"Okay. Before you all head out, listen up." Queen Teresa spoke up, leaning against her throne. "This is your first battle to prove yourselves. Go ahead and do it. We're dealing with a Source Victim. This seems to be based off the mythical creature known as a Phoenix."

  Shadow had a look of silent determination in his eyes.

  "I'm not going to explain what it is, but it's up to you guys to defeat it. Good luck." She said, dismissing everyone before they left.

  Everyone rushed outside to already see the city in flames. The screech of the Phoenix could be heard in the distance.

  Intel spoke up, raising a hand. "Alright. I'm assuming Flame is fighting that thing. So while I check on him, all of you go ahead and protect civilians." He said, running off.

  Shadow looked ahead of him; beings made of fire that were once people wandered around the burning streets. He didn't know how to feel about attacking them.

  Neolia stood beside him, her expression neutral. "They're no longer people until they turn back; for now, use what I've taught you." As she spoke, 5 infected civilians came limping toward them, their bodies consumed by the fire. "Think of this as your tutorial. No cheats, no help, one life." Neolia said, backing up.

  This left him and Alyssa versus the 5 zombies. "Begin!" Neolia said, summoning pom-poms and shaking them.

  -Shadow's POV-

  "She's treating this like a game! Surely she's jesting; she thinks I can handle this? My primary objective is to protect Alyssa..." I watched one lunge toward me at a surprising speed, its body bent forward as it did so.

  I immediately and swiftly maneuvered around it, swinging my blade upward and aiming for the throat. My strike struck true as the greatsword cleanly passed through, and I watched its head fall off. There was no blood, no screams, gurgling... Not a single sound.

  "Go, Shadow! Go Alyssa!" Neolia said in a sing-song tone as she jumped up and down waving the pom-poms. Wait, when did she have on that outfit? She was wearing a shirt, but it only covered half her waist, and a skirt too... Gotta focus!

  I watched as Alyssa swung her sword with ease. She wasn't coordinated, since she had no swordsmanship prowess, but she did a good job at defending and parrying. For once, I trusted my gut to leave her be. I trust the queen.

  I saw two Flaming Zombies in front of me, so I sheathed my greatsword and rushed forward, creating two shadow longswords. "Abyssal Cleaver!" I dashed forward, appearing behind them and watching their torsos bisect.

  Something seemed off, though. Despite me watching them 'die,' they didn't feel like they were dying. "Alyssa! Back up!" I yelled as Alyssa had just finished stabbing a zombie, panting. She backed up next to Neolia, who stopped cheering.

  "Eh?" The bodies began to shake violently before bursting into flames. We watched the Flaming Zombies put themselves back together, continuing their limping process.

  "Fuck... They can't die."

  -Third Person POV-

  [Meanwhile]

  Queen Teresa sat on her throne; the glow of burning buildings was the only bit of light that illuminated her windows. A kingdom she had spent so long cultivating, now up in flames. However, she remained calm. For such a trivial situation could be solved and mended by her hand alone. However, she rarely exerts her authority.

  She extended her hand, and a blinding light illuminated the room. Queen Teresa was a special person, as she had both a Route and was considered an Aspect by her people.

  Aspects are beings that have a certain magic property tied to their souls, thus have the potential to embody that magic. However, with Queen Teresa, her Route and Aspect were intertwined. She had the Route of The Summoner, which allowed her to summon any person from any point in time. However, due to having the Aspect of Creation, this takes her ability a step further.

  It worked in three ways.

  During summoning, she's able to 'create' her ideal summon by creating them mid-summon. So she is able to create her summons, but it has to be during the summoning process. This makes it so the person, or people she summons, have never existed prior to her summoning. That is if she uses her creation Aspect with the summoning.

  If she just uses the normal Summoning Route, she can summon anyone. Whether they be historical figures, normal people, future people, or even people from alternate timelines or universes.

  The last way she can do it is to overwrite the physical body of the soul(s) she summons and create them a new one.

  With all three of these summoning techniques, she's also able to grant them blessings or abilities with no distinct limit.

