The basin water rippled violently as Aleric's body went still.
His fingers twitched once.
Then stopped.
Maze rushed forward, panic breaking through her usually gentle composure.
"W-what happened, Master…?" her voice trembled.
Blaze stood over the basin, veil shadowing her face.
"The soup was deadly salty," she said flatly. "It spoiled my mood."
This bastard dares to ruin my taste.
Aleric's body slid partly from the basin's edge, collapsing onto the marble floor with a hollow sound. Water streamed from his hair, from his lashes, pooling beneath his cheek. His chest rose weakly — shallow, uneven.
Maze dropped to her knees beside him.
"Aleric… Aleric, please wake up…"
No response.
She turned sharply to Blaze and bowed until her forehead touched the cold floor.
"It was my fault," she said quickly. "I added the salt. I interfered. Please — it was not him."
Blaze did not move.
"I do not care," she replied.
Maze's shoulders shook.
"Please spare him," she begged. "I was the one at fault. Punish me instead."
The flames in the mansion dimmed.
Even the air seemed to hold its breath.
Blaze's head tilted slightly.
"Oh?" she said. "Then you will take the punishment."
Maze swallowed hard.
"…I… I will, Master."
Blaze lifted her hand.
Aleric's body was dragged from the basin by unseen force and dropped fully onto the floor. He lay motionless, soaked, lips faintly blue, hair plastered to his face.
Blaze turned her attention back to Maze.
"Proceed."
Maze stood slowly.
Her hands trembled as she stepped toward the basin.
The water reflected her face — pale, fearful, determined.
She lifted one foot—
Blaze watched.
This foolish bird…
She forgets she is a phoenix.
If she soaks herself completely, her life force will weaken.
Maze's toes touched the water.
Blaze spoke.
"Go on."
Maze hesitated, then closed her eyes and stepped deeper.
The water reached her ankles.
Her flames dimmed.
Her knees buckled slightly.
Blaze observed without expression.
Well… the other dishes were decent.
Maze lifted her second foot—
"Stop."
The word cut through the hall like a blade.
Maze froze.
She looked up, breath unsteady.
Blaze's gaze was unreadable beneath the veil.
"Since you were truthful," Blaze said slowly, "and since you have served me for years… I will let you go."
Maze collapsed back onto the marble floor instantly, bowing deeply.
"Thank you, Master… thank you…"
Blaze turned away.
"Get lost."
Maze hurried to Aleric's side, lifting his head carefully into her lap. She brushed wet hair from his face, checking his breathing, whispering his name again and again.
Blaze walked toward the staircase.
Her steps were unhurried.
The mansion lights followed her ascent.
At the first landing, she stopped.
She did not turn fully.
She only glanced back once — just enough to see Maze holding the unconscious boy, tears falling silently onto the marble.
If not for that familiar taste in the dishes…
You both would be dead by now.
Her robe brushed the steps as she continued upward.
The doors to her chamber closed.
The hall remained silent.
Aleric did not wake.
Maze held him tighter.
And Blaze returned to her solitude, mercy already denied by her own thoughts.
Aleric woke choking.
His body surged upright before his mind caught up, breath tearing out of him in a ragged gasp. His hands flew to his chest, then to the sheets, clutching as if the bed might vanish beneath him.
Soft.
Too soft.
He froze.
The last thing he remembered was cold. Weight. A hand forcing him down.
Air wouldn't come.
His vision swam.
"Aleric."
Maze's voice cut through the panic.
Her hands were already on his shoulders, firm but careful, heat radiating through cloth and skin. Not burning. Anchoring.
"You're not there anymore," she said. "You're breathing."
He dragged in air, shallow and uneven. Again. Again.
The room settled into focus around him.
Gold-veined stone. Curtains stitched with fire-thread. A ceiling high enough to swallow sound. Everything polished. Untouched.
This room cost more than his entire life.
"I'm…" His voice cracked. "Dry."
Maze nodded once. "I dried you with magic."
He swallowed.
The memory pressed closer.
"How long was I out?"
"Long enough," she said.
That was all.
Silence followed—not empty, but tight, stretched thin.
"…Maze."
She didn't look away. "Yes?"
"I heard you."
Her flames stilled.
"When I couldn't move," he said quietly. "When I thought I was already dead."
She said nothing.
"I heard you kneel."
Her jaw tightened.
"You knew," he went on. "You knew what you were offering."
"I recover," she said. "You don't."
