TILLY couldn't help but cry after being reminded of Luna's sacrifice back in her previous life.
Then, she remembered that the Moon Priestess's sacrifice went to vain.
First, Lucina Morganna was able to enter the temple and steal her baby…
***
["Lord Kalel, it's gone!" Soleil cried while clutching her now empty stomach. She was already in her sixth month of pregnancy. But when she woke up, the baby in her womb was gone. "Our baby is gone!"
Kalel looked shocked by what she said. "What do you mean the baby is gone?"
She didn't know how it happened either.
The two of them ran away in secret after making both their families believe that they had ended up hating each other. The Fire Mage Clan believed that she was in her family's temple to prepare for war. On the other hand, the Moonchesters thought that Kalel went to the North to train and summon another powerful weapon for the upcoming war, too.
But the truth was they were in the shrine of the Moon Priestess.
They conceived their second child in secret. Aside from Luna, no one else knew that she was pregnant. There was no way the Moon Priestess would betray them!
"I don't know but I think our baby was stolen," Soleil said between sobs. Then, she held Kalel's hands in her trembling hands. "Lord Kalel, what do we do now? I feel like I'm about to go crazy!"]
***
After that, Tilly remembered that Solaris and Solenn informed her about the Great Fire Tree's betrayal. It happened a year after she lost her baby and her Black Flame to Lucina Morganna. Ever since then, she and Kalel mostly stayed in the temple while preparing for the things that they needed to do for the clan…
***
["My lady, the Great Fire Tree has betrayed the gods," Solaris informed her. "He shared the weaknesses of the gods to Auro Moonchester."
"The Keepers and I also found out through our investigation that Auro Moonchester has brought a new girl in the palace to replace his sister," Solenn added. "And the last time Lord Kalel was here, he also confirmed that the Elaine Moonchester that the emperor introduced to the public was no longer his real sister."
She tried not to give any reaction when she heard her husband's name.
Half a year ago, Kalel left the temple to search for Lucina Morganna. He was hoping that their second child was still alive. And she let Kalel go alone.
It wasn't like she had given up on finding their second child.
But she realized that even if they did find him, they wouldn't be able to give the child a better life in a world ruled by Auro Moonchester.
Yes, that bastard had already gained too much power.
"The woman that Auro Moonchester used to replace his sister…" Solei began carefully. "Is she the daughter of the Spirit of the Great Fire Tree?"
Of course, she would know.
Her Brother Winchell disappeared after he stormed to the palace to try and retrieve her second child from Auro Moonchester. After all, her brother was very certain that it was the emperor who connived with her Spirit Guardian to steal her child and her Black Flame.
But her brother was heavily injured because of that fight.
None of them knew where her Brother Winchell hid to heal his wounds.
"That must be the case, my lady," Solaris said, answering her previous question. ""Elaine Moonchester" was there when Lord Winchell and Auro Moonchester fought. The emperor managed to break Lord Winchell's Isolation."
'Isolation' was her brother's strongest technique next to his Red Flame.
After all, Isolation was the kind of technique that protects his brother's physical body from getting harmed. It was a secret that only a few of them knew though. But even if Auro Moonchester was aware of that technique, the fact that he was able to break Isolation and harm her brother could only mean that he received help from that woman.
"The Spirit of the Great Fire Tree must have lost his mind," she said coldly. "Sharing the secrets of the gods to his daughter and sending that wicked woman to assist Auro Moonchester…" She clenched her hands tight. "This land is no longer safe for us."
Even the Golden Tiger had been sealed by Auro Moonchester.
The main gods had also been quiet all this time. To simply say, it seemed like the wicked emperor had blocked all the help that their clan could get.
Her thoughts were distracted when she noticed that Solaris and Solenn both looked anxious.
"What is it?" she asked sternly. "Is there anything else you need to report to me?"
Solaris and Solenn turned to each other as if they were communicating using their eyes. Then, the two faced her again with a determined look on their faces.
"This is still uncomfirmed but I received reports that the empire has been secretly abducting Fire Mages for their experiment," Solaris said in a voice that showed restraint. It seemed like he was angry, but he was trying to keep his composure in front of her. "Apparently, the flame of the abducted Fire Mages has been stolen. Thankfully, they were released alive."
Of course, hearing that made her unbelievably angry.
"Confirm it as soon as possible," she ordered, mad. "And gather all the Fire Mages in one, secured and hidden place."
