Five Years Later
Point of View: A New Maid
"Hey Maria, the person in that house must be dead. He hasn't touched his food in months. I think we should go take a look," I said in a cheerful voice.
Maria frowned. "I don't know. Maybe we should report this to the Clan Head. He's a very important member of the main family."
"Oh, come on, Maria. Just a quick look! We'll report what we find, okay? It's not serious. I just want to see the youngest master of the Red Heaven Clan—just once. Please?" I pleaded.
Maria hesitated for a long moment. Then she sighed. "Alright. Just this once. You know he hasn't stepped out of that room in years... they say he went mad from his own powerlessness."
"Let's go!" I chirped, grabbing her arm with excitement.
---
The old door groaned as it creaked open, as though the room itself resisted the intrusion.
Dust swirled at our feet like mist, rising from the threshold as we stepped inside, lanterns flickering dimly in our hands.
The air changed immediately—dense, heavy, unnatural. Cold.
Our lanterns trembled violently in our grip, as if the very air tried to snuff them out. And then we saw it.
In the center of the cracked stone floor hovered an egg.
But this was no beast's egg—it was cosmic. Larger than a man, silent and still, its surface shimmered like celestial glass. Inside, stars whirled. Galaxies spun. A nebula drifted lazily across its core.
Time seemed to stretch thin around it. The egg pulsed like a living universe.
But worse than the egg were the three black tendrils wrapped tightly around it. Root-like and twitching, they pulsed faintly—as if siphoning power from the cosmic womb. They were not attached to anything... they simply existed, feeding from the void.
Then—one of them moved.
A slow twitch. Barely a ripple.
Maria screamed, dropping her lantern. The glass shattered. I froze in place.
"It's... it's alive," I whispered, my voice barely audible.
The roots twitched again, almost mockingly.
We turned and ran, skirts snagging on the cracked floor, lungs seizing. Just as we passed the threshold, the door slammed shut behind us.
And in the darkness, the egg pulsed once more—quietly amused.
---
"Hey, hey! Wake up! What are you doing sleeping in here?" Maria said, shaking me.
"We're not dead?" I gasped, confused.
"Dead? What are you talking about? Go back to work!" she snapped.
Why can't I remember anything...? I thought, dazed.
"Come on, move! Hurry!" Maria barked.
"Yes, yes, I'm going!"
---
Inside the sealed chamber...
Thank the heavens, David thought. I woke up at the right time. I'm just about to break into the Spiritroot Foundation Stage. I don't want any more distractions.
---
Phoenix Land – The Main Hall
A being, tall as a mountain and shrouded in flowing cosmic robes, sat upon a throne.
"What's the news about the youngest?" he asked, voice colder than a dead star.
A maid bowed. "He hasn't left his chamber in nearly fifty years, my lord. I believe... he may already be dead. He hasn't touched his food in months."
"...Interesting. But it doesn't matter. What about Rose?"
The maid brightened. "The Young Miss has already tamed a Stage 9 Dark Phoenix from the Dark Star Empire."
"...Good."
---
Back in the sealed room...
Cracks echoed across the chamber. The egg split.
From within the swirling void, a man emerged—eyes glowing like stars, his body pulsing with law-bound essence.
"I've done it," he whispered. "I've stepped into the Spiritroot Foundation Stage."
—Spiritroot Foundation: Stage 1 Achieved—
Each cell has become a spiritual core.
Flesh and bone are now spirit-coded constructs.
Body immune to decay, fatigue, and poison.
He walked toward a mirror. What he saw made him pause.
His face was young again—youthful, radiant, divine.
This will cause problems, he thought. With a wave of his hand, his body aged rapidly into the form of a 70-year-old man, complete with white beard and cane.
"Time to go outside," he said quietly.
He shattered the sealed door with a single step.
The sunlight outside was blinding. And yet—he saw everything.
The radiation pouring from the sun. The creatures swimming within its core. The law of fire made visible.
"Young Master...? You're... not dead?" Maria gasped.
"Are you disappointed?" he asked with a smirk.
"No! No! That's not what I meant, please forgive me!" she stammered, dropping to her knees.
"It's fine. No need to panic. Just tidy my room before nightfall—I'm going for a walk."
"But Young Master, your health—"
"I'll be fine," he said, tapping his cane. He walked away, slow but steady.
---
Phoenix Hall
"Reporting to Mistress: the Young Master has emerged from seclusion."
"...Oh? That's interesting. Someone altered his fate after all." The woman on the throne narrowed her eyes. "Tell the Divine General—I'm going to meet him."
"Your wish is my command."
"...Lilit. What do you think of the youngest?" she asked her maid.
Lilit hesitated. "I think... being born weak is a misfortune. But remaining weak forever—that's the greatest sin."
"Hah... well said."
"...Where is my husband?"
"The Lord is currently at the Ancient Blue Dragon Star, pursuing the soul of the Primordial Dragon. He left that information before his departure."
"Hmph. Tell him to return before the Star Competition begins."
"Yes, Mistress."