The Phoenix's Rebirth

The meeting with Hrun Dal had eaten up quite a bit of time. Ian figured at least eight or nine hours must have passed while he ate with the goddess, learned magic, and chatted away. But no such luck. The view from the mountaintop looked exactly the same as before he'd left for the ice palace. Had time stopped? Ian's guess was only half right.

Time in the afterlife flows differently from the living world. The hours spent in the ice palace hadn't affected Ian in the present at all.

So when Ian went to find Kira, she stared at him with a startled expression.

"What? You're back already?"

Her words asked if he'd returned, but in her head, she was thinking, 'Did he get sick of it and bail?' It was a natural assumption. When someone who said they'd be gone just a bit came back that quickly, you figured something had gone wrong.

"Already?"

Ian confirmed the strange sensation he'd felt was real. Time really hadn't passed in the living world.

[Ian. Did you meet her?]

Winnie chirped.

The little phoenix had figured Ian had met Hrun Dal.

"You knew where the ice palace was, huh."

[Of course. I've lived here a very long time.]

Her memories all jumbled, Winnie spoke in first person without any sense of oddity.

Ian and Kira stood side by side, Winnie in the middle, gazing at the snow-capped mountains. The sunlight was blinding, the wind biting cold.

[It's beautiful.]

Winnie said.

[If I'd died right after being born, could I have seen this beauty and felt joy?]

"Probably not."

[But then, I wouldn't have felt any regret either.]

Ian stroked Winnie gently.

"Saying you shouldn't be born because death is scary? That's just dumb."

No one wishes for life and gets born. Everyone's tossed into the world irresponsibly. Long or short, it's about finding meaning in the time you're given. That was life.

[Thank you for being kind to me, Ian. For indulging my silly whims. And for spending this last time with me...]

Winnie smiled.

[Thank you, Ian.]

A chill emanated from Winnie's body, as if she were drawing in the surrounding cold herself.

"Ahh..."

Kira instinctively sensed the surging mystery around her and let out a sigh without realizing it.

"Winnie."

Ian hadn't named the phoenix—Kira had. At first, she'd just been drawn to the cute creature, but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at some ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠point, she'd come to see Winnie as precious.

"Ian... what did Winnie say...?"

"She wants me to tell you thanks."

Frost began forming from her talons, soon covering her entire body. In the blink of an eye, Winnie was frozen solid. She looked dead to the world. But that wasn't the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠case.

It was just the process of shedding her flesh to reveal the phoenix's true form.

[I...]

Winnie whispered.

Ian touched his cheek without thinking. What he'd thought were snowflakes were his own tears.

[I'll miss Mom and Dad.]

A fierce cold wind whipped up. The baby bird Winnie was gone. In her place stood an elegant phoenix cloaked in ice crystals, majestic and poised.

[...What a strange feeling.]

The moment the phoenix spoke its first words, Ian knew Winnie's existence had been erased from the world.

"[We meet again.]"

The phoenix scattered countless ice shards as it circled Ian gracefully.

[A revival this peculiar is a first for me.]

The phoenix murmured.

[To feel regret over a short mortal lifespan...]

Ian asked just in case.

"[Do you remember your time in the flesh?]"

The phoenix replied.

[Barely at all. Most unusual.]

The reason the phoenix called it unusual was that faint traces of her mortal memories lingered. Normally, they should have been wiped clean. It had to be that way—after all, she'd always died right after birth until now.

But Ian had done something extraordinary, leaving extraordinary results.

[I feel such affection for you...]

The phoenix sounded troubled, as if fondness for a human felt alien to her.

Emotions from her Winnie days were influencing the phoenix.

"[That's a relief.]"

Ian smiled, and the phoenix smiled back instinctively. Then she faltered. Ian's brief grin had struck her as too appealing. The unfamiliar emotion brought a strong sense of dissonance.

Phoenixes didn't know love. They didn't breed, seduce mates, or bear young. They were mystical beings who simply died and reborn in cycles. No need to understand love.

But Winnie had felt something like parental love for Ian, and fragments of that emotion lingered in the phoenix.

[...]

The phoenix circled Ian and Kira, then hesitated. Without realizing, she'd thought of following them.

But she couldn't leave this frozen land. An ice-bodied being stepping beyond the cold would melt away—obvious as day. She could join their journey after dying and regaining flesh... but then her phoenix consciousness would vanish, making the trip pointless.

[Troubling.]

The phoenix said glumly.

[I don't want to part from you. But I can't travel with you.]

"[Same here.]"

[I never wanted to know these feelings...]

The phoenix flapped her wings toward Ian and Kira. Green rings formed on their fingers.

"[What's this?]"

[A part of me. My beloved humans. I don't want to lose you just yet.]

Ian understood immediately. Unable to leave the sacred mountain herself, the phoenix would sense them through the rings.

[Before my memories fade, I must record the moments 'I' shared with you.]

