AKU let out a loud sigh when he walked past the courtyard in front of his palace.

"What's wrong, Your Majesty?" Sir Gregory, who was walking behind him, asked worriedly. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I'm fine, Sir Gregory," Aku assured the old knight. "I just missed the days where the captains of the Four Orders would train together in front of my palace. I miss watching them play together."

""Play?"" the knight asked in surprise. "The four captains would always try to kill each other during their "sparring," Your Majesty. Unfortunately, they don't know what "practice" means. They also destroyed the front porch of your palace several times. That was the reason why your advisors begged you to stop letting the captains use your palace as a training ground."

He laughed at the memory. "I want to go back to those peaceful days."

"Your Majesty, do you regret sharing what you know with Captain Sherwood?"

Sir Gregory had a point.

Maybe if he didn't revealed Kiho's real identity to Captain Sherwood, then he would have stayed by his side.

The thing was…

… he didn't regret it.

"I've always known that the Sherwoods' "loyalty" to me is just all for show. They just want the knowledge and dark secrets that I hold," Aku said softly. "I knew that Captain Sherwood would turn his back on me for Kiho because Kiho is the living legend that they seek. But still, I did what I had to do to know where the heart is. Losing Captain Sherwood is just a small price to pay compared to what I gained." He let out another sigh while shaking his head. "And it was good riddance anyway. A year from now, a war would begin. I need to get rid of people who can't be loyal to me. And at the same time, gain new allies that I know I can depend more."

"I don't trust Captain Sherwood so getting rid of him is a relief for me," Sir Gregory said. "But Your Majesty, do you believe that Captain Ainsworth would accept the deal that you offered to his clan?"

"He would," Aku said confidently. "If the Sherwoods sought knowledge, then the Ainsworths longed for the Golden Tiger all this time."

***

"FOOLISH little girl."

Tilly raised a brow at that. Gosh, she almost pitied him when he suddenly cried. But his tears suddenly disappeared when he spoke so now, she wasn't sure if he really cried or was it just her hallucination. "You talk like you know my husband more than I do. Have you met him personally, huh?"

"I don't need to meet him to know that he's no good for you," the Red Phoenix said. "His name alone is enough to tell me that you married a trash."

"Don't you dare speak of my husband that way," she warned him. "I don't care if you're a god. I'll throw these hands on you if you insult Kiho again."

"How hot-headed," the god complained. "You really got Soleil's bad temper."

Her brows furrowed at the name that he called her a while ago. "And who's this Soleil?"

"Soleil Rosenberg– the first Supreme Fire Mage," the Red Phoenix said proudly. "She's your… ancestor."

"What's with the pause?"

"Nothing."

Okay, this red bird dude is suspicious.

But she was more curious about something else.

"Mr. Red Phoenix, do you know my husband?" she asked curiously. "You reacted at his surname. Do you personally know a Nystrom?"

"There used to be a clan who call themselves as Nystroms," he answered nonchalantly. "They were a bunch of jerks."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Gosh, this fossil isn't taking me seriously.

But for the sake of her Baby Winter, she forced herself to calm down.

The Red Phoenix had lived a long time and it was highly possible that he had met a clan of Nystroms in the past. Those people might really have been jerks. But that didn't mean that Kiho was related to them so there was no need for her to get worked up.

Kiho only picked that name because of his Master.

But still, she had to ask more because they were investigating her husband's origin anyway.

When Tilly calmed down, she opened her eyes and found the Red Phoenix looking intently at her. She felt awkward, but she still asked anyway. "Can you tell me more about the Nystroms that you've met in the past?"

"No," the Red Phoenix said. Before she could even complain, he spoke again. "You're here to regain the memories of your past life, aren't you?"

Okay, that was a good distraction.

I'll ask about the Nystroms later.

"How did you know that?"

"I can hear the desire of your heart," the Red Phoenix said. "After all, that used to be mine."

"And because of that, you realized that this isn't my first life?"