The words landed heavier than any apology.
Aleric lowered his gaze, hands curling slowly in the sheets.
She didn't hesitate.
"…Thank you."
Maze shook her head once. "You don't owe—"
"I do."
He looked up at her then, really looked.
"You saved me," he said. "Not because you had to. Because you chose to."
Her eyes flickered.
"She didn't stop because of me," he continued. "She stopped because she decided to."
Maze's flames dimmed.
"Yes."
The truth sat between them, sharp and unmovable.
Aleric leaned back, exhaustion pulling him down.
"She wasn't angry," he murmured. "I wasn't worth that."
He swallowed.
"I was just… wrong."
Maze placed a hand over his.
"You're still here," she said. "So don't be."
He nodded once.
Outside the room, the mansion breathed—fire whispering through stone halls.
Blaze did not come.
And somehow, that was worse.
Aleric closed his eyes.
Survival isn't about kindness.
It's about not being discarded.
When he opened them again, he looked at Maze.
And fear settled somewhere deeper than before.
Not for himself.
But for how easily she had offered herself in his place.
Blaze remained in her chamber.
The doors were closed. The flames along the walls burned low and steady. She sat before the mirror, comb resting idly in her fingers, crimson robes pooling like blood at her feet.
Far below, through layers of stone and fire and distance, voices carried.
She heard everything.
The boy's uneven breathing.
The way his voice trembled when he spoke Maze's name.
The silence that followed when truth settled in.
Blaze's reflection did not change.
Not bad, she thought coolly. You realized it.
Her fingers slid once through her hair, slow and deliberate.
In this world, you carve your way alone.
No one carries you.
No one saves you.
The boy had learned that much, at least.
Her gaze flicked slightly, as if she could see through walls.
Then her thoughts narrowed.
But that stupid bird…
A faint crease appeared between her brows—not anger. Calculation.
Far too sentimental.
Attachment dulls instinct.
One day, it may get out of hand.
She set the comb down.
The flames along the walls flared once, then settled.
Blaze looked away from the mirror.
If that happens, she thought flatly, I will correct it.
She did not smile.
She did not sigh.
She simply stopped listening—
as if what lay below her no longer mattered.
And just like that,
the warmth vanished from the mansion's upper halls.
Blaze did not descend.
There was no need.
From the upper level of the mansion, she reclined in silence, one leg crossed over the other, her presence heavy enough that the air itself seemed reluctant to move. Firelight traced slow patterns along the ceiling, answering her mood without being asked.
Below, life continued.
Aleric slept.
Deeply. Undisturbed. His chest rose and fell in an even rhythm, unaware that anything in this world could reach him now. The fear that had once knotted his body was gone—set aside, postponed by exhaustion and comfort he did not deserve but had been given anyway.
Maze remained awake.
She sat nearby, back straight, hands folded loosely in her lap. Not tense. Just attentive. She did not search the shadows. She trusted Blaze's control too completely to pretend vigilance mattered.
Outside the estate, something lingered.
It had followed the pull of her presence for hours. Maybe longer. It did not know time well—only direction. Hunger without appetite. Curiosity without courage.
Blaze felt it brush against the outer ward.
She did not open her eyes.
Still there, she thought. How tedious.
The mansion responded before she bothered to move.
A single defensive layer thinned—not broken, not weakened—simply shifted aside, like a curtain drawn an inch to let air pass.
That was all the invitation it received.
The creature slipped inside.
Not boldly. Never boldly.
It slid along the floor, skin darkening to match stone, power tucked tight against itself. Its heartbeat was loud to its own ears. It pressed into corners, behind columns, into the narrow spaces where heat pooled and shadows overlapped.
It knew better than to run.
It knew enough to be quiet.
Blaze knew exactly where it was.
You're trembling, she noted absently. Good.
She turned her head slightly, eyes still half-lidded, gaze fixed on nothing in particular.
If you bore me, I'll erase you.
The creature stilled further, shrinking into itself, as if obeying instinct rather than command.
Downstairs, Aleric shifted in his sleep, muttering something unintelligible. Maze adjusted the blanket without a sound, her flame dimmed to a soft internal glow.
Blaze exhaled slowly.
The boy rests. The bird watches. And you…
You exist only because I allow it.
She closed her eyes fully.
The mansion settled around her decision.
The creature remained hidden, breathing shallowly, unaware that it had already crossed from hunter to possession.
