The tremor that passed through Vaythos deepened even more. Far beneath the surface, the crystalline cocoon that held Vivi shuddered once, then again, the cracks that had spread across it finally reaching their limit. For a brief moment, everything stilled, as if the world itself held its breath.
Then the shell broke.
The crystal fractured outward, dissolving into fine particles of light that drifted away and vanished into the surrounding heat. From within, something emerged.
It wasn't the massive phoenix I had seen before. It wasn't the small flame phoenix.
It was a girl.
She looked to be in her early twenties, her form slender and tall. Her hair flowed down in soft waves, a deep violet that shimmered faintly as if light itself moved through it. Her eyes matched, glowing gently with the same hue, with a mischievous smile in them.
