, fiery wings manifesting on her head as she pushed herself even further.

"Renaissance Soarwing!" Inoka bellowed, propelling herself toward Cholra at high speeds, leaving a massive crack in the ground.

Cholra stood strong, tanking her attack then blasted her into the air then flew above her and crashed down onto her, slamming her into the ground. He flew into the sky and spread his wings. "Blazing Starfall!"

Cholra released a powerful burst of energy, sending orbs of energy homing into Inoka at high speeds. Before the orbs could reach her, a light shined and Manani appeared in front of Inoka, strumming a chord with her harp and a barrier formed over the two, blocking the attack.

Cholra looked surprised then felt an even stronger presence behind him, looking back and noticing me levitating into the air. He turned toward me and let out a pained screech as invisible forces began striking him with devastating blows and caused him to stagger into the air.

"Playtime's over, Hoor-Ra-Chol. I hope you're ready to witness true power," I said, the Crest of Arcane humming with power as my energy powerful flared around my body. I transformed into my Emperor's Form, silvery white aura surging powerfully around my body. "You will now face...The Tyrant."

Cholra shook his head then stared at me, his eyes glowing brightly then he flew toward me at high speeds. He screeched as he launched a powerful slash at me with his wings, but my aura deflected each of his strikes. I caught his wing upon his next attack then countered with a blow to his midsection, sending him crashing through his temple, the rubble falling upon his body.

Inoka looked surprised at my power, noticing her Crest of Ardens shining brightly in response to my very presence. She felt her own power level increasing just by being near me. 'It doesn't feel like that evil presence I felt before. It feels... amazing. The Tyrant in the flesh is so much different from the stories...his presence is Uplifting me..'

"Inoka! Buy me time! We're ending this battle now!" I commanded, summoning my sword and began to gather energy inside of the blade. "Manami, Nebula, assist Inoka!"

Manami mounted on Nebula's back and Nebula neighed flying toward Cholra at high speed. Inoka flew after Nebula and prepared the final stretch of the battle. Cholra screeched powerfully and flew toward Inoka and Nebula.

Inoka, Nebula, and Manami worked together to keep Cholra away from me as best as they could. They synchronized their attacks and defenses, their wills growing and burning stronger than before. Cholra evaded and deflected their attacks, his gaze quickly landing on me as he noticed my energy rapidly growing.

"Manami!" Inoka called out, needing assistance keeping Cholra down and flew toward him.

Manami played a tune on her harp, multiple magic portals opening and chains emerging from the portals. The chains wrapped around his body, constricting his movements while allowing Inoka the opening she needed.

"Renaissance Soarwing!" Inoka bellowed, propelling toward Cholra at high speeds and thrusting her rapier at his weakspot.

As she collided with Cholra, a massive explosion happened in the sky, one that could be seen from the kingdom and alerted Claire, Milcham, and Elisa. The three looked at the sky, Claire hoping Inoka and I were okay while we were in the skies.

Cholra fell to the ground and groaned softly, looking up to notice me in the air. He slowly got up and stared at me, his heart thumping at the immense energy my body radiated. "You... I won't allow you to defeat me! I am The Divine Phoenix! The Searing Souleater! Vesta's Judgment! I won't let a lowly human defeat me!"

I smirked and rose my sword in the air, my energy affecting the island itself by shaking the core. "I am far stronger than you think I am, Cholra. I am Emperor Ryoma Miyazaki! Emperor of Eyica, The Tyrant! The Fool Who Conquers! I am The Supreme Emperor of Conquest! If you think you can match me at my worst then you're mistaken! With my worst, I can outclass your best!"

"No one shall speak to me that way! I will take your soul if it's the last thing I do!" Cholra screeched, his flames growing even stronger than before. "Primordial...Phlostigon!"

Cholra launched a beam of black flames at me, and I flew toward him slashing through the beam and laughed. Cholra added more intensity to the beam of fire, using everything he had within himself, but constantly felt my power level growing.

'How is this possible?! How is he growing stronger?!' Cholra thought, his eyes widening as he noticed I sliced straight through his attack.

"My power can rival that of a Legendary Beast, Hoor-Ra-Chol. The only person that can ever defeat me, is me!" I boasted, raising my sword above my head. "Now taste...Despair as you witness my strongest attack. The End."

I slashed down, cutting through a fragment of space in front of Cholra, the slash effect shining brightly and causing a massive explosion and damaging Cholra with great intensity. Inoka groaned loudly as the explosion knocked her away, but Nebula flew toward her and Manami caught Inoka's hand.

The ground below us began to shatter, crumbling into pieces, the area around us becomi the destroyed at my raw strength. Dust and debris flew everywhere, a massive crater formed around me from the aftermath of my attack.

