PHOENIX

As Phoenix’s chest rose and fell, she noticed the heat and sweat concentrating on her back, with her hair clinging along her neck and cheeks. She dragged her body to sit up on the bed and ran her hands through the areas she felt the most sore. 

She imitated what Lilianna demonstrated to her in the dream. Her body temperature lowered, and a cool tingling sensation flowed to her hands, making her fingertips slightly numb. 

After massaging and healing parts of Lily Bianca’s body, Phoenix felt lighter. The lingering essence of the ability made her veins pulse in excitement, like inducing a dose of adrenaline into her system.

Once her vision acclimatized to the darkness, Phoenix scanned through the room. Her eyes paused at the sight of the cold food given to her the night before. As if on cue, her mouth watered and she realized she hadn’t eaten anything in a while.

Phoenix held her hand out and manifested an apple with Lily Bianca’s ability. Thankfully, Lilianna taught her how to use Lily Bianca’s abilities for basic survival. Phoenix stared at the barred gate and planned her next course of action as she stuffed her face with the fresh fruit.

There was no other opening in this area aside from this gate. Phoenix contemplated making a hole in the wall and stroll out of this place, but without any knowledge of what it looked like out there, she didn’t dare gamble on following through.

If she wanted to escape, the only way through was the barred gate.

After taking care of her bodily needs, she was better able to detect little details in her environment. She slid off the bed, her bare feet pressing against the uneven floor, and with a series of soft thuds, she stepped closer to the gate. 

The hall wasn’t completely dark, with soft light filtering down the path, enough to outline the bars on the other side. However, it was so dim that she was unable to see anything past two cells. Orange light glowed through the cracks in the floor. That couldn’t mean anything good.

Muffled sounds from the guards filled the otherwise silent area. Phoenix couldn’t see them from her cell, but she estimated there were around five to seven of them from listening to different voices and their movements.

A series of violent coughs shattered the stillness. Phoenix straightened her back and twisted her head so that she could see what was happening.

CLANG! 

Glass shattered and the sound of metal dropping against the ground echoed through the tight space.

“You!!”

There was a sound of heaving and gagging before the coughing fits continued.

“IF YOU WERE SICK—” 

The guards shuffled at the end of the hall. Multiple people said things at once, making it challenging to follow one sentence. A pair of footsteps faded into the distance and now, only five guards remained. The coughing fits continued to resound throughout the corridor.

She could use this chaos to escape.

Phoenix generated water from her fingers, solidified it into thick ice just enough to keep it from melting, and she flicked it through the space between the barred gate. 

With a bang, it rammed against another cell. A piece of the gate sizzled as it fell and the guards, already on high alert, immediately cursed as they checked for the origin of the sound.

As the guards passed through, the candles ignited, casting a violent burst of light that illuminated the pathway.

At the same time, Phoenix summoned a wave of water and blasted her cell open.

BANG!

The gate flew across the hall and slammed against the cell to her front.

The leftover bars stuck at the opening erupted into a lava-colored glow before dimming back to black. There was now a gaping hole where the bars were and Phoenix stepped out of the room without any issues. Fucking finally.

“HEY!!” The crazy woman roared, her voice carrying down the corridor.

Phoenix didn’t have time to chit-chat with her. The guards noticed the mess and marched towards her. Despite the hall being spacious enough for four people to fit walking in a line, the guards huddled together, as if cautious not to accidentally step onto a landmine.

“Get back in. We don’t want to hurt you.”

Phoenix replied by squaring a kick at his face. She had to jump high to land one on him. Three of the guards fought together and the last one remained seated before falling over, kneeling and coughing on the floor. 

Phoenix used water and fire to immobilize the three guards, either by targeting their exposed pressure points or by knocking them out by slamming their heads against the ground.

“Aren’t you taking him to the doctor? Your comrade is dying! What snakes!!”

“They can’t move anymore. HAHAH! That little girl’s stepping all over them.”

Amongst the crowd cheering, Phoenix heard a subtle swish. She turned around and swatted the foreign object with a splash. It looked thin and small, incredibly easy to go undetected. As she fought the three, she slowly inched closer to the fourth guard, and now, with the candlelights highlighting his features, Phoenix realized she was looking at a familiar face.

It’s him.

Phoenix scoffed as she stepped over the fourth guard’s fallen comrades. With every inch closer, she savored the comfortable heat of the floor against her feet and the sight of the guard coughing on the ground. Sure enough, he was the fourth goon who shot her with that same tranquilizer. 

“You have no idea what kind of trouble you’ve put me into.” 

