Black Phoenix Heir

Chapter 59: Chapter 59 — The Council

Chapter 59 — The Council

Victor was slowly waking up.

For a few seconds, he didn’t know where he was.

He was somewhere else.

Somewhere familiar.

Victor was sitting behind the wheel of a car, driving down a long road that stretched through an open country. Forest surrounded them on both sides, the trees passing by as sunlight spilled across the road. Birds moved between the branches, and small animals occasionally appeared near the edge of the forest before disappearing again.

It was peaceful.

Strangely peaceful.

There was someone sitting beside him.

A woman.

Victor turned his head slightly and looked toward her.

He couldn’t remember her face.

No matter how hard he tried, her features remained hidden behind something almost like fog. He knew she was there. He could see the shape of her sitting in the passenger seat.

But her face wouldn’t stay in his memory.

Except for one thing.

Her smile.

Victor could remember her smile perfectly.

Something about it filled him with a strange sense of longing. It was a feeling that reached deeper than simple curiosity. As though some part of him recognized that smile, even if his mind didn’t understand why.

The two of them continued driving in silence.

Victor looked toward her again.

Then, almost without thinking, he reached toward her.

His hand moved toward hers.

And the moment his fingers were about to touch her hand—

Victor woke up.

His eyes opened.

The wooden ceiling of the Mana Lock Prison greeted him.

Victor remained lying there for several seconds.

The dream lingered in his mind.

He tried to remember her face.

Nothing.

The more he tried, the less he could remember. Her features faded away almost immediately, disappearing into the fog of the dream.

But her smile remained.

Victor stared silently at the ceiling.

Why did that feel so familiar?

He didn’t have an answer.

After a while, Victor shook his head and slowly pushed himself up.

Today was roughly his fifteenth day inside the Mana Lock Prison.

By now, he had developed something resembling a routine.

Victor started with a small workout.

There wasn’t much space inside the cell, but he worked with what he had. His body had become considerably stronger after the Spirit Pond, and even without access to his cultivation, he didn’t want to allow himself to become lazy.

As he moved, Victor glanced toward his left arm.

It was healing.

Slowly.

The arm was still mostly useless in a serious fight. He wouldn’t be able to properly defend himself with it, and trying to put too much force through it would only cause more pain.

But he could move it more than before.

That was something.

After finishing his workout, Victor sat down on the ground and crossed his legs.

Last night, he had reached roughly seventy-four percent completion in the second Knowledge Trial.

His goal for today was simple.

Finish it.

Or at least reach seventy-five percent.

Jack had told him something interesting before.

Once Victor reached seventy-five percent, something special would become available inside the Library.

Victor had no idea what that meant.

But after spending so much time trapped inside this prison, the thought of something new was enough to give him a small amount of excitement.

Victor closed his eyes.

He began focusing on his inner world.

Then—

The door to the hut opened.

Victor’s eyes snapped open.

Footsteps approached.

The guard was walking toward his cell.

Victor slowly stood.

The man stopped in front of the cell and unlocked the door.

"Get over here, heathen."

Victor raised an eyebrow but didn’t argue.

There was no point.

He walked toward the entrance.

The guard immediately grabbed his arm and began attaching cuffs around his wrists.

Then another pair around his ankles.

Victor looked down.

The cuffs were covered in strange markings.

They looked almost identical to the symbols carved into the prison bars.

The moment the cuffs closed around him, Victor felt the faint connection he had been trying to sense disappear completely.

Victor’s expression became slightly more serious.

He followed the guard outside.

The morning air felt refreshing after being trapped inside the prison hut. Victor looked around as they moved through the village.

People were already beginning their day.

Smoke rose from fires outside several wooden homes. Tribe members moved between the huts, carrying supplies and speaking quietly with one another. Some people glanced toward Victor as he passed.

Others ignored him completely.

Soon, they arrived at the largest building in the village.

Victor looked up.

It was far larger than any of the surrounding huts.

The structure almost resembled a great hall, constructed from massive pieces of dark wood. Unlike several of the other important buildings in the village, there were no totems standing outside.

Victor’s eyes narrowed slightly.

This must be important.

The guard pushed open the door.

Victor stepped inside.

Then he stopped.

There were a lot of people.

The interior of the hall was wide and open, with tribe members standing along both sides of the room. Their attention immediately turned toward him.

Victor could feel their eyes.

Watching.

Judging.

Near the far end of the hall was a raised platform.

Several seats had been arranged there.

Five elders were already waiting.

Oheema sat in the middle.

Her expression was calm as her eyes settled on Victor.

Gregal was seated to her left.

The angry elder’s expression hadn’t changed much since the first time Victor had seen him. His eyes remained cold as they followed Victor’s movements.

Beside Gregal sat the short elder.

Victor recognized him immediately.

On Oheema’s other side sat two elders Victor had never seen before.

One was a woman who appeared to be somewhere around fifty years old. She wore clothing similar to the other elders, and her expression was serious as she watched Victor enter the hall.

Beside her sat an older man.

He was bald and looked considerably older than the others.

All five elders watched him.

Victor felt their attention pressing down on him.

It was uncomfortable.

The guard led Victor toward the center of the hall.

There was a large wooden table positioned in front of the raised platform, creating something that reminded Victor of a courtroom.

He stopped in front of it.

The guard remained beside him.

Victor could practically feel the man’s eyes on him.

The tribesman looked ready for Victor to make a mistake.

One wrong move.

One stupid decision.

And Victor had no doubt the man would happily finish him.

Victor didn’t give him the opportunity.

He simply stood there.

The five powerful elders were staring down at him.

Victor took a slow breath.

Then he waited.

Whatever was about to happen next—

He would find out soon enough.

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