[ Natalia POV ]
The moment the golden drop entered my heart, I was enveloped in an endless darkness, or whatever they called the void. I don't know how time has passed. Am I still alive or dead? I am not feeling anything. It continued like that. Then I heard-
[Child, congratulations on passing the trail of eternal prison.]
HAH, who are you? How can I hear you? Where are you? How can I get out of this? Please leave me, I begged the voice now, even though I had started to forget the voice, the faces of the people I know and the warmth of the family. The loneliness had enveloped me from inside and out.
[Who am I? You don't need to know, and for how can u hear me, you are in my Astral domain from the beginning, undergoing a forbidden trial.]
"What trial? I don't know it, and even if the trial is ongoing, I want to go home; I can't handle it anymore," I pleaded to the mysterious voice.
[Don't worry, you have passed the trial and acquired the golden phoenix bloodline, and you can go home when you want]
But how? I didn't do anything. I am here, but even I don't know how I cleared it.
["Do you know what the trial was about?] the mysterious voice asked me.
"No, I don't know", I replied in a rushed voice.
[ It was to test your will and patience, mainly the ability to withstand the passage of time]
HAH--, what do you mean by the ability to withstand the passage of time? I understood the will and patience.
[ How much time do you think has passed since u have arrived here]
Ahmm, I don't know when I came, but from how tired I feel, maybe 5 to 10 years have passed. I think.
[You have been here for less than eon]
What does that mean
[It means more than 500 years u have been here attending the trial ]
But how? I don't have any memories.
[You don't, because I locked your memories deep inside your body. Because your current body cannot withstand the memories and have a mental breakdown]
you u mean I was here for 500 years? Then what was I doing? What about my father, mother, and brother? I asked in fear of feeling loneliness again
[Nothing. You were simply floating; you were doing nothing, and as for your family, they will be fine because only 15-20 min passed there]
"What the fuck do you mean I was simply there? What the fuck is the reward for waiting for 500 years?" I said urgently
You have won 2 rewards from the trial. They are
1) Golden phoenix progenitor- a race equally feared by gods, demon gods and higher beings. You should know about it. In fact, every phoenix should know. Though it cannot rival the original progenitor.
You can bestow the golden phoenix bloodline, but its purity will be extremely low, and yours also is at the rare tier. It will take 10 years to be fully functional, and then u can give the bloodline.
2) It is something which will help you when your life is in danger.
I understood my first reward, but the second I didn't know about it. It looked like platinum color rectangular shape slip. In the middle, there were strange carvings which I didn't understand.
As I was thinking about it then
The time has come; you should return. As the overseer of the trial, I will tell you: don't lose your mind to the rage, and think carefully.
He told me that I felt very drowsy, as if my soul was being pulled by something, and I couldn't resist it.
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In the royal palace of the Firex Kingdom
The three dukes, Aldrich and their people, had slaughtered every single being related to the royal family. But even they were waiting for the last surviving person of the royal kingdom. It was Natalia, 'The last heir of the golden royal family.'
Natalia lay before the Eternal Hall of Flames, and the council searched intensely for something. Why they did not kill or injure her was because, at the time the golden drop entered her, a barrier had formed around her which cannot be broken by any rank.
Seeing this aldrich was very furious. Because the very chance to discipline her had gone. And others were waiting because they had to kill her, as she was the king's daughter; if she survived, she could claim the throne. And the council wanted to take her under control. There was a chance she would succeed the Sun Phoenix bloodline if they could not kill her.
Everyone had their own goal to succeed, but they had to wait until the barrier was gone.
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[Natalia POV]
My eyes shutter. I try to open my eyes, but I cannot; they feel heavy. I smell something; it's thick and nauseating yes it blood smell of blood rotten meat but it was too much to bear.
I heard something. Unlike other times, their voice didn't have fear or respect or admiration. But it had arrogance and attitude.
When I opened my eyes, I saw-- I saw corpses; corpses. Now I understood there were many dead bodies. I started going forward. The ground was littered with limbs, arms, heads and their insides. But the strange thing was, everyone- every single one was from the royal army. And there were even some commoners.
As I started walking, I heard it. I saw him. he was sobbing quietly. My nose picked up the smell of an overwhelming mixture of rotting meat, feces, and sulfur.
The boy was crying. But the strange part was he was holding something in his hand. When I went near him, I saw there was a headless dead body in front of him, and I asked.
Hey, what happened here? Why are they dead?
Who are you to ask? he asked, weakly, with no strength in his voice
"I am the royal princess". She was upset because the boy had asked in a timid tone; she thought he was enraged and sad because of the loss.
For some time, there was a minute of silence. Then he smiled. Then started laughing mildly.
As I saw him, I asked him again in a dissatisfied voice Why are u laughing, and what happened here,
HAAHHAHHAAHHAH---AHHAHAHAH but now even I was a little scared; his voice was heard throughout the mountain. And now I realized that laugh was hollow. very hallow
As he stood, I saw him'
He turned towards my side, then I screamed
AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRHHHHHHHHHH--
Not out of fear, but out of pure horror, shock and disbelief, because the strange thing he was holding in his hand was the head of the severed body. The head was rotting, and the insects were flying around it.