His watery eyes stared at her before his shoulders shook and broke into another series of coughs. Phoenix couldn’t believe that she was yelled at because of this pathetic man.

“Hey.” 

The man straightened his back when Phoenix stepped on his shoulder. 

“Where is that prince?”

“You won’t… hear anything… from me.”

Isn’t he loyal? Water emerged from Phoenix’s fingertips, twirling before solidifying into thick, but sharp ice. The man’s eyes darted around as he gasped for breath.

Still no answer. 

Humans, no matter which world they were from, hated pain. 

With her feet, Phoenix pushed the man against the wall. The moment an individual was at risk of suffering through intense physical pain, their mental defenses would lower and eventually squeak out a satisfying answer. It was a natural form of self-preservation. 

The bullets molded together, stretching into an arrow. Phoenix watched the man’s every move, aiming to intimidate him into submission.

When the arrow released, the clear surface cracked and bent at an unnatural angle. The world paused, and the jeering stopped, replaced with deafening silence. The fire from the candle lights flickered violently, on the verge of self-annihilation from its unstable motions. Phoenix attempted to move her body, but it stayed completely still like everyone else. 

Once Phoenix caught herself breathing again, the world returned back to life, and the arrow retained its shape. It expanded and expanded as if to cope with the previous stillness. 

Thud.

Before Phoenix could react, the man’s head dropped to the ground, his blood splattering all over Phoenix.

What… what?

Phoenix wiped her arm and stared at her trembling bloody fingers. It was as if her feet grew roots, and her muscles turned into sturdy wood. As the body flopped on her feet, Phoenix’s father’s words pierced through her skull.

“You’re the worst I could ever ask for.” 

Phoenix’s heart raced and she could feel the weight of her body growing heavier. It was as if someone had wrung her throat and heart, rendering her unable to breathe.

“Hey, are you still alive? You’ve scared the others speechless.” The crazy woman commented, snapping Phoenix out of a suffocating illusion. 

Phoenix glanced down at the limp body of the man who was coughing a few seconds ago. The other guards had completely passed out. 

Phoenix grabbed one of their shoes and chopped it in accordance with her size. Then, with her movements echoing in the hall, she stepped over the other guards on the floor, careful not to touch any cracks where the orange glow emerged.

Had she secretly wanted to kill the guard? She couldn’t help but think back to what Lilianna said. Did Phoenix subconsciously hope to kill him off and thus manifest an element powerful enough to do so? 

Phoenix didn’t know. It scared her that she didn’t know. 

She formed a ball of water and hovered and rolled it above her palm. She controlled it left and right at varying speeds, and she concluded that she must have been the problem. 

Perhaps she secretly wished to kill off the guard and Lily Bianca’s ability obeyed her command. She needed to be more in control of her emotions.

“You’re gonna walk off like that? Really? Do you know where to go? If you don’t have a guide, you’d be stuck at this place for years!” The woman from behind her harped yet again, but Phoenix continued to ignore her.

“You’re going to the right? The right, huh? STUPID, There’s a trap there, you’ll get knocked out cold even before you could blink!” 

Phoenix halted.

“What do you want?” she asked. The woman was crouching behind the bars, her eyes bulging. She seemed like she was itching to grip the gate, but could only grit her teeth and suppress her impulse. Phoenix silently applauded her for not being as crazy as she appeared.

“Let’s make a deal, how about it?” the woman replied, “it seems you want to find Alastair. I know the way around here and where everything is. I can take you to him if you help me.”

“What do you want in return?” Phoenix asked. She found mutually beneficial exchanges favorable. It’s unlikely one would break their promise because both benefited from the trade. Unless Phoenix helped the crazy woman first and she decided to turn her back on Phoenix after she had gotten what she’d wanted.

“They took something from me. I need to get it back. We’re in the same situation, aren’t we? You get your ring and I get my things.”

“Sure. Help me first.”

The crazy woman almost pounded on the gate but stopped herself last minute and stomped her foot instead. “No. You’re helping me first. You won’t find the Prince without my help. How would I know you’re not going to run off after finding your ring?”

“I know I won’t break my promise, but I’m not sure you have the same integrity as me.”

“You’re so difficult. Fine, have fun finding Alastair on your own,” the woman turned her back against Phoenix and leisurely sat on her bed.

“Okay then. Feel free to rot in this cell. I don’t care.”

“Wait wait wait!” her facade dropped off as fast as it came, “you’re right. Let’s help each other. I’ll guide you in finding Alastair first then you help me deal with the guards, okay?!”

“Sure.”