The Phoenix

Billing paused + more

Hey, everyone. I'm sure you guys probably noticed with the increasingly missed deadlines, but my motivation for this story is kinda gone. I've been considering dropping the story since all the way back around chapter 45 or so, but kept pressing forward instead, hoping it would get better. I've had some flashes of inspiration, but most of the time, I just dread writing this story and chapters take forever to get out. I paused billing for now to relieve the feeling of guilt, but I will say tha...

83 - Take it Easy

After successfully setting Rebirth, I lay down and sleep for quite a while. I’m not sure how long it is, but I wake up feeling more refreshed than I have in a while. Hanna is waiting for me with platters of steaming food in front of her, as if she knew exactly when I was going to wake up. Well, she probably did. She is a Life specialist.

“Good morning,” she says. “Breakfast?”

My stomach growls in answer, and I get up and sit across from her. We eat in relative s...

Chaps will resume on Wednesday

I am currently at Dragon Con and I have drastically overestimated how much free time and energy I would have here. Chaps will resume on Wednesday.

82 - What Hurts the Most

“Rebirth?” I ask.

“Yeah. Sorry.”

“It’s fine. What is the technique?”

“Well, it’s a pretty simple Life technique. It makes use of a minor self-imposed restriction, but it’s nothing permanent and overly restrictive. Just painful.”

“Painful.”

“Y’know, I should add this to the Legacy. The first trial kinda already trains you for it. Basically, instead of healing off damage as it comes, like you normally would with a Life affinity, you le...

81 - Something To Be Proud Of

Over the next few days, I really push the limits of that statement, but she doesn’t mind at all. In fact, she’s more than happy to satisfy my curiosity, letting me follow tangents upon tangents. Specific information on the Tower is limited, even for her, so many of her stories end up unfortunately censored, but I still learn a lot. Most of what I learn is about what kinds of things are possible in the Tower, and with cultivation beyond 3 star.

Apparently, at 4 Star, short range tele...

80 - I Will Survive

<AUTHOR'S NOTE>

Sorry again for disappearing like that. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy!

<END AUTHOR'S NOTE>

I don’t know how to respond to that. Whatever words I had in mind before die on my tongue. This is exactly what I hoped for, but now that it’s here, I feel almost afraid. I’ve been searching for these answers for… I don’t know how long, but what if it’s an answer I don’t like? 

I’ve cons...

Update (good news)

I'm alive. I'm fine. I just needed a short mental break. The Phoenix will be back as scheduled on Friday.

79 - Just the Two of Us

I freeze just inside the door, unsure what to do. I was not at all expecting this, nor was I prepared for it. I was ready for a strange test involving Sam and another construct. Maybe some intense training. Painful combat again. Weird psychological tests. Not this.

Isn’t she supposed to be on the 55th Floor? What is she doing here? Did she come here just for me? It’s not that far-fetched. Claimants for her Legacy are rare enough that they’re probably worth a personal trip. The ter...

78 - Someone New

<AUTHOR'S NOTE>

Sorry for the extreme lateness. The air conditioning broke in my house, and dealing with that completely threw off my routine. Hope you enjoy!

<END AUTHOR'S NOTE>

When I wake up, I scarf down a quick breakfast of the blandest eggs I’ve ever had and some slightly burnt bacon before heading straight into the challenge room again. The Phoenix construct is still standing exactly where she disappeared last time, froz...

77 - Killer Queen

The queen fire ant was not sapient, but she was not a purely instinctual beast anymore either. She was on the cusp of reaching 3 star, at which point true intelligence would become a possibility, and she was beginning to show signs. It made sense, as there wasn’t much else to do in her chambers but think.

As the queen, she was a non-combatant. Her job was to lay eggs and give commands, and that is what she did, never leaving the room she had been born in. However, she still was able t...

76 - Wasted

“Yo, Ness! You there?”

Vanessa blinked and looked up at Kat after missing her mouth with her fork for the fifth time that meal. She had been half in a daze ever since her conversation with Bella. She had imagined many possibilities, but hearing the truth directly from Bella herself was something else entirely. 

