The slime-like liquid was drained from the pod as Invidia began to pull Jason from the pod. Jason opened his eyes. The pod opened allowing Jason to sit up. His feet hung off the side of the opened pod with his head down and his shoulders shaking. Invidia realized quickly he was crying.
She mived without thinking and held his head to her chest to provide what little comfort she could. She apologized as his tears stained her shirt. Her voice was as soothing as she could make it. "I didn't know it was going to be like that Jason. I only wanted to help, but i didnt know someone could endure such suffering alone for over a decade. Im so sorry you had to go through that. The pod reads memories and through them makes a very likely guess at what your bond is. Your thoughts, emotions, desires, actions and abilities to figure out what is connected to you." His arms found life as he wrapped them around her waiste. He clung to her like a child would cling to their mother. "Your not alone anymore. I will be there as long as you let me. I will not be able to solve all your problems, but i will be able to help you now. I will meet you in the training room tomorrow." Today, go rest. You need it."
Jason shook his head as the cries stopped and the tears stopped forming. "I need to train," he said. Distancing himself away from her.
"That is not advisable," she argued. "In your current state, you…"
"I dont care." Jason cut her off. "I will not allow myself to be weak again." His eyes were red but steady.
"I will go with you then."
"No its best if you meet me there," Jason said. He got up from the pod and made his way to the door.
"Ill be on my way in ten minutes then."
"Thank you professor." Jason opened the door to leave.
"Invidia," she replied.
"Huh?" Jason stopped ij his tracks.
"When were alone, call me Invidia."
"Ok, Invidia." He left the room and headed to the training room. Invidia's silver eyes stared at where Jason was a few seconds ago. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she marvelled over the events she witnessed.
"First, he's bonded with a phoenix. It was dormant his entire life until his death. Second, he's been through hell. He has no family, only two friends and no one that he truly trusts. I believe he doesn't even trust Sophia Pendragon with anything. Yet, he moves forward. If I were him, I would have begged for death, but death is not an escape. He wears death like a cloak and his flames as a weapon." She raised her hand to her chin in deep thought. "I'll have to learn more about the Phoenix if I am to help him." She got up and started walking out the door. She gained a level of respect for the boy after today. She only hoped that he would keep the peace rather than destroy it.
Jason's POV
The memories were still there lingering in his mind. He wasn't angry at prof… or rather Invidia, but his mind was scrambled. Maybe some exercise or a good fight is needed. He walked to his dorm room and saw Sophia sitting at the table reading a book.
"Hey Sophia," he said.
She looked up and saw that something was wrong. His head that he started learning how to hold it high was now hung low and his shoulders were hunched forward. His eyes were red. She put the book down and walked over to him.
"Why are you depressed right now?" She asked him with her hands on her hips. "I wanted you to be strong. So what made you this emotional?"
Jason started to explain the situation to her and Sophia's red eyes turned into a softer and more gentle shade. Her eyes closed as she understood. "Ok, I get it. Some of us have a traumatic past, so what? What really matters is what we do after life kicks us in the balls. We get back up and continue fighting. So tell me Jason. You who have bonded with the Phoenix, the bane of dragons themselves. What is it that you desire?"
"I want to fight something. As long as I get to unleash my power to the limit, anything will do."
"Ok if you win against this, I'll give you a reward. But first, put that on." She pointed to the artifact on the bed. "I'm not gonna head to the training room and watch you be reborn and become naked again. It's designed to endure the polar extremes, both fire and ice. It can also change size and shape according to the will of the owner. As long as you have mana, you'll be fine."
Jason put it on and found it was extremely light and comfortable. The artifact covered his entire body but his head was free. It clung to his body like a second skin. Jason wanted to test the ability of the artifact out. He imagined the black silk turning into a crimson red with white accents.
"You can adjust it later. Let's go."
Sophia grabbed Jason and pulled him along to the training room.
NEW QUEST AVAILABLE. IMPRESS A DRAGON. DEFEAT THE ENEMY WITHOUT GETTING KILLED. REWARDS, TEN STAT POINTS AND 2 LEVEL UPS. DOES HOST WISH TO ACCEPT? YES/NO
Jason blinked. 'Sixteen stat points total and 2 level ups?' Jason though grinning. 'Sounds like fun. Yes.'