Solaris bowed to her. "As you wish, my lady," he said. "May we know why we need to gather all the Fire Mages in one place?"
Maybe it was time for her to share her plans with Solaris and Solenn since her preparations were almost over. It wasn't like she wanted to keep it a secret from her people. She just knew how they would react and therefore, she remained quiet all this time.
It helped that the temple protected her from prying eyes.
"The land isn't safe anymore as long as Auro Moonchester is one of the most powerful and influential people in the continent," Soleil said seriously. "I plan to create an island in the sky where the Fire Mages could live peacefully– away from the tyrant emperor's filthy hands."
Of course, Solaris and Solenn tried to stop her.
The Keepers even cried while begging her to change her mind.
But Soleil knew that it was the right to do.]
***
Then, Tilly remembered that she forced her way into the Eternal Garden and wreak havoc as revenge for the betrayal of the Spirit of the Great Fire Tree…
***
["I chose to use my remaining Mana on creating three different powerful spells," she said. "First, to create a safe place for my clan. Second, to create a spell that will protect my reincarnated spell from the Moonchesters. It was the kind of spell that will prevent the Moonchesters and all of my enemies in this lifetime to forget my face and my presence until my reincarnated self retrieved my memories as Soleil Rosenberg."
"That's foolish, Soleil Rosenberg," the Spirit said. "You can get reincarnated whenever you die because aside from the heart of the Red Phoenix, you are also the Black Phoenix yourself. What's more amazing is the fact that you won't lose the memories of your previous life when you get reincarnated. Gods and beings like you have that kind of privilege, you see."
"I know that," she said with a bitter smile. "But I'm also aware that I will lose that privilege once I performed a forbidden spell. Thus, I had to create a spell that would protect me in my next lifetime until I retrieved my past memories."
"A forbidden spell…?" the Spirit asked, then it made the ground shake by screaming. "Don't you dare touch my daughter, Soleil Rosenberg!"
Soleil just laughed, then she summoned her flaming dagger. As soon as she grabbed the hilt of her weapon, she came at the holy tree and struck the blade into its body. Of course, the Great Fire Tree was soon engulfed in her red flame. "Don't worry, I will not kill you because you still have a use in the future," she said, then she stepped away from it and let it burn while screaming curses at her. She just laughed it off. "Watch me curse your daughter, Spirit of the Great Fire Tree."]
***
Tilly also remembered that she cursed Nia after that…
***
["Nia, Guardian of the Great Fire Tree who stole Elaine Moonchester's identity– I curse you," Soleil said, making Nia scream "no" loudly. "I curse you to be born as Aku Moonchester's birth sister for all eternity."
"No!" Nia screamed while trying to get away from her but as soon as she strangled her neck hard, she choked. "Supreme, Nia begs for your mercy…"
"I have none to give," Soleil said coldly. "Your soul will be forever tied with Aku Moonchester as beloved his little sister– and only the flame of the Red Phoenix could burn it." She laughed when she remembered how much her brother hated the Moonchesters. "Not that my brother would help you escape your curse, Nia Moonchester."]
***
TILLY blinked several times when all of a sudden, the memories that played in her head like a movie stopped. Then, everything turned black. That was when she realized that she had her eyes closed all this time.
When she slowly opened her eyes, she was greeted by Kiho's worried face.
Nia, on the other hand, was sitting on the grass under the Fire Tree's shade while braiding her hair. And the woman looked bored.
[I'm doing all the work here.]
"Tilly, are you alright?" Kiho asked worriedly. "What happened?"
"It ended. The memories that I was watching in my head suddenly stopped," Tilly said, then she turned to the Great Fire Tree. "What happened?"
"Your life ended after you sent the first batch of Fire Mages up in the sky," the Spirit of the Great Fire Tree said. "Now, I will show you the past memories of other people such as Lucina Morganna and your second child."
***
"YOUR MAJESTY, where is my child?" Lucina Morganna asked the emperor weakly. She just gave birth to her child a few hours ago. But as soon as she was informed that she gave birth to a boy, her baby was taken away from her. "Why did you take him away from me?"
"Don't worry, I won't harm the child," Auro Moonchester said cheerfully. "I'm just going to use it as bait to lure out the Fire Mages in hiding."
Ah, that again.
