章 23: Side Story 3: Snowy Mountains

It was the second year of the new era after the fall of the Evil Dragon God.

It has been five years since his brother's death.

Jasper, along with King Lanford and the other four heavenly knights, were finally able to slay the Evil Dragon God after a long suicidal fight.

They were all prepared for the worse, but had somehow managed to survive through this great battle.

The year 899 marked the official end of the Evil Dragon God's reign of terror, but also the first year of the new era of prosperity.

It would not be for another 3 years before Jasper's fight with the Dragon Child, whose fragmented soul he later named Ian.

It was a world of pure white.

Nothing else can be seen in all directions.

Leading up to a path of small footprints was a small black shadow.

It was a peculiar sight in this quiet world, breaking a thousand years of tranquility.

Covered from head to toe in thick black fur, heavy breathing sounds can be heard from the figure.

The area around where its eyes should be twitched a little.

Opening them slowly, pitch black pupils laid silently in globes of white, like the figure in this world.

A hand slowly reached up, pulling down at the mask covering a familiar, beautiful androgynous face, but slightly younger.

This seemingly out of place figure was Jasper.

[It should be around here somewhere.]

He looked around in all directions, searching for something unknown.

Far into the distance slightly towards the northeast direction, a small speck of green can be spotted.

His eyes twinkled with excitement as he hurried over through the huge field of snow that reached up to his waist.

Standing before the small red flower, his hands trembled as he slowly bent down.

Grabbing the handle of the dagger hanging at the back of his belt, he pulled it out, gradually inching it towards the strange plant.

With nimble movements, he swiftly sliced off the flower at the base of its stem.

He stood up with the red flower held firmly between the fingers of his hand.

[With this, I can finally lure out that ice phoenix from his cave.]

This red flower was called the snow crystal, despite its appearances.

It got its name from being of the same essence as the ice phoenix herself.

With a single stalk, the awe-inspiring bird can finally go through rebirth, breaking through the mold that has been holding her back for four hundred years.

A regular phoenix has a lifespan of 500 years.

At the end of it, her flesh and bones burn for 99 days straight.

On the hundredth day, she will rise from her ashes, reborn into this world once again.

Unlike the other phoenixes, the ice phoenix was the only one of its kind, birthed from the ashes of a regular phoenix when it died in this snowy field.

A single stalk of red flower stood unwaveringly where the phoenix had been at its death.

Its fires were not able to leave a single stain on it.

Instead, it seemed to have separated the fire into a different dimension from its surroundings, leaving every petal of snowflake untouched in its wake.

It has been 3 days since he found the snow crystal.

Looking up the big snowy mountains that almost reached into the skies, his heart couldn't help but palpitate with impatience.

Making his way to the other side, he stepped foot onto the nonexistent path, slowly climbing up with much difficulty.

As he neared the peak, a loud roar can be heard echoing into the distance.

Quickly laying down, he activated the spell on his clothes, turning them into a pure white, melting his figure into the snow underneath.

He held his breath in, as he felt a deep gaze sweeping over his body.

Despite being part of the party that had killed that god, they had the help of celestial ranked treasures, made from the very scales of the Mother Dragon that were of the same source as the Evil Dragon God.

With the threat finally gone, their treasures were likewise sealed and placed into the shrine of the Mother Dragon, protected from all evil forces wishing harm against this world.

Without his celestial ranked sword, he would not have an easy fight with the ice phoenix, even if he would come out victorious in the end.

Feeling the gaze retract away from his surroundings, he gingerly got up from the cold snow, retrieving a small black pouch from his inner pocket.

He kept the snow crystal securely inside that black pouch which was able to stop any leaks of its scent into the air.

He casted a timed spell as he laid the pouch down onto the snow before making his way to the top.

Just as he got behind the big ice cave at the peak, the pouch caught on fire, burning it into cinders.

He heard the wind being pushed away as large flaps of the ice phoenix's silver translucent feathered wings lifted her off into the air.

She turned her head towards the direction Jasper was in, scoffing loudly as she flew towards the small red flower surrounded by the patch of burning dark ashes on a field of white.

Jasper knew she would sense his presence, but the allure of the snow crystal was more tempting to the one of a kind beast than a small puny human.

He calmly walked into the dark cave, not afraid the phoenix will be back anytime soon.

Finally, he had the last ingredient to create a spatial ring.