The Phoenix Realm shimmered beneath an eternal dawn—a world of gold skies, floating islands, and crimson flames that danced like living ribbons through the air. Sacred firebirds soared overhead as Seraphina stepped through the portal, wrists bound, the twins clutched tightly to her chest.
Every step she took burned.
Not from the flaming marble floors beneath her, but from the hollow ache in her heart—Rylan's last scream echoing over and over.
Rylan was gone.
Thrown into the Abyss.Alive… maybe.Broken… certainly.
And she had done nothing.
Her breath shook, but she held her children closer as the Phoenix soldiers escorted her through the towering palace gates. Statues of phoenixes—gleaming with ruby and gold—lined the hall, watching her with cold, stone eyes.
Waiting.
Judging.
Condemning.
At the end of the grand hall sat the throne of the Phoenix Clan—high, blazing, and intimidating. And on it—
The Phoenix Matriarch, Aristeia Flameborn.
Her aura alone made the air tremble. Her wings were vast, shimmering with molten gold and crimson, each feather radiating enough heat to melt steel. Even the elders bowed before her.
Seraphina did not.She stood tall, despite the chains.
Matriarch Aristeia's gaze swept over her daughter without warmth."You return disgraced," she said, voice echoing like thunder. "You defied your clan, broke sacred law, and mingled with a mortal."
Seraphina stiffened. "He was my husband."
"A mortal cannot be a husband to a Phoenix."The Matriarch's eyes narrowed, burning with ancient fury. "And these—"
Her gaze slid to the infants in Seraphina's arms.
"—are abominations."
The twins whimpered softly, sensing the hostile energy around them. Tiny wisps of divine aura flickered from their bodies—fragile, unstable, yet astonishingly potent.
Seraphina instinctively wrapped her wings around them."You will not touch them."
The Matriarch rose slowly from her throne. Even the flames bent toward her, bowing in reverence."You dare challenge the clan after shaming it beyond forgiveness?"
"This clan," Seraphina hissed, "is the one that should be ashamed."
A murmur rippled through the hall.
The Matriarch descended the steps, each footstep echoing with power. She stopped only a few feet away from Seraphina, towering over her.
"Seraphina Flameborn," Aristeia declared, "daughter of the Phoenix Lineage, you will surrender the twins."
"No."
A single word. Soft. Unshakable.
The Matriarch's eyes hardened like molten metal cooling into stone."Then you leave me no choice."
She lifted her hand.
And the air thickened with killing intent.
Elder Vaelor stepped forward, bowing deeply."The twins possess unstable divine energy. Their birth itself violates the order of Heaven. To maintain purity of lineage, they must be removed immediately."
Removed.Not killed, but something far worse.
Erased.
Seraphina's heart froze."You will NOT lay a finger on them! They are innocent!"
"They are a stain," Elder Vaelor replied coldly. "A low-blood contamination. Neither mortal nor full immortal. Their existence threatens the foundation of our clan."
Seraphina trembled with rage."You threaten the clan more than any mortal ever could!"
Gasps filled the hall.
The Matriarch's aura surged, flames igniting across the marble."You foolish girl. Those infants carry mortal blood. Weak blood. Filth. They will never awaken phoenix abilities. They will never cultivate properly. And worst—"
Her voice sharpened into a blade.
"—they will forever be a reminder of your disobedience."
Seraphina felt her pulse roar in her ears.
She knew this was coming the moment the clan portal opened.She knew they would never accept Rylan.Never accept the twins.
But to kill them?
No.Never.
She tightened her grip on her children until her knuckles turned white.
"I carried them beneath my heart. I nurtured their souls. I heard their first cries. If you want them—"
Her wings unfurled fully, blazing white-gold.
"—you will have to kill me first."
The hall fell deathly silent.
Elder Vaelor's expression twisted with fury."How dare you—"
But the Matriarch silenced him with a raised hand.
She studied her daughter, disappointment flickering in her gaze."You would sacrifice your life… for these creatures?"
"They are my children."
Seraphina stepped back, wings shielding the twins completely."And I will burn the Phoenix Realm to ashes before letting you harm them."
Power surged around her.
Not enough to defeat the Matriarch.Not enough to break through the elite soldiers.
But enough to make her point.
For a moment, the flames themselves hesitated.
Then the Matriarch exhaled slowly.
"Very well."
Seraphina blinked.What?
"Since you will not surrender them alive," the Matriarch said, her tone turning icier than frostfire, "I will take them from your corpse."
Before Seraphina could react, the Matriarch struck.
A blast of phoenix fire erupted, slamming into Seraphina with the force of a falling star. Chains rattled violently as she was hurled backward, crashing into a wall. Her vision blurred, and pain shot through her chest.
The twins cried out, tucked safely under her wings.
"Do not harm them!" she gasped, trying to stand.
Another wave of flames smashed into her, pinning her to the ground.
Her wings burned.Her skin blistered.Her breath shattered.
A soldier seized the chance and rushed forward—A spear tip glowed, aimed at the closest infant's heart.
Seraphina screamed, "NO!"
A brilliant white seal flashed from beneath the twins' blankets.
A shield—one she had carved into their souls before leaving the mortal world—burst outward, flinging the soldier across the hall. He crashed into a pillar, coughing blood.
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
"That seal…" an elder whispered, horrified. "A forbidden divine protection!"
Seraphina coughed blood, forcing herself upright despite the flames eating into her wings."Yes. And if you take another step toward my children, it will obliterate anyone who touches them."
The Matriarch's fury erupted."You dare bind the clan's future with a seal meant for gods?!"
"They are MY future," Seraphina snarled.
The Matriarch raised her hand again, flames spiraling like a hellstorm.
"Break her wings," she ordered. "Strip her cultivation. And lock her in the Celestial Furnace until she yields."
Seraphina froze.
The Celestial Furnace.A place where phoenix flames burned endlessly—where even immortals cried for mercy.
"Mother… please…" her voice cracked. "Don't do this. Don't take them."
The Matriarch turned away.
"The twins are to be killed at dawn."
Seraphina's heart shattered.
Soldiers seized her roughly, dragging her across the hall. Chains tightened around her limbs, scorching her skin with immortal heat.
"No! NO! LET ME GO!" she screamed, but her voice was drowned by crackling flames.
The twins cried desperately behind her, their tiny voices piercing the air.
And as she was dragged toward the Furnace, Seraphina did the only thing she could.
She whispered a spell—weak, cracked, but full of desperation.
A teleportation spark flickered under the infants' blankets.
The Matriarch's eyes widened. "STOP HER—"
But it was too late.
Light swallowed the twins.
And Seraphina smiled through her tears.
She had only one thought left—
Run, my children. Run far from this hell.
The Matriarch's scream of rage shook the palace.
"FIND THEM!"
The world dissolved into flames—And Seraphina fell into darkness.