Bathed in the prayers of countless souls, Vera stepped into the heart of the Realm of Reincarnation.The colossal wheel beneath her feet began to spin—slowly at first, then faster, until it thundered like a storm, flooding the void with dazzling violet light. The air itself seemed to sing with the sound of a thousand spirits chanting her name.
She placed the Glazed Dragon Mask upon her face, the sacred artifact that linked her to her ancestors. Her voice trembled with reverence and sorrow.
"To my parents, for your endless love and guidance… to my Master Jin Xiu, for your trust and teachings—thank you.No matter what awaits me ahead, I, Vera of the Phoenix Clan, will never forsake my duty."
Beyond the swirling radiance, Chi Ling and Gui Xia stood proud yet heartbroken.Chi Ling's voice was soft as he watched his daughter stand beneath the celestial glow.
"Our little Vera… she's truly grown up," he murmured. "She once swore she'd never bear the weight of destiny—she only wanted her wings to be free."
Gui Xia smiled faintly through her tears.
"Perhaps that rebellion was just her way of preparing for this moment. Those who resist fate the hardest… are often the ones chosen to bear it."
Vera laughed lightly, a sound that shimmered like wind through crystal bells. She waved to them, forming hearts in the air.
"No matter where I go, you'll always be my most precious ones! I love you—muamua!"
Her figure became a silhouette wrapped in light. The Realm quaked, and her parents' outlines blurred, their colors melting into the violet haze. One blink—and they were gone.Only silence remained, and the faint echo of her own heartbeat.
It wasn't the first time Vera had entered the Reincarnation Realm—But never had it trembled like this, never had the space itself screamed with such pain. The light tore across the sky like cracks in glass.
"Is it… because of the Second Divine Fall?" she whispered. Her voice was tiny against the collapse of stars.
She tried to reach out, to see them again—but her vision fractured into stardust. Loneliness hit her like a cold wave.
"So… it's just me again," she murmured, pressing a hand to her chest.
Her fingers brushed the phoenix totem amulet her mother had given her moments before. The amulet pulsed faintly with warmth, its glow synchronizing with her heartbeat.Through the cold mask, she smiled.
"Master once said… distance cannot truly separate souls. As long as the heart remembers, we are never apart."
A deafening crack tore through the realm.The Reincarnation Wheel split open, violet lightning spilling from its core. In that instant, a forgotten voice echoed in her mind—the one from the Beast Mask she had once met in another life.
"If you lose everything you hold dear, little phoenix… will you still remain righteous?""Will you still be yourself?"
Before she could even breathe, the realm erupted into chaos.The sky fractured, shards of floating stone and fire spinning around her. A comet burst through the firmament, its trail painting gold and purple arcs through the collapsing void.
Vera spread her arms, wings of light unfolding behind her. But gravity twisted, the laws of motion no longer obeying their own rules. The wheel shattered completely beneath her feet.
Her balance broke. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears.
"Ahhh—!"
She fell.
She tumbled through infinity, through layers of light and shadow, each one colder than the last. Her mask cracked slightly, and through the fracture, she saw memories flash before her—Her first flight above the dawn clouds.The warmth of her mother's embrace.Master Jin Xiu's calm smile as he said, "Do not fear endings, for every fall is only another beginning."
The images broke apart one by one like glass submerged in fire.
"Master…" she whispered faintly, tears slipping beneath her mask, "please… don't let me forget who I am…"
Far above, within the radiant halls of the Divine Realm, Master Jin Xiu stood before the Sacred Mirror of Samsara. The reflection rippled violently, showing the Realm of Reincarnation splitting apart like a dying sun.
Never, in the history of heaven, had the Wheel trembled so.And then—he heard it.A scream, carried through layers of space.Her scream.
Jin Xiu's pupils constricted. "Vera…"
Moments later, divine officers rushed in, robes aflame with celestial light.
"Master Jin Xiu!" one shouted. "Prepare yourself— the Council predicts you may need to descend to the mortal realm!"
"Explain," Jin Xiu said, his tone calm but his aura trembling like a blade.
"After multiple divine readings," the officer reported breathlessly, "we confirmed that Vera invoked forbidden magic to stabilize her descent through the void!"
The hall fell silent.Jin Xiu's eyes darkened, divine pressure shaking the air.
"Are you accusing my disciple of corruption?"
"N-no, Master!" The officer bowed deeply, trembling. "We no longer judge without proof. But Vera's spiritual power has nearly run dry. She had no choice—she used the last of her magic to survive!"
Lightning flared across Jin Xiu's gaze.
"She accepted this descent… even when her spirit was already fading?"
The officers exchanged glances, unable to respond.
At that moment, Chi Ling and Gui Xia, still nearby, overheard the conversation. Gui Xia's legs gave way; Chi Ling caught her before she fell.
"For the Phoenix Clan," she sobbed, "spiritual power is our wings, our heart! Losing it is like being torn from the heavens themselves!"
Tears glowed upon her cheeks like molten gold.
"A phoenix without spirit… can never fly again."
Jin Xiu's hand tightened around his staff, the room trembling with his unspoken fury.His voice, when it came, was low—dangerously steady.
"Then I will go."
The divine officers froze.
"M-Master… to descend without order—"
"If the heavens will not protect her," Jin Xiu interrupted, eyes blazing, "then I will. Even if I must burn my wings and fall through eternity—I will bring her back."
As he spoke, his robes ignited in white flame, transforming into a thousand drifting feathers.Each feather glowed with the memory of stars as he stepped into the mirror's surface.The reflection shattered—light burst outward.
A single golden feather fell from the heavens, spiraling gently through the void.