After it was confirmed that Soleil Rosenberg already died and her soul had finally returned to the Plane, they noticed that a large number of Fire Mages disappeared along with her. The only thing that was keeping the emperor calm was the fact that Solaris was still leading their small country.
As long as there were still Fire Mages within Auro Moonchester's hands, he wouldn't recklessly attack the Fire Mage Clan.
[Moreover, he still needs the Fire Mages for his new experiment.]
"How do you plan to use my child to lure them out?" she asked curiously. "And it isn't like they're blatantly hiding. Solaris is still active as the leader of the clan."
"But the fact that Solenn, the Sun Priestess, disappeared along with the Supreme Fire Mage is making me anxious," the emperor said even though he didn't really look anxious. "I can't carelessly enter their territory because I don't want to start another war with them. You know that I need the Fire Mages alive for my experiment. The more of them I lose, the higher the chance of my experiment failing gets. I can't have that." He smiled charmingly at her. "Thus, I plan to visit their small country under the guise of returning Lady Rosenberg's second child to them."
"Your Majesty!" she complained, scared. She wanted to move but her body couldn't. "I don't want to lose my child…"
"You're not going to lose your child, Lucina Morganna," he assured her. "I just need to use your child to gain entry in their territory. I need to personally know why the number of Fire Mages that my people are observing decreases as time goes by. Once I get what I want, I will return the child to you. Don't you trust me?"
"Of course I don't," she said bluntly. "Give me a reason to trust you, Your Majesty."
"I'm not really obliged to gain your trust but since my dear Nia is fond of you, I will be generous," he said with that sickeningly "charming" smile of his. "Would you be satisfied if I said that I'd bring the father of your child with me?"
To say that she was shocked to hear that would be an understatement.
[Lord Kalel disappeared even before the Supreme died…]
"I guess you'll only believe me if you see my dear brother with your own eyes," Auro Moonchester said while laughing softly. Then, he turned to the door. "Kalel, come in."
She wasn't really expecting anything.
Thus, Lucina was pleasantly surprised when Kalel entered the room.
He was still as handsome and as dashing as she remembered. Even though Lord Kalel's face was as cold as ice, she didn't mind it. Now that the Supreme Fire Mage was gone, it could only mean one thing.
[This is my chance to give my son a complete family...]
TILLY couldn't help but cry after being reminded of Luna's sacrifice back in her previous life.
Then, she remembered that the Moon Priestess's sacrifice went to vain.
First, Lucina Morganna was able to enter the temple and steal her baby…
***
["Lord Kalel, it's gone!" Soleil cried while clutching her now empty stomach. She was already in her sixth month of pregnancy. But when she woke up, the baby in her womb was gone. "Our baby is gone!"
Kalel looked shocked by what she said. "What do you mean the baby is gone?"
She didn't know how it happened either.
The two of them ran away in secret after making both their families believe that they had ended up hating each other. The Fire Mage Clan believed that she was in her family's temple to prepare for war. On the other hand, the Moonchesters thought that Kalel went to the North to train and summon another powerful weapon for the upcoming war, too.
But the truth was they were in the shrine of the Moon Priestess.
They conceived their second child in secret. Aside from Luna, no one else knew that she was pregnant. There was no way the Moon Priestess would betray them!
"I don't know but I think our baby was stolen," Soleil said between sobs. Then, she held Kalel's hands in her trembling hands. "Lord Kalel, what do we do now? I feel like I'm about to go crazy!"]
***
After that, Tilly remembered that Solaris and Solenn informed her about the Great Fire Tree's betrayal. It happened a year after she lost her baby and her Black Flame to Lucina Morganna. Ever since then, she and Kalel mostly stayed in the temple while preparing for the things that they needed to do for the clan…
***
["My lady, the Great Fire Tree has betrayed the gods," Solaris informed her. "He shared the weaknesses of the gods to Auro Moonchester."
"The Keepers and I also found out through our investigation that Auro Moonchester has brought a new girl in the palace to replace his sister," Solenn added. "And the last time Lord Kalel was here, he also confirmed that the Elaine Moonchester that the emperor introduced to the public was no longer his real sister."
She tried not to give any reaction when she heard her husband's name.
Half a year ago, Kalel left the temple to search for Lucina Morganna. He was hoping that their second child was still alive. And she let Kalel go alone.
It wasn't like she had given up on finding their second child.
But she realized that even if they did find him, they wouldn't be able to give the child a better life in a world ruled by Auro Moonchester.
