When the Phoenix Sings

By Mikamilk

Disclaimer: I do not own Kyo Kara Maou.

NOTE: Hello! So, there was a suggestion for a sequel to Wish and I've decided to give it a go! Thank you for the great idea! If you are interested, please visit Wish, and to those who have already read it, thank you so much! I've used this first chapter mainly to introduce a few themes of the fic. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter One

It was that place again, wrapped in a surreal darkness. There was nothing supporting his weight, he simply existed, merely a part of the expansive darkness.

From high above, a tiny speck of light flashed in his eyes. He squinted. The speck was slowly growing larger. Red, white and gold flames…

From somewhere within the depths of darkness, a distant sound drifted in and out of his ears. It was a sound that he could not identify, yet it felt strangely familiar. He strained to catch the melody that threatened to vanish into the abyss…

The flames…

The melody…

Wolfram von Bielfield snapped his eyes open. Everything around him was dark. He blinked several times. To his relief, his eyes finally adjusted to the room, recognizing the pool of moonlight that fell across the bedclothes. Yes, that had just been a dream. That dream that had been recurring for nights on end.

Wolfram rolled his head to the right where his fiancé lay in a peaceful slumber. His eyes settled fondly on the sleeping face.

His eyes continued to gaze upon Yuuri while his mind wandered back to the dream he had woken out of. The melody he had heard in the dream still fresh in his mind, Wolfram hummed the tune softly in the back of his throat. He liked it. Somehow, this song gave him a sense of comfort. It felt almost like he had rediscovered a forgotten endearment from his childhood.

OoOoOo

From its' place on the hill—not far from Blood Pledge Castle—a sense of disquiet hung over the Great Temple. Nothing obvious seemed out of place; several priests on night-duty stood guard at their posts while others prayed or slept. However, one particular man who was almost always found in solitary meditation, tonight sat wide awake in the temple's torch-lit atrium. Something appeared to be troubling him, his eyebrows knitted in apprehension.

A figure appeared in one of the doorways, the sound of his shoes resounding loudly in the otherwise silent room.

"Hello," the figure said, taking steady steps. "I had a feeling something was odd, I guess my instincts weren't far off. You're hardly awake during the day, what's keeping you up so late tonight Shinou?"

"Great Sage," the seated man growled softly.

Murata Ken, the Great Sage, hoisted himself to sit on the edge of the raised dais where Shinou's chair was situated. He kicked his legs up, hooking his heels on the ledge. Murata leant back, twisting slightly to lock eyes with Shinou.

"So, what's up?" Murata asked casually. Suddenly, he gasped in feigned realization. "Oooh, I know! You're upset because you didn't get an invitation to Shibuya and von Bielfield-Kyo's wedding!"

This remark had Shinou jerking forward in his seat. "What?"

"Aaah, right. Yeah, Shinou, sorry about that," Murata was saying. "Don't worry, part of the ceremony will be held here in the Great Temple. But I think it might cause some chaos if you appear at the reception…So, yeah. You'll have to miss out this time."

"No! What are you gibbering on about?" Shinou interjected. "I am not concerned about my participation in the Royal Wedding! Not at all! Well, not so much that it bothers me thus…"

Murata narrowed his eyes indicatively. "Really? So you did want to attend the reception."

Shinou grunted with indignation, unable to deny the point.

The look on Shinou's face caused Murata to let out a short laugh. "Don't look at me like that! Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Anyway, feel like telling me what's on your mind now?"

"Fine," Shinou said, thinking it wise to direct their conversation away from the wedding. "You see, I don't believe everything has been resolved."

"I don't either," Murata agreed, his lighthearted demeanor suddenly taking a more serious tone.

"In a way, it feels as though things were only unraveled, rather than resolved. There has been a distinctive change in the patterns of Maryoku as of late," Shinou frowned. "Something has begun."

"I guess there's more to Doloia Island and the Stone Snakes than we thought," Murata added. "I should've known better than to underestimate them."

"Great Sage," Shinou called after a short silence.

Murata lifted his gaze into Shinou's searching eyes. "Yeah?"

"At this point, there is no need to alert Yuuri," Shinou deduced. Murata nodded. "However, we cannot neglect these unsettling signs. Try to stay close to Blood Pledge Castle. Stay aware."

Murata nodded again. "Sure thing."

OoOoOo

Shibuya Yuuri, the 27th Maou of the Great Demon Kingdom, was aroused from sleep by a soft knock at the door. He opened his eyes, watching the door of the bedroom open with sleepy eyes. It was Conrad Weller who slipped inside, gently closing the door behind him.

