As Phoebe lay unconscious after the events that felt like a dream, she found herself surrounded by pure darkness—an empty void. Suddenly, a girl's voice called out to her.
"Little girl… hey, little girl, wake up. Hey, Phoebe. Phoebe, wake up already…" the voice said.
Phoebe slowly opened her eyes and found herself staring at the ceiling of the orphanage. She was on her familiar bed, alone in the room.
"What was that voice?" Phoebe whispered, certain she had heard someone.
Silence filled the room. Phoebe began closing her eyes again when the voice echoed once more.
"Hey, don't be rude. Wake up, you sleepyhead" the voice said.
Phoebe's eyes shot open. She searched for the source of the sound and realized it came from the direction of her crystal-blue rapier. As she looked closely, behind the rapier she spotted an adorable, fluffy aquamarine baby bird. The bird was a girl, no bigger than the size of her palm.
Phoebe stared at it in disbelief. There is no way a baby bird can talk, she thought.
"I think I'm going crazy… there's no way a baby bird can talk," Phoebe said.
"But I can speak, you idiot," the voice replied.
Phoebe froze. She stared at the baby bird again—certain it was the one talking—and then she jumped from her bed in shock.
"W-W-WHAT?! HOW ARE YOU ABLE TO TALK?! ARE YOU AN EVIL SPIRIT?! A WRAITH?!" Phoebe cried, eyes teary as she pointed her rapier toward the bird.
"What? How dare you assume I'm a lower race like an undead?" the baby chick said.
"Yo-You're not? Then what are you?" Phoebe asked, still pointing her rapier at it.
"I'm from a very long time ago—a being you cannot even fathom. I am an ancient creature sealed inside that crystal-blue rapier. I am from a long-lost race called the Phoenix," the baby chick replied proudly.
"What did you say? Po-Poxix?" Phoebe asked.
"Not Poxix, but Phoenix! It's Phoenix, damn it!" the chick snapped.
"Phoenix? I've never heard of it," Phoebe said.
"You idiot, didn't I say it's a long-lost race?" the chick replied.
They stared at each other for a moment before Phoebe spoke again.
"Alright… then why are you here? What do you need?" Phoebe asked.
"Ahem. I am here because I formed a soul bond with you while you were fighting that wolf beastman earlier," the chick explained.
"Soul bond? What is that?" Phoebe asked.
"A soul bond is how we Genesis Monsters choose the person who can freely use our gifts. Think of it as us selecting someone to form a connection with and granting them our abilities" the chick explained.
When Phoebe heard the word gift, her eyes brightened.
"Use your gifts? What are your gifts?" Phoebe asked.
"Ahem. I have two gifts. The first one lets you understand the person you defeat—by reading their memories when you beat them."
"Oh! So you're the reason I saw the wolf beastman's memories" Phoebe said.
"Yes. But remember, the only memories you can see are those filled with extreme emotions. Those emotions can be positive… or overwhelmingly negative," the chick warned.
"I see… then what about the other gift?" Phoebe asked.
"As for the second one… I apologize, but I cannot tell you. If I ever reveal it to you, you will view your life differently. Your life will never be the same again. It will lead you into an existential crisis," the chick said seriously.
"Huuuuh?! Why does that sound dangerous?! What did you do?!" Phoebe said, clearly worried.
The chick stared at her coldly.
"Don't worry. As long as you're unaware of it, your life will remain safe and normal," the bird said.
"How can I not worry?! I have some dangerous unknown gift lurking inside me, and I don't even know when I might trigger it!" Phoebe said with a grim expression.
"As I said, don't worry. If you ever come close to discovering or activating it, I will do my best to fix things," the bird replied.
"Ugh… can you take back your gift?" Phoebe asked.
"No. I can make a soul bond, but I cannot retrieve it. The only way to break a soul bond is by killing the host—meaning I would have to kill you," the chick said.
Phoebe's face darkened, tears welling up in her eyes.
"So I have to live my whole life with this curse…" Phoebe said.
"It's not a curse. It's a gift," the chick insisted.
"Curse," Phoebe said.
"Gift," the chick replied.
"Curse."
"Gift."
"Curse!"
"Gift!"
"Whatever…" Phoebe sighed.
A moment of silence passed. After gathering her thoughts, Phoebe asked:
"By the way, baby chick… what's your name? You don't expect me to keep calling you 'baby chick,' right?"
"Hmph. Listen well, human. My name is Uriel. Don't ever forget it," the chick said proudly.
"Ohh, that's a nice name for a baby chick," Phoebe said.
