Chapter 271: A Ticking Time Bomb

Electra’s POV

I kept staring at Azaryon like he’d lost his mind. My eyes narrowed as I tried to figure out if he was joking. “Wait, wait, are you seriously saying you were friends with my mother?” I asked slowly because I needed to be sure I wasn’t hallucinating some twisted plot twist.

He didn’t even blink. “Why would I joke about something like that?”

I let out a dry laugh, folding my arms. “I don’t know, maybe because nothing about you says ’friend of Solara.’ You don’t act like someone who knew her, let alone cared about her. If anything, you’ve been treating me like you hate my guts.”

He scoffed, like I was the one being ridiculous. “We didn’t come here to bicker, little phoenix, so walk with me. There’s someone you need to meet.”

I let out an annoyed breath and followed him, even though every instinct told me to be on guard. I still didn’t understand how someone like him could have been close to someone like her.

“You still haven’t explained how you knew her,” I said. “Or who the hell I’m about to meet, and for the record, I don’t appreciate being dragged around without answers.”

Azaryon didn’t look at me, but his next words cut deeper than I expected. “Just because I was close with Solara doesn’t mean I have to like you.”

Ouch.

Before I could say anything back, he kept going. “In fact, when I offered your little friend Seraphina the chance to switch places with you… I mostly did it to punish you. Knock you off your high horse.”

My feet slowed for a second, and I stared at his back in shock. “You… what?”

He stopped walking and held up a hand without turning around. “Save it. I’m not here to explain myself to you. You’ll have time to ask questions later, if you’re still alive by then. For now, keep your head down, and don’t speak unless you’re spoken to.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked, but he didn’t answer.

He stepped aside, motioning for me to walk through what looked like a gate made of silver flame. I could feel the heat pulsing from it, but it didn’t burn. It actually felt… welcoming. Which probably should’ve worried me.

Still, I stepped through, and what I saw on the other side made my breath catch.

Everywhere I looked, there were phoenixes. Not the mythical kind I had read about in books to do ’research,’ since I was utterly clueless on what I was, but real ones, people like Azaryon, winged and radiant, and moving through the air with grace.

Some were flying overhead, while others simply walked along the stone paths, chatting, laughing, or heading somewhere looking excited. It was like stepping into a dream I didn’t know I’d been having my whole life.

I turned to Azaryon, lowering my voice instinctively as awe took over. “Are these… phoenixes?”

He didn’t even bother looking at me. “Did you seriously just ask me that? What else would they be?”

I ignored the attitude, still too distracted by what I was seeing. They were beautiful, every single one of them. Their wings were practically shining like living fire, and their bodies gave off this subtle glow, like a dying flame that somehow never went out.

“They’re stunning,” I whispered, unable to tear my eyes away. “Why don’t I look like that?”

Azaryon glanced sideways at me, his expression unreadable.

“Because you’re half human,” he replied flatly.

“Right, but—” I hesitated, turning to face him more fully. “My mom was a full phoenix, right? And she looked normal… human. So how come I don’t at least have something? Wings, feathers, a glow—anything? All I ever got from being a Phoenix was severe pain and the ability to burn people unprovoked whenever I was in a bad mood.”

Azaryon finally stopped walking and turned to face me. “Solara could transform at will because she’s a full phoenix who mastered the shift between her human form and her true one. You, on the other hand, have been dormant until now. In fact, you’ve practically been dead, which is why you’ve never shifted.”

I blinked. “I mean, I understand that I was dormant or whatever, but don’t you think dead is a pretty strong word?”

“I’m simply telling you what you already know, which is that the phoenix in you has been sleeping all this time, and for us, that’s even worse than death,” he explained with an annoyed wave of his hand. “If you’d grown up surrounded by your kind, you might’ve awakened sooner.”

That stung. The way he said “your kind,” like I’d been missing out on something huge, something that should’ve been mine all along.

“But you said… I was dormant until now,” I repeated slowly, the words sitting heavy in my chest. “Does that mean I’m waking up? That I can… become like them?” I gestured toward the nearest phoenix, a tall woman with wings the color of the sunset.

“Yes,” Azaryon answered casually, “if your human body dies, your phoenix side will take over completely, and you’ll become exactly like them.”

I blinked, my mouth slightly open. “Okay. Right.” I paused. “And what if I don’t die? What if Seraphina saves me? Does that mean I can’t look like that despite still being one of you guys?”

“Do you really want to look like us?” he asked in response.

I shrugged. “I mean, you all look pretty cool, and I’d love to be able to look like that at will. I mean, you just transformed from the most hideous thing I’ve ever seen into this, so why can’t I?”

