He swallowed. "The lava flowed toward their walls. The people there… they stopped moving. It was like the whole city froze, waiting for the end. Even their king. He didn't run. He stood with them. He was a good man. I could see it in the way he faced it."

Seroi's tone softened. "And then… in the middle of all that fear, a little girl spoke. She was holding her grandmother's hand. She asked if their god would save them. The grandmother didn't answer. But the girl… she started to pray. Not to any human mage, not to soldiers, but to the god they believed in the Phoenix, the god of sky and origin. I didn't knew how I was able to listen her voice. We were located far away than them. But somehow in my ears her voice echoed. It's like magic or what. I don't know till now. But it was something that we can't imagine."

Ren shifted slightly, his eyes fixed on Seroi. Elara leaned forward, listening.

"The king heard her. He closed his eyes… and prayed too. One by one, the others followed. An entire kingdom, with their eyes shut, whispering the same name. I don't know why… but the air changed."

Seroi rubbed his arms, as if feeling the memory on his skin. "The heat faded. It was… cold. Not the kind of cold that bites. More like… the weight of snow on your shoulders. One by one, people collapsed where they stood. Even us. I fought it for a moment, but… I couldn't. Just before I blacked out… I saw it."

His voice grew almost a whisper.

"A Phoenix. Not fully. My vision was blurred. The colors were everywhere gold, red, blue, shifting like fire in water. And then… nothing."

He leaned back slightly, exhaling through his nose.

"When we woke, the lava was gone. No, not gone. Frozen. Turned to stone. The air was still, like nothing had ever happened. From above, no satellite could see a thing. No heat signature, no images, no signal. It was as if the eruption… never happened. We contacted our headquarters. They told that things. They also not able to see or monitor all things that happened. They said that may be someone newly awake and he/she don't want to reveal his/her identity. May be he/she stopped that. And they didn't listened my words. But I know what I saw."

He looked up at them, his expression calm but certain.

"I saw part of that Phoenix."

Ren and Elara exchanged a glance, their brows lifting at the same time.

When the word left Seroi's mouth, it carried a weight neither of them expected.

Phoenix.

Ren leaned forward slightly, elbows resting on his knees. "So… do you mean that Phoenix is the origin core?" His voice was calm, but there was a sharpness in his eyes, a flicker of curiosity fighting with caution.

Seroi's gaze didn't waver. "Yes. Probably." He rubbed his palms together slowly, as if the memory itself was cold. "When we came to our senses… we couldn't believe it. None of us could. How could something like that even happen?"

He shook his head faintly, his voice lowering. "When the signal came back, I called headquarters. Told them what happened. They didn't believe me either. The others with me… they just looked at me like I'd gone mad. But we went down the mountain anyway."

The fire between them crackled softly, throwing brief flashes of light over Seroi's face.

"Everyone was safe. Every single one of them. Not even a burn mark on their walls. It… it didn't make sense." His fingers tapped restlessly against his knee. "I told the others I wanted to stay. That I'd investigate. They left… but I stayed. I had to."

He glanced toward the night sky outside a window as if the mountain itself still stood there in his mind. "I asked around. Spoke to the people. Every single one believed it was a miracle from their god. A Phoenix of the sky and origin. They said it was their protector. Their savior."

Elara tilted her head slightly, her eyes narrowing with thought.

Seroi's tone softened, almost becoming reverent. "An old man told me why they worship him."

Seroi's gaze drifted to the firelight outside the window nearer to lake as if the flames themselves carried the old man's words. His voice slowed, carrying the weight of a memory passed down for generations.

"He told me," Seroi began, "that according to his ancestors, this world once drowned in war. Countless battles… countless dead. Some fled here, searching for a place where their families could survive. Wandering for years, they finally found this valley."

Ren shifted slightly, the flicker of the light casting shadows across his face.

"They settled here," Seroi continued, "and became one with the land. They defended it from any outsiders who dared approach. They cared for the animals. They lived alongside the mountains as if they were part of them." His hands spread slightly, tracing the invisible ridges of peaks. "The invaders who came never stayed for long. The wilds were too dangerous. The mountains too deep. The beasts too fierce. Somehow… they survived. The animals became friendly to them bcz they helped animals. So they helped them to survive."

Elara's eyes followed his gestures, her posture leaning forward without her realizing.

"One day," Seroi said, his tone dropping, "the king of a great country saw this place. He wanted to acquire this land and valey. But he found that here was already people's lived. He tried to conquer this land but nature stopped him. Beasts and animals of the forest killed some of them at night. They barely survived. So he decided to come with a large army to conquer this land. And finally he came with his army, from all four directions. They cut through the forests. They slaughtered the animals. They came to claim the valley."

His eyes darkened as if he could still see it. "Our ancestors fought. Animals also helped them. Nobody knew that this valey's animals were smart like humans. That's still mystery. Some beleives that this is only a story and it's not a reality. Some strongly support this story also that here is something that makes animals smart like us. May be today's generation don't believe on it bcz we don't have any proof. He told me that."

Ren nodded and spoked...

"Yaah, that's right. How can someone beleive that animals are smart like humans. Yes, they are smart but not much like humans. Atleast not in this era. May be at that time they had."

"Yes, that's what he was tried to explain me. Anyway, we moved towards the story again. They fought until the ground was red. But they failed. When the end came, and the enemy raised their blades for the last strike…" He paused, his fingers curling slowly into his palms. "A light appeared. Divine. Blinding."

Ren's breath caught.

"From that light, a great bird emerged. Larger than any creature they had ever seen. Its wings burned with colors they could not name. It descended… and killed every invader."

He looked towards them both and continued the story...

"And then it left," Seroi added, his gaze distant. "Without a word. Since then… they worship him." His lips tightened. " i asked him for my concern that if they were killed. Than their remnants was founded by archaeologists. But he said no. They say the bird erased every enemy from existence. Millions of soldiers gone. No bones. No armor. No trace. Only one who created us, or wields unimaginable power, could do that. The power like you Ren but it's different than you."

Ren nodded. Then Seroi continued...

"If he had not come… he would not be here. Someone else would live in our place. This was the last thing he told me."

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