And Blaze—
already bored again—
began to consider what sort of entertainment might be worth the effort next.
Morning came quietly to the mansion.
Not with birdsong or sunlight—but with warmth that seeped through stone and silk, firelight adjusting itself to the hour without being told.
Aleric woke with a sharp inhale and sat up at once.
No water.
No hands on his neck.
No suffocating pressure.
Just a bed too soft to be real.
He pressed a hand to his chest, feeling his heart beat—fast, but steady.
I'm alive.
The memory of the night before hovered at the edges of his mind, sharp enough to hurt if he looked at it directly. He didn't let himself linger.
Instead, he stood.
Today I won't fail.
He dressed quickly and slipped out of the room, determination replacing fear with something almost reckless. The corridors were quiet, polished floors reflecting firelight like liquid gold.
"The first thing," he muttered to himself, "I'll cook."
No orders this time.
No hesitation.
No mistakes.
High above, behind closed doors, Blaze reclined.
She had not slept.
She never needed to.
A wide, circular mirror floated before her, surface shimmering faintly. Within it, the mansion unfolded—room by room, flame by flame.
Aleric entered the kitchen.
Maze was nowhere inside.
Blaze's gaze flicked once, effortlessly finding the phoenix outside the estate, wings of fire half-unfurled as she circled the perimeter, surveying the forest beyond the barrier.
Diligent, Blaze thought idly. Predictable.
Her attention returned to the mirror.
Aleric was already working.
Flour dusted his sleeves. Bowls lined the counters. Dough rose under careful hands. Pans clinked, knives moved with surprising confidence.
Cakes.
Buns.
Warm bread.
Soup simmering low.
He moved fast—but not sloppy.
Blaze watched for a moment.
"…Nothing worth watching yet," she murmured, turning her gaze away slightly.
That was when the mirror rippled.
Not from her magic.
From something else.
Her eyes narrowed a fraction.
Ah.
The creature moved like a mistake that didn't want to be noticed.
It slipped through the kitchen wall where shadow pooled thickest, form thinning, reshaping—power folding inward to avoid detection. It did not look at the room as a whole.
Only at the food.
Warm.
Real.
Unclaimed.
Hands—too thin, too pale—reached out.
A bun vanished.
Then another.
A cake slid silently from its plate.
The creature crouched beneath the counter, shoulders hunched, chewing quickly, quietly, terrified of being heard.
Blaze did not intervene.
She adjusted nothing.
She simply… watched.
Go on, she thought coolly. Show me what you'll do.
Aleric frowned.
He turned slowly, eyes scanning the counter.
"…That's strange."
He was sure he'd set those there. He stepped closer, counting plates.
One was lighter.
Then another.
His brow furrowed.
"I just finished those…"
A soft sound reached his ears.
Chewing.
Barely audible—but there.
Under the counter.
Aleric stiffened.
His pulse spiked.
A thief? Here? In her mansion?
His grip tightened.
If I catch them…
If I protect this place…
His chest swelled with a foolish, fragile hope.
Maybe she'll see me differently.
He grabbed a heavy pan from the counter, holding it like a weapon. Slowly, carefully, he lowered himself, heart pounding so loudly he was sure it would give him away.
The chewing stopped.
Silence.
Aleric closed his eyes, drew a breath—
And swung the pan aside as he crouched, ready to strike.
"Don't—!"
The voice cracked.
Thin. Shaking.
"Please—please don't hurt me."
Aleric froze.
He opened his eyes.
Beneath the counter crouched not a monster—but a boy.
Black rags hung loosely from his frame, torn and dust-stained. His skin was pale, almost translucent, purple eyes too large for his face and trembling with fear. He couldn't have been much older than Twenty.
His hands were raised.
Crumbs clung to his fingers.
"I'm just hungry," the boy whispered.
"Please. I didn't mean to steal. I just—there was food."
Aleric's breath caught.
The pan slipped from his grip and clattered harmlessly to the floor.
"Oh," he said softly. "…You're just…"
The boy flinched at the sound anyway.
"I won't hurt you," Aleric said quickly, setting the pan aside with both hands raised in surrender. "I thought you were—something else."
He crouched fully now, level with him.
"You don't feel dangerous," he added honestly.
Above them, unseen, Blaze's reflection watched the scene unfold.
Her lips curved—not into a smile.
Into interest.
So, she thought, eyes sharp, this is your choice.
She did not move.
She did not interfere.
The test had begun.