“Wait,” I called out.
A flash of hope lit his eyes. “Rhea, you can’t bear to see me-”
He never finished. I produced a dagger and plunged it into my own heart.
My last, cracked celestial feather finally shattered.
“No!”
“Rhea!”
Aurelius dropped his sword and lunged for me. He poured all of his celestial energy into me, but my form was destroyed, my soul
already turning transparent.
“Why? Why would you do this?!” he roared through his tears.
I just smiled faintly. “To let you die would be too easy… I want you to live. For generations, for millennia, to live forever in guilt, fore-
ver in torment…”
The celestial guard burst through the door, tearing him away from me. Aurelius struggled, but he could only watch as my soul diss-
ipated into nothing.
After my death, there were no more Rainbow Phoenixes in the Celestial Realm or the mortal world.
10
Twenty years later, a daughter was born to a family in the mortal realm. At her birth, the rosy clouds of dawn formed the shape of a
golden phoenix, a sight that filled all who saw it with awe.
Her family named her Rhea and showered her with endless love.
And I am Rhea.
I’ve heard the stories about my past life so many times I could recite them in my sleep. People say I am a reincarnated phoenix, a
celestial being fallen to earth. But I have no desire to be a celestial. I just want to be with my loving mother and father.
Because of my fame, the moment I came of age, matchmakers beat a path to our door. I wasn’t interested in any of them. I didn’t
want to get married at all. All men are the same. What’s the point?
I have a secret. Since I was a child, a young dragon has been my constant companion. He says his name is Kael, and he is here to
repay a life debt. I don’t understand what he means, but riding on his back through the sky is an incredible feeling.
He also told me that a Soul–Sustaining Needle captured a sliver of my soul, which is why I didn’t dissipate completely. I just thought
that sounded morbid. What soul dissipation? I was perfectly alive!
Finally, after another wave of suitors, I couldn’t take it anymore.
I climbed onto Kael’s back and left home.
Before I left, I left a note for my parents.
The world is so vast. I refuse to be trapped in a small courtyard.
I know there are secrets hidden within me, but I have no desire to uncover them.
I have been reborn. I am now the mortal Rhea. Everything that came before is nothing but mist and smoke.
