Saga of Atlantis

"So...you're saying this place is haunted?" A blonde-haired girl with crimson eyes and a beautiful face looked at the Coachman as she asked.

"Aye, madam...I've been working around this place for a long time, and let me tell you, everyone who has entered the forest has never come back," the Coachman replied, his voice grim.

The carriage moved in silence for a while before the girl asked again, softly, "Nobody?"

"Aye, ma'am, nobody," the Coachman replied, nodding vigorously.

"Why?" the girl asked again as she rubbed her hands together.

"We poor people don't know much about it, madam," the Coachman replied, shaking his head. "But people say there is an evil monster lurking in the forest."

"What type of monster?" She asked, her voice soft.

"Don't know, madam, but whatever it is, it can kill whoever enters the forest," the Coachman replied, receiving silence in reply.

"Ede—."

"Husband."

As the girl turned towards me and began to speak to me, who was enjoying the show, I interjected, correcting her.

She glared at me, her crimson eyes staring at me like a hawk at its prey.

"Coachman, isn't it bad manners to call your husband by his name?" As she continued to glare at me, I shifted my focus towards him.

"It depends, sir, but here they usually don't do this," he replied as he glanced back at me.

Closing her eyes, Grace took deep breaths to calm herself before she looked at me again.

"Husband," she whispered softly, her eyes still glaring at me.

"Yes, wifey," I replied with a wide grin on my face.

"What are we doing here?" She asked with a sigh.

"Didn't I tell you? We are here because it will help you," I replied as I looked outside the window.

"How?" Frowning, Grace asked, "How will this place help me?"

"You will know soon enough," I replied, my gaze still fixed outside.

"Anyway, sir, madam, you don't look like you are from here?" The Coachman asked, glancing back at us. "And married at such a young age, your love should have been boundless."

"Hahaha, she is the one who wanted to marry," I replied with a laugh, pointing at her.

"Why would I even wan—."

"And she is too shy to even admit it," I interjected before she could continue.

"Hahaha, young love knows no bounds," the Coachman laughed out loud.

And...

Grace was cringing listening to us.

"Leave us here," I said, tapping the coachman's shoulder.

"Huh? Really, sir?" He asked, looking back at us. "We have a long way to go, sir."

"It's fine, we can go from here," I replied as I opened the door and walked out, extending my hand towards Grace.

She took my hand as she stepped out of the carriage.

"Thank you," I said, taking out a gold coin and tossing it to him.

"Be careful and don't go too deep. People rarely come here, so you can do anything without care!" He shouted this piece of advice as he rode away, leaving the both of us there.

"....."

"He misunderstood," I mumbled as I looked at the girl who was slowly walking towards me.

"Grace," I called out, taking a step back as she continued to glare at me.

Silently, she stood in front of me before extending her hand and gently rubbing my cheeks.

"You have no idea how much I want to beat you, Eden," she mumbled as she continued to rub my cheeks.

"Ahh, thank you for not doing it?" I replied, taking a step back.

"So... Why are we here?" Grace asked as she sighed, looking around the silent forest.

"Well, like I said, we are here to train your flames," I replied as I started to walk inside the forest, with her following behind me.

"Again, how?" She asked, frowning.

"Do you know why your flames tend to burden your mind?" I asked, looking back at her as I conjured white flames on my hand.

"I have special flames as well, but they don't do any harm to my mind," I continued as her eyes fixed on my white flames.

"What are your flames, anyway?" She asked, her curiosity piqued.

"Well, it's something related to the Phoenix clan," I replied, noticing her slight widening of the eyes.

"Wait, so your flames are a bloodline ability or not?"

"It's not what you think, Grace," I replied, shaking my head. "It's complicated to explain; even the queen of the Phoenix clan can't understand it properly."

"You met the queen!" Startled, she asked, and I nodded.

"How is she?"

"Sex—Ahem, I mean beautiful and charismatic," I replied with a cough, ignoring my slip of the word.

"Anyway," I continued, changing the topic, "about your flames, they are, in a way, mindless and hungry, without control."

"And why is that?" Grace asked, looking at me intently.

"Because of the origin of the flames," I replied, dragging my words. "The goddess whose flames these are is... dead."

She silently looked at me, not replying.

"And if you want to stop those flames from destroying everything, you need to know how to control them," I explained, halting my steps to look at her. "You need to become their next master."

And she has the potential, resolve, and stubbornness to pull it off.

Even if she can't fully control it, she can at least tame it to a certain degree, and that alone is enough for a while now.

But my aim for her is higher than that.

The next Goddess of Flames...

I want her to receive that title.

"And how am I supposed to do that?" She grumbled with a tired sigh. "Every time I use them, I feel like my mind is going to burst open. How can I control them?"

"I am here, aren't I?" I asked as I walked closer to her. "I will help you with it."

"But—Ahhh."

"Excuse me, wifey." Saying so, I picked her up in a princess carry, bringing her face close to my chest.

"Why?" She blushed furiously as she asked.

"We have to move up from here," I replied as I looked upwards.

[Phonecia's bloodline]

[Wings of the Phoenix]

Beautiful and pure wings of white flames emerged from my back as I flapped them twice, soaring into the sky.

"How is it?" With a smile, I asked Grace, who was intently looking at my wings.

"Can I do this?" She asked, looking at me curiously.

"Maybe?" I replied as I moved through the air towards the center of the forest.

"Anyway, as I was saying, if you want to control the flames, you first need to understand how those flames work," I said, looking forward as we moved through the forest.

"And that's why we are here?"

"Yeah, I know a place that is perfect for your training," I mumbled, looking at the mountain that stood in the middle of the forest.

"But can we end it today?" She asked, looking at me.

"No, we are going to stay a night here," I replied, and she flinched at my words.

"R-really?" She asked, gulping down her saliva.

"I asked you to bring a bikini, di—woah." I quickly dodged her slap as she glared at me, her face crimson with embarrassment.

"Don't joke about it."

"I wasn't joking, though," I replied, looking at her. "The place we are going, it's going to be scorching hot there."

"Where are we going, anyway?" She grumbled, folding her hands.

"Well," I said, looking at the opening present in the mountain, "welcome to hell."