Lilians flying ship sped forward at great speeds as it entered the Great Desert. John had asked his master to follow his fathers instructions on where to pilot it, but had not elaborated further.
While Lilian was curious as to what was going on, she could tell that John did not want to talk about it. She accepted John's request, and allowed Barden to tell her where to take the ship.
The interior of the ship was quite large, and the hundred members of the Fenix Clan were gathered in several groups, discussing the ship and everything else with great excitement. Ryan, John's lifetime friend, was also on the ship, as he was to be the Fenix Clan's foremost disciple after John.
He wanted to talk to John on the trip, but could tell his mind was occupied with something, and decided to let him be.
It had taken a while to come to terms with the truth, but John had eventually done so. He realized that none of this changed anything, and that his main goal of obtaining strength was only furthered by this event.
The words of the mysterious man still rang in his mind, that only when he was stronger could he learn the truth.
Barden walked over to John, who was sitting in a corner of the ship. He sat down next to John as they both stared through the translucent floor to the desert below.
"We're approaching the location. We should arrive there soon," Barden said to John.
"I know," John replied. "I can feel something in the desert calling out to me, and its growing stronger. It could only be that."
Barden remained silent upon hearing this, and decided to just sit next to his son as they watched the land pass by. Rachel Fenix also walked up and sat next to her son, leaning against his shoulder. Like this, the three sat in silence for quite some time before John's face turned serious.
"We're here," John said to his father.
Barden was surprised that John's connection to this area was this strong, but not too surprised. He nodded his head as John's words, as they had truly arrived.
John quickly got up and instructed his master to stop the ship. She did so, and John quickly jumped out of the ship and sped to the ground below. She had asked if he needed help with what he had to do, but John politely declined her offer, telling her that he would be alright.
The strange feeling only grew stronger as John approached the ground, and he quickly spotted the slightest opening of a cave, similar to what Barden had described. His hand slashed out, sending a Qi attack that exploded the sand at the cave's entrance away.
His figure quickly dashed inside, the feeling only growing stronger.
'There's no doubt about it. This is the cave father was talking about.'
John took a deep breath and paused at the cave's entrance for a moment before his footsteps started once more. His steps remained steady as he walked deeper into the cave, and eventually arrived at the dead end that his father had described.
The feeling within him was nearly overwhelming at this point as John put his hand against the wall of the cave.
'It's just on the other side of this wall.'
Just as he thought this, John felt himself be wrapped up with a strange power, and his body was drawn through the wall itself. It was an incredibly strange feeling to be drawn through a solid object, but John didn't struggle against the power as he allowed it to bring him forward.
A large cavern, just as his father had described, came into view. Hundreds of ancient skeletons were littering the ground before him, causing him to raise one eyebrow at the scene. He could tell that some of the skeletons used to belong to cultivators as strong as Thunderzen, or even stronger.
His gaze shifted from the skeletons before him, to the center of the cavern. In the very center of the cavern, a hazy ball of light floated, seemingly part of this world, and yet at the same time not, making it incredibly bizarre.
John remained silent for a moment and took a deep breath, before he walked forward towards the ball of hazy light. His footsteps became less and less steady as he approached the light, but he eventually managed to stand before it.
The hazy ball of light slowly began to transform before his eyes, quickly taking the shape of a woman. The soul form was hazy and ethereal, but John could clearly distinguish the features of the woman.
The woman looked at John with soft eyes, as a smile appeared on her face. On the other hand, surprise appeared on John's face, as he had seen this woman before.
'This...she's the woman depicted by the statues in my palace realm.'
The similarity was unmistakable, in both her physical features, as well as the demeanor and aura she carried herself with. It was as if she was the holiest battle maiden in the universe, incredibly strong, but also incredibly caring.
The soulform suddenly moved forward, and reached up with one hand to stroke John's face. Her hand passed right through John's face, but she seemed to not notice, or not care, as she gently caressed his face.
Such an action from a stranger would normally cause John to jump back away from it, but he felt his body grow soft at the touch, as if it was the thing he wanted the most at this moment.
A slightly saddened look appeared in the soulforms eyes as she spoke up for the first time.
"You've grown up into a fine young man," her soft, ethereal voice seemed to whisper in John's ears.
John felt himself overcome with a wave of emotion upon hearing those words, but he quickly shook his head and took a step back as he recovered his senses. His gaze hardened as he looked at the woman before him.
Although he was certain he knew the answer, he needed to know the truth for certain. He took a deep breath, collecting himself for a moment, before he spoke out to the soul form.
"Who are you?" John asked. "Are you my…"
John couldn't finish the last word, as it seemed to get stuck in his throat. The woman's loving smile returned to her face as she replied to John's words, each word from her echoing loudly in his mind like a drum.
"You already know the truth in your heart...my dear child."