The phoenix said.

[If I recall those memories and emotions, I'll come find you.]

Ian felt a surge of joy. She meant to restore memories from her Winnie days? Winnie was gone, but inheriting those memories? He couldn't help but be happy.

"[We'll be waiting.]"

The phoenix spread her wings and sang in a beautiful voice. She was clearly delighted too.

[I have duties, but parting without more feels regrettable. Is there anything you wish to share?]

Ian answered sharply at the phoenix's question.

"[Knowledge.]"

[Knowledge?]

"[Yes. Tell us what you know about these snow mountains and ice.]"

The phoenix readily agreed.

[Very well. I'll teach ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you what I know.]

Ian learned the mysteries of ice from the phoenix.

Cryokinesis wasn't a magic Ian used often. For starters, you needed cold weather to make it work. Unlike fire that could blaze even in winter, there was no way to artificially generate cold yet. It was optimal only when it was freezing enough for ice to form naturally.

Wait—you learn Cryokinesis because you need cold, but you can only use it when cold is already there? Total trash, right?

Pretty much. Cryokinesis mages weren't well-regarded in the empire. They became powerhouses [winter only], turning into magic beggars the rest of the year.

But a mage was still a mage. Getting stronger in winter wasn't nothing. Border nobles snapped them up precisely because they lacked better options. Learn it, and it'd be useful in winter.

Ian learned Cryokinesis obediently. Being made of ice herself, the phoenix knew much about cold mysteries.

[I'm sorry I can't join your journey. But...]

The phoenix said as she saw Ian off.

[If calamity befalls you, I'll abandon this life and rush to your side.]

Ian nodded lightly. It sounded dramatic, but it wasn't really. The phoenix abandoning life? Just resolving to return as an egg. A being who took death lightly, sure—but that didn't dilute her sincerity toward Ian. It proved how genuine she was.

"[I'd appreciate that.]"

Beside him, Kira wiped tears. She'd been speechless since earlier, but right before parting, she finally shouted.

"I won't forget you! Winnie!"

[What did that human say?]

"[She says she won't forget.]"

[...What a resonant echo.]

Ian bid the phoenix farewell and slowly descended the mountain. Kira finally burst into sobs.

At first, Ian thought she was crying over Winnie's passing.

"It's okay. We stayed with her till the end. The phoenix said she'd try to recover Winnie's memories too..."

"Sniff. It's not that...!"

Kira cried out in a choked voice.

"It's 'cause I'm so pathetic...!"

"What's pathetic about you."

"I was with Winnie the whole time! But I couldn't understand a single word she said!"

"..."

Ian had nothing to say. It was a fact.

Kira was a half-baked mage. Back as a con artist, she'd cast spells without knowing a lick of Maronius Language. Not all mages used it—northern shamans had their Arcana magic, or folks invented quirky spells of their own.

But nothing beat Maronius Language for communing with mysteries. And Kira barely knew it...!

The few words she did know were stuff like [O flame! Burn!]. So she felt pathetic, harboring both admiration and awe for Ian.

If only I'd learned proper magic from a real mage...!

"...Ian."

Kira sniffled.

"Cut my pay if you want, but will you teach me Maronius Language?"

"Hm..."

Ian pondered. On the road, he'd taught her a few bits—fire-related characters only. He'd thought that enough. Kira was a fire prodigy; her failure rate was tiny for pyrokinesis.

But teach her random letters and risk irritating fire mysteries that hated them? Knowing too many could backfire.

Maronius Language had tons of characters and took ages to learn. Why mages were brainiacs. Better to master just what you needed than half-ass everything!

Ian had mastered all under Eredis; Kira knew the bare minimum for her needs. That's why he hadn't taught her properly—too risky without formal apprenticeship. Botch it, and accidents meant headaches.

"Figured... no, huh?"

Kira hung her head. Ian's hesitation seemed authoritarian to her—like mage traditions or whatever. But that was wrong.

Ian figured if he was teaching magic, it'd be like Eredis: holing up in mountains for years. Easier to handle mishaps that way.

"Hmmm..."

But he changed his mind. Kira had journeyed long with him, helped heaps. Trust built up. She wouldn't screw around causing incidents over language lessons.

Ian trusted her. So he'd teach her some.

"Sorry, Ian. I swore not to steal your time. Forget I asked—my greed..."

"Nah. I'll teach you."

"...? For real?!"

Kira jumped in shock.

"But conditions."

"Anything! Spill!"

"Study only under my watch."

Kira looked puzzled briefly. Ian explained.

"Starting with basic thousand-character text. Even basics are magic language—mispronounce, and mysteries get pissed and show up."

"..."

That's why Eredis camped out with him for lessons. Ian couldn't go that far.

"We'll grab books when we hit the empire."

"...Yeah!"

Kira nodded vigorously. Just getting lessons from Ian made her thrilled beyond words.