novelraw Chapter 378: Spreading Wings and Soaring
Chapter 378: Spreading Wings and Soaring
Valentiina's consciousness sank incessantly, as if her body was bound and dragged downwards by countless giant boulders. In her groggy and blurred vision, all she saw were faint purple radiances spanning all around her. Beyond those flickering purple lights of unknown origin, there was an expanse of extremely terrifying dark red.
Wait... Fisher!
Just as Valentiina felt increasingly drowsy and colder, she suddenly thought of Fisher's face. Thus, she violently opened her eyes, desperately twisting her body, wanting to swim upwards. But that dragging force grew stronger and stronger. No matter what she did, she couldn't break free, only able to let that force continue to drag her downwards.
But during this process of sinking, her eyes were simultaneously adorned by an extremely spectacular scene.
She saw that before her eyes, layers upon layers of magic enveloped by bizarre dark red energy formed indistinguishable overlapping ranges within an extremely vast space. Within every layer, sceneries very similar to the [Dream] magic Valentiina's mother had left her flickered. Yet she wasn't within that dream, but was continuously being dragged, heading toward the Spirit World which stood completely opposite to the real world.
Behind her, the door locked fast by invisible rules shouldn't have been perceivable by living beings at all. Yet at this moment, it terrifyingly revealed a dark red hue, as if behind that door, at the other end of the Spirit World, some existence was trying to enter from there. Its body hadn't entered the Crevice, but streaks of energy were still escaping from it, locked fast by the shadow of a giant tree before Valentiina's eyes.
"Child, come this way..."
Just as Valentiina was hesitating, a gentle female voice suddenly came from the shadow of the 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. Just come toward the Base here. We are all waiting for you here."However, Valentiina didn't move her body immediately after hearing this. She merely looked warily at the giant tree the Moon Princess called the "Base", terrified that this was a trap the Base made to lure her in to complete it. Her wary, scrutinizing appearance amused the Moon Princess, making her chuckle before she spoke again,
"Rest assured. Right now, a portion of that Spirit World contamination's energy has been siphoned off. That endless Dream before your eyes was constructed using its power, which also slightly weakened its ability to lock onto the Base. Furthermore, time in the real world is fixed, and your flesh hasn't merged with us yet, so it's impossible for the Base to become complete..."
Only after hearing the Moon Princess say this did Valentiina hesitantly wander toward the shadow of that giant tree. Within the special space of this Spirit World Crevice, the closer she got to the giant tree's shadow, the clearer the giant tree's visage became.
It was a giant tree completely sealed by a certain cold moonlight. On the platform below the giant tree stood a woman with cyan hair. She was two meters tall, with a pair of massive pale blue wings growing from her back. She wore an elegant white dress made of silk. Her long cyan hair was pinned behind her head, neatly tied with a slender True Ice hairpin. Only now that she had seen her in person did Valentiina suddenly realize that she had never seen the Moon Princess's attire in reality before.
"Come here quickly, child."
"Moon Princess..."
Valentiina flew beside that tall figure, looking somewhat astoundedly at the beautiful woman before her, who bore a smile and seemed to glow from head to toe. Behind her, her long white robes were held up by light-colored neon clothes, making the Phoenix woman before her look extraordinarily graceful.
"Werent you just outside... why have you appeared here again?"
"This is the [Base], the place that existence from the Spirit World wants to use as a springboard to enter the real world. But correspondingly, because the Base is incomplete and another Spirit World deity intervened, this Base—which was originally meant to be its springboard—temporarily transformed into a prison it cannot escape from. This is precisely the reason why the stars haven't left the Spirit World for a massive invasion all these thousands of years... What you all saw outside was my consciousness injected into the Holy Artifact, but my true soul was placed here by the Spirit World deity who helped us, to reunite with my family."
"Another deity in the Spirit World?"
Valentiina asked this with some astonishment as she looked at that extremely cold moonlight—which was completely incompatible with the scarlet radiance—beneath the shadow of this incomplete giant tree.
The Moon Princess merely smiled and didn't say much. She simply reached out and stroked the temples of the short Valentiina before her. Then, rolling up her sleeve slightly, she pointed to the giant tree beside her and said,
"Everyone, please look at this child. She is the final bloodline I have left in the world..."
Hearing the Moon Princess's words, Valentiina looked up at the giant tree before her. Only then did she suddenly spot the indistinct silhouettes standing on the giant tree. Standing atop it were many, many members of the Phoenix Species bearing giant wings, wearing armor or long gowns, with cyan hair tied back. They all stood on the branches of the giant tree, sizing up the short Valentiina beside the Moon Princess.
"A crippled thing, how can it continue the lineage?"
"It has no aspect of a Phoenix; it is nothing more than a human..."
