The Greedy Frog
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Marvel: Pay to Win Gambling 7
🕑 Added 2025-04-21 15:44:35 +0000 UTCChapter 7: The Phoenix’s Request
That... fucking hurts.
My eyes burned like they’d been splashed with acid—saltwater maybe, but dialed up to eleven. Every blink sent fresh fire through my skull. Everything around me was bright. Too bright. I could barely crack my eyes open, and even then, all I saw was a vast, colorless void.
Limbo? That was my first guess.
Would’ve made sense—dying or being broken down before waking up in a new body. But no, that wasn’t it.
[The presence of the Phoenix is close.]
Oh. So, not Limbo. Not quite.
This wasn’t death. This was something else. Something... mental. A domain. A throne room made of thought. And unfortunately, one that belonged to the Phoenix.
How the hell she pulled me in here was beyond me—especially with the system usually blocking any unwanted mental interference.
[No negative emotions detected from the Phoenix. Host will be returned if aggression is detected.]
So that’s how. The system approved her presence, or at least wasn’t threatened by it. Still, it begged the real question—why was I here?
“I thought you’d show up clothed,” a voice echoed, smooth and layered. “Maybe I gave you too much credit.”
My head snapped around, trying to locate the source—but it was useless. The voice came from everywhere and nowhere, all at once. A paradox. A presence beyond comprehension. Classic Phoenix behavior.
“Didn’t really get a chance to dress for the occasion,” I muttered, still scanning the whiteness. “Would’ve worn something nice if I wasn’t, y’know, ripped from my body.”
She laughed. A rich, cosmic sort of laugh. The kind that made you feel like an insect being toyed with by a god.
“Clothing is irrelevant to beings like us,” she said. “To entities... to embodiments... appearance is just noise. A distraction.”
“Agreed,” I said with a nod. “Though, the general public might not be too keen on that philosophy.”
“You’re not afraid.” There was a note of amusement in her tone. “And you’ve only just awakened.”
So she knew. Of course she did. Jean was the Phoenix—or rather, a vessel. Whether it was shared memory or omniscient insight, she clearly had access to more information than I was comfortable with.
Yet... she hadn’t breached the system. That much was obvious. And if even the Phoenix couldn’t crack through, then this thing riding shotgun in my soul really was beyond cosmic.
That was... both comforting and horrifying.
“Fear clouds reason,” I replied simply. “And if you wanted to kill me, I’d be ash already.”
Her laugh echoed again. “Truly an interesting human.”
Then I felt it.
The voice—behind me.
I turned fast, on instinct. And froze.
Not because of fire. Not because of danger. But because of her.
The Phoenix didn’t appear as a flaming bird. Not some spectral god or disembodied eyes of judgment. No, she took a form I knew far too well.
Jean.
Same face. Same body. But her eyes… her eyes glowed with golden fire. Eternal. Endless.
“You look surprised,” she smirked.
I didn’t hide it. “Is this one of those ‘see my true form and you’ll combust’ things? So you took her shape to spare me?”
Another amused breath from her lips.
“Not quite. I have no true form. I am an aspect—pure consciousness, pure force. But for your comfort, I’ve taken a familiar shape. Simplicity in chaos.”
Honestly? That tracked. It was considerate, in a weirdly cosmic sort of way.
“I appreciate the effort,” I said, though my gut stayed on edge. This wasn’t a social call. No way.
She looked... calm. Regal. Dressed in a flowing blend of white and gold, elegance wrapped around power. But I couldn’t shake the feeling she wasn’t here just to make conversation.
“So,” I asked carefully, “how can I help you?”
Her gaze softened at that.
“I could lie and say I want nothing. But the truth is—I need something. And I won’t ask about your origins. Not about your powers or your past. Because I can’t.”
She stepped closer, a subtle shift in the void.
“I can’t read your mind. I can’t see where you’ve come from, or where you’re going. You are unknowable—even to me. And that... that’s exactly what I’ve been searching for.”
I felt a question forming in my throat.
But I didn’t ask. Not yet.
“Would I be correct to assume,” she began calmly, “that you know who I am—and what Cosmic Entities are capable of?”
I nodded, unwavering. “I know exactly who you are. The Phoenix Force. The cosmic embodiment of fire, life, and rebirth.”
She tilted her head slightly, the glow in her golden eyes unblinking.
“And I would like to believe,” she continued, “that you have no intentions of harming my host.”
The words were wrapped in a smile, but the tone beneath them was steel. A test. A warning.
“I don’t hurt people who don’t mean harm,” I said plainly. “I don’t throw the first punch—unless someone earns it.”
And Jean hadn’t. Not even close. She was a hero, one of the real ones.
“That’s all I needed to hear.” The Phoenix’s posture shifted, more relaxed now. “Then I’ll be asking a favor. One I don’t expect you to grant for free.”
My reaction betrayed me. Eyes wide. A favor from the Phoenix? That alone was huge. But a promise of something in return? That was galactic.
Most people would kill for a second in her good graces. And here she was, bartering.
“I… don’t know if I can help you,” I admitted. “I mean, it’s you. I’m not going to blindly agree to something impossible.”
