Golden sunlight filtered through the half-open window, spilling into the cozy cottage and coating the small round stool and wooden tea table in a sweet lemon yellow.
The air was thick with the faint scent of flowers and earth, while an old ox grazed inside the stone walls, humming softly.
Tii opened her eyes and looked around in a daze.
There was no smoke, no battlefield, and no nauseating smell of blood. This was nothing more than home — the home from her memories that she was once so familiar with, the one she could never return to.
‘Why am I here?’
She rose from her simple bed of reeds, her body feeling exceptionally light. Only then did she realize that she had returned to the size of a child, wearing the red dress her father had bought with two months’ salary.
‘The sunlight is so bright… Am I in the past right now?’
She rubbed her eyes with her small hands and pushed open the wooden door with bare feet, stepping out of the small cottage.
Under the green shade of an old olive tree in the small yard enclosed by a wooden fence, her father stood. He was a middle-aged man with wheat-colored skin and a gentle face, busy setting up an exquisite altar.
Fresh flowers, flickering candle stands, and a small jade statue were placed upon the altar, making everything look solemn and sacred.
Her 5-year-old sister sat on the rug in front of the altar, watching her father’s every move with curiosity.
“Daddy, what is this?”
The sister tilted her face up and asked in a tender voice. Her father smiled and stopped what he was doing, gently stroking her hair.
“This is an altar, my dear child. Through it, we express our respect and gratitude to the gods, praying for their protection.”
“Why do we have to believe in the gods?”
“Because the gods are the masters of this land.” The father gently covered his sister’s head with his large, broad hand, his face kind. “Little one, you are so eager to learn. When you grow up, you will surely become a priestess of the Divine Temple and pray for the blessing of Valivadan.”
“Ugh, Daddy is talking about the Divine Temple again…” the sister grumbled.
A warm breeze brushed past, bringing a bit of heat. The ancient tree was like a giant umbrella, its layered branches and leaves making a soft rustling sound.
As her heart slowly merged with this world, the young Tii walked over with a smile and crouched next to her sister. Her red hair, tied into twin tails, fell over her shoulders.
“That’s because it’s Father’s dream,” she explained to her sister. “Father doesn’t want to be a Divine Servant forever. He wants to become a Priest in the Divine Temple, which is why he works so hard.”
“Hahaha, as expected of my eldest daughter! You always understand me so well.” The father laughed heartily and pulled his two daughters into his arms, as if he were holding the most precious treasures in the world.
“As for me… I am very grateful for this land. It gave me life, and it gave me two lovely daughters. But on the distant borders, those vampires of the Blood Clan are still watching us like hawks, wanting to domesticate the humans of Valivadan like livestock.”
“Children, I hope that Valivadan becomes a place of peace and tranquility. A place where everyone can freely pursue the life they want, no longer facing the threat of war at every moment.”
“So, I must continue to work hard to become a more powerful wizard and defeat those enemies. To protect this land, I would give my life without any regrets.”
The sister nodded as if she understood, her tiny hands clenching into fists as she imitated him.
“Then I will work hard too, and become a powerful priestess!”
Tii watched her father and sister, her eyes moistening before she realized it.
She knew that before long, this warm family would be chosen by the Black Feather Organization to become Experimental Subjects of Valivadan.
Subsequently, her father and sister would die due to the failure of the experiments, leaving her all alone in the world as a young child.
Before she could take another look at this heartwarming scene, the cottage and olive tree from her memory were swallowed by darkness in an instant.
—
In this pitch-black space where she couldn’t see her hand in front of her face, a series of crisp, cold footsteps suddenly echoed in her ears.
She whipped her head around and saw a hunched figure clad in a coarse cloth robe, slowly walking toward her against the light.
“You are that Divine Servant’s daughter, right?”
It was a woman with sallow skin and deep-set eyes. She was expressionless, and her entire body emitted a sickly aura. Judging by her attire, she was the Astrological High Priestess.
She was none other than the director of the Black Feather Organization’s Training Institute, the head of the experiments, and Tii’s teacher — Jirusaga.
“Lady Jirusaga, I…”
“Regrettably, your father and sister did not pass the test. We will bury them properly.” The woman stretched out a withered hand toward her, wearing a jet-black glove. “However, congratulations. You have passed the screening and become the newest training subject for Black Feather.”
The young Tii still had tears in her eyes as she stood there blankly, not reaching out to touch that hand.
At that time, she was still unable to accept the fact that her father and sister were gone. She thought it was all just a nightmare, and that as long as she woke up, they would return to her side.
“Every victory comes with a price. Protecting the land of Valivadan was the final wish of your father and sister. I hope you do not fail their expectations.” Lady Jirusaga’s voice was cold and calm, without a shred of pity for the child.
“The past is in the past. You must forget your weak self and remember your new identity. From now on, you are no longer the daughter of a Divine Servant. You are an assassin of Black Feather, code name — Phoenix.”
Phoenix.
Phoenix.
The legendary Undying Bird that undergoes Rebirth through Fire once every 500 years. At the end of its life, it burns its nest to ashes, only to be born anew from those very ashes.
The Phoenix symbolized Nirvana and eternal life. This was exactly like the special Ability she had gained after merging with the blood of Prince Mandara.
Among the many Experimental Subjects, her self-healing ability and immense strength, which were comparable to the Blood Clan, were nothing short of a miracle.
They quickly caught the attention of the Divine Temple’s priests, and she was given focused training.
From that day on, no one ever called her by her original name again. The young girl had truly become “Phoenix.”
Under the orders of the Divine Temple’s priests, she executed one assassination mission after another, using cruel methods to send all kinds of people to hell.
Before she knew it, her once fair hands were stained with blood, and the girl’s heart suffered deeply.
In the dead of night, she would often lean against the window alone, staring blankly at the starry sky.
“My Lady, if this continues, that child will break!” A nanny from the Training Institute quietly found Lady Jirusaga and reported the girl’s situation in a low voice. “If she loses her faith in the gods, she will very likely defect from the organization like ‘Poet’ and bring trouble to Black Feather.”
The code name “Poet” belonged to a high-level assassin meticulously trained by Valivadan.
The high priests had invested a massive amount of resources into that young man, allowing him to disguise himself as a traveling poet to infiltrate Ansels and carry out an assassination.
However, no one had expected that he would take it upon himself to betray the organization during the journey, disappearing without a trace.
Hearing these words, Lady Jirusaga fell silent for a moment. She gazed at the red-haired girl training in the distance, lost in thought.