The Dragon Palace had not known peace since Taiyi's unlikely victory in the Serpent Trench. Whispers filled every hall, every banquet, every training ground. Not only had Taiyi done the impossible but he had come out on top.
"He returned alive."
"Not only alive—he crushed the rebellion's vanguard."
"A fluke. Nothing more."
"Or… the birth of a new heir."
Taiyi moved through these currents with the same silence he had carried since his arrival. He smiled faintly when others mocked him, bowed politely when ministers questioned his worth, and spoke only when necessary. His calm unnerved even the most seasoned courtiers.
He has long gotten used to these voices that seem to know nothing other than to be moved by the public opinion. For him he did not have to prove himself worthy.
One evening, during the court's council, Prince Ao Shen slammed his fist against the table.
"Father, this is intolerable! The rebels grow bolder by the day, and yet you entrust him with command? An outsider? A child with no dragon's blood? How should we expect the dragons to ever raise their heads with such a bastard leading them?"
Gasps rippled across the chamber. The Dragon King's gaze darkened, but before he could speak, Taiyi rose from his seat.
"You should know better than to question me brother," Taiyi said with perfect composure, "you are right to be cautious. Trust is a fragile currency. That is why I will prove myself again, not with words, but with deeds. Let Ao Shen lead the next battle. I shall stand at his side—not as commander, but as strategist. If I fail, then all your doubts are justified. If I succeed…"
His voice lowered, calm as the tide. "…then perhaps you will learn that loyalty is not written in blood, but in the victories one brings home."
Even the Dragon King leaned back, surprised. Ao Shen flushed with anger, but trapped by Taiyi's words, he could only grit his teeth and nod.
Thus, Taiyi wove the net tighter: appearing humble while placing his rival in a corner where defeat would shame him, but victory would still bear Taiyi's mark. A perfect snare, concealed beneath courtesy.
The courtiers whispered again, this time in awe.
"He dares play politics with Ao Shen."
"He is no timid child. He is… dangerous."
And Taiyi smiled faintly, his blue eyes calm, as though he had already calculated ten moves ahead.
Later that evening, Taiyi stood before the window in his study staring at the sky as he used to. The memories of an ancient battlefield haunting him.
He has been trying to seek answers but so far he's got nothing. Just then he felt something. Someone was in his room. Watching him.
"Old man, you are in my room again?" Taiyi asked. The dragon king who was hiding walked out while staring at Taiyi with a meaningful gaze.
"Why now?" The dragon king asked.
"The tree wants peace but wind keeps blowing its way. I have been silent enough so it is time to bear my fangs," Taiyi said shocking the dragon king.
---
Deep within the Fire Realm, Feng Jiu's flames still unsettled the clans. Her rebirth had been too sudden, her power too violent. Some hailed her as the next Empress, but others whispered she was a mistake, a flame that would one day consume even her kin.
Her elder sister, Feng Xia, summoned her to the Phoenix Arena, where molten rivers carved through black stone. Before them stood three prodigies of the Phoenix clan, each bearing the fire of noble bloodlines.
"Little sister," Feng Xia said with regal calm, "the clan is not swayed by awakening alone. You must prove your strength in battle. Only then will they acknowledge you."
Feng Jiu's lips curved into a faint smile. "Then let them test me."
The first challenger struck with a blaze that scorched the air, but Feng Jiu's flames parted it like silk. Her wings unfolded, feathers dripping molten light, and with a single sweep she extinguished his fire, forcing him to his knees.
The second attacked with cunning—illusions of fire serpents, weaving and striking from all sides. But Feng Jiu closed her eyes, sensing the rhythm of the heat, and with a burst of scarlet light tore through every mirage until only the trembling phoenix youth remained.
The third fought hardest—his flame was white, searing hotter than the sun. He struck her chest, nearly piercing her heart. For a moment, silence fell.
But Feng Jiu only laughed softly, and her body erupted into a colossal phoenix form, wings blotting out the fiery sky. The white flame was swallowed whole, devoured by her scarlet inferno, until nothing remained but silence.
The arena trembled. The clan fell silent.
Feng Xia studied her sister, expression unreadable. "You are no longer the child who once hid behind me. But power without direction burns friend and foe alike. Tell me, Feng Jiu—what do you seek?"
Feng Jiu lifted her gaze to the sealed barrier above the Fire Realm, her crimson eyes glowing with both defiance and longing.
"I seek the world beyond this prison," she said softly. "For in that world lies something I have lost… and something I must find again."
Her words sent ripples through the Phoenix clans. Some mocked her arrogance, others feared her ambition. But none could deny the truth that blazed in her heart—this was no longer a sheltered princess. This was a flame that could not be caged.
"The outside world is dangerous, be careful of what you seek?" Feng Xia warned.
"I don't know what I seek apart from the fact that I need to look for answers and a place called heavens hold it," Feng Jiu said.
"Never ask of that place and no one should realise you are looking for that place," Feng Xia said as she released her aura of an ancestral god to threaten her sister.
---
In the depths of the sea, a calm youth played politics with dragons, masking daggers with smiles.
In the heart of fire, a reborn phoenix spread her wings, challenging the limits of her realm.
Neither knew the other's path, but both carried the same weight—the silent yearning for something beyond power, beyond duty.
The tides and the flames had begun to stir.
And fate, once still, now watched with anticipation.
---