Yes, that bastard had already gained too much power.
"The woman that Auro Moonchester used to replace his sister…" Solei began carefully. "Is she the daughter of the Spirit of the Great Fire Tree?"
Of course, she would know.
Her Brother Winchell disappeared after he stormed to the palace to try and retrieve her second child from Auro Moonchester. After all, her brother was very certain that it was the emperor who connived with her Spirit Guardian to steal her child and her Black Flame.
But her brother was heavily injured because of that fight.
None of them knew where her Brother Winchell hid to heal his wounds.
"That must be the case, my lady," Solaris said, answering her previous question. ""Elaine Moonchester" was there when Lord Winchell and Auro Moonchester fought. The emperor managed to break Lord Winchell's Isolation."
'Isolation' was her brother's strongest technique next to his Red Flame.
After all, Isolation was the kind of technique that protects his brother's physical body from getting harmed. It was a secret that only a few of them knew though. But even if Auro Moonchester was aware of that technique, the fact that he was able to break Isolation and harm her brother could only mean that he received help from that woman.
"The Spirit of the Great Fire Tree must have lost his mind," she said coldly. "Sharing the secrets of the gods to his daughter and sending that wicked woman to assist Auro Moonchester…" She clenched her hands tight. "This land is no longer safe for us."
Even the Golden Tiger had been sealed by Auro Moonchester.
The main gods had also been quiet all this time. To simply say, it seemed like the wicked emperor had blocked all the help that their clan could get.
Her thoughts were distracted when she noticed that Solaris and Solenn both looked anxious.
"What is it?" she asked sternly. "Is there anything else you need to report to me?"
Solaris and Solenn turned to each other as if they were communicating using their eyes. Then, the two faced her again with a determined look on their faces.
"This is still uncomfirmed but I received reports that the empire has been secretly abducting Fire Mages for their experiment," Solaris said in a voice that showed restraint. It seemed like he was angry, but he was trying to keep his composure in front of her. "Apparently, the flame of the abducted Fire Mages has been stolen. Thankfully, they were released alive."
Of course, hearing that made her unbelievably angry.
"Confirm it as soon as possible," she ordered, mad. "And gather all the Fire Mages in one, secured and hidden place."
Solaris bowed to her. "As you wish, my lady," he said. "May we know why we need to gather all the Fire Mages in one place?"
Maybe it was time for her to share her plans with Solaris and Solenn since her preparations were almost over. It wasn't like she wanted to keep it a secret from her people. She just knew how they would react and therefore, she remained quiet all this time.
It helped that the temple protected her from prying eyes.
"The land isn't safe anymore as long as Auro Moonchester is one of the most powerful and influential people in the continent," Soleil said seriously. "I plan to create an island in the sky where the Fire Mages could live peacefully– away from the tyrant emperor's filthy hands."
Of course, Solaris and Solenn tried to stop her.
The Keepers even cried while begging her to change her mind.
But Soleil knew that it was the right to do.]
***
Then, Tilly remembered that she forced her way into the Eternal Garden and wreak havoc as revenge for the betrayal of the Spirit of the Great Fire Tree…
***
["I chose to use my remaining Mana on creating three different powerful spells," she said. "First, to create a safe place for my clan. Second, to create a spell that will protect my reincarnated spell from the Moonchesters. It was the kind of spell that will prevent the Moonchesters and all of my enemies in this lifetime to forget my face and my presence until my reincarnated self retrieved my memories as Soleil Rosenberg."
"That's foolish, Soleil Rosenberg," the Spirit said. "You can get reincarnated whenever you die because aside from the heart of the Red Phoenix, you are also the Black Phoenix yourself. What's more amazing is the fact that you won't lose the memories of your previous life when you get reincarnated. Gods and beings like you have that kind of privilege, you see."
"I know that," she said with a bitter smile. "But I'm also aware that I will lose that privilege once I performed a forbidden spell. Thus, I had to create a spell that would protect me in my next lifetime until I retrieved my past memories."
"A forbidden spell…?" the Spirit asked, then it made the ground shake by screaming. "Don't you dare touch my daughter, Soleil Rosenberg!"
Soleil just laughed, then she summoned her flaming dagger. As soon as she grabbed the hilt of her weapon, she came at the holy tree and struck the blade into its body. Of course, the Great Fire Tree was soon engulfed in her red flame. "Don't worry, I will not kill you because you still have a use in the future," she said, then she stepped away from it and let it burn while screaming curses at her. She just laughed it off. "Watch me curse your daughter, Spirit of the Great Fire Tree."]
