Coincidentally, or perhaps purposefully, the banquet was scheduled a week before Blackrest was razed to the ground by Three Seats and their armies.

Some interpreted it as a celebratory event for the Imperials as the Militant Syndicate was losing one its four main pillars.

Although the two nations were on friendly terms and at peace, it wasn’t that uncommon for one of them to celebrate when something bad happened to its neighbor.

Feylord what little money he had to learn more about the banquet since his dear younger sister didn’t deign to tell him any details.

Admittedly, the information he got from black market dealers was unsatisfactory, nonetheless, it did peak his curiosity.

Apparently, the Emperor himself was hosting the banquet, which was rather uncommon. The leader of the presumably the strongest nation in the Human Continent was wont to not appear in public and only focus on administrative stuff.

The motive behind the banquet wasn’t known, but there was seldom an event like this without somesort of declaration. Some even speculated that the widowed Emperor was taking in a new wife, though those rumors were baseless and likely to be wrong.

Feylord stood atop a small cliff north of Wilsden, holding the device given to him by Jennifer Zos Azakin.

Rather than getting greedy about the potential benefits he would get by accepting Jennifer’s proposal, Feylord needed a way to go to the Imperial Capital and attend the capital.

Nevermind the traveling expenses, without a formal invitation, there was no way he’d be able to enter the Imperial Palace, much less attend the banquet.

With Julie vehemently refusing to go, Feylord was at his wit’s end. He needed to think of a solution, and fast.

Attempting to sneak into the banquet was nothing short of ridiculous. Stealing the invitation Julie had gotten was also not a plausible course of action as her name was specifically mentioned in the letter. While she could bring people with her, Feylord couldn’t simply attend in her place.

The banquet was in several weeks, which was both a long and short time to concoct a plan. Feylord’s options were extremely limited, and with his worsening condition, being alone for an extended amount of time would definitely lead to being consumed by the Phoenix Flames.

“Should I just tell her?” He mumbled to himself as he wiped the sweat off his forehead and moved away towards the shade, under a tree.

Feylord had a talent for Pyromancy: the ability to cast Fire-aspected spells. Although such a gift was already rare, it was nothing compared to the Phoenix Flames.

The latter neither required incantations nor casting, they were instantaneous and considerably more potent.

Maybe if he was content and confident in his talents, he wouldn’t have resorted to stealing the Phoenix Feather and consequently getting expelled from the Nemia Academy. Maybe if he had diligently studied and graduated, he’d have become a capable mage and possibly entered the Red Magic Tower through effort and talent both.

Alas, greed got the best of him and made him do things he now regretted. It was hard to change a man’s nature, and Feylord was no exception.

Opportunistic, cowardly, greedy, selfish.

Although he still wanted to attend the banquet, the mere thought of what might transpire there instilled deep dread within him. The Phoenix wouldn’t be so insistent if it was just going to be a normal banquet.

Something was about to happen, and it wasn’t going to be pretty.

Feylord was unsettled and afraid, as well as confused on why the Phoenix was talking to him.

Even after reading numerous books about his family’s history and the Mythical Phoenix, he was still left clueless and perplexed.

…

Feylord wasn’t under house arrest, so Julie let him go wherever he pleased. However, she didn’t send any knights to ensure his safety.

On his way back to Wilsden, he saw a figure walking unsteadily on the side of the dirt road.

A girl in her early twenties, dishevelled, pale-faced and with hollow, lost eyes. She looked like a walking corpse, utterly devoid of any sense or emotion.

With a frown, Feylord approached her but she didn’t react at all, not even sparing a glance towards him. She kept slowly marching in the direction of Wilsden.

One of her hands was clenched tightly, holding an unseen object.

Feylord saw her dirty outfit, which he judged didn’t belong to aristocrats but commoners. Still, he found what was happening a bit surprising, so he extended his hand while positioning himself in front of her.

“Hey.”

Elyna stopped, raised her head and looked at him with a grief-stricken and gloomy face. Her complexion was utterly devoid of color and her eyes were red and puffy from crying so much.

Likewise, Elyna noticed Feylord’s clean and exquisite outfit, which made her remember Emil. The youth who had murdered her mother and nearly succeeded in burying her alive.

The girl was filled with rage, anger, and anguish. The loss of her mother had affected her greatly and she wasn’t able to cope or accept reality.

