novelraw Chapter 372: Spreading Wings and Soaring
Chapter 372: Spreading Wings and Soaring
Valentiina's consciousness continuously sank, as if her body were bound to countless boulders dragging her down. Within her dazed and hazy vision, she only saw a deep purple radiance permeating all around her. Outside those flickering purples of unknown origin, there was an extremely terrifying dark red.
Wait... Fisher!
Just as Valentiina felt sleepier and colder, she suddenly remembered Fisher's face. Thus, she violently opened her eyes, desperately twisting her body, wanting to swim upwards. But that dragging force only grew stronger; no matter what, she couldn't break free, only able to let that force drag her further down.
However, during this sinking process, her vision was simultaneously adorned by a spectacularly grand sight.
Before her eyes, layered magics enveloped in peculiar crimson energy formed inseparable ridges overlapping high and low within the extremely expansive space. Within every layer flickered scenery identical to the [Dream] magic Valentiina's mother had left her. However, she wasn't within those dreams, but rather was continuously dragged toward the Spirit World opposite from the real world.
Behind her, the door locked tight by invisible rules should theoretically have been imperceptible to living beings. Yet, right now, it terrifyingly revealed a dark red hue, as if behind that door, at the other end of the Spirit World, some existence wanted to enter from here. Its body hadn't entered the Crevice, yet streams of energy still leaked out from here, locking onto the shadow of a giant tree before Valentiina.
"Child, over here..."
Just as Valentiina was hesitating, a gentle female voice suddenly transmitted from the shadow of that giant tree locked onto by the scarlet energy. Valentiina had heard this voice not long ago, so she immediately recognized the identity of the voice's owner.
"Moon Princess? Is that you?"
"It is me, child. Come toward the Base, we are all waiting for you here."However, after hearing this, Valentiina didn't immediately move her body. She just vigilantly looked at the giant tree called the "Base" by the Moon Princess, deeply afraid this was a trap set by the Base to lure her in and complete itself. Her vigilant sizing-up look made even the Moon Princess's voice laugh, and she spoke again,
"Rest at ease. Right now, a portion of that Spirit World Contamination's energy is siphoned off. The endless dreamscapes before your eyes are constructed by Its power, which also weakens Its ability to lock onto the Base down by a few notches. Furthermore, the time in the real world is fixed. Since your physical body hasn't merged as one with us, then the Base cannot possibly be complete..."
Only after hearing the Moon Princess say this did Valentiina hesitantly swim toward the shadow of that giant tree. Within the special space of this Crevice of the Spirit World, the closer she got to the shadow of the giant tree, the clearer the giant tree's appearance became.
It was a giant tree completely sealed off by a kind of chilly moonlight. On the platform beneath the giant tree, a green-haired woman stood two meters tall. She had a pair of giant azure wings on her back and wore an elegant white silk dress. Her long blue hair was pinned behind her head, held neatly by a slender True Ice hairpin. It wasn't until now, seeing her in person, did Valentiina suddenly realize she had never seen the Moon Princess's attire in reality before.
"Come here quickly, child."
"Moon Princess..."
Valentiina flew beside that tall figure, somewhat astonished as she looked at this beautiful, smiling woman before her who seemingly sparkled all over. Behind her, a long white robe was supported by a light-colored trailing skirt, vividly accentuating the exceptional grace of this female Phoenix.
"Weren't you just outside... why are you appearing here again?"
"This is the [Base], the place that entity of the Spirit World intends to use as a springboard to enter the real world. However, similarly, because the Base is incomplete and because another god of the Spirit World took action, this Base, which was supposed to act as Its springboard, has temporarily become a cage It cannot escape from. This is why, for these past thousands of years, the stars haven't left the Spirit World and invaded en masse again... What you saw outside was my consciousness injected into the relic, but my true soul was placed here by that god of the Spirit World, who's helping us, to reunite with our relatives."
"Another god of the Spirit World?"
Valentiina looked somewhat astonishedly up at the extremely cold moonlight under this incomplete giant tree's shadow—a moonlight completely incompatible with the scarlet glow—and asked thus.
The Moon Princess smiled slightly without elaborating. She just reached out to stroke the temples of the short Valentiina before her. Then, rolling up her sleeves a bit, she pointed at the giant tree beside her and said,
"Everyone, please look at this child. She is the final remnant bloodline I left back in the mortal realm..."
Hearing the Moon Princess's words, Valentiina looked up at the giant tree before her. Only then did she suddenly see shadowy figures standing on that giant tree. Standing there were many, many Phoenix Race individuals with giant wings, wearing armor or long gowns, their cyan hair tied up. They all stood on the branches of the giant tree, sizing up the short Valentiina beside the Moon Princess.
"Fragmented thing, how can it serve as a continuation?"
"Devoid of any Phoenix features, nothing more than a mere human..."
