Flying was nothing like Lin Feng had imagined.
In his dreams as a child, he'd pictured cultivation, soaring through clouds on sword light, free from the earth that had always seemed to trap him. The reality of his flame wings was both similar and utterly different.
They weren't really wings at all. They were extensions of the Phoenix's essence, manifesting as structures that looked like wings but functioned through will rather than aerodynamics. Lin Feng didn't flap them to fly; he simply desired to rise, and the flames responded.
"You're getting better at it," Mei observed from her position on his back.
The first few attempts had been educational. Lin Feng had crashed twice, nearly set a forest on fire, and discovered that flying with a passenger required an entirely different approach than flying alone.
"It feels natural now." He adjusted their trajectory, angling toward a distant mountain range. "Like the Phoenix's instincts are guiding me."
"That's concerning."
"I know." But he couldn't help the thrill that coursed through him every time he caught an updraft, every time the wind rushed past his transformed face. This was freedom in a way he'd never experienced, the ability to simply leave, to escape any situation, to go anywhere he wanted.
*This is why the Phoenix never feared anything*, he realized. *It could always fly away. Always find safety in the sky.*
Of course, that hadn't saved it in the end. But Lin Feng understood the appeal.
---
They covered in a day what would have taken weeks on foot.
The terrain below changed as they flew. The recovering fire zones gave way to scrubland, then to forests that grew thicker and greener as they approached the eastern seas. Lin Feng could feel the shift in the world's essence, the corruption of fire yielding to something cooler, more fluid.
"The Dragon's influence," Mei said when he mentioned it. "Water and wood. Life rather than destruction."
"That doesn't match the Protocol's descriptions. The original called it wise, but also dangerous."
"Wisdom can be dangerous." Mei shifted against his back, finding a more comfortable position. "A being that's lived for millennia has had time to think about everything. To plan for every contingency."
"Including me?"
"Especially you. The Dragon knows about the Devourer's Path. It was ancient when the original walked it ten thousand years ago." Her voice grew thoughtful. "If any of the divine beasts could have prepared for your coming, it's this one."
Lin Feng considered that as they flew. The Phoenix had been powerful but straightforward, pure instinct and rage, easy to manipulate once he understood its nature. The Dragon promised to be something entirely different.
*A creature that thinks before it acts. Plans rather than reacts.*
The hunger stirred uneasily. It didn't like opponents it couldn't simply overpower.
*Then we'll have to be smarter*, Lin Feng told it. *Adapt. That's what we do.*
The hunger subsided, but not entirely.
---
They landed on a cliff overlooking the eastern seas as the sun began to set.
The view stole Lin Feng's breath. Endless water stretched to the horizon, its surface dancing with colors from the fading sunlight: blue and green and gold. Islands dotted the distance, some small enough to be single rocks, others large enough to hold forests.
And beneath the surface, Lin Feng could sense something vast.
"It's down there," he said.
Mei joined him at the cliff's edge. "The Dragon?"
"I think so. It feels ancient. Like it's been there since the world began."
"The Protocol says the Dragon claims the entire eastern sea as its territory. Everything from the coastline to the depths that light never reaches." Mei's expression was troubled. "How do you fight something in its own element?"
"I don't think I do." Lin Feng stared at the water. "Not directly, anyway. The original's notes suggested approaching the Dragon differently."
"How?"
"By giving it something it wants."
---
They made camp on the cliff that night.
Lin Feng's flame wings provided warmth, their gentle heat pushing back the ocean chill. It was strange. He who had once shivered through winter nights now generated enough heat to keep them both comfortable.
"Tell me about the original's approach to the Dragon," Mei said.
Lin Feng reached into his memories, sifting through the Protocol's information. "He spent three years studying it before making contact. Learned its patterns, its interests, its history."
"Three years?"
"He had time. I don't." Lin Feng's jaw tightened. "But he did leave notes about what he learned. The Dragon is curious. It collects knowledge the way the Phoenix collected heat. Information about the world, about cultivation, about things beyond mortal understanding."
"And you have something it might want to know?"
"I have the Devourer's Scripture. A technique that even the Dragon, with all its millennia of study, has never fully understood." Lin Feng met her eyes. "The original offered it a trade: knowledge for knowledge. The Dragon's wisdom in exchange for insights into the Devourer's Path."
"Did it work?"
"Partially. The Dragon shared some of what it knew, information about the heavens, about the other divine beasts, about secrets that cultivators had forgotten centuries ago." Lin Feng's expression darkened. "But it also tried to trap him. The Dragon's knowledge comes with strings attached."
"What kind of strings?"
