Curse of the Phoenix

Chapter 5 - Like the Powerless Boy He was

"Aelia..." Matt said. Aelia smiled and stroked his head. "Yes, Matt?" Matt wanted to say something, but he decided not to. 

"Take care of her, me. That is my last request." The words echoed in his mind. What did it mean? Did something happen to her? The cavern quivered again, snatching him away from his thoughts.

"Aelia, What's going on?"  Half of the miners left the mines to get help, and the rest were in the tunnel's mouth, holding their golden rifles and aiming towards the tunnel.

"Looks like an Ophisto appeared in the tunnels." Aelia said, standing up while helping Matt to his feet. "What's that?"

"It's a giant earthworm that spits poison out of its mouth."

"A Beast?" Matt asked. Aelia nodded, grimacing. "Are you okay, Matt? What happened?"

"I don't really know. But my wrist feels like its on fire."  Under his wrist was a burn mark shaped like the bird in his vision. Aelia noticed and grabbed his wrist. "Matt?! Where did you get this?"

"I think it just appeared after the vision."

"You had a vision?!"

Matt nodded and stared at his wrist. Aelia traced the mark with her fingers. "I don't want to alarm you, Matt. But I think this is a curse."

"A curse?"

"Yes, but I've never seen anyone get a curse before... It's alright, though, it's doesn't look too bad. Do you know how to use it?"

"Um... No, not really." But then he remembered what the bird said. "Oh! It was called the Divine Curse of the Phoenix or something."

"I've never heard of that curse before."

"Oh..." Aelia clasped his wrist to comfort him. "It's alright, we'll figure it out later. We need to get out of here before the Beast reaches the elevator."

In the normal world, beasts also existed. The city he lived in, Tundratopia, had built walls to keep the Beasts out. He had read that they appeared after the Collapse and were naturally violent towards humans.

There was a plain difference between a Beast and a normal monster. Beasts were creatures made from a black sludge named Chaos. Giving them the ability to regenerate endlessly. To kill them, one would have to destroy its core.

His dad was a hunter and a member of the Tundratopia Hunter Legion. Which is a group that exterminates Beasts as a profession. He would take him outside the walls to see the sights or teach him "The ways of the hunter". 

Of course, his dad chose paths that were already cleared from Beasts, so they wouldn't get into any trouble. But anomalies could always happen...

The cavern shook again. This time even harder than before. Another scream echoed through the tunnels into the cavern, sending shivers down Matt's spine. He ran to the miners and asked, "Are there still people back there?"

"Sadly, it's like that. We can't help 'em until backup arrives." One of them said.

Matt stared into the tunnel. He can't leave them behind. Not like what he did to the police officers. They probably have loved ones waiting for them to come back home, and Matt wanted to make sure they'd get back safely. "I want to help them. If I don't, then it'll be too late." He said to Aelia.

"Are you sure? You might be hurt." She said while holding his hand. "I don't want you to push yourself too hard."

Matt smiled and said, "It's alright. I have my wonderful Guardian to keep me in line, right?"