Facing the whispers of the shadows on the branches, the Moon Princess smiled slightly, merely looking toward the very top of that massive tree. There, a male Phoenix wearing a white gown and squinting his eyes was smiling without making a sound; while another Phoenix wearing heavy armor and crossing his arms merely snorted coldly, similarly not making a sound.
Because seated above them, there sat a woman of noble elegance, her wings drooping onto her back to form a beautiful skirt. She sat upright at the treetop, quietly sizing up Valentiina.
They were respectively the Prince Shuang and Ice Prince—who were named in legend alongside the Moon Princess—and the mother of these three princes and princess, the Phoenix King, Nephiramui.
Valentiina felt somewhat unnatural being sized up by the flock of Phoenixes on the branches. She only felt a hint of a sense of security from the figure of the Moon Princess standing before her. She stealthily shifted her feet toward the Moon Princess's direction. Yet, she still continuously scanned the surroundings, searching for Fisher's figure; she wanted to go find him.
After a very, very long time, the Phoenix King sitting atop the tree nodded gently at the Moon Princess and said,
"This can be done."
All the surrounding Phoenixes went silent. Only Valentiina panicked and spoke up, asking the Moon Princess,
"Wait, Moon Princess, what on earth are you... doing? I don't really understand..."
After receiving the Phoenix King's permission, the Moon Princess bowed slightly to all the Phoenixes. Then, placing her hands elegantly before her lower abdomen, she turned around to look at Valentiina and said,
"Valentiina, there's no need to be afraid or panic; everyone standing here from now on will be your seniors. Returning you to the Sycamore tree at such risk was not without purpose. Because even us, we want to leave behind a spark of hope. This was precisely the condition our mother agreed to when sacrificing the entire race. Because we foresaw you in the future. You will become the only complete Phoenix remaining in this world, but you will not be the last Phoenix."
"I... but I've lived my entire past as a human, and a disabled one at that. I'm not sure... if I truly have the capacity to shoulder the burden and responsibilities of being a Phoenix. Me returning to the Sycamore tree was only so that Fisher and myself could survive, nothing more."
Although speaking some polite formalities right now would be the more appropriate choice, looking at the gentle Moon Princess before her, for some unknown reason, Valentiina still lacked confidence. She didn't dare believe that these exceedingly powerful Phoenixes before her were truly waiting for her. This sudden sense of mission made her somewhat at a loss, thereby spawning heartfelt doubts.
However, after she finished saying these words, none of the Phoenixes in the tree showed any reaction; they merely continued to look at her. Instead, the Moon Princess patted her head. In those eyes flickering with the radiance of True Ice just like Valentiina's, perhaps she was thinking of her own soulless stillbirth. She merely said softly,
"Us ah, a very, very long time ago, we migrated here from under a giant tree beside the distant extreme southern and extreme eastern continents. And the beings residing there are exactly like us, believing in the guidance of bloodlines. You possess my most concentrated bloodline; even if it temporarily resides within a human body, the Spirit World does not bestow a soul upon you according to your human body..."
"Residing within your bloodline is the benevolence of my mother who saved the life of common people, the fearless bravery of my eldest brother, the shrewd calculation of my second brother, and of course, my own optimistic and contented heart when facing my imperfections. Our character and thoughts use bloodlines as a medium to reside upon you, rather than entrusting it to the gorgeous clothes we wore or the pavilions we lived in..."
Following the Moon Princess's gentle words, Valentiina's heart rate, which had quickened just now due to being at a loss, calmed down bit by bit. The Moon Princess gently lifted her lowered head and, looking into her eyes, stated word by word,
"When facing the oppression of a tyrant, our ancestors resisted actively and migrated here with the entire race; when confronting the oppressive war of the stars, we also stepped forward bravely and ultimately achieved victory; and when facing the inescapable dead knot of the future, we also dared to cut short our lives, presenting a future path to the world."
"It isn't that we lack fear, or that we neglect gains and losses to such a degree. It's solely because we have always believed that every Phoenix plunged into a desperate situation will ultimately spread its wings and soar."
Valentiina's pupils shrank slightly. In those eyes flickering with the radiance of True Ice, the reflection of every single Phoenix standing in the tree before her was invisibly mirrored. She looked past the figures of Prince Shuang and the Ice Prince, until her gaze met that noble Phoenix King.
The silent Phoenix King gently extended her hand toward her. As her robe swayed slightly, a slender feather flickering with cold light fell smoothly from her hand, swaying and descending as it headed toward Valentiina.
"Valentiina, the Fisher you are looking for lies precisely within that dream illusion. Our threads of Destiny will part ways here, yet we will continue to meet within our memories. As for now..."
Valentiina gently reached out and caught the feather radiating a faint cold light. Behind her, the gentle Moon Princess also simultaneously smiled and pointed toward the distant, layered dreamscapes enveloped by dark red energy. The space seemed to fall quiet, leaving only the Moon Princess's voice as before,
"Run with all your might, Valentiina."