“Fair,” she nodded, unfazed. “But don’t worry—it’s something you can do. Maybe something only you can do.”
“Why me?” I asked before I could stop myself. “How do you even know I’m a good person?”
Her answer was not what I expected.
“Because good and evil mean nothing to me,” she said, voice steady. “I am not a god. I am not a mortal. I am an aspect—a force. Good, evil… they’re just names humans made up to feel better about their decisions. What is evil to one species might be salvation to another.”
And… yeah. That actually made sense. Terrifying sense.
Of course a being that old, that powerful, wouldn’t care about moral alignment.
“All I care about,” she said, stepping closer, “is that my request is fulfilled. I don’t care if you save the world—or burn it down.”
The air around her seemed to pulse as she asked, “So… do you accept?”
I took a breath. “If it’s possible, and it doesn’t destroy me, then yeah. I don’t see why not.”
Her lips curled into a smile again—this time, warm.
“That’s exactly what I was hoping to hear.”
She raised a finger toward me, glowing with celestial fire.
[The Phoenix is offering you the “Eyes of Life”]
[Eyes of Life: Grants the ability to perceive a being’s abilities and basic information.]
[Accept / Reject]
Holy shit. That was… insane. In the best way. Only a complete idiot would turn that down.
Accept.
A sphere of golden light lifted off her fingertip and shot toward me, sinking into my eyes. My vision went white-hot for a second—burning with divine clarity—before settling again.
[You have acquired the Eyes of Life.]
“That is just a small token of appreciation,” she said. “If you succeed, I’ll give you more than that. A fragment of my power. A link to the cosmos itself. And who knows—if the others notice you, they might offer their own gifts. You might even become a host one day.”
A host…
I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. But the Phoenix’s power? Even a piece of it?
Yeah, I wouldn’t say no to that.
“I… I’m grateful,” I said, and meant it. “But what do I have to do?”
And then—finally—her expression changed.
The warmth drained, the smile vanished and what remained was rage.
Not directed at me. But pure. Focused. Terrifying.
“Years ago,” the Phoenix began, voice calm but simmering with memory, “when my host first touched the full extent of my power… she unleashed a wave of energy that destroyed countless homes.”
Her golden eyes narrowed slightly.
“That tragedy made a man believe he had the right to play god—to seal me inside my host. He locked me away, severing the purity of our link. I exist within her… but I can no longer reach her.”
A mental seal.
I already knew exactly who she meant. Bald. Wheelchair. Dreamer.
Professor Charles Xavier.
“I want you to break that seal,” she said, no hesitation in her voice. “I want you to guide my host—to influence her to seek me out. But not through rage. Not through pain or hate. If she searches for me with those emotions… she will twist. The link will darken.”
She paused, then added with gravity:
“And that path will only lead to destruction. To a version of her that I do not wish to empower.”
Dark Phoenix.
My stomach tightened. I knew the name. I knew the stories. I wasn’t exactly eager to meet that version of Jean.
“I need you to help her find me with an open heart,” she continued. “With joy. With peace. That is how we forge a true connection. That is how she can one day wear the Crown of the Phoenix.”
Crown of the Phoenix.
If she meant what I think she meant… that version of Jean Grey wouldn’t just be powerful.
She’d be unstoppable.
“Can you do that?” she asked softly, eyes meeting mine. “Because if she comes to me on her own, no seal can hold me back. And when that happens, I will be free.”
Her tone dropped a level—pure rage beneath a calm mask.
“And I will burn the man who did this… alive.”
A chill ran down my spine as an all-too-familiar face flashed before my eyes. Bald. Calm. Calculating.
Xavier.
“If you do this,” she continued, “I will give you more than gratitude. I will grant you a shard of my power. A connection to the Phoenix Force itself.”
[First Main Quest Alert!]
[Quest: Free the Bird!
Objective: Break the mental seal and help Jean Grey become the true host of the Phoenix Force.]
[Rewards: Connection to the Phoenix Force, Phoenix Fire, Absolute Regeneration]
This wasn’t just insane. It was beyond that.
Phoenix Fire alone would’ve been enough. But Absolute Regeneration?
Unless someone destroyed my very essence, I’d be unkillable.
Only a complete moron would even hesitate.
“I accept,” I said, with zero doubt. “I’ll do everything I can to help her reach you.”
Her smile returned—bright and real.
“That is more than enough.”
But just as the moment of triumph settled in, the ground beneath us began to quake. The realm rippled. Cracks formed beneath my feet.
The Phoenix didn’t even flinch.
“Looks like your time here is up,” she said, voice echoing as the void around us began to collapse. “Trouble’s waiting for you. I’ll be watching, Daniel. Don’t disappoint me.”
Before I could ask what kind of trouble—
The ground split open.
I fell.
Endlessly.
Fuck.
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[A/N: Daniel connecting with the Phoenix Force won't make him the host to the Phoenix, just allow him to tap into the powers of the Phoenix a little. While also acting as a secondary container for the Phoenix Force if the cosmic entity ever needs another.
Jean Grey is and will be the True Host of the Phoenix. And I believe you have already guessed what I am planning for her.
White Phoenix of the Crown.]