Faced with the whispers of the shadows on the branches, the Moon Princess smiled faintly. She merely looked up toward the very top of that giant tree. Up there, a male Phoenix dressed in a white gown and squinting his eyes chuckled without saying a word, while another Phoenix wearing heavy armor with his arms crossed merely snorted coldly, likewise saying nothing.
Because above them sat a noble and elegant female whose wings drooped behind her to form a beautiful skirt. Sitting upright at the top of the tree, she quietly sized up Valentiina.
They were none other than the legendary figures famous alongside the Moon Princess: Prince Shuang, the Ice Prince, and the mother of all three princes and princesses—the Phoenix King, Nephiramui.
Valentiina felt somewhat unnatural being sized up by that group of Phoenixes on the tree branches. She only felt a little sense of security from the figure of the Moon Princess standing before her. She stealthily shifted her footsteps toward the Moon Princess, yet still constantly surveyed her surroundings looking for Fisher's figure. She wanted to go find him.
After a very, very long time, the Phoenix King sitting at the top of the tree gave the Moon Princess a gentle nod and said,
"Acceptable."
All the surrounding Phoenixes immediately quieted down. Only Valentiina spoke up in panic, asking the Moon Princess,
"Wait, Moon Princess, just what exactly are you... doing? I don't quite understand..."
After receiving authorization from the Phoenix King, the Moon Princess bowed her head and curtsied to all the Phoenixes. Following that, she elegantly placed her hands in front of her lower abdomen, turned her head to look at Valentiina, and said,
"Valentiina, there is no need to be afraid or panicked. Everyone standing here will be your elders from now on. My undertaking the risk to have you return to the Sycamore tree was not without purpose. Because even we wish to leave behind a spark of hope. This was the condition Mother agreed upon to sacrifice the entire clan. Because we saw your future. You will be the sole remaining complete Phoenix in this world, but you will not be the last Phoenix."
"But I... I have lived my entire past as a human, and a disabled person at that. I'm not sure... if I truly have what it takes to bear the duties and responsibilities of a Phoenix. My returning to the Sycamore tree was merely so that Fisher and I 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, Valentiina still lacked confidence for some reason. She didn't dare believe that these extremely powerful Phoenixes before her were truly waiting for her. This sudden mission left her entirely at a loss, thus giving rise to heartfelt doubts.
But after she finished saying these words, none of the Phoenixes on the tree expressed anything; they merely continued to look at her. Instead, it was the Moon Princess who patted her head. In her eyes flashing with the brilliance of True Ice just like Valentiina's, she perhaps thought of her own stillborn child devoid of any consciousness. She merely said softly,
"A very, very long time ago, we migrated here from beneath a giant tree located far away by the continents of the extreme south and extreme east. And the living beings who resided there, just like us, believed in the guidance of bloodlines. You possess my most concentrated bloodline. Even if it temporarily resides within a human body, the Spirit World doesn't bestow you a soul based on your human body..."
"Residing within your bloodline is my mother's kindness in saving the common people, my eldest brother's fearlessness and bravery, my second brother's shrewd calculations, and of course, my own optimistic and contented heart when facing disabilities. Our qualities and thoughts rely on the bloodline as a medium to be entrusted upon you, not on the luxurious clothes we wear or the pavilions we inhabit."
Following the Moon Princess's gentle words, Valentiina's heartbeat—which had accelerated because she was at a loss—calmed down bit by bit. The Moon Princess gently lifted her lowered head bit by bit. Looking into her eyes, she said word by word,
"When facing the oppression of a tyrant, our ancestors actively resisted, leading our clansmen to migrate here; when facing the oppressive wars from the stars, we also stepped forward bravely and ultimately achieved victory; and when facing the upcoming dead knot in the future, we can also risk cutting short our lives, sending the world a future."
"It isn't that we lack fear or disregard gains and losses to such an extent. It is simply because... we have always believed that every Phoenix plunged into a desperate situation will ultimately spread their wings and soar."
Valentiina's pupils shrank slightly. In those eyes flashing with the brilliance of True Ice, they invisibly reflected every Phoenix standing upon the tree before her, until she bypassed the figures of Prince Shuang and the Ice Prince, meeting the eyes of that noble and elegant Phoenix King.
The silent Phoenix King gently extended her hand toward her. As the sleeves of her robe swayed slightly, a slender feather flashing with a cold glint also fell from her hand in passing, swaying and plummeting down toward Valentiina.
"Valentiina, the Fisher you are looking for is right inside that illusory dream. Our threads of destiny shall part here, yet we will still meet in memories. As for now..."
Valentiina gently reached out and caught the feather emitting a faint cold glow. Behind her, the gentle Moon Princess simultaneously smiled and pointed toward the distant expanse of superimposed dreams enveloped by dark red energy. The space seemed to quiet down; only the Moon Princess's voice remained,
"Run with all your might, Valentiina."