Azaryon gave a small, almost fond chuckle, though I wasn’t entirely sure it wasn’t at my expense. “Well, if Seraphina manages to save you,” he said, “then her life force will act like a bridge. It’ll balance both parts of you—your human side and your phoenix side. That means neither side will try to destroy the other, and you’ll be able to live as both and also transform at will.”

As soon as he said I would live as both, my heart skipped a beat.

“That sounds… incredible,” I said, slowly. “So if I make it through, I’ll still be me, but stronger?”

He turned to me with a raised brow, the corner of his mouth twitching in amusement. “Is that your real question, princess? Whether you’ll be stronger?”

I gave a small shrug, trying not to sound embarrassed. “I mean, if I’m going to survive all this, it’d be nice to know what I’m surviving as. With that said, will I be powerful? Like very powerful?”

He laughed fully that time, shaking his head like I was some sort of amusing pet. “Do you know why phoenixes and humans were never meant to mix?”

“I thought it was because phoenixes were deities,” I said. “And humans are… well, mortal.”

Azaryon nodded. “Exactly. Phoenixes aren’t just creatures, Electra. We’re high-ranking beings in the divine hierarchy, and humans, despite being fragile, are the supreme Creator’s most precious creation. The one He gifted free will and the one He made in His own image.”

I frowned, still not quite seeing the problem.

“I’m not very traditional or religious, so where are you going with this?” I asked, watching him carefully.

“So,” he said slowly, “when you take two high-ranking, contradictory forces and merge them, what do you get?”

I didn’t answer because I already knew he wasn’t going to say anything nice.

“A threat,” he said, more quietly. “Or at least, that’s how they see it.”

I stayed quiet for a moment, thinking. He had a point. I wasn’t exactly known for being balanced emotionally, and if someone like me, who very much lacked control, ended up having power, then I could see why they would panic.

I mean, I could already imagine myself burning both Jella and the king to death for what they did to my mother, but I highly doubt that committing murder would be allowed.

“What about you? Do you also think I’ll be a threat? I mean, a real threat outside of being a conceited high schooler?” I asked, even though I already knew his response wasn’t going to be positive.

He scoffed. “You’re a volcano that could erupt recklessly at any point, princess. Left to me, you should just be human.”

I stared back at him, waiting for him to tell me he was joking, but of course, he wasn’t. This guy didn’t seem to know what jokes were.

“You really think I’ll be that big of a threat?” I asked, frowning at him.

He didn’t even hesitate. “Yes.”

I blinked. “Wow, okay. No sugarcoating, huh?”

He shrugged like he hadn’t just called me dangerous. “That’s why you need to prove you’re not.”

“To who?” I asked immediately. “You keep saying things and not explaining them, and I’m starting to think you’re doing it on purpose.”

Azaryon didn’t answer. Instead, he started walking again, and I let out a breath and followed, struggling to keep up.

“Hey,” I called after him, more annoyed now. “Azaryon, can you at least tell me who I’m supposed to be proving myself to? What is this about? What am I supposed to say? Do I bow? Do I kneel? Are they going to throw me into some fire or—”

“You talk a lot,” he cut in calmly.

“No, you just talk too little,” I snapped.

We were walking through a path made of ember-like stone, and then, I saw it.

Ahead of us was a huge stairway, and at the very top was what looked like a palace, floating on the edge of a cliff.

“What is that?” I asked quietly, awe creeping into my voice.

Azaryon finally stopped walking. He turned to face me, expression serious as always.

“That,” he said, nodding toward the celestial structure above, “is where the elder resides.”

I stared at him. “The… Elder?”

He nodded again. “Your grandfather.”

And just like that, my breath caught.

“My… what?”

Azaryon tilted his head. “Your mother, Solara, she was the daughter of the Elder, the most powerful phoenix in this realm. Which makes him your grandfather.”

I couldn’t process it at first. I looked back at the palace. “So, I’m meeting some ancient deity ruler of all phoenixes? And I’m supposed to… what? Prove to him that I’m not some ticking time bomb?”

Azaryon didn’t answer. I turned back to him, my voice sharper now.

“Azaryon, what if I fail? What happens then?”

He held my gaze for a long moment. “Then you’ll stay here forever, and your human body will die completely. Even if your human friend manages to save you, you won’t be able to return as long as your grandfather, who, by the way, hates your existence, allows it. But if you prove yourself, you’ll be allowed to return, and with your full powers. So do well to pass whatever tests he has lined up for you.”

That silenced me. Completely.

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