Everyone was shocked into silence by Felix. They could not believe the words he just uttered.

“P-P-Phoenix Titan? Destined? Me?!” Lakshman exclaimed once he recovered from the shock.

Felix nodded and said “Yes. I should’ve noticed it on the day that I left, but I was worried about my clan. Anyway. It’s the truth!”

Lakshman looked puzzled and he looked towards Rasha, Felix’s wife, for any assistance. She noticed him looking in her direction and nodded at him. She understood what he wanted and she decided to act on his behalf.

“Dear. What makes you think Lakshman is destined to be that legendary Phoenix Titan? After all! Eight-thousand years have passed and not once did he reappear! You were the closest in becoming the Phoenix Titan! Even the elders have said that!”

Felix nodded at her and said “That’s true. I was the closest, but it was never to be. The Phoenix Blade did not recognise me as its master and I could not hear the voice of the Phoenix. Thus, I only became the Phoenix Emperor.”

Then he looked at Lakshman and said “However...! The Phoenix Blade recognised him as its master and made a Contract Seal that even he was not aware of. That itself is the beginning of his destiny to be the Phoenix Titan.”

Everyone looked towards Tetra who was nodding her head at his words. Then she hugged Lakshman’s right arm and said “That’s right! Felix grew up to be that powerful, but master’s born to be the Phoenix Titan!”

As she smiled, Felix chuckled and said “I see. So the ancient scriptures about the selection of the Phoenix Titan true. He was born to be the Phoenix Titan because he was chosen by gods.”

“C-Chosen by the gods...?”

“R-Really?”

“Hold on... Doesn’t that mean he is...?”

The people were muttering to each other and looked at Lakshman. He was taken aback by the strange looks they were giving him. As far as he knew, he was nothing special even if Felix said all of that.

“Felix! I don’t know what makes you think I’m born to be or destined to be the Phoenix Titan! I’m just an ordinary kid!” Lakshman said while looking nervous.

At those words, Tetra suddenly burst out laughing. As everyone looked towards her, she said “Really...? Master! Please! You were never ordinary! You’ve been doing things that most normal people won’t be able to pull off! On top of that, you conquered thousand times gravity in just three weeks! That feet alone proves how extraordinary you are!”

When everyone heard that Lakshman conquered thousand times gravity, they were all shocked. Even Rasha looked impressed as she asked “Really? He trained that hard already?”

While they were all looking impressed and talking energetically, Lakshman was troubled. To him, it was just a tad bit difficult to train under such intensity, but he was not aware of the normality. People of such high calibre cannot achieve such an achievement so quickly, let alone in three weeks.

“Even so! It still doesn’t make me destined to be the Phoenix Titan!” Lakshman said firmly.

At his continued denial, Felix chuckled and asked “Tell me, Lucky. Can you hear the Voice of the Phoenix?”

Looking confused, Lakshman asked “Voice of the... Phoenix? What do you mean? What does ‘Voice of the Phoenix’ even mean?”

Felix took a deep breath and began to explain.

“According to ancient scriptures, the Voice of the Phoenix is like an inner voice separated from your consciousness. It assists you by giving you hints, advices, guidance and support. It is also said to possess the ancient knowledge of the past deceased Phoenix Titans.”

At those words, Lakshman suddenly felt shocked. Those words made him relate to the inner voice that he kept on hearing. It was that voice that made him become aware of the feelings Ondine and Tetra had for him. It also assisted him in destroying the corruption plaguing Felix.

“Inner voice... Decisive Player... No way... Does that mean... that I really am...?” Lakshman said weakly.

“You are destined to be the Phoenix Titan!” Felix said as he slowly nodded.

At the realisation, Lakshman sank to his knees. He was stunned as if something hard and heavy hit him. Never in his wild dreams did he realise that his destiny was be the Phoenix Titan.

He came to realise why he had such headaches in the past whenever someone spoke that title. It was became his mind was upset at hearing a word it recognised, but could not relate to.

He dropped his head and sighed heavily. All of this was so much to take in, but it also felt simple. He missed all of this and yet, no one bothered to tell him. It made him wonder whether they wanted him to find out on his own.

Tetra knelt down beside him and softly said “I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you all this earlier, master. I wanted you to experience the world before being told of your destiny.”