Pinching that cold feather, Valentiina's body temperature rose bit by bit. Even though the center of her palm was so cold, the Moon Princess's words felt as if they were going to ignite her. Because before her, that cold moonlight was being snapped bit by bit by power from outside the Spirit World, thus forming a path within this Crevice that led straight into the distant dream.
Whether it was the urgency born from wanting to help Fisher, or the thrust of the Phoenixes' trust in her, that sense of responsibility, that sense of anxiety, that sense of excitement—all of it mingled together, making her unable to distinguish them. It merely made her want to run to Fisher's side like a madwoman, wanting to cast off the past fragility of herself being confined to a wheelchair, powerless to do anything...
That feeling of needing care, that feeling of being bound—all of it transformed into the driving force for Valentiina to sprint with all her might at this very moment.
She gritted her teeth and gripped the feather in her hand with a death grip. Under the gentle gazes of the Moon Princess and all the Phoenixes behind her, she followed the path formed by the gradually fracturing moonlight, sprinting toward the distant illusory dream without looking back.
Not enough... not enough...
She sprinted madly, her long white hair mingled with beads of sweat rising and falling between her temples. The panting from her running could no longer restrict her unbridled spirit, and the shackles of reality could no longer trap her soul that longed for freedom...
At some unknown point, that cold feather she had gripped tightly completely vanished into nothingness. And behind her, the indistinct silhouettes standing before the tree also completely vanished. As the moonlight disappeared entirely, that Base was also becoming complete bit by bit. Yet Valentiina, whose speed had reached its absolute limit, still felt it wasn't enough.
She needed to run even faster, she needed to go to an even further place, she needed to go to Fisher's side!
Just as she was unceasingly sprinting with her eyes closed, behind her back, a pair of massive pale cyan wings—which seemed to have endured in a thick cocoon for a very, very long time—violently unfurled. The color of True Ice in her eyes spread bit by bit, dyeing her back in a layer of down resembling frost. Her fragile stature grew taller once again, becoming both beautiful and powerful...
The black patterns on her back were dyed pure white bit by bit, gradually forming cloud-like patterns along the wings on her back. Her ears became slender bit by bit, and several feathers pressing closely against her skin grew behind her ears. She was still wearing the black dress she wore in the Northern Border, yet she was no longer as fragile as the Valentiina from back then.
Amidst her unbridled sprinting, those newborn giant wings violently contracted and then snapped open, as if roaring at the world it had missed for so many years. The instant those wings flapped, accompanied by a sonic boom that echoed throughout the Crevice, she truly transformed into a Phoenix. Possessing the soul of a Phoenix, she flew into that overlapping illusory dream.
"Fisher!"
Ahead, she saw that crude Naris church. She saw the blonde nun sitting at the church entrance. Of course, she also saw the injured Fisher prone on the ground, and the Erwind preparing to make his move from behind him.
Her pupils shrank slightly. She fiercely spread her wings, vibrating out a loud sonic boom that echoed through the clouds behind her. Following that, like lightning, she dove down toward Erwind.
Erwind, who was about to make his move on Fisher, saw the rapidly expanding shadow at his feet. Before he even had time to turn his head, his entire upper body was pulverized completely by that frost-bearing wind-breaking sound.
"Crit, crack, cr-rack!"
The sound of frost forming spread out far, far away. Erwind's body shattered and then instantly reassembled. He twisted his head, looking forward with some astonishment, and said,
"A complete Phoenix. Now this is interesting. They have been extinct for so long, I have never seen their true forms, yet I have the fortune to witness it here... And, it's an acquaintance to boot."
He saw that in front of Erwind, Valentiina, who had unfurled her frosty giant wings, held the equally quite astounded Fisher in her arms. As Erwind's voice rang out, those giant wings exuding cold air also folded in bit by bit, hugging Fisher in her arms tighter bit by bit.
"I don't care who you are, but you'd better stay far away from my husband!"
Valentiina's gaze was slightly cold. Her giant wings trembled like a bird of prey, seemingly preparing to burst forth and injure someone the next second. And within Valentiina's embrace, Fisher also felt the newly grown down on her body. It was icy cold, soft, and nice to touch.
This was... a true Phoenix.
Even here, within the Crevice of the Spirit World that was distinctly separated from reality, the instant he saw Valentiina, those highly familiar illusory golden subtitles actually appeared before his eyes once again. Within those golden illusory subtitles, the text that had originally been a garbled mess twisted bit by bit, finally becoming clear and recognizable...
【%￥#@!...】
【Phoenix Species】
【Detected genuine marital relationship between you and a bindable target. You have automatically bound this target without expending the research count limit. Simultaneously, you have obtained the following bonuses: Research speed bonus for this experimental subject +50%, exemption from binding pain.】
【Bound Target: Valentiina, Adult Female Phoenix Species】
Lying in Valentiina's arms, Fisher blinked. Looking at the incomparably beautiful girl before him, he was momentarily rendered speechless.