Bella hadn’t gone into much detail on her situation, but Vanessa was nothing if not imaginative. She couldn’t really put herself in Bella’s shoes, but she co...

75 - Shameless

“What do you mean you lied?” I ask.

“I knew exactly what happened. After our very first meeting, I instructed one of my subordinates to try to recruit you. I emphasized the importance of recruiting you and doing so before anyone else could, and that was his brilliant plan. I did not instruct him to do specifically what he did, but I was also aware of his tendencies and failed to give him proper instruction on how to recruit you in a more friendly way. In fact, in a way, I...

74 - Blinded By the Light

The second I knock on Vanessa’s door, it opens. She beckons me inside and closes the door behind, then begins to speak, but I cut her off.

“Not yet,” I say. “Grab my hand.”

She does so hesitantly, and with a thought, I bring both of us into Trinity’s voidspace. It’s pitch black in here still. I need to get one of those fancy glowy stones I see all over the place to light it up. Not yet, of course, I also need a curtain or something to hide Trinity’s corpses. <...

73 - We Are the Champions

“It’s been a long time since I’ve gotten to do one of these new world introductions, but I have to say that you all made it very interesting this year,” says Sam. “Quite a few of you were very… industrious. Very creative. It was rather fun to watch.

“Now, technically, this awards ceremony could be held later, or could be completely omitted, but what’s life without a bit of public spectacle? Will this put a target on the backs of the winners? Perhaps. But that’...

72 - Stairway to Heaven

I hate ants. I didn’t mind them before, but I hate them now. They smell awful when they die, and even worse when they burn, and the all fucking burn. 

The weak little ones we saw on the surface were babies who couldn’t use oum yet. Not only can the ones down here use it, they love to use it, and they really live up to their “fire ant” name. I didn’t expect to get so much practice with fire resonance, but here I am, wading through a fiery hell of ant corpses. ...

71 - Out of Touch

With all the Climbers from the new world out on the Starter Quest, the Administrators in charge of them had a lot of free time. Most of them had a class or two that they taught in the afternoons, but aside from that, they had no responsibilities. Most of the Administrators used this time to cultivate or train, or relax. Nadia used it to take care of business.

“Did you give up your brain to get enough power to reach the 100th Floor?”

The other elf trembled in the presence of he...

70 - Girl on Fire

“I thought you gave up,” says the Phoenix construct.

“Nope,” I say. “Just needed to work a few things out.”

“Does that mean you’re ready?”

“Yes.”

Without hesitation, she punches, sending a beam of fire at me. This time, rather than dodging, I catch it. Or at least, I try to catch it. Unlike the relatively gentle and normal oum of the bonfire, hers is dense, powerful, and violent. Even though I can kind of resonate with it, I don’t come anywhere ...

69 - Through the Fire and the Flames

Once Sam leaves again, I turn on the air filtration and set the bed on fire. As promised, the air filtration is indeed “the best” and I hardly notice the smoke. I do notice the heat, but it doesn’t really bother me, so I sit down beside the burning bed and begin to meditate. Rather than drawing in any oum, I just use my senses to observe the flames and the oum within them. 

It’s a well-known fact that oum in nature tends to take on the attributes of that which surrounds it....

68 - Revelations

<AUTHOR'S NOTE>

I will be asleep by the time this chapter goes live. I sure hope there are no egregious typos.

<END AUTHOR'S NOTE>

“The main goal is compatibility, of course,” says Sam. “Regardless of any other factors, if you want to inherit the legacy, you need to be compatible with it.”

“Compatible how?” I ask

“Skill, affinity, temperament.” Sam counts on his finger for each one. “If you’re goin...

67 - You've Got a Friend in Me

<AUTHOR'S NOTE>

Sorry for the delay, and thanks for the concern. I am healthy, I was just basically nocturnal and wanted to fix that. It's better now, I think, but I did end up taking a nap earlier, so I might have messed it up again. Oh well.

I hope you enjoy!

<END AUTHOR'S NOTE>

This challenge almost ends before it can properly begin. The Phoenix construct starts with the same motion as before, punching in front of her f...