"Obligations. Debts. It doesn't give anything freely. Every piece of information creates a bond that it can call upon later." Lin Feng shook his head. "The original managed to escape the trap, but barely. He warned that the Dragon is more dangerous than any amount of raw power."
Mei was quiet for a long moment.
"So we're going to negotiate with a creature that's smarter than us, more experienced than us, and has had thousands of years to prepare for exactly this situation."
"Yes."
"That's insane."
"Probably." Lin Feng smiled. "But I've consumed a divine beast now. That changes things."
"How?"
"The Phoenix knew the Dragon. Not well, they were rivals more than allies, but there are memories. Patterns of interaction. Ways of speaking that the Dragon will recognize."
Mei's eyes widened. "You're going to use the Phoenix's memories to communicate."
"More than that. I'm going to present myself as the Phoenix's successor, not just its killer, but its inheritor." Lin Feng's flame wings flickered with his emotions. "The divine beasts have politics, Mei. Alliances and rivalries that stretch back to the world's creation. If I can position myself correctly, I might get the Dragon to treat me as an equal rather than a threat."
"And if it doesn't work?"
Lin Feng's smile faded.
"Then I learn what it's like to fight underwater."
---
The next morning, Lin Feng descended to the water's edge.
Mei stayed on the cliff. If negotiations failed, she'd be safer there. Lin Feng had argued that she should stay in a nearby village entirely, but she'd refused.
"I'm not letting you face this alone," she'd said. "Even if I can't help directly, I can anchor you. Keep you from losing yourself if things go wrong."
He'd accepted, because he couldn't deny her logic. The hunger had been more insistent since consuming the Phoenix, its demands more difficult to ignore. Having Mei nearby helped.
Now, standing at the ocean's edge, Lin Feng reached out with his senses.
*I am Lin Feng*, he projected into the depths. *I walk the Devourer's Path. I carry the Phoenix's flame. I request an audience with the Azure Dragon.*
For long moments, nothing happened.
Then the water began to rise.
Not a wave, something stranger. A column of ocean lifting itself from the surface, coiling into a shape that defied gravity and physics. Within seconds, a figure stood on the water before him: a serpentine form made of liquid, scales that shifted between blue and green, eyes that held depths no human could fathom.
*You dare*, the Dragon said, its voice resonating directly in Lin Feng's mind. *You dare to come here, wearing the ashes of my rival, and request audience?*
"I dare because I must." Lin Feng held his ground. "The heavens have abandoned the mortal realm. The divine beasts roam unchecked. Someone has to restore the balance."
*And you think yourself qualified for such a task?* The Dragon's amusement was palpable. *A human barely two decades old, pretending to power he cannot comprehend?*
"I comprehended the Phoenix well enough to consume it."
The Dragon's liquid form rippled.
*Yes. You did.* Its tone shifted, becoming more contemplative. *That is unexpected. The Phoenix was arrogant, but it was not weak. For you to have defeated it so quickly...*
"I had advantages. Knowledge from those who came before. Preparation that the Phoenix didn't anticipate."
*The original God Eater's legacy.* The Dragon's eyes seemed to focus more intently. *I wondered if his techniques had survived. It seems they have.*
"They have. And I'm willing to share what I've learned, in exchange for what you know."
The Dragon was silent for a long moment.
*The Devourer before you made the same offer. He came to me seeking wisdom, promising knowledge in return.* Its voice held an edge of something that might have been sadness. *I gave him what he asked. And in the end, he became something the world was better without.*
"I'm not him."
*No. You're not.* The Dragon drifted closer, its liquid form towering over Lin Feng. *You're younger. Less experienced. More likely to make mistakes.*
"But also more likely to listen. To learn from those mistakes." Lin Feng met the Dragon's inhuman gaze. "The original walked the path alone. He refused to trust anyone, to accept help, to acknowledge that he might be wrong. I'm different."
*Are you?*
"I have companions. Advisors. People who anchor me when the hunger threatens to take over." Lin Feng gestured toward the cliff where Mei watched. "I'm not walking this path alone."
The Dragon followed his gesture. Its expression, if a liquid construct could have an expression, shifted to something like interest.
*The healer's daughter. The vessel of the Jade Lily elder.* Its voice was thoughtful. *You've collected interesting allies, young Devourer.*
"They collected me. I was just desperate enough to accept."
*Honesty. How refreshing.* The Dragon seemed to come to a decision. *Very well. I will speak with you. Not here. Follow me to a place where we can talk without interruption.*
A path of solid water formed before Lin Feng, leading out across the ocean.
*But be warned*, the Dragon added. *If I sense deception, if you attempt to attack me as you attacked the Phoenix, I will destroy you without hesitation. Do you understand?*
Lin Feng stepped onto the water path.
"I understand."
*Then come. We have much to discuss.*