As the dust settled, Cholra was seen falling to the ground defeated, his flames reverting back to normal and his rage was quelled. I stared at him and looked at my sword, knowing I purposely held back as much as I could with the amount of energy I gathered. The Crest of Arcane glowed on my hand, glad that I held back so much power instead of succumbing to the instincts of The Tyrant and killing Cholra.

Inoka gazed at the destruction of my attack, noticing the island's damages from my attack. "Whoa..."

"Whoa indeed..." Manami said, staring at me. "He still has a problem with holding back on the destruction..~"

Nebula whinnied and snorted, gazing at the damaged and her tail swayed. The three decided it was calm enough to finally go back onto the ground of the island and check on Cholra.

Nebula landed beside me and whinnied, gazing at me and the destruction around the island. I looked at Nebula and smiled, gently rubbing her mane and noticed Inoka walking toward me.

"Geez, Emperor, destroy the island while you're at it," Inoka teased, playfully nudging me and giggled softly.

I let out a soft chuckle and crossed my arms. "It takes a lot for me to control The Tyrant and his power. While The Tyrant and I are one of the same, he still has a mind of his own."

"Hmm~ I understand," Inoka chuckled then walked toward Cholra.

Cholra stood up slowly, grumbling lightly and watched Inoka approach him. He folded his wings and stared at her, his gaze still intense. "Hmph...you only won because of that brute behind you."

"That 'brute' is my future husband and I would appreciate if you showed him a little more respect because he could've sent you to the afterlife," Inoka retorted, crossing her arms as she stared into Cholra's eyes.

Cholra scoffed and turned his head, small embers escaping his beak. "To lose to a human imitating a God's power. That Crest he possesses, it belongs to The Hero of Origin doesn't it?"

"The Crest of Arcane? I have no clue honestly, I would have to ask my sister, but from what Ryoma declared, it could have belonged to the Hero," Inoka answered, looking back at me with a smile. She turned her gaze back to Cholra then held her hand out. "Hoor-Ra-Chol, join me and Ra-Ho-Kuit. Allow me to use your power and join the Kingdom of Pyroc."

"Join the Purifying Flames, The Immortal Phoenix? PAH! You're better off trying to tame Pyroc herself. As if I could ever enjoy working with her..." Cholra scoffed, turning away from Inoka, preparing to fly off.

Phoenix screeched and landed in front of Cholra, staring into Cholra's eyes. She spread her wings, preventing him from walking off. She was just as adamant as Inoka was, wanting Cholra to join Inoka.

"She wants her lover back, Cholra. You are the Death to her Life and she's the Life to your Death. You are the only Death Bringing Phoenix that can also create what we need for Vesta and Phoenix is the Life Bringing Phoenix that can destroy what is not needed that you bring to make new life for Pyroc. Please, Cholra. I don't want to be left behind anymore," Inoka pled, wanting Cholra to join her.

Cholra looked back at Inoka then scoffed and sighed, closing his eyes. He glanced at Phoenix and stared at her for a moment. "I will join you under one circumference. You only use me when you absolutely need it. I refuse to be lowered to a lowly pet like Ra-Ho-Kuit. I am the Divine Phoenix, not some parrot you can control."

Inoka smiled at Cholra, noticing his Crest shining on her hand, her excitement bubbling to the surface. "Deal! But that doesn't mean I won't try to get you down here sometimes!~"

"You may try, but you won't succeed...Inoka Ardens," Cholra shrilled then flew off, leaving behind a few of his golden feathers and Blazing Stars.

Inoka felt her heart skip a beat that he actually said her name, acknowledging her finally then hurried to gather her loot. She picked up the Blazing Stars then turned toward me, holding them up. "We did it! Look, Ryoma!~ We got them!~"

I listened as Inoka cheered and celebrated with Phoenix and Nebula, a soft chuckle escaping my lips. I crossed my arms and nodded my head. "We did do it.."

Manami giggled softly then yawned, resting against me. She noticed her form slowly fading away. "I'm growing sleepy, my love..~ All of my energy usage has tired my spirit...I shall see you when I wake.."

I looked at Manami, smiling warmly at her. "Rest well, Manami. You deserve it.."

As Manami faded away, so did her Crest on my hand, signalling that she entered her Spirit Recovery.

I lowered my hand then walked toward Inoka, Phoenix, and Nebula. "Alright, it's time we come down from the skies. I know Claire is probably worried about us."

"Right!~ I know she's gonna be happy with these rewards! I've gotta show her right now!" Inoka beamed, happily hopping on Phoenix's back. "Back to the surface!~"

I mounted Nebula's saddle then clicked my teeth, Nebula flying off and racing Phoenix back down to the surface. With Inoka's new Beast claimed, I could tell she could barely contain her excitement and I was proud of her. Everything was now ready for the Great Flame Festival and all there was to do was wait for the day.