“So the reason you got close to me was due to your obligation of being the Phoenix Blade and not... really your feelings?” Lakshman asked quietly.

Tetra shook her head and said “My feelings are true, master. I like you unlike my previous masters! The previous Phoenix Titans were all strong, aggressive and intolerant! You, however, are a simple loving person, but will not hold back if anything bad happens! That’s what I liked about you which is so similar to the first Phoenix Titan.”

“The first Phoenix Titan...? You know him?” Lakshman asked in amazement. When Tetra nodded her head, he narrowed his eyes and asked “Just how old are you exactly..?”

Tetra suddenly looked sad as she said “It’s rude to ask a lady of her age, master.”

Then she smiled and winked at him which caused him to sigh heavily. He did not understand, but it looked like he was indeed destined to be the Phoenix Titan. That made him wonder about the events that led to the current situation.

“So then...? How did I become this powerful? I don’t remember using the so called Phoenix Force of anything like that!”

Tetra shook her head and said “You’ve used it, but you were not aware of it. The Phoenix in you caused that to happen when you were really desperate.”

“What do you mean?” Lakshman asked with a surprised expression on his face.

Tetra took a deep breath and began to tell him everything.

“There are a total of four seals placed on you to lock your powers, master. The First Seal was is desperation to save. The Second Seal is the desperation to protect. The Third Seal is the desperation to live and the Forth Seal is the desperation to destroy.”

“So the seals began to break as my desperate situation called for it?” Lakshman asked with an astonished look on his face.

Tetra nodded and told him about the past events while explaining about them.

“When Ondine was dying, you were desperate to save her. That was when the First Seal broke and you were able to use the King ranked technique, Rising Phoenix. Another time when Darian, Rumble and everyone was about to be killed, your desperation to protect them broke the Second Seal. That made you use unbelievable powers!”

Lakshman had his eyes wide open. He was shocked beyond belief and his brain felt very slow.

“I... did all that without knowing? How? Did you take control or something?” Lakshman asked desperately.

Tetra shook her head and said “The Phoenix in you took control when the seal was broken. The power was too much for you to handle and the Phoenix took over and led you to victory.”

Just then, they heard Felix say “That’s how you became so strong, Lucky! You strong emotions caused the seals to break! They let you use a portion of your unbelievable power still sealed within you!”

“Okay... but why was my power sealed?” Lakshman asked the important question.

For once, everyone became quiet. Felix thought about it for a moment before shaking his head.

“From my memory, I don’t believe the past Phoenix Titans were born with such seals placed on them. Do you anything about this Tetra since you’re the one who served them all in the past?”

At Felix’s question, Tetra looked uncomfortable. As she slowly stood up, Lakshman stood up and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. He recognised that look and realised that there was something bothering her to speak about.

“It’s okay to talk about it, Tetra,” Lakshman said and he smiled at her.

She looked at him for a moment. The she nodded and turned back to Felix to tell him.

“Eight-thousand years ago, in the great battle to save the world, something happened to master. I don’t know what it is, but it caused his connection to the past lives of the Phoenix Titans to be disconnected.”

As everyone appeared to be shocked, Felix exclaimed “What?! He lost the connection to the collective consciousness to the Phoenix Titans of the past?!”

When Tetra nodded, he also began nodding his head as if he understood something. Then he said “That makes sense now why he sacrificed his life to summon the World Guardians to save the world. He did not have the power necessary to save the world anymore. So he took the last option left to him.”

“That makes sense. Because of whatever happened that time, Lakshman had those four seals placed on him at birth,” Rasha said with a nod of her head.

Felix nodded at her and said “Yes. It’s as if someone or something’s trying to make sure Lakshman doesn’t become the Phoenix Titan. Now it makes sense why he didn’t realise the obvious so quickly. The seals were practically making him blind to it in the first place!”

Then he placed a hand on his chin and made an expression as he thought deeply about it. Then he looked back at Lakshman and said “Regardless of what it is, my duty is now set and his destiny’s decided! Lucky! From now on, I and the Death Titan will train you to harness the full might of the Phoenix Force!”

“You and Death Titan will train me from now on?” Lakshman asked curiously.

