Hope Is Not Optional — Manuel Flores 58
Chapter 58
Chapter 58
Selene
7
I walked casually along the narrow mountain path, a small bag slung over my shoulder. The air was cool, biting at my cheeks, but I didn’t mind. The journey was easy enough, despite how high I’d climbed.
To most people, this part of the mountain was forbidden territory, it was too steep, wild, and filled with unknown creatures that lurked around. No one came here. Which was exactly why I did.
I wanted silence, space, and more than that, I wanted freedom from prying eyes.
The higher I climbed, the quieter it got. After a while, I stopped when I reached a break in the path. A wide gap stretched between two ridges, it was the kind that would make even a skilled warrior hesitate.
‘Are you going to make that jump?’ Mira’s voice echoed in my mind, filled with disapproval. “You could die, Selene. It’s a very wide gap.”
A smirk tugged at my lips as I stretched my arms and legs, feeling the familiar burn in my muscles. “You keep forgetting who I am, Mira.”
“I remember exactly who you are,” she said dryly. “You were a general in your past life, but in this one, you’re still a young girl. You have maybe one percent of your former strength. Let me transform if you-”
Before she could finish, I ran. The world tilted, the wind roared in my ears, and for a moment, I was flying. The gap blurred beneath me, and the thrill of it made my pulse race. My cap slipped from my head midair, and my black and white hair whipped wildly around me.
I landed lightly on the other side, knees bending, and feet firm.
A grin spread across my face as I straightened.
‘I’m impressed.’
I chuckled and reached into my bag, pulling out another cap and tugging it down over my hair. “It doesn’t matter if I have one percent of my strength,” I said, dusting off my pants. “My body still remembers everything I’ve been through.”
Mira gave a pleased growl in response, her voice vibrating with approval.
I looked down at my outfit, it was a simple men’s clothing, a loose white shirt tucked into dark pants, boots laced tight. The disguise wasn’t perfect, but it worked. Nobody would look twice at a wandering boy on the mountain.
I tugged at my sleeve and besides, I used to wear men’s clothes all the time in the army. They’re far more comfortable than those cursed dresses.
After walking for what felt like hours, I finally reached a clearing, a secluded spot nestled deep within the mountain, surrounded by trees.
I sighed in relief as I lowered myself to the ground, sitting cross-legged on the ground. The cool wind brushed against my
skin.
I reached for the small bag slung behind me. Inside was the box’I’d bought from the auction house, the one everyone had mocked as worthless. I pulled it out carefully, brushing away the thin layer of dust that had gathered on the lid.
The moment I opened it, a faint, metallic scent drifted into the air. Inside were what most would call junk.
A red amulet dulled with age. A small, blood-red stone. And the broken fragment of a crimson sword.
12:55 Tue, Dec 23 M
Chapter 58
I placed each object gently on the ground, forming a small circle around me.
In my past life, I’d learned the truth. These weren’t useless. The reason I saw their real nature wasn’t because of spiritual energy. There was no spiritual energy in the box. The spirit sealed within the box had called out to me because of my strong spiritual powers at that time.
Every piece inside this box had a purpose.
‘Selene, you don’t have enough energy to release it. If you try, it could kill you.” Her voice echoed softly in my head.
“Then what do you suggest?”
‘Use mine,’ she replied simply. ‘It should be enough to weaken the seal’
I exhaled slowly. She was right, but that was what worried me. Using her energy meant she’d fall asleep again to recover, and Mira didn’t have much strength yet. Her power was tied to mine, when I grew, so did she, and right now, we were both still too weak. But before I could argue, she chuckled softly.
‘It doesn’t matter if I have one percent of my strength, my body still remembers everything I’ve been through.’
I laughed softly. “Repeating my words back at me, huh?”
‘Someone has to.’
“Alright then,” I said quietly, looking down at the circle of red relics before me. “Let’s do this.”
I placed both palms flat on the ground, closing my eyes.
“Mira,” I whispered, “lend me your power.”
A familiar warmth flooded through me, spreading from my chest down to my fingertips. My breath hitched as the faint glow of Mira’s energy wrapped around my hands and sank into the items.
I didn’t know how long had passed, but I kept pouring more energy into the items. My body grew weaker and weaker; at one point, I coughed out blood, but I didn’t stop. Mira was growing weaker too, but we both pushed on. Just when I thought it wasn’t enough, the red amulet, the stone, and the broken sword began to tremble like something long asleep was stirring. Whatever was sealed inside that box was waking up.
The air around me thickened, heavy with a powerful aura. My vision blurred; the world shaking. Then suddenly something bright and red shot out of the items into the sky.
A phoenix.
A massive red phoenix hovered above me, its body made entirely of flame. Its eyes burned like molten gold, fixed sharply on me. Its wings spread wide, casting the mountain in a deep red glow. It was breathtaking and terrifying all at once.
Long ago, there was a powerful red phoenix feared by many. Even though it lived alone, countless people still sought to destroy it out of fear. So many powerful people gathered together to fight it, and after a long, brutal battle, the phoenix lost. Since they couldn’t kill it, they trapped its spirit inside three ordinary objects and sealed them in a box.
That was centuries ago. The box had been moved from place to place, forgotten, passed down through time, until it ended up in the auction house, and then in my hands.
The phoenix looked down at me, tilting its head. Then it frowned. Before I could even move, it pressed its burning talon against my neck, forcing me down to the ground.
“We meet again, Moonborn. This time, I will have your neck.”
I stared at it.
12:55 Tue, Dec 23
Chapter 58
Of course.
The phoenix’s hatred wasn’t for me, it was for my bloodline. It was my ancestor, a Moonborn, who had trapped him. centuries ago.
And now, he wanted revenge.
田
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