The city's lights flickered as though uncertain whether they should continue shining.
Central Park—once a place of laughter, evening jogs, and quiet conversations—lay submerged in creeping shadows. Smoke curled along the pathways, and scorched leaves crumbled beneath Lyra's trembling feet. The air itself felt wounded, humming with heat and fear.
Her chest heaved. The Phoenix Flame throbbed deep inside her, no longer a spark but a raging heartbeat—alive, wild, and painfully real. The first wave of monsters was gone.
But the night was far from over.
Eva's voice broke the silence, small and unsteady.
"Lyra… are they… gone?"
Lyra swallowed, her breath ragged. Every instinct screamed danger.
"No," she whispered. "Something's coming."
The shadows answered her.
They rose again—taller, broader, darker and more powerful and terrifying than before. Their forms writhed like living smoke, edges shifting as if reality struggled to define them. Molten-