The palace courtyard of Vrasnia glowed under the the purple wash of the moon. Marble pillars rose like silent guardians, their shadows flickering against the reflection of firelight. The air shimmered with heat as Riah stood in the center, her red eyes narrowed, flames dancing faintly at her shoulders.
Across from her stood Felicia—barely nineteen, breath misting in the heat, her fists alight with faint light-blue flames. Her chest rose and fell in sharp rhythms, but beneath her skin, the faint hum of hidden machinery pulsed with every heartbeat.
"Again," Riah's voice was stern, commanding. "Don't hesitate. Your flames aren't mine—they're yours. If you rely on me too much, you'll burn out before you ever shine."
Felicia grit her teeth, sweat dripping down her temple. "I'm trying, Lady Riah… but they won't respond the same way yours do."
Riah's gaze softened just for a breath, though her tone stayed sharp. "Because you're still afraid. Those flames are not a copy—they're an inheritance. The Phoenix chooses who can carry its ember. You carry my feather's spark. Do you know what that means?"
Felicia shook her head.
Riah stepped forward, the heat of her presence washing over the girl like a tidal wave. "It means the flame recognized you. Not your metal. Not your scars. You. That blue fire is your rebirth—your second chance."
Felicia's hands trembled as the flames flickered out. For a moment, her face was shadowed by something vulnerable. "Sometimes I wonder… if I'm even human anymore. Everything inside me is wires and circuits. If I burn, is it really me, or just the machine keeping me alive?"
Riah's expression hardened. She struck the marble floor with her heel, igniting a ring of red-hot flame around them both. "You are human because you choose to be. The machine inside you is nothing compared to the will in your heart. Now—prove it."
Felicia's eyes widened, reflecting the firestorm around them. Slowly, she raised her hand. The ember in her chest answered—not with gold, not with crimson, but a radiant light-blue flame that surged out like wings half-formed. The heat was different—cooler, sharper, like fire refracted through ice.
Riah smirked, pride hidden behind her warrior's edge. "Better. Now strike me, Felicia. Strike me as if your life depends on it."
Felicia inhaled, steadying herself. The hum of her cybernetic organs rose, pumping oxygen with mechanical precision, fueling both body and flame. She sprinted forward, leaving streaks of blue fire across the courtyard tiles, fist aimed straight at Riah's chest.
Riah caught her wrist mid-strike, her red phoenix aura flaring only slightly, yet it overwhelmed Felicia's blue embers. The younger girl gasped as the flames sputtered out under the crushing weight of Riah's presence.
Riah leaned close, her eyes sharp. "You're fighting like you want to impress me. Stop that. Fight like you want to survive."
The words hit deeper than any strike. Felicia stumbled back, heart racing—her mechanical pulse echoing loud in her ears. She remembered her past: the lab, wires, the, the pain and feeling of being more machine than human. She remembered Riah's feather—the day she touched it and felt alive again.
Her blue flames roared to life, hotter, more desperate, a streak of light that carried her forward. This time, she didn't aim at Riah's body—she aimed at her shadow, her afterimages, trying to anticipate, adapt, survive. The courtyard became a storm of red and blue fire clashing.
Finally, Riah snapped her fingers. A shockwave of red phoenix flame washed over everything, scattering Felicia's embers like sparks in the wind. The girl fell to one knee, coughing, her body trembling but still intact thanks to her reforged organs.
Riah approached, kneeling to meet her gaze. Her expression softened. "Better. You're beginning to burn like someone who wants to live."
Felicia, breath ragged, let out a small laugh through exhaustion. "I don't just want to live… I want to be someone you can rely on, Riah."
For the first time that night, Riah smiled faintly, touching Felicia's shoulder. "Then rise. A phoenix does not kneel in its own ashes."
The blue flame flickered back to life in Felicia's chest, glowing brighter than before.