As they approached the building, they saw someone was waiting for them. Invidia was standing there with a tablet in hand. Her expression was conflicting. It was as if she got both good news and bad news in equal measure and was trying to decide how best to proceed when Sophia and Jason walked up to her.
"Ah, there you two are." Invidia said. "I thought you would have started with out me. Yet that doesn't seem to be the case." Invidia's blond hair was now pulled into a bun. She wore a black sports bra and sweat pants.
Sophia was surprised. "Oh hello Professor. Are you joining us today?"
"I am. I'm wondering how his progress is coming along."
"He's still in his child phase but is starting to approach his adolescent phase," Sophia responded.
"Looks like your growing fast," Invidia said to him. "Let's head inside and begin. I have a feeling this will be quite a show."
They walked into the building ignoring the front desk completely and started walking down the hall. Instead of entering the first door on the left, however, they continued down the long hallway. "Where are we heading?" Jason asked the two of them.
"These rooms are for the students to come and go. However, there are rooms for teachers and their classes for specific lessons. We are heading to one of those rooms."
At the end of the hall was a stair case that went up to the next floor. They walked together in silence. The atmosphere between them was tense but breathable. When the entered the room, Invidia walked to the pedestal and started messing with it. Jason took the opportunity to look at the room itself. Other than the fact that it is ten times bigger than the ones below, there were no differences. Jason then looked at Invidia and could only guess what she was trying to do.
Sophia saw the look of confusion on his face and said "It's like a computer or a tablet for the room. You ask what it wants and it gives it to you as long as it's something the room can provide. If you ask me, she's about to give you a sparring partner."
'I suppose now is a good time to check my progress. Besides I have a couple of questions regarding the abilities of my artifacts.' Jason thought.
NAME: JASON
CONTRACTED BEAST: PHOENIX
TITLES: NONE
HEALTH: 22/22
MANA: 100/100
LEVEL: 3
EXP: 10/50
ATTRIBUTES
VITALITY: 22
STAMINA: 27
STRENGTH: 21
ENDURANCE: 20
WILL: 13
INTELLIGENCE: 10
SP: 0
ABILITIES: FIREBALL, FIRE MANIPULATION, PHOENIX TEARS, FIRE STEP
ARTIFACTS: PHOENIXS AMULET, TARDIGRADES SHELL
ACTIVE QUESTS: FIGHT TO IMPRESS/DAILY QUEST
'Ok what exactly do these artifacts do?' He clicked on the tardigrade shell.
TARDIGRADE SHELL IS MADE UP OF THE HIDE OF A TARDIGRADE THAT WAS TURNED INTO AN ARTIFACT. A TARDIGRADE CAN SURVIVE EXTREME TEMPERATURES OF BOTH ABSOLUTE ZERO AND TEMPERATURES EXCEEDING 300 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT. THIS MAKES IT EXTREMELY USEFUL IN AREAS THAT MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO SURVIVE IN.
'Sophia. How did you manage to get something like this?' Jason looked down as he felt the soft fabric that clung to him. Jason's eyes went back to the system and wondered what the artifact he found in the woods. It felt like a lifetime ago even though it was only last week.
PHOENIXS AMULET. CREATED BY ONE OF THE GODS FOR AN UNKNOWN REASON, THIS AMULET HAS A UNIQUE ABILITY RELATED ONLY TO THE ONE WHO BONDS WITH THE PHOENIX. IN ORDER FOR ITS ABILITY TO BE AVAILABLE FOR USE, HOWEVER, THE HOST MUST DIE AND BE REBORN TEN TIMES.
SCANNING…
NEW QUEST AVAILABLE. PHOENIXS REBIRTH. OBTAIN THE HIDDEN POWER BEHIND THE PHOENIXS AMULET BY DYING TEN TIMES. REWARD A NEW ABILITY, 30 EXP AND TEN SKILL POINTS.
The door started to open and a staff member showed up with a table, a set of chairs, and some drinks. A tea set was provided for Sophia and a pitcher of water was for Jason. For Invidia, however, was a cup of wine, or was it blood. Jason wasn't sure he wanted to know.
Jason was about to ask a question to Sophia when the room started to rumble. Invidia walked over to the table and took a seat down. Sophia followed her example and started pouring herself a cup of tea.
The ceiling opened and a gargoyle dropped down.