The bloodline of the Phoenix was within that trial. It was the final reward.

So, the creature itself wasn’t there, but its consciousness was. It was dormant, waiting for the challengers to reach the end and get their reward.

However, when Arthur decided to meditate using a Celestial technique, things changed.

It was the same type of power as the Phoenix.

"Wait a minute..." the Phoenix voice rang inside Arthur’s head once again.

The Phoenix was first shocked by the energy within Arthur’s body, which belonged only to the celestials.

But then it finally sensed the Phoenix Bloodline inside his body too! When it did, the Phoenix could not believe it.

"This is not just a regular bloodline. You...you are a Phoenix too!" 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

That was way different than participating in the trial and getting the bloodline at the end.

The bloodline there was much weaker, thinner. Only a few drops of blood were way worse than what Arthur had: a full-on bloodline.

Everything changed after the Phoenix witnessed his power. The Phoenix didn’t see him as a challenger anymore, but like someone from the family.

So much that the Phoenix spoke once again, now to both of them, its screeching voice echoing through that empty coliseum.

"You both passed the trial. I’ll wake you up, and the door in front of your real bodies will open. You can meet me there."

Myla couldn’t believe what she had just heard. The first thing that came to her mind was her sister, who was suffering and required the Phoenix bloodline to heal.

When they both woke up, returning to their original bodies in front of that door, the first thing Myla did was to cry...

"I did it. My sister will live!"

Myla looked to the side, and she saw Arthur staring at her with a smile on her face. She couldn’t hold it.

She kissed him on the mouth and hugged him. Myla knew very well that, if it weren’t for him, she would never pass the trial.

"Thank you so much for helping me. I’ll never be able to pay you back."

Arthur didn’t want her to pay him anything. They hugged for one minute before turning back to the door in front of them, which slowly opened.

"I thought there would be more tests," Myla said.

It would, in fact. If Arthur hadn’t used his celestial meditation, they would have had more trials. He basically cheated it with his meditation.

"Me too, but if we passed, then let’s not think much about it and go. We don’t want the Phoenix changing its mind," he said.

"You’re right."

The door before them was now fully open, and what awaited them on the other side was a staircase leading down to the subterranean.

That was once a temple dedicated to the Phoenix. They went downstairs, slowly descending.

It was completely dark at first, but as they walked, the torches on the walls began to glow with a bright orange flame.

Myla was really nervous about it. For Arthur, the trial was just a way to unlock his Phoenix bloodline finally. But to her, it was the only way to save her sister.

The stacks were very different from each other.

After descending the staircase for about 5 minutes, they finally reached the bottom.

An open room. It was massive—a small stone bridge spanned by water led to a massive altar.

They were expecting something like a statue of the Phoenix, or something like that, but no. The actual Phoenix was there, waiting for them!

The Phoenix was visibly older, as if it were fighting to remain there. It was just a drop of its former power.

Arthur could sense the power behind it. It was equivalent to a rank 4 mage, early levels.

Compared to him, that was much weaker. So he didn’t feel humbled by its presence.

’Having this power with just a portion of its bloodline is quite incredible,’ he admitted internally.

But Myla, that was a whole different story. When faced by the power of the Phoenix—which wasn’t holding its aura like Arthur was doing—she could only think about bowing in front of it.

And she did that. Myla bowed before the Phoenix, who looked down on her.

Arthur, on the other hand, didn’t. Myla noticed it, and she poked him.

"Hey, bow. That’s a legendary creature."

Myla wasn’t wrong about that. Even though Arthur was stronger than the Phoenix in power, he should still bow to it, but...

"He doesn’t need to bow," the Phoenix said, "he’s part of the family."

Not actually family, as there were many different families of Phoenixes, but more like they were of the same species, so there was no need for him to bow.

"What?"

Myla couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She looked up, waiting for Arthur to say something, to explain to her what the Phoenix had just said.

"Sorry for hiding that," Arthur said, looking down toward her, "I’m a Phoenix too."

She couldn’t believe what was happening. That was even more extraordinary than having that Phoenix in front of her.

While that Phoenix was just a drop of its bloodline, a remnant of its consciousness, Arthur was right there beside her, an actual Phoenix, 1 meter away from her.

Myla got up after paying her respects. She wanted to ask Arthur a lot of things, but she shut up and focused on the Phoenix. The last thing she wanted to do was be disrespectful in front of that creature.

"I’ll share my bloodline with you," she said, "or rather, with this woman. You cannot get my blood."

Arthur was already expecting that. It didn’t surprise him in the slightest.

"I know that," he said, "but tell me, can you unlock some of my powers? My bloodline is dormant."

That was the real reason he went there. The Phoenix stared at him for a few moments.

"Yes, I can," the Phoenix said, "but only if you do something for me. Are you willing to?"