  It is unknown how Queen Teresa became an Aspect, as even though they are born, they usually have a strong lineage. Queen Teresa's lineage doesn't have a single

  Aspect, not only that, she differs from one in a variety of ways.

  Once the light had faded, 3 individuals appeared. One being a man with short silver hair and wearing a black trench coat that went to his ankles. He had brown skin and black eyes. He stood tall, having a sword behind his back pointing directly downward. He was pretty handsome as well. He looked around, confused, "Huh?"

  The second one was a woman with a witch's hat on that was a midnight blue in color, her hair, silky and long, reaching to her waist. It was as blue as the oceans and even had an otherworldly-looking texture to it. She was slightly shorter than the man next to her. Her skin was fair, and she wore glasses over her green eyes.

  She wore a gray cloak obscuring her body, and she carried a wooden staff that spiraled inward. "Maran? Where are we? We were in the middle of a test!" She turned to the man beside her, that being Maran. "Why is your hair silver?! What am I wearing?!?"

  "Oh my... It appears we've been transported into another world..." A woman with glasses spoke. She stood at the same height as Maran, "An isekai, if you could call it that, Mavis." She said, looking down at the woman with the witch's hat. "Though we were alive, could it be transmigration? I'm unsure."

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  She had brown hair that reached her shoulders, yellow eyes like a lemon, and brown skin. She had no visible weapons on her, but she had fingerless gloves. She also wore a sleeveless compression shirt that emphasized her muscular, yet lean, body. The shirt was white, and she wore black, baggy pants.

  "I assume that's our summoner." She pointed to Queen Teresa.

  "Greetings, Maran, Mavis, and Rose." She said, listing them in order. "There really isn't enough time to explain, but as you can see," She pointed out one of the windows opposite her throne near the entrance. It was nighttime, but the light from burning buildings illuminated the area. "People need help. Are you willing?"

  The trio looked at each other for a moment before looking back at the queen. For some reason, just looking into her eyes was unsettling. Though they wanted to press for more answers, they couldn't deny that this was an opportunity to get away from the mundane of modern Earth.

  Maran stepped forward. "Fine, we'll do it."

  ---

  Intel climbed onto a building that wasn't on fire, looking around. He heard a loud screech and saw a blur crash into a house, causing smoke and debris to fly into the air. As pieces of wood flew at him, they bounced off of a force field. "Shit... Even Flame is having a hard time. That kid seemed off, not just mentally."

  Flame rose from the debris and ran out into the street. He looked around as the fabric of his shirt burned away. He tore off the rest of it, growling as he saw a bright light form in the smoke. "Again?!" He yelled, dashing out of the way of a large beam that shot through the smoke, revealing the Phoenix.

  At first, it did nothing, but then it caused a massive string of explosions. People screamed, and soldiers scrambled to fend off the flaming zombies that quickly began to overwhelm them in number.

  "Damn it... DAMN IT! WHY...? Why... why can't I kill this thing? It's too big to consume entirely with Devouring Flames... And for some reason, no matter how many times I bite it, it doesn't work for some reason! No knowledge, no new ability... It just heals..." Flame thought as he dropped to his knees.

  "If I can't kill a flaming bird... What am I?" The thoughts resurfaced back to the damp prison cell. Then, just as easily as he had gained it, Flame's confidence, his pride, his ego, and his will to live had been shattered. Fragile as it was, faced with any kind of adversary that didn't go down as fast as he had liked. He couldn't take it. Not being able to kill something meant he was weak in his eyes.

  "I can't..." Tears began to form in his eyes. As much adult knowledge as he had gained, he was still a child in the end.

  The Phoenix, towering at least 12 feet tall, with a wingspan of about 28 feet. It looked down at Flame, its eyes narrowing.

  "Just do it... Kill me." Flame began to laugh, watching as the beak of the Phoenix opened; a bright orange ball of energy began to form.

  Before it could do anything, a hail of bullets rained down on the Phoenix, causing it to screech and fly off in a trail of... steam? Flame looked over, spotting Intel on a roof. "Flame, come on. We have to talk."

  ---

  The group met back behind the castle gates, standing on a bridge that was built over a stream. The embers of fire continued to float into the air, giving the appearance of fireflies but orange.