Pinching that chilling feather, Valentiina's body temperature rose bit by bit. Her palm clearly felt so cold, yet the Moon Princess's words felt as though they were going to ignite her. Because before her, that chilly moonlight was being snapped bit by bit by power from outside the Spirit World, thus forming a straight path leading straight into the distant dream within this Crevice.
Was it the urgency borne from an intent to assist Fisher, or was it the push from the Phoenixes' trust in her? The sense of responsibility, that anxiety, that excitement all mashed together to the point where she couldn't differentiate them. It only made her wish desperately, like a lunatic, to run to Fisher's side, wanting to cast away the fragility of her past self who was imprisoned in a wheelchair and powerless...
That feeling of being taken care of, that feeling of being tethered—it all transformed into the driving force for Valentiina's full-blown sprint at this exact moment.
Gritting her teeth, she tightly clutched the feather in her hand. Under the gentle gazes of the Moon Princess and all the Phoenixes behind her, she followed the path formed by the breaking moonlight inching forward, running furiously toward the distant dream illusion without looking back.
Not enough, not enough...
She ran madly. Her white hair intertwined with sweat beads rose and fell upon her temples. The panting from her sprint could no longer restrict her unbridledness; the shackles of reality could no longer trap her soul that yearned to be free...
At some point, that chilling feather she grasped tightly completely vanished. Behind her, those shadowy figures standing before the tree completely disappeared as well. With the complete disappearance of the moonlight, that Base was also becoming complete bit by bit. Yet, Valentiina, running at top speed, still felt it wasn't enough.
She had to run faster. She had to go to an even further place. She had to go to Fisher's side!
Just as she was running continuously with her eyes closed, on her back, a pair of giant azure wings, as if having endured within a thick cocoon for a very, very long time, violently spread open. The True Ice color within her eyes crept outward bit by bit, dyeing a layer of frost-like down upon her back. Her fragile figure grew taller once again, becoming both beautiful and strong...
The black patterns on her back were dyed pure white bit by bit, gradually forming patterns resembling clouds along the wings on her back. Her ears became slender little by little, and behind them, several feathers grew closely adhering to her skin. She still wore the same black long dress she had in the Northlands, but she was no longer as fragile as the Valentiina from back then.
In her unbridled sprint, the newborn giant wings abruptly retracted and spread again, as if issuing a roar to the world it had missed out on for so many years. In the split second those wings beat down, accompanied by a sonic boom that resounded through the Crevice, she truly metamorphosed into a Phoenix Race, flying into those layered dream illusions carrying the soul of a Phoenix Race.
"Fisher!"
Ahead, she saw that rudimentary Naris church; she saw that blonde nun sitting at the church entrance. Naturally, she also saw the wounded Fisher crawling on the ground and Erwind about to make his move behind him.
Her pupils shrank slightly. Violently spreading her wings, she vibrated out a sonic boom behind her that echoed into the heavens, and then dive-bombed toward Erwind like a bolt of lightning.
Erwind, who was about to deal with Fisher, saw the shadow expanding at extreme speed on the ground. Before he even had time to turn his head, his entire upper body was utterly shattered by that air-piercing swoosh carrying frost.
"Crack, crack, crack!"
The sound of frost forming spread extremely far out. Erwind's body shattered and instantaneously reformed. He twisted his head, looking ahead with a bit of astonishment, and said,
"A complete Phoenix. Now this is interesting. They have been extinct for so long that I've never seen their true forms; to have the fortune to witness it here... Furthermore, it's an acquaintance."
Ahead of Erwind, Valentiina, having spread her frosty giant wings, embraced the similarly astounded Fisher within her arms. As Erwind's voice rang out, those massive wings exhaling frosty air also retracted bit by bit, increasingly tightening her embrace around Fisher.
"I don't care who you are, but you'd best stay away from my husband!"
Valentiina's gaze was slightly cold. Her giant wings resembling those of a raptor trembled, seemingly preparing to leap up and harm someone next. And within Valentiina's embrace, Fisher also felt that the newly grown down on her body was icy-cool, soft, and pleasant to the touch.
So this was the true Phoenix.
Even here, within the Crevice of the Spirit World as distinct as the Jing and Wei Rivers from reality, the moment she saw Valentiina, the incredibly familiar, illusory golden text surprisingly still appeared before Fisher's eyes. Within the golden illusory text, the originally garbled words twisted bit by bit, ultimately becoming clear and recognizable...
【%￥#@!...】
【Phoenix Race】
【Detected the true matrimonial relationship between you and a bindable subject. You have automatically bound this subject without consuming the research limit slot, and simultaneously obtained the following bonuses: Research rate of this experimental subject increased by 50%, exemption from binding pain.】
【Bound Subject: Valentiina, mature female Phoenix Race】
Lying within Valentiina's embrace, Fisher blinked. Looking at the incomparably beautiful girl before him, he was left speechless for a moment.