"Good morning Heika," Conrad greeted with a warm smile.

"Morning," Yuuri replied, sitting up and stretching his arms as Conrad made his way to the bed. "Conrad, it's Yuuri not Heika. Got it?"

"Got it," Conrad answered. "Looks like my brother is still asleep?"

"As usual," Yuuri said, his eyes falling on the blonde snuggled in the blankets beside him.

Yuuri's eyes lingered on his fiancé. As always, Wolfram resembled a sleeping angel with his pearl white skin, curled lashes and golden locks. But there was something unsettling about the way Wolfram slept recently. In the past, Yuuri would find himself being kicked off the side of the bed in the middle of the night, or wake up to the sight of Wolfram tangled up in the sheets. However, ever since he returned from the infirmary, Wolfram not only looked like an angel but slept like one too.

The reasons behind the drastic change was no mystery—it was because of a concoction Wolfram drank every evening, given to him by Gizela. This helped the blonde to get the necessary hours of sleep, that he would not otherwise have if not for the tranquilizer. Yuuri cringed at the memory of one night Wolfram had forgotten to take his drink. He tossed viciously, cold sweat soaking his hair, lashing out if anybody tried to touch him even while he slept. Nothing could soothe him from the nightmare as he raised his voice and struggled against an illusory enemy.

"Yuuri?" Conrad called, peering into Yuuri's saddened eyes.

"S-Sorry Conrad," Yuuri responded hastily. "I'm fine."

"Has Wolfram been sleeping well lately?" Conrad asked as he turned his eyes toward his younger brother.

"I think so," Yuuri replied. Although Wolfram hadn't had any 'episodes' apart from that one occasion, Yuuri was uncertain of Wolfram's state of wellbeing. His fiancé's face looked slightly pale and worn. Gizela's herbs should be ensuring Wolfram got enough sleep but Yuuri could make out bags under Wolfram's eyes. "He looks kind of sick, don't you think?"

"The preparations for the wedding may possibly be tiring him out a bit," Conrad offered. "I'll keep an eye out for him if you'd like."

Yuuri nodded. "I will too."

"Well then, shall we give him a little extra time to sleep while we go for a jog Yuuri?" Conrad asked, clapping a hand on the Maou's shoulder.

Yuuri grinned. "Good idea. Let's go!"

OoOoOo

Gwendal von Voltaire stood at the foot of a steep flight of stairs. Barely any light reached the antechamber and there was nothing other than a heavy bolted door in front of Gwendal. Gwendal turned his head to look over his shoulder when he heard someone descending the stairs.

"Grie, you're here," Gwendal murmured in a low voice.

Grie Yozak skipped over the last few steps and landed lightly by Gwendal's side with a wink. "Hey Kakka, sorry to keep you waiting."

"About time Grie," Gwendal grunted. "Did you bring it?"

"I did," Yozak said, producing a glass vial from his sleeve.

Gwendal accepted the vial offered to him. Yozak had discovered it locked in a safe in the Stone Snake's laboratory. A murky liquid swam within the vial, the thing that had poisoned his youngest brother. Gwendal's eyes flickered with pure abhorrence.

The two men worked together to unbolt the heavy door. Inside was a storage meant for keeping valuables. The valuables were not ones for show but were items of top secret, mostly dangerous or forbidden in some way. The vial of poison was placed in a specialized container—work of Annisina—to be added to the collection.

Once they had checked and checked again that the container was locked and secured correctly, Gwendal and Yozak exited the room. Before closing the door, Gwendal glanced back at the container, something about the vial had caught him in a strange way. He felt a strong force within the swirls of the dark poison; it was unlike any poison he had come across in his life.

Gwendal sighed with frustration and slammed the door.

OoOoOo

The door of Gwendal's office opened as Yuuri backed out into the hallway. Put correctly, it was the Maou's office but everyone had become too accustomed to referring to it as being Gwendal's, since you were more likely to find Gwendal in the office than you would Yuuri.

"Gunter, Gwendal, see you guys at dinner then," Yuuri called from the doorway before closing the door.

Yuuri cheered, inwardly proud of himself for successfully completing his workload for the day. He had been a slow and rather impatient learner, Yuuri admitted, but finally his duties were running more smoothly. Of course, there was still a long way to go but he was fortunate enough to be surrounded by many people he could trust and count on. Also, one significant step he had taken recently, was facing his own conflicts against the engagement to Wolfram. Having gotten rid of whatever doubt and fear that had prevailed his feelings, Yuuri now could see just how much in love he was with the blonde soldier.

