KOSUKE

The sun rose, and the sky faded into its daily smile. Clouds drifted along with each other, chatting while gliding. Prosperous forests spread across the land, and the faces of plains gleamed with great pride. Mountains towered above the land, some with its beautiful snow-white hoodie. But above all, drifted the homes of thousands.

Phoenixes flew and played in the sky. Dragons escaped their homes below to immerse themselves in the joyful sun. Hippogriffs, though scarce, danced in the midst of the clouds, watching the sunrise, as a beginning of a new era blessed them with happiness.

A mountain, once the colour of black, was the main reason for the beginning. There was light and darkness inside once before, battling with their lives. But now, only light remained. On a long, stone peak stood a single, ancient phoenix, his feathers dark gold, his eyes emerald. His feathers curved up like Hajime’s, and his beak matched Birdhead’s.

His name was Kosuke.

He struggled to stand. His memories were blurred. When did he last know himself…?

The clouds were white. The sun was rising, the sky was pink.

Kosuke could see Cherry in front of him. She was worried; anxious. Her wings held tightly to their child, who Kosuke had just tried to calm. But this was not a choice. He had to do it.

Kosuke roared, and he felt his power surge. Darkness enveloped him as his strength grew. He heard Cherry scream and saw her vanish into ash. It did not matter now. Once he had taken over Sky Phoenixia, and then the land below, he would rule, and even Cherry, or his son would not be able to get in his way. He would destroy phoenix revival, and kill those that bullied him, wiping them from existence.

His goals were clear, and he would not let anyone stand in his way. Not even Deku, the so-called Dragon Lord. His powers would be unstoppable, and the dragon’s wisdom could never beat him.

He would rule.

He would just, and only rule, his power, Ash, corrupting land beings.

Kosuke shook himself from the memory. He wondered if Cherry was dead. It pained him for some reason, even to think about his week-old child.

Time must have flown when I wasn’t there, Kosuke thought. But I can’t remember. I could’ve killed my entire family.

The phoenix sighed. He was sitting on a deserted cliff, a new sunshine shining over the top. As he enjoyed the sight of a million once-dark trees, he tried to remember.

BIRDHEAD

It was refreshing to see light again, instead of the dark, Ash skies and the continuous storms. The phoenix stared down at his defeated father. He lay still; unconscious. But it did not matter to him as much as his friends.

Birdhead turned to look at his recovered companions. They were the Mythicals, Hajime and the Dragon Lord Deku. They were all joyful to see that Ashgle had been destroyed from his evil state. Hajime smiled warmly at his brother.

“It is time for me to leave, to return to my era. I have another Birdhead to attend to.”

Birdhead smiled back, but sadly.

“…Bye?”

“Don’t sound so sad.”

Birdhead looked down, then back up.

Hajime was gone.

Beakfall lay down and closed his eyes, resting from his awakening. All of the Mythicals were on the ground, resting. Birdhead looked down at his father. He picked him up with his beak softly and dragged him along the rough rock. The phoenix halted when they were on a cliff, and the sun began to rise. Birdhead stared at the forest that was once the Dark forest. It was now lush and evergreen, full of life before Ashgle’s revival.

Birdhead jumped when he heard a voice behind him.

“Is this normal?”

Myrtlelana was looking with worry at the golden phoenix. Her feathers were drifting from her, flying towards heaven. New, more gold-pink feathers began to replace them one by one. The diamond on her forehead slowly faded.

“Yeah. You’re just Cherry.”

Myrtlelana tilted her head curiously at Birdhead and shrugged. She had no recall of anyone named Cherry, but she was sure it meant something. Birdhead watched as the transformation passed.

She faded completely in a blinding flash of white light, until she was back to the kind, motherly Cherry.

“For some reason, I feel like nothing’s happened at all.”

Cherry/Myrtlelana glanced past Birdhead.

“I remember. I remember everything. You’re Birdhead. Birdy.”

Birdhead looked joyfully at Cherry, half in tears.

“I remember everything, Birdy. The adventure. Mine and your childhood. I love it. I’m back. It’s so sudden. My wing feels fine. I remember, Birdy. I remember.”

BEAKFALL

The world was spinning. He had awakened. Beakfall didn’t know how he did it, but from then on he would be known as Sacred Light, in a way. He had always been, but he had never awakened. Those words were stunning to the hippogriff. He could not believe how he had managed such a feat. It did not matter. His friends were safe.

They were all resting. A sleepless night had overtaken them, their tiredness the weight of the land. He turned his head to Deku, just in time to see Myrtlelana follow Birdhead dragging Kosuke to a cliff. Deku gave an understanding nod. It was time.

They lifted off, each taking two Mythicals, Beakfall lay Peachu and Zelda gently on his back, and Deku chose Lionessfire and Melody. With giant, flapping wings and their strength recharged by the sunlight, they reached Sky Phoenixia in a matter of minutes.

Phoenixes stared at them as they passed, but their joy overtook their concern.

The duo lay them on floating clouds. They would recharge their energy closer to the great star. Birdhead was in both of the two minds. He had not lived up to his name yet, but it was time.

Time for him to remember.

Beakfall and Deku returned to the Ashgle’s mountain. They saw Birdhead and Myrtlelana – at least she was, but now she was Cherry. From the memories of Birdhead Beakfall had watched in his mind, he could tell Cherry had healed from the deadly Ashsnake’s attack.

Time for him to remember.

The words returned to Beakfall’s head. It would be difficult to explain to Birdhead about the history of phoenixes without a ruler. They needed one, because they were weak and were dying when Ashgle first attacked. A king, a queen, whatever, would prevent this. Birdhead was deeply concerned about the world of his tribe. For a phoenix like that, he would surely be a great leader.

And in a way, he had to. To remember, and to be remembered.