He nodded. "If you expect me to be shocked, you'd be disappointed. You have the heart. It wouldn't be impossible for you to have a rebirth."

Oh, that makes sense.

"Can you help me regain the memories of my past life?" she asked, hopeful. "I really need them, Mr. Red Phoenix."

"Wixx," he said. "My name is Wixx. I don't have a title so you can call me 'Wixx.'"

What a weird name.

"Okay, Wixx," she said. For some reason, she didn't find it hard to call him by that name. Weird, but she felt like it wasn't the first time that she said that name. But she set aside that thought for now. "Can you help me?"

"There's a powerful seal in your memories. Most of them are fake memories implanted in your head," Wixx explained seriously. "The spell sealing your memories is a forbidden one. And it's so strong that even in your rebirth, the memories of your past life remained tightly sealed. Unfortunately, what remained in this prayer room is only my consciousness. My real body is sleeping somewhere that even I do not where."

She suddenly felt helpless. "So, you can't help me?"

"I didn't say that," the Red Phoenix denied. "Without my real body, I'm not as powerful as I should be. But thankfully, I have some strength left enough for me to unseal a portion of your old memories. In short, you'd only regain a small part of your past. So don't be disappointed if you don't gain anything from the memory that I'm about to unseal."

"No, I won't be disappointed," she promised desperately. "I'll accept anything, Wixx. Please help me."

"Alright," Wixx said. Then, he tried to touch her but she avoided his hand. His brows furrowed in confusion. "Did you just avoid my touch? Don't you know that in the past, people line up just to kiss my hand? Kings, emperors, High Priests, and even Saints."

"Please don't be offended," she said politely. "But as a woman, and a married woman at that, I don't like being touched without my consent. I don't care who you are, Wixx. My body, my rules."

"You really act and talk like Soleil," he said while shaking his head. "Lady Nystrom, may I touch your head? It's a process I need to do to help you regain your past memories."

"Yes, you may," she said. "Thank you for asking."

Wixx just rolled his eyes. Then, he gently put his hand on top of her head. "Now, close your eyes and think about the thing that you wanted to know most about your past life."

Tilly nodded, then she closed her eyes.

What happened before I died?

***

"MY LORD, are you crying?"

"Shut up," Wixx told Sentinel who appeared beside him when Lady Nystrom fell "asleep."

Right now, Lady Nystrom was enclosed in a transparent rectangular box. Yes, it was shaped like a coffin but it looked more elegant. After all, the box was surrounded by sparkling red lights. Those lights were remnants of his Mana.

"My lord, why didn't you tell Lady Nystrom that she was the reincarnation of Lady Soleil Rosenberg?" Sentinel asked in curiosity. "You've been waiting for her to be reincarnated for a long time."

"I don't want her to remember her past life as Soleil," he said firmly. "I want to treat Lady Nystrom as a different person from my foolish little sister."

Yes, Soleil Rosenberg was his precious little sister in the past.

He gave his heart to Soleil before he ascended the heavens when he became a god. But before that happened, a tragedy that caused her present ordeal occurred.

"I'm amazed that you were able to control your anger when she mentioned Kiho Nystrom," Sentinel commented in an amused voice. "After all, the Black Serpent was the one who killed Lady Soleil."

The memory didn't fail to make his chest tighten in pain.

"But it wasn't just him, Sentinel. I'm angry with the Black Serpent as much as I am angry with myself," he said, then he looked at his hands. "We both killed my little sister."

"It wasn't you, my lord," Sentinel comforted him. "If we're going to blame someone, it should be the Moonchesters."

"The Moonchesters– those people with filthy blood," Wixx said angrily. "This time, it's their family that is going to be erased from history and not the Fire Mages."

***

AUTHOR'S NOTE: HI. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE BEAR WITH ME. I'VE BEEN TRYING TO POST THE UPDATES SINCE 10PM (in our time). MY WIFI IS SUPER SLOW. I WILL TRY AGAIN LATER AT 12AM-1AM (two hours from now). I'M REALLY SORRY. HUHU. *bows* SORRY. T_T

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