Felix nodded before smiling and asking “Is there a problem with that?”

Lakshman immediately shook his head and said “Not at all! I’m actually eager to find out what I can master now that I really am chosen to be the Phoenix Titan!”

Felix nodded and said “That’s the spirit! Remember that the Phoenix Titan is the protector of the world! Due to his absence, a lot of bad things have been happening around that will need fixing! So you’ll have to rise up to challenge such things eventually, but don’t worry! I’ll prepare you for the day when you finally shine high as the Phoenix Titan!”

“Until then, I think its best that we keep the fact that Lakshman is destined to the Phoenix Titan a secret,” Rasha suggested and Felix nodded at her.

“Yes! Good idea! You heard us! I’m ordering everyone to not slip about this fact or I will deal with it!” Felix said and he suddenly looked so dangerous that it was actually scary to look at him.

“Um... Felix? Will you be returning now that you’re fine?” Lakshman asked curiously.

Felix shook his head and said “No! Not just yet! If I come out now, the authorities will arrest me and cause a lot of problems. So I will stay low and watch how things proceed.”

“B-B-But your Legendary Sword of Justice needs rescuing! It’s in the hands of the authorities which they will give away to the winner at the Battle of Prematria tournament!”

“Yes, I’m aware and I’m also aware that you’ll be entering as well!” Felix said shrewdly and Lakshman scratched the back of his head again. Felix laughed and said “Don’t worry! We’ll prepare you for that day! Until then, keep appearing in public as the Sacred Armoured Phoenix Titan!”

Then a wicked grin appeared on his face as he said “It’s time to shake the Phoenix Clan free of the corrupted shackles the Demon Emperor wrapped them in!”

“Oh...” Lakshman said and he shivered a little at seeing such an expression.

Rasha noticed the reaction and knocked on her husband as she said “Felix! Stop that!”

“Right, right. Anyway... I think I should rest for now. I feel really drained after being cured of that... corruption,” Felix said and he began yawning.

“Okay then. We’ll leave and see you later?” Lakshman said and Felix nodded.

Just then, Sasha walked over and looked up at him. Seeing her curious expression, he bent down and said “Next time, we’ll play. Okay, Sasha?”

“Okay, Lucky. See you again,” Sasha said and she began waving at him.

Seeing her cute expression and the waving hand made him want to grin broadly. He decided not to though because Tetra was looking at him with a serious expression on her face. Sighing, he decided to leave when he suddenly realised he did not know where to leave from.

“Um... How do we leave?” Lakshman asked while looking at the doors and wondered if he could leave through them.

“Ah,” Felix said with his eyes closed and he clicked his finger.

In an instant, a Phintex Raja appeared while kneeling. While bowing, he asked “You called us, master?”

“Yes. Take that man back to wherever he is staying at,” Felix ordered him.

“Yes,” the man said and nodded at him. Then he turned towards Lakshman and said “Please extend your hand.”

Puzzled, Lakshman extended his left hand to the man because Tetra was hugging his right arm. Then he felt a really strange sensation as if he was being pulled into something. Everything disappeared and became black. Then next moment, they appeared to be standing in the hotel room they were staying at.

Lakshman instantly clutched his head and knelt down while moaning in pain.

“The jump will take some time to get used to,” the Phintex Raja said.

“R-Right... Thanks for... bring us back, but... how did you know this is where I’m saying at?” Lakshman asked curiously after recovering.

“We have tracked your flight from start before catching up with you. Our sensors are extremely efficient at pinpointing locations of known associates!”

“Ah... Well then! See you around.”

The Phintex Raja nodded and bowed before disappearing in a flash. Lakshman sighed and collapsed onto the nearby chair. He looked up at the ceiling and thought about everything that he learnt so far.

He was destined to be the Phoenix Titan, two of the four seals have been broken and they require desperation to be broken. Additionally, Felix and Sevedant, the Death Titan, will assist in training him for the Battle of Prematria tournament.

As he sighed again, Tetra snuggled up closer to him and shut her eyes. It had been a tiring day, but he knew things will only get crazier from here on.

So he closed his eyes and muttered “I will do my best,” before falling asleep.

Author's Note

End of "Arc 06: Protecting"