The memory was of a terrifying, ancient Millennium Acheron Phoenix, Ayan, who had lived an untold number of years in the Primordial Age. She had only just awoken from her long slumber, and at this moment, her memories were extremely dense.
So dense, in fact, that when Achilles began assimilating this phoenix while she was still alive… the way he received her memories was different.
They were less scattered than those of the lesser beings he had assimilated before.
They felt whole. Cohesive.
And that was because a part of his consciousness seemed to be living within the memories themselves.
His extraordinarily strong mind buzzed, and from the experiences he held from his own lineage dreams, he quickly began to understand and grasp the unique experience. The first memory he found himself in…was one that did not belong to this age at all.
He saw himself standing in the midst of a radiant grassland, dotted with majestic, flame-crowned mountains that pulsed with life.
Lush trees crackled with green and gold flames, and around this vibrant terrain, phoenixes flew through the skies or walked across multicolored earth.
They were glorious. Joyful. Emanating profound waves of power. Many of those Achilles gazed upon… seemed to exist at the Sky Dharma King stage.
And amongst them, a few dozen Astral Core Ascension Phoenixes hovered or meditated in distant corners.
Achilles stood near the humanoid form of the Ancient Millennium Acheron Phoenix he was assimilating—Ayan.
She was conversing with three other phoenixes- two in humanoid form like her, and one still cloaked in golden flames as a phoenix.
"Sis Ayan, do you think our Supreme Force will still remain dominant even after the Long Slumber?"
Such a question was asked, and Achilles focused, stunned as he saw faint, illusory chains beginning to wrap around Ayan and the others.
Flickering, barely perceptible, but undeniably present.
They had known of the Slumber long before it came.
At the question, Ayan's eyes burned with verdant fire as she responded.
"The Lineage of the Millennium Acheron Phoenix will burn brightly for millennia to come, my sisters. We…we will witness the burning of the Last Flame. Together. Forever!"
Her conviction was steel.
Her will, unwavering.
Achilles watched as this memory faded only to be replaced by another.
This one felt closer. Recent. A memory drawn from the current Evolutius Age…on the Everburn Aerie Continent- the home of the Acheron Phoenix Assembly, a Supreme Force.
Achilles found himself atop a massive mountain, watching the memory of Ayan making her way here after sensing the Pure Lineage of a Millennium Acheron Phoenix on Rose.
His eyes narrowed as he witnessed the being to whom Ayan bowed her head and back.
An immense golden phoenix wrapped in roaring fire- known across the floating continents as the Hell Flame Master.
Even now, remnants of Aeonic Chains fell from his colossal body, and his power… vastly eclipsed Ayan's. If this being stood before Achilles now, he knew- he might die.
It was a dreadful realization.
No matter what he assimilated, no matter how high his Existence Corruption Value climbed in a short period of time…
Facing an entity like the one Ayan bowed to right now would end him!
The fire inside him flared hotter. He would not allow such weakness to persist. Not when the future held confrontations .
But it wasn't just Solmyron's presence that shook him.
It was the conversation that followed.
Between Ayan and this Ruler of the Acheron Phoenix Assembly.
They spoke of the Atlantian Behemoth Tribe.
They spoke of Thalassphere Arx- an entire continental body of water floating in the skies.
And then… they spoke of matters that chilled Achilles to the bone.
Solmyron's golden, scorching eyes burned with blight and authority as he spoke.
"They too have heeded the call of the Primordial Light of Darkness. They move as we do… to reclaim the Planar Destiny. That which the Ancient Races lost, and the puny Humans now possess- it must be taken back."
Achilles caught onto multiple critical truths.
The Primordial Light of Darkness.
Something terrifying that guided some of the Nine Supreme Forces.
But even more significant...
In the Primordial Age, the Ancient Races held it. It allowed them to thrive, to grow unfathomably powerful- while humans were little more than slaves.
And during their Slumber, this Planar Destiny had supposedly passed to the humans.
At first, the concept felt too fantastical, too absurd- but Achilles could not deny it. Not when he considered his own lineage. Not when he thought of his father.
Ayan had mentioned it before.
And now, the idea unfolded before him- this Planar Destiny was supposedly the reason humans experienced fortune. Growth. Power.
It was the very thread that controlled the rise of their race.
The fortune of the Ancient Ones… stolen by those who were once bound in chains.
So then- what would the Ancient Ones do?
Achilles didn't need to ask. The answer was already unraveling before him.
From one of the Rulers of a Supreme Force came a wave of hatred so profound that it seemed to bleed from the memory itself.
Its ancient voice thundered with rage.
"These Humans… once slaves, now hold the Planar Destiny. They must be broken. Subjugated. Shackled again. Only then will the Planar Destiny be ours again…"
"Enslave them. Do not kill. Kill only to make a point. Until we reclaim the Planar Destiny, thinning their numbers will diminish its potency."
Achilles flared with turbulent emotion.
Such power. Such hatred. And it saw humans as nothing more than resources.
Lambs bred for slaughter and kept alive only to maintain the strength of a metaphysical force.
To harvest luck itself!
These… were the enemies Achilles now had the pleasure of meeting as this memory faded.
The memories were unreal.
After the encounter with the memories of the Hell Flame Master, Achilles still had his mind consumed by that one haunting conversation- even as other scattered memories of Ayan played faintly in the background.