This heavenly treasure is ridiculous. I knew it’d be tough to digest, but no one ever told me heavenly treasures would actively try to escape even when they’re inside someone’s body. I don’t know where it’s taking me. Do heavenly treasures have homes that they retreat to when they’re in danger? If they do, then they’re even better off than me, a talentless bird cast out of his nest. Not only does this Fire Heart have a mind of its own, but it’s even capable of tearing open holes in space. Only a powerhouse on the level of my elders is capable of doing that.

Luckily, my body is sturdy enough to withstand traveling through the void. Unfortunately, my physique isn’t strong enough to go against the pull of the Fire Heart. I can resist, flying in the opposite direction it’s traveling, but I can only slow down its movements to a crawl. Rather than wasting my energy trying to go against the Fire Heart, it’s a better use of my time to focus on digesting the heavenly treasure instead. I have to control the tendrils of flame it’s releasing, make sure they’re reinforcing every part of my body evenly. Unfortunately, consuming a heavenly treasure isn’t an unconscious process; if I’m not careful in directing the digestion process, I could very well die or end up crippled—not that ending up crippled would even matter to me since my talent is so poor.

I just hope this Fire Heart doesn’t bring me to too dangerous of an area. A place that a heavenly treasure would want to retreat to, would other heavenly treasures exist there as well? If I’m lucky, I’ll find fruits capable of improving my physique or the strength of my soul. If I’m unlucky, the Fire Heart will lead me to a forbidden zone where any single misstep of mine could throw me into an eternity of suffering.

Odd. Am I moving faster? The Fire Heart hadn’t dragged me this quickly earlier. After I stopped resisting, the speed definitely increased past its initial pace, and it’s still accelerating. This isn’t good. There’s a trace of anxiety in my heart. Vermillion birds are known for their abilities of foreseeing danger. I had the same trace of anxiety appear moments before my mother expelled me from the nest. If the Fire Heart is dragging me to a dangerous place, why hadn’t I realized how dangerous the fruit was before consuming it? It must’ve been safe to consume, but an action of mine should’ve triggered a change. Was it giving up on resisting? As expected, it isn’t easy to safely consume a fortune-changing fruit like this. I’ll have to do my best to resist the pull while also splitting my concentration on the digestive process.

Although I might have trash talent when it comes to nurturing my vermillion flame seed, that doesn’t mean I’m a failure in every other aspect. Multitasking comes naturally to me—as it does to many other species of birds. Unfortunately, without a proper vermillion flame seed, my strength is subpar, and despite my best efforts in resisting, I’m still being … pulled? Did the Fire Heart give up? It stopped dragging me. It must’ve used up its stored energy. Since that’s the case, I’ll focus all my attention on digesting.

And the Fire Heart immediately surged backwards when I stopped moving. Not only does it know to flee when in danger, but it’s also smart enough to try and trick me too. Unfortunately for it, I have the advantage. I might be using up a lot of energy to resist the Fire Heart’s pull, but I’m also steadily increasing in strength as I digest it. Meanwhile, it’s steadily decreasing in energy as time goes on. The Fire Heart is expending its energy to flee while I’m absorbing it at the same time. It won’t be long before I digest the Fire Heart completely and turn an unfortunate event like being cast out of my nest into a fortunate one.

I’ve never done anything as physically straining as this. Exerting all my energy to fly in one direction while also focusing internally on myself to guide a flow of energy, it’s tough, but life isn’t easy; it’s cruel and cold, and if I want to survive, I have to be vicious to myself. Right now, in this very moment, I have to forget everything except for the tasks at hand.

…

…

…

How long have I been struggling? I don’t have the energy or willpower to also keep track of time. Despite my best efforts, the strand of anxiety in my chest isn’t decreasing; it’s getting stronger and stronger. I’ve already digested two-thirds of the Fire Heart, but despite all logic, the pull hasn’t decreased in strength at all. It’s a bit odd too; it’s not perfectly continual. In fact, it feels like I’ve been attached to a line that someone is reeling in on the other end, but that’s not possible. How strong would someone have to be to create an invisible line that can pass through my body without me noticing?

Judging by the wind currents, another spatial tear opened behind me. My heart is beating so fast that the sound it’s giving off has become a low hum rather than individual beats. If I fall through that spatial tear, there’s no doubt in my mind that something terrible will happen to me. Unfortunately, digesting a heavenly treasure isn’t a process that can be interrupted midway. If I stop now, all the energy I’ve absorbed and spread throughout my body will be returned to the Fire Heart—not only that, but during that process, my own energy will be taken too. If my vermillion flame seed had reached the first stage, I could burn it to supply myself with a major boost of energy, but alas, if my vermillion flame seed were that strong, I wouldn’t have been kicked out of the nest in the first place. It seems like I was too weak to capitalize on the fortune that I found, and now, it’s going to cost me my life.

The feathers on my tail turned ice cold, and the rest of my body followed as it entered the spatial tear and dipped into the void.