"I am NOT a baby chick! I've lived for a very long time!" Uriel snapped.
"Right, right…" Phoebe said, too tired to argue.
Phoebe looked around the room and asked,
"By the way, where is everyone? What happened after I lost consciousness?"
"While you were unconscious, that blonde man with the magenta eyes carried you from the forest all the way back here. A man and a girl were waiting outside—worried about you," Uriel said.
"A man and a girl? That must be the Director and Kanna… oh no, I'm definitely in trouble…" Phoebe said as chills ran down her spine.
Three knocks suddenly echoed from the door.
"I'm coming in," a girl's voice said.
Kanna entered the room carrying a tray with soup and water. When she saw Phoebe awake, her eyes softened with relief.
"Aiyahh… you really have a talent for making everyone worry, you know that, Phoebe?" Kanna said, puffing her cheeks.
"Ehehe… at least I'm fine now, right? Everything's okay," Phoebe replied.
"Still! I was so worried! First, you were only supposed to retrieve the book you left on the cliff. Then later I heard you got chased by vicious criminals! I swear, I didn't know what to do with you!" Kanna said.
Phoebe smiled awkwardly and looked away.
"We're very lucky Sir Julius was around. Otherwise… I wouldn't be seeing you now," Kanna said with relief.
"Oh yeah… that guy saved me. Where is he now? I need to thank him properly," Phoebe said.
"He already left earlier during lunchtime—together with a white-haired girl," Kanna said.
"Earlier? It's already lunchtime?" Phoebe asked, confused.
"Well, yeah. You've been asleep until noon," Kanna said.
"UNTIL NOON?!" Phoebe exclaimed.
"Yes, it's already afternoon," Kanna replied.
As Phoebe tried to absorb everything, Kanna spoke again.
"Ah, also—you won't believe what happened earlier~" Kanna said with a teasing smirk.
"Did something happen?" Phoebe asked.
"Do you remember Viscount Dillian? The one I told you was interested in you?" Kanna said.
Phoebe's expression turned cold.
"He came here early this morning with gifts. He found out it's your birthday today—you just turned 18. He proudly told the Director he would increase his donations and sponsor the orphanage more… in exchange for making you one of his concubines," Kanna said with a disgusted face.
"That psycho… he really doesn't hide the fact he has loose screws in his head! So? What happened next?" Phoebe said angrily.
"The Director got furious and threw the gifts on the ground. The Viscount became angry and said:
'How dare you reject my generosity? I am giving this girl a brighter future and you dare oppose me? Shame on you. Just wait—I will use my authority to lock you in prison and shut this orphanage down!'
—literally like that," Kanna said, mimicking him perfectly.
"W-What generosity?! Shut the orphanage down?! Who does he think he is?!" Phoebe said with burning anger.
"Right?? And then the two stared each other down. That's when Mr. Julius stormed in and kicked the door open," Kanna said.
Phoebe leaned forward, interested.
"Mr. Julius came? Then what happened?"
"He walked in and said, 'Sorry for the intrusion, everyone. My mood is foul right now, so I apologize.'" Kanna said, mimicking Julius's deep tone.
"Then the Viscount yelled at him: 'How dare you, you barbaric peasant! Don't you know who I am?!'" Kanna continued, imitating the Viscount.
"But his escort knights stopped him and whispered that the man he insulted was Julius Von Trinity, the direct trusted human of the Three Gods."
Kanna grinned.
"You should've seen it, Phoebe. The old pig—oops, Viscount—turned pale and started sweating. He immediately apologized and bowed."
Kanna continued:
"Then Mr. Julius smiled and put a hand on his shoulder, saying:
'As a mere Viscount from a small kingdom, you're quite bold in abusing your authority against weaker people. But remember this—I don't care who you are. Your authority will never surpass mine. If I ever hear that you shut this orphanage down, imprisoned the Director, or harmed Phoebe, Kanna, or any child here… I won't hesitate to erase your entire bloodline or wipe your kingdom from this world. And don't think I'm bluffing.'"
Kanna finished the story dramatically.
"So yeah! I don't think we need to worry about Viscount Dillian anymore," she said with a bright smile.
"Yes… I think so too," Phoebe said gratefully.
"Isn't Mr. Julius super cool?" Kanna said excitedly.
"Yes… he really is," Phoebe replied, eyes full of admiration.
"One day… I'll reach him. I'll catch up to him," Phoebe said with determination.
Kanna smiled warmly, proud of her friend who declared her goal with such conviction.