Three days had passed since the circus. Ayra's mind hadn't rested.
That flute song… the necklace's glow… the name Phoenix Bloodline.
But the world didn't pause for her questions.
In the shadows, moves were being made.
---
The Royal Bounty
In the golden war halls of the 90th-ranked Kingdom, the King slammed his fist on the table.
> "She's alive," he growled, eyes red with fury.
> "Your illegitimate daughter, sire?" one noble whispered.
> "A mistake," he hissed. "A blemish on our royal name. She humiliated us by being powerless—"
> "She's not powerless now," the Captain said, placing a scroll on the table.
Inside were reports: towns she passed through. People who remembered her. Monsters defeated.
And the strange flare that spiked from her location, strong enough to shake upper realms.
The King's hand trembled.
> "If she's not under our control... she's a threat."
He stood, voice ice cold.
> "Declare her outlawed. A bounty for her capture or death."
Gasps.
> "She's just a girl—"
> "She's not just anything. She's a ghost from a mistake I buried. Let the world hunt her down."
And the scroll was sent. Every assassin, mercenary, and bounty hunter from the 90th Kingdom… and many far beyond… would now be after Ayra.
---
Ambush at Dawn
Ayra and Lira walked through a peaceful mountain trail. Flowers bloomed. Birds chirped. The air was fresh.
And then… arrows rained from the sky.
Ayra didn't flinch. She raised one finger.
Time paused.
Each arrow froze midair. Lira blinked. "Are we dead?"
> "Not yet."
Ayra turned, eyes glowing.
A dozen masked warriors stood in the trees.
> "By order of the King of Velhara, you are to be captured or slain, girl."
Ayra stared.
> "That guy really put out a bounty on me? For what—breathing too impressively?"
They attacked.
---
A 5-Second Battle
Ayra didn't even move from her spot.
She flicked a pebble from her shoe.
It struck one attacker's sword. The sword bent like paper, snapped, and triggered a chain reaction of collapsed weapons, tangled limbs, and screaming warriors flung into trees like leaves in a storm.
Five seconds later… the mountain was silent.
Lira's jaw dropped. "That… that wasn't even fair."
Ayra blew on her nails.
> "They didn't even try to be interesting. I'm offended."
She pulled out the scroll from one attacker's pocket. Read the bounty. Laughed.
> "Well… guess we're famous now."
---
Whispers from the Beyond
Elsewhere, a figure in a black robe read the bounty. But instead of greed… his eyes held fear.
> "She's the one?" he whispered.
Behind him, a wall showed blueprints—not of cities or castles, but dimensions. Star maps. Forgotten glyphs.
He clicked on an old file:
> "Project: Phoenix Spiral — Creator: Subject Ayra Venn."
> "Origin: Type-III Civilization."
> "Status: Terminated… or so we thought."
The man stood, pulling a blade that glowed with cosmic entropy.
> "If she finishes what she started… this entire multiverse will collapse into her rewrite."
---