Rebirth of the Phoenix God

This sentence… It was too on the spot for it to be yet another Firo's mischief. Just the momentary looks that Fen could have on her face as she violently shook him, made it clear that the girl in front of him, was no longer the same clumsy and nasty maid that Fen met in the archarity.

The clarity in her eyes, the sheer determination that oozed out of her made the young man realise that while he had his own aims and complicated history, the same could be applied to literally anyone else he met in the city.

"My master?"

Fen's question sounded like a silly attempt to buy himself some time. Making the decision to break his immersion in the dream, the young man experienced way greater backlash than he expected. With all the exhaustion and strain hitting him all at once, he needed that moment not to come up with some story, but in order to ever gather his thoughts.

"Ugh… Beyar?"

Just the fact that Firo brought up the matter of his master was quite risky. Compared to before, now there was a person who anyone would track. As hard as it could be, once anyone would bother to look into things, Fen's entire backstory would nearly instantly come to light.

Despite all of that, once the young man saw the reaction of the archarity's maid, he realised that he didn't make a mistake.

Staring directly in front, right into Fen's eyes, Firo appeared as if her mind simply vanished on the spot. In the next moment, her body suddenly relaxed, as if a great weight dropped from her shoulders.

"It can't be…"

As she lowered her head, Firo's body started shaking. Out of all the events that Fen could fathom, this was the last one.

There was no denying it. There was simply no way to deny how close Firo had to be with Beyar in order for his name to cause such a reaction.

'It will be all the worse once I tell her then…'

Recalling a single scene from his memories, single moment that happened right before Fen's strange new life begun, it was the young man's turn to shudder.

"Listen…"

The more the girl would rejoice the mention of her acquaintance? The worse she would react at the news about Fen's master death.

"No, I'm okay now. You just… You just can't realise how big of a relief it is for me…"

In one instant, the situation took a turn for the worse. Raising her head, Firo gazed directly in Fen's eyes, in a clear attempt to learn more.

"I'm sorry…"

That was all that the young man could say. Only at this moment did he realise the weight of what actually happened. So far, his memories from the day of his execution didn't haunt him. Instead of living through the horror of that time, Fen simply accepted the reality back then. He could do nothing to change it.

But even with that said, it was strange how easily the young man took the departure of his master. Maybe it was due to the strange state of his mind? Or maybe…

"What do you mean, I'm sorry?"

Despite clearly playing dumb with her words, Firo apparently was quick enough to notice several hints from Fen's expression and tone of his voice.

"Whoever he was for you, my master… Beyar, died burned on the stake."

Fen couldn't do anything at this point. As the veil of the reality fell down on Firo, she seemed to lose control of her own body. Falling on all fours, due to how close she was to the young man, she basically shoved her face into his chest.

"Because of you."

As terrifying as those words sounded, there was no hint of anger or vengeance in it. It was a simple statement, mixed with a tone of a certain type of relief and acceptance?

It seemed as this statement alone was enough to surprisingly calm the girl down. Raising her head, she looked with her tearful eyes at the young man, before fixing her position and kneeling down in front of the young man.

With their eyes at the same height, Firo raised her hand and placed it down in the middle of Fen's chest.

"I'm almost certain that ancient blood flows through your veins. If I'm right, then you are one of the last descendants of the white legion."

There wasn't a single shred of eroticism in Firo's action. In contrast to what happened back in their time in the bath, this small girl looked dignified, as if just the act of mentioning those names had some sacral sense in it.

Sadly, Fen was mostly oblivious about the course of even the recent history. While he heard some shreds of information mentioned beside some other topic, with no general outline, it was hard to grasp the full picture of the recent events. Unless he asked directly, the young man would once again delve into a pit, where he would hold important information, but couldn't access it.

"I'm sorry, but I don't really…"

Feeling the pressure to speak up, Fen was about to request some more historical background. Yet, right in the middle of his sentence, Firo raised her gaze at him once again, with her stare so intense that Fen's instantly stopped in the middle of the word.

"I understand. I thought you knew those names before. To put it short, the empire as we know it exists for only fifty years. Over the last two hundred years though, those lands were an integral part of the Mercenary Kingdom. Ever since the great war and purge that followed it, only a handful of the bloodline holders from that great nation managed to pass their gifts down."

Biting her lips, Firo stopped speaking, as if all this background information had very little to do with the crux of the matter.

"Listen…" Picking up, Firo moved her hand up, raising Fen's beard and forcing the young man to look at her. "Ever since that… time in the bath, I knew you were somehow… different."

With only the slightest blush appearing on Firo's cheeks as she mentioned that part of the past, she held Fen's head in a strong grip, making him incapable of looking away.

"But once I saw you at the doorstep… I saw someone else in the exact same state. This, someone, was my father. When he looked the same as you did a moment ago, I had no other choice but to seek Grandpa… Grandpa's help. And I also mean that I know what kind of stuff you saw, and how can you unlock it."

Determination returned to Firo's eyes, replacing all the convoluted emotions from before. Moving her hand down, right back at Fen's chest, she closed her eyes for a moment only to raise them right back towards the young man pupils.

"Those randomly appearing memories, are the message that your ancestors left for you. It's all their past, all their memories, all their experience… All of it calling for you. All you need to do…"

Firo's tone suddenly turned intoxicating, as if her entire explanation was dosed with a generous dose of hypnotic techniques. Moving her free hand, this small and naturally clumsy girl raised her thumb towards her mouth.

Bite.

Without even a shred of hesitation, Firo cut her own skin to blood. Not willing to waste any time, she instantly slammed it forward.

"Tell me what you will see."

As her voice seemed to distance itself from Fen, the young man realised that it felt as if his entire consciousness was falling into some kind of hole. With all the sensory feelings from his body now gone, the young arcanist could only stare into the endless darkness of this strange place.

And then, the plane of complete blackness was replaced with the entire world.