Yuuri swung his arms as he strolled down the hallway in search of his fiancé. He was contemplating where to look first when he caught sight of two guards down the hallway.

"Hey! Vince, Robert!" Yuuri said, waving to the guards. "This way!"

"Heika," the two guards chorused, saluting as the Demon King jogged toward them.

"How's things?" Yuuri asked with a bright smile. "Getting used to the work here?"

"Yes, slowly," Robert replied, smiling politely.

"It's easy," Vince declared. "Any mistakes I make, Robert fixes them. See? We're great partners!"

Yuuri let out a reserved laugh. "That er, sounds like a perfect arrangement," he said. "Kinda sounds like me actually…"

"But just between us," Vince said, lowering his voice to a whisper. "We have the ultimate aid when we're desperate, Wolfram!"

Robert glared at Vince and jabbed him in the ribs. "Stop fooling around! We wouldn't have to always take up Woflram's time if you'd just focus!"

"What? Wolfram said he wanted to help! And I do focus! Just, you know, the duties here are kinda really different from what I'm used to in my previous career…"

"Um," Yuuri cleared his throat, glancing between the two argueing guards. "Talking of Wolfram, do you know where he might be?"

"Oh, we saw him not too long ago," Robert replied. "Right Vince?"

Vince nodded. "He was with Weller-Kyo, they were headed for the East gardens I think."

"Really? Thanks!" Yuuri said.

"It is our pleasure," Robert assured. "Any time we can be of assistance Yuuri Heika."

"Cool, good luck with your duties," Yuuri added before parting with the two men.

He wound himself down the spiraled stairs and turned down several hallways before reaching a door leading to a courtyard. Just walking from point A to B in this castle felt like he had walked a few blocks of his neighborhood back in Japan, Yuuri was thinking as he made his way along the outside wall of the castle.

While he was thinking about such mundane things, a sound reached his ears that almost froze his insides. His heart jolted and his feet stopped mid-stride.

"Aaaagh! Uuuugh…"

It was someone's anguished cries, as though they were in pain. What scared Yuuri the most was that the voice belonged to Wolfram.

Yuuri began sprinting down the footpath. He could tell he was close, Wolfram's voice sounded like it came from just around the corner. What was going on? Was Wolfram being attacked?

"Wolf!" Yuuri jumped around the corner, ready to tackle down anything that might be hurting his fiancé. Then, he blinked, lowering his raised fists slowly. "Huh?"

In front of him was Wolfram and Conrad. Wolfram had one leg stretched out in front of him on a bench, his torso folded forward. Conrad was kneeling on the ground beside Wolfram, one hand on Wolfram's supporting leg while the other pushed down on his back.

"Rrrrgh…Shiiit, shiiit!"

"Thirty-six, thirty-seven, thirty-eight—"

"Ugh! No…" Wolfram gasped as he suddenly threw himself backwards, his brother catching Wolfram's body as it tumbled to the ground.

"Thirty-eight, not bad," Conrad commented.

Wolfram winced in pain, gritting his teeth as he rubbed his legs with his palms.

"You alright Wolf?" Conrad said. "I know you're eager to build your body back again but taking things too fast can have the reverse effect as well…"

"I'm fine," Wolfram mumbled.

"Eer, excuse me?" Yuuri said tentatively, taking a step toward the two brothers.

"Heika?"

"Yuuri!"

"Hi," Yuuri said. "If you don't mind me asking, what are you guys doing?"

"Oh, stretches," Conrad replied with an assuring smile. "Nothing suspicious," he added with a light laugh.

"Conraat!" Wolfram hissed.

"Stretches?" Yuuri repeated. "I stretch every night, you could've just joined me."

Wolfram looked away, his cheeks flushed just slightly. Having Yuuri see him struggle with his stretches from the pain it caused was the last thing he wanted.

"I've always helped Wolfram with rehabilitation after an injury, so we're just used to doing it together," Conrad explained. The real reason for why his brother didn't want Yuuri to know was clear to him. Wolfram didn't want to get Yuuri worried about him. In front of Yuuri, Wolfram went the extra measures to act as though he had recovered more than he actually was in truth.

"Oh, okay," Yuuri said.

A moment later, Yuuri's heart leapt out of his chest for the second time that day. This time, it was for a different reason. The earth under his feet suddenly shook violently. He gasped as the tremors intensified.

"W-What's going on?"