Chapter delayed

My sleep schedule is FUBAR right now, so I'm doing an all-nighter to fix it. I had already planned to do this, and had it all planned so I could get the chapter done in time, but then my dog ended up waking me up 3 hours before my alarm yesterday, so I'm now at 26 hours awake on <5 hours of sleep, and my brain is functioning at negative levels as I try to write. I will have to finish this chapter up in the morning when I wake up. For now, I'm going to try not to fall asleep as I watch TV u...

66 - Lyin' Eyes

<AUTHOR'S NOTE>

Sorry about the late chapter. I spent way too long agonizing about the timeline and order of events. I might reorder some of these sections whenever I do serious edits for Amazon to make it flow a bit better. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

<END AUTHOR'S NOTE>

Yuri marched through the desert, guided by one of his teammates. The other man had been a hunter before he entered the tower, and though the Russian tundra was ve...

65 - Back to Black

<AUTHOR'S NOTE>

Sorry for the late chapter. I'm not even gonna make excuses, I was just playing Umamusume all day. Sorry!

<END AUTHOR'S NOTE>

As the rest of the group fought off an enormous tarantula, Yuri found himself lost in thought. No, rather than lost in thought, he was lost in worry. He hadn’t originally intended to try and assassinate the Phoenix, but now here he was, his attempt failed, just waiting to find out exactly...

64 - Ring of Fire

“Back so soon?” asks the Phoenix construct.

“Yes,” I reply.

“Then let’s-”

“Wait!” I say, halting her mid-wind-up.

“What is it?”

“What exactly is this first challenge?” I ask.

“Are you stupid?”

I blink, a bit taken aback.

“You fight me,” she continues. “That’s the first challenge.”

“But what’s the win condition?” I ask. “Do I just have to defeat you, or are there other ways?”

“This i...

63 - Under Pressure

I regain my balance just as the construct fires another gust of oum at me with another punch. She’s still smiling, and clearly toying with me. With this much oum, she could have gone for a more deadly strike, but decided to do something gentle instead. 

I brace myself against the second attack while analyzing the situation. Something is off about this. Beyond the fact that she has the personality of an arrogant, spoiled brat, her oum control isn’t anywhere near the level I’d ...

62 - Complicated

“What’s wrong?” asks Timmy, looking back at me.

“I-” I start.

I don’t know. Well, I think I do know. I just don’t want to think about it, and until now, I haven’t been forced to.

I am not ignorant to the oddities surrounding me and my existence in this Tower. I am under no illusions about my choice of nickname and the way I was drawn to it being coincidental. Combine that with the fact that I can’t remember my first life and that dream I had when I first en...

61 - Rolling in the Deep

Of all the complications I was expecting to arise during this Starter Quest, dynamite was not one of them. To be fair, I also didn’t expect to end up a mile underground where dynamite would actually be a viable tactic, but here I am. I also don’t know if it was actually dynamite, or just some other kind of explosive, but it doesn’t change the end result: Timmy and I are trapped underground.

On the bright side, we did manage to avoid taking any serious damage. I managed to sense ou...

60 - Over the Hills and Far Away

<AUTHOR'S NOTE>

Minor note: I changed the title of chapter 59, but nothing else. I forgot that I wanted to start naming all the chapter titles after songs, and I had a good one for 59 that I should have used.

<END AUTHOR'S NOTE>

When Vanessa and Kat caught up to the rest of the group, Al was nowhere to be seen. He had gone up ahead to scout, and had yet to return. They kept moving forward to catch up with him, since he tended to...

59 - Tears Dry On Their Own

<AUTHOR'S NOTE>

It's been a little more than 12 hours, but here's the chapter! Thanks for reading!

<END AUTHOR'S NOTE>

With Bella gone, the mood in the rest of the group was odd. Vanessa wasn’t sure on the first day, but as the hours without Bella around stretched on, it became more and more obvious. Their teamwork wasn’t suffering… but it wasn’t improving either. 

With her position at the back of the group, Va...

Chapter 59 will be 12 hours late

I procrastinated a bit on writing this chapter and forgot that my brother was coming to town tonight, so I'm hanging out with him, and don't have time to get the chapter out. I'll post it in the morning when I wake up. Sorry about the delay!