WINTER snarled when the staff was pulled out from his chest.

Then, he immediately jumped away from the emperor standing behind him. Since the wound in his chest was only shallow, he just used his ice to cover it and stop the bleeding. He was already used to doing that.

"Just so you know, I purposely missed your heart," Emperor Aku said. Unlike his usual attire, he wore black clothing from head to toe right now. His outfit even came with his infamous black gloves. Infamous because everyone in the empire knew that His Majesty would only wear black gloves when he was about to join a war, or kill someone. "What took you so long to come back, my dear heir?"

He just glared at the emperor.

"Don't be surprised that we know that you've already snapped out of Nia's mind control," His Majesty said while wiping the blood off the staff with a white handkerchief. Now that he was calm, he noticed that instead of a sword, the emperor was actually wielding a scepter. It was a beautiful scepter that gave off a divine aura that was hard to explain. "The High Priest saw you infiltrate the temple months ago. According to him, you disappeared. He had a feeling that you went and met the spirit of the Red Phoenix in his mystery praying room."

"That sounds like Winchell," the Moon God said. He was now sitting on the sofa again while pouring himself another glass of red wine. "Even in the past, he put a spell on his chamber. Only people with his permission could find and enter his room."

"If you had already met up with the Red Phoenix, I figured he would have already told you about the past," His Majesty said. "And it seems like I'm correct."

He remained quiet while he was assessing the situation.

Even though he trained hard under Lord Denver, he still wasn't confident that he could take down both the emperor and the Moon God. But he had no choice but to do his best.

"I apologize but you can't rely on Lord Denver and the witch that you came with," the emperor said with a fake sympathetic smile on his face. "Nia and Lahara are already taking care of your allies."

"I'm not worried about them. I know that Lord Denver and Miss Luna can take care of themselves," Winter said. Now that he was calm, he managed to gather his flame once again. "You should worry about yourself, Your Majesty."

"Why?" His Majesty said, then he tilted his head at one side and gave him an "innocent" look. "The fight is already over, Winter."

He was supposed to ask if the emperor had gone crazy.

But all of a sudden, his heart thumped loud and fast against his chest. Then, just like what happened a while ago, his flame vanished as if they were suddenly nullified. But this time, it seemed like even his life force was being taken away.

What's happening to me?

Before he knew it, he was already on the floor while catching his breath. Every inch of his body hurt. And he felt seriously weak that he couldn't even move an inch.

"Winter, do you know that there's a child who appeared six months ago and claimed that he was your father's son?"

What?

He didn't have to look up at the emperor because His Majesty already squatted down beside him while watching his reaction. The strange scepter was still in the emperor's hand.

"I took him in," Emperor Aku said. "You know why? Because the High Priest saw something incredible inside that child." He gently touched the staff of the scepter. "With the help of Nia, we were able to give this thing a new "host" by using the body of a special tree. Do you know what kind of scepter is this?"

His brows furrowed in confusion.

And then, he remembered that the emperor once mentioned that the sleeping saint's scepter could be a useful item to him.

His Majesty, who seemed to have read his facial expression, smiled. "Yes, Winter. What you're thinking is correct. This Holy Scepter was hidden inside your sibling."

"I don't have a sibling," he snarled even though it talking back already took a lot of his remaining energy.

"You should confront Kiho about it," His Majesty said with a laugh. "Not that you could talk to him anymore."

He took in a deep breath before he asked. "Where is the child that you're talking about?"

To be honest, he had to stall time so he decided to entertain the emperor for the meantime.

It was a shame that he wasn't able to use the fire techniques that he had painstakingly learned from Lord Denver for the past half a year.

But it wasn't like he had lost all hope. After all, there was still the thing that Uncle Wixx taught him. According to his uncle, there was still a small amount of Black Flame inside his own heart. And if he used the Black Flame to ignite the heart of the Red Phoenix…

"Lady Morganna seems to be obsessed with the child for some reason," His Majesty said casually. "Well, I don't think the child will survive since he has been in a vegetative state ever since the Holy Scepter was taken out of his body. Why are you asking though?" He snapped his fingers and laughed aloud. "Ah, I know. You're stalling time."

Ah, this bastard emperor was really sharp.

"Let's stop talking. I need to destroy the heart of the Red Phoenix before Nia gets here," the emperor said. "Any last words, my dear ex-heir?"

"Dad," Winter said, then he turned to the Moon God who was looking at him while siping his red wine. He knew that there was a little chance that his father was still alive inside. But since it was his final moment, he still wanted to say goodbye to his father. "Dad, goodbye," he said with a smile. He just hoped that his smile didn't look sad. "And before I go, I just want you to know that none of this is your fault."

The Moon God just laughed softly while shaking his head.

"What a touching farewell message," Emperor Aku said in a sarcastic voice. And then, he stabbed his chest with the Holy Scepter again without even blinking. This time, the sharp edge of the staff hit his heart. As soon as it did, the Holy Scepter began to mercilessly both of his Mana and life force. "Goodbye, Winter Prescott."

"You should say your goodbye, too, Aku Moonchester," Winter said with a smile, his preparation now complete. When the emperor's smile disappeared, Winter grabbed His Majesty's arm tight. "We'll go to hell together, Your Majesty."

After saying that, Winter finally ignited the heart of the Red Phoenix with his Black Flame.

The result was an explosion that burned down the whole Prescott estate in just a span of a few minutes. After all, the Black Flame's power was incomparable when used by the rightful owner of the flame that could even turn gods into ashes.

Yes, it was really Winter Prescott who was destined to kill Aku Moonchester.

***

WINTER didn't expect that he'd get to open his eyes again but he did.

He was a little startled when he woke up in a dark room while his body (or was it soul) floated in front of a golden ball of fire. For some reason, he could tell right away that the flame had divine aura in it.

"You're awake?" the golden flame asked, surprising him. "Ah, I apologize for startling you, Winter Prescott."

Winter, still numb from the last memory in his head, blinked. "Did I die?"

"The short answer is yes," the golden flame said. "But unfortunately, we don't have time for a long conversation."

Ah, he really could hear the urgency in his voice.

"When you used your own life to summon the Black Flame in your body, the heart of the Red Phoenix protected your soul," the golden flame continued. "The heart did that to ensure that you'll be reincarnated in the same time that the Supreme has been reborn into."

He smiled as a response. "Mother has been reborn safely?"

"You were able to kill Aku and Nia Moonchester when you used the Black Flame to fuel the heart of the Red Phoenix," the golden flame said. "Because Nia Moonchester's life ended, the curse that your mother was punished with was halted. That gave me the chance to "reset" this lifetime."

"You're going to "reset" this lifetime?"

It sounded ridiculous but for some reason, he could feel it in every fiber of his being that he could trust this golden flame.

And his father used to tell him to trust his instinct.

"Yes," it said firmly. "I owe it to you because you were the reason why I was able to leave the Abyss. But like I said, I don't have the time to explain. I'm here to make a deal with you, Winter Prescott."

"What kind of deal?"

"I will send you to where your mother is but you have to promise me one thing," the golden flame said. "You will retain your memories because you're a god. But you can't tell your mother or anyone else about what you know. At least, not until the Supreme regained her memories. You can't alert the enemies. I will erase their memories of this lifetime after the rest." It paused for a while before he continued. "I will seal some of your memories to make sure that you will not break our promise. But if you still do, your own memories will get erased. Do you accept the deal?"

"Yes. I promise I will keep my lips sealed," Winter said without hesitation. He would grab any hand that he could just to meet his mother again. And this time, he would make sure that he would protect their family, especially his mommy. "So please send me back to my Mommy."

***

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