Another shriek filled Ben’s head, causing him to grab his head in pain.

“Ben what is wrong!?” Cloey cried trying to help him.

“Nothing, just our new friend finally work up.” Ben grimaced as his arm burned even more.

“New friend?” Cloey said confused, she then looked at Ben’s left arm. I was slightly glowing and the tattoo was starting to move.

A loud cry filled the room as a large black bird appeared in front of Ben and Cloey. The bird, Ava, was around 1.5m tall with a wingspan over 4m. She was entirely black with a gold trim around each of her feathers. She had a beautiful plume of feathers on her head that gave her a majestic look, she also had extremely long tail feathers.

A dark flame covered her body as she spread her wings. After a few seconds the flame retreated and she looked at Ben with intrigue.

“Ava right? I’m Ben. Nice to finally meet you.” Ben introduced himself with a friendly smile.

Ava didn't answer and continued to stare a Ben. Her beautiful red eyes never left him. Ben didn't shy away from her gaze and stared at her.

After a few minutes, she broke the silence.

“Thank you human for saving me.” a soft meliodas voice came from her mouth.

“No problem. So what’s your plan now?” Ben asked curious.

“What do you mean?” she asked in confusion.

“Well we made this soul pact to save your life, not because we are friends or close. I thought maybe you'd want me to release you from it. Thought it would damage both our souls we could heal from it.” Ben explained to Ava. He didn't expect her to stay with him. They hadn't spoken 5 words to each other and only agreed to this to save her life.

The Phoenix stared at him in shock, she thought he would want her power and strength but here he was asking her what she wanted, fully willing to end the soul pact they made.

“I would like to continue to be your soul beast if that’s alright.” she said softly.

“Really? Why?” Ben asked surprised. She was part of the Phoenix Clan, a powerhouse in the universe. Why would she join a human from a no name planet.

“Hmph! It is so she can hide from the Phoenix Clan. They are clearly after her and now she has the perfect hiding spot, your soul.” Cloey gave a disgruntled sound.

Ava nodded her head, “Not only that, becoming a soul beast allows the beast to evolve easier. I have only been with you for a short while and my flame has already evolved.”

‘Her flame?’ Ben thought, bringing her stats panel.

Ava Lvl 22

Dark Phoenix (Divine Beast)

Element: Black Hell Flame

Mana: 431/431

Vitality (VIT): 102

Strength (STR): 55

Dexterity (DEX): 45

Agility (AGI): 104

Intelligence (INT): 111

Wisdom (WIS): 120

Loyalty- 60%

Skills-

Shape Shifter

Rebirth

Fire Spells

“Black Hell Flame?” Ben asked.

“Yes. It evolved into a Hell Flame. Being your soul beast will help me become stronger so one day I won't have to hide anymore.” a cold edge creeped into her voice as she explained.

Ben nodded, “Sounds good to me. Let’s get along then in the future.” Ben smiled towards her.

“Ben! She is just using you to become stronger! Plus she is an enemy of the Phoenix Clan! They are a major powerhouse in the universe and you agree to help her just like that!? Don't be stupid!” Cloey reprimanded Ben. She couldn't understand what he was thinking.

Ben looked at Cloey with a calm face.

“And?” he simply said.

Both Cloey and Ava looked at him in shock.

“She is using me to become stronger. I am doing to same thing. He strength will greatly improve mine. I know she is an enemy of the Phoenix Clan but so what? You might not know this but I already have an enmity with the Phoenix Clan so who gives a shit.” Ben dismissed Cloey’s concern. He had one goal at the moment, to get stronger. Ava could help him do that so why not use her?

“You have an enmity with the Phoenix Clan? How?” Ava asked astonished. She knew that she was on a relatively unknown planet, so how did a native from this no name planet already have an enmity with the all powerful Phoenix Clan?

“I trust you two so I guess you can know. Cloey remember what Lily said when I went to visit her?” Ben decided to trust them with his secret. Cloey he trusted with his life and felt he should have told already and Ava was his soul beast. Their souls were literally connected so she seemed pretty trustworthy.

“She said you have Mekata Eyes. What are they?” Cloey asked perplexed. She had never heard of them before.

“Mekata Eyes!?” Ava screeched.

“Yes. Not any Mekata Eyes, the strongest warrior from the Mekata Race eyes. You understand why the Phoenix Clan might want to kill me?” Ben asked Ava sarcastically.

Ava just nodded her head mindlessly. She was still shocked that this boy from a no name planet had the legendary eyes.

Ben then proceeded to explain what he knew about his eyes to Cloey and where they came from. He told her the story of meeting Little Green and the man who the eyes previously belonged to and how the four races might try and kill him for his eyes. Cloey was shocked that Ben had such a secret and such pressure on his shoulders. You would never be able to tell with his carefree attitude.

It wasn't just Cloey that was amazed, Ava could hardly believe her luck.

‘With him I might be able to take revenge.’ she thought. Her desire for strength was just as great as Ben’s.

“Why is the Phoenix Clan trying to kill you by the way?” Ben asked.

“Because she’s a Dark Phoenix.” a voice came from behind Ben.

Turning around, Ben saw Lily walking towards them. Cloey ran up to her, “Are you sure you should be walking around?” she asked worried.

“I’m fine.” she replied patting Cloey head lovingly. She looked over at Ben, “I underestimated you. To think you had the legendary Dark Phoenix as your Soul Beast. Impressive.”

“In the Phoenix Clan there are many different variations to the bloodline. Ice Phoenix, Thunder Phoenix, etc, but none of them are stronger than the royal bloodline, Golden Fire Phoenix.” Lily looked at Ava, “Except for an extremely rare variant bloodline, the Dark Phoenix. This bloodline is stronger than the Phoenix Clans royal bloodline. Millions of years ago the royal bloodline was almost wiped out by a Dark Phoenix. Since then every time a Dark Phoenix was born they would kill it instantly, no matter whose child it was.” Lily explained to everyone.

“She’s right. My parents were part of the royal family, that’s why I was able to live for this long. They were killed protecting me.” Ava’s said with grief.

“How did you come to Earth though?” Ben asked.

“I disguised myself as a normal Black Sparrow trying to find somewhere safe but was captured by slavers and sent here. The Phoenix Clan found me but were only able to send low level Fire Birds here due to the system being in place.” Ava said.

Ben gave a nod, understanding a little better now. “Well all we can do is get stronger right?” giving Ava a large smile.

“Yes.” she said determined.

…

Outside of the City Lord’s mansion the five strongest were talking.

“What do you think of him?” James asked them.

“He’s strong.” Lilith simply stated.

“He is arrogant.” Colton barked, still unsatisfied with his loss.

“He is confident. When he summoned that beast his tattoo disappeared. He still had another tattoo which means he has another beast he hasn't showed us.” Lane spoke in a deep voice.

“You're right, he held back.” Shenelle commented, still remember his insane speed.

“Another thing is bothering me.” James said with a frown on his face.

“What is it?” Lilith asked.

“He knew all of our classes. I know you could guess with the way you three dressed but he knew I was a Ranger. I was wearing normal clothes, how could he know? We would have felt if he cast a scan spell.” James voiced his concern.

Nobody was able to give him an answer as they tried to figure out how he did it.

“... maybe his eyes?” Lilith slowly said.

“Yeah those creepy gold eyes must let him see people's status.” Colton agreed.

“Looks like this young City Lord hid his power deeper than we thought. We should do what he says and recruit people into our divisions quickly.” Lane decisively said.

The other three nodded their heads before heading off in different directions.