***
Tilly also remembered that she cursed Nia after that…
***
["Nia, Guardian of the Great Fire Tree who stole Elaine Moonchester's identity– I curse you," Soleil said, making Nia scream "no" loudly. "I curse you to be born as Aku Moonchester's birth sister for all eternity."
"No!" Nia screamed while trying to get away from her but as soon as she strangled her neck hard, she choked. "Supreme, Nia begs for your mercy…"
"I have none to give," Soleil said coldly. "Your soul will be forever tied with Aku Moonchester as beloved his little sister– and only the flame of the Red Phoenix could burn it." She laughed when she remembered how much her brother hated the Moonchesters. "Not that my brother would help you escape your curse, Nia Moonchester."]
***
TILLY blinked several times when all of a sudden, the memories that played in her head like a movie stopped. Then, everything turned black. That was when she realized that she had her eyes closed all this time.
When she slowly opened her eyes, she was greeted by Kiho's worried face.
Nia, on the other hand, was sitting on the grass under the Fire Tree's shade while braiding her hair. And the woman looked bored.
[I'm doing all the work here.]
"Tilly, are you alright?" Kiho asked worriedly. "What happened?"
"It ended. The memories that I was watching in my head suddenly stopped," Tilly said, then she turned to the Great Fire Tree. "What happened?"
"Your life ended after you sent the first batch of Fire Mages up in the sky," the Spirit of the Great Fire Tree said. "Now, I will show you the past memories of other people such as Lucina Morganna and your second child."
***
"YOUR MAJESTY, where is my child?" Lucina Morganna asked the emperor weakly. She just gave birth to her child a few hours ago. But as soon as she was informed that she gave birth to a boy, her baby was taken away from her. "Why did you take him away from me?"
"Don't worry, I won't harm the child," Auro Moonchester said cheerfully. "I'm just going to use it as bait to lure out the Fire Mages in hiding."
Ah, that again.
After it was confirmed that Soleil Rosenberg already died and her soul had finally returned to the Plane, they noticed that a large number of Fire Mages disappeared along with her. The only thing that was keeping the emperor calm was the fact that Solaris was still leading their small country.
As long as there were still Fire Mages within Auro Moonchester's hands, he wouldn't recklessly attack the Fire Mage Clan.
[Moreover, he still needs the Fire Mages for his new experiment.]
"How do you plan to use my child to lure them out?" she asked curiously. "And it isn't like they're blatantly hiding. Solaris is still active as the leader of the clan."
"But the fact that Solenn, the Sun Priestess, disappeared along with the Supreme Fire Mage is making me anxious," the emperor said even though he didn't really look anxious. "I can't carelessly enter their territory because I don't want to start another war with them. You know that I need the Fire Mages alive for my experiment. The more of them I lose, the higher the chance of my experiment failing gets. I can't have that." He smiled charmingly at her. "Thus, I plan to visit their small country under the guise of returning Lady Rosenberg's second child to them."
"Your Majesty!" she complained, scared. She wanted to move but her body couldn't. "I don't want to lose my child…"
"You're not going to lose your child, Lucina Morganna," he assured her. "I just need to use your child to gain entry in their territory. I need to personally know why the number of Fire Mages that my people are observing decreases as time goes by. Once I get what I want, I will return the child to you. Don't you trust me?"
"Of course I don't," she said bluntly. "Give me a reason to trust you, Your Majesty."
"I'm not really obliged to gain your trust but since my dear Nia is fond of you, I will be generous," he said with that sickeningly "charming" smile of his. "Would you be satisfied if I said that I'd bring the father of your child with me?"
To say that she was shocked to hear that would be an understatement.
[Lord Kalel disappeared even before the Supreme died…]
"I guess you'll only believe me if you see my dear brother with your own eyes," Auro Moonchester said while laughing softly. Then, he turned to the door. "Kalel, come in."
She wasn't really expecting anything.
Thus, Lucina was pleasantly surprised when Kalel entered the room.
He was still as handsome and as dashing as she remembered. Even though Lord Kalel's face was as cold as ice, she didn't mind it. Now that the Supreme Fire Mage was gone, it could only mean one thing.
[This is my chance to give my son a complete family...]