It was all because of the coin, but Elyna didn’t blame the man who had given it to her, but herself. She should have sold or discarded it. She should have known the trouble it would eventually and undoubtedly bring.

Now, Elyna was thinking about vengeance. The evil Emil was killed, but the absolute hatred she harboured was directed toward the entire Sanguis Family. The people that, because of a single coin, killed her mother. She was thinking irrationally and directing her anger towards people that possibly didn’t deserve it, but that was the only way that made her remain relatively sane. She started to hate, abhor aristocrats… and that made her experience an almost exhilarating sensation as a disembodied and inaudible voice whispered in her ears. The voice was distant, so she wasn’t able to properly hear or understand what it said, but it was haunting.

“You okay?” Asked Feylord as he kept scrutinising the strange girl.

“...”

Elyna lowered her head, took a step to the side and then walked past him, choosing silence as a response.

Feylord was about to stop her again, but his feet suddenly came to a screeching halt. His heartbeat quickened, and a wave of suffocating heat washed over him.

A soft groan escaped his lips, his knees falling to the ground and his face contorting into pain.

Bright, vermillion flames burst from his body, first covering his hands and then spreading to the rest of his body.

“Ah…. ah…ah..”

He took deep breaths and tried to stay calm, but the flames were too strong… too hot. It felt as if he was inside a burning furnace, unable to escape.

Elyna stopped her unsteady walk and turned around, startled to see the blond young man on his knees as flames engulfed him.

She snapped out of her daze, though she remained rooted to the ground, astonished by the strange and terrifying sight unfolding before her eyes.

The coin in her hand burned hot for a split second, which almost made her instinctively drop it. When she glanced at it, she saw a dark golden glow emanate from it.

When Elyna stepped closer to the suffering Feylord, the glow grew more intense. Then, it became crystal clear that the coin was a reaction to the Phoenix Flames, though Elyna didn’t know any better and thought of the flames as normal.

Feylord fell to the ground, writhing and clutching his chest: The flames grew brighter and rose higher, scorching the ground and forming a circle.

“N-no… I… I’ll not yield!” He shouted, determined to survive.

He gritted his teeth and steeled his will, hellbent to bear through the agony and wait until it passed.

Elyna took another step, the glow now more brilliant and intense. In fact, the coin was no longer visible, in its stead was a blinding dark golden light.

Elyna looked at the circle of the fire and then took one final step, getting dangerously close to it. Her eyes remained on her hand, precisely on the coin, which twitched and then floated in the air.

The light shone brighter and wrapped around Elyna like a warm coat. A powerful yet harmless wave of energy invaded her body as the coin slowly hovered close to the left side of her chest.

The girl took a step back in surprise, but the coin was faster. It stuck to her chest like glue, burning hot for a moment and then literally fusing with her flesh.

Elyna let out a gasp as all the dark golden light was absorbed into her body. Then, as if a higher power imprinted something into her mind, she felt… she knew that she had acquired something.

‘Magic?’

She wasn’t knowledgeable about magic, nor did she inherit a special ability from her parents. Nevertheless, the foreign yet calming energy inside of her body was real and present, begging her to make use of it.

‘Until Death separates us, human.’

The voice from earlier was deafeningly loud and very clear. It was deep and hoarse, frightening and demonic. It wasn’t that of a human but that of a beast. A monster.

This made it all the more strange as the coin was supposed to be an heirloom of the Sanguis Family.

‘I grant you power. Absolute.’

‘I give you the means to achieve your desires and goals.’

‘I bequeath to you a sliver of my essence. Do what you wish it, but know that it is not yours, but mine.’

‘Know that Retribution awaits for Us all.’

‘Know that, upon the third Red Moon, I shall come and take back what is rightfully mine.’

The voice finally turned quiet, leaving a speechless Elyna standing there. She spent a couple of moments collecting herself then extended her left hand, from which a dark golden energy emitted and transformed into a translucent barrier.

The barrier shot toward the Phoenix Flames, extinguishing them with a touch. Thereafter, it pressed against the fallen Feylord.

“Ah!”

Feylord felt a powerful force press down on him, but it retreated after a second or two. He looked at his own hands and then his body, relieved to see them back to normal.

With a sickly face and ragged breathing, he slowly sat up and looked at Elyna.

“You did that? How?”

Elyna, equally surprised by what she had done, hesitated for a second before turning around and sprinting away.

“Wait! Please!”

Feylord quickly to his feet and chased after her, his voice sounding pretty desperate.