  "Flame, what was that? You just totally gave up." Intel said, looking over at Flame.

  "I can't kill it... It's too big to consume with Devouring Flames... I... I'm at my limit." Flame sat on the edge of the bridge, staring down at the water below. "I can't even get its abilities to enhance my own—I'm a failure."

  Shadow and Alyssa looked at each other before looking to Flame. "Alyssa, you're better at talking about teamwork than me; go ahead." Shadow, said as he took a step back.

  "Flame... It's okay," Alyssa began. "You can do it alone if you wish, but maybe some assistance is needed? Maybe there's someone that can help you advance."

  "Shut it, little girl!" Flame snapped, his already bruised pride getting hurt even more at the prospect of getting a lecture by a little girl.

  Alyssa didn't flinch or even show slight fear. "Flame. We are young. You can't expect to be the strongest person in the world—sometimes fights just require a little help or strategy."

  Flame's eyes narrowed. "You're one to talk about strategy? Bullshit! I was raised by a father who knew nothing but peace and war! He knew all about strategy! He was a warrior! NOT SOME..." Flame took a deep breath. "Lowly peasants like you and Shadow. I only spared the both of you out of my own amusement."

  Neither Shadow nor Alyssa said anything. No one did. Though Intel and Neolia didn't know about their past, the way Flame's unhinged attitude was prominent to them, they wouldn't put it past him to just kill someone for no reason.

  Flame was clearly hurt and not thinking straight, not more than he already was. "It doesn't matter anymore. We're doomed."

  Intel sighed. "Done whining like a baby?"

  Flame attempted to impale him with his hand, but once again, the force field did its thing. "SHUT IT!"

  Shadow immediately rushed in, holding a shadowy blade to Flame's throat. "Consider your options carefully, Flame."

  Alyssa looked up at him with hopeful eyes, seeing at least some capacity for good in him.

  Intel sighed. "As I was saying, if you're done whining, the battle isn't entirely lost. Mana is the enhancer of all things; wielding magic is only a small part of that. Neolia here could give you Mana and give you the chance to evolve your Devouring Flames even further."

  Neolia stepped forward as Shadow put down his sword and Flame backed away from Intel.

  "Yeah, I mean, Mana is a good thing to have. I could give it to all of you, actually; it's not hard. You want to get stronger, right, Flame? It's do or die. Aside from Queen Teresa, you're the only one with the ability to kill this thing, no issue. It's okay to ask for help once in a while. Now will you adapt? Or will you fall?" Neolia asked.

  While Flame pondered, Intel interjected. "Your frustration is understandable; it's a Phoenix. They can come back to life. However, this one is different. Its size is crazy, so that means it's King Phoenix, which can not only resurrect an infinite amount of times, but it can also resurrect others as zombies and keep them alive."

  Flame stood there before sighing. "Fine... I'll do it." He swallowed his pride. If he wanted to survive, he needed help. Would that discredit his strength? He didn't know. For a brief moment, he questioned his ideology of strength truly being the absolute means of life.

  Neolia then struck Flame's chest, her hand piercing his chest. Flame coughed blood but felt something flow through him. It made him feel... stronger. His senses were clearer, and he felt as if he had more mental clarity.

  He winced in pain as Neolia withdrew her hand, but immediately, she healed him and shook off the blood. "Feeling better?"

  Flame nodded, his expression relaxing some. "Yeah." He looked at his palm, watching as his hand ignited into his Azure Flames. They burned more intensely than he could ever imagine. "Don't think this makes us friends..." Flame said, a faint flush being visible on his face as he began to walk off. "I'm ready for round two."

  Neolia looked at Alyssa and Shadow. "I just wanted to hit him. I didn't have to give him Mana that way. It'll take some time for his mana core to develop, but it should happen quickly." She said, placing her hands on Shadow and Alyssa.

  Both of them then tensed as they felt a shock go throughout their bodies, but then they felt the same effects as Flame. That was the power of Mana.

  "Now... Go save the city, will you?" Neolia said as both she and Intel smiled at them.

  Alyssa and Shadow looked at each other, smiling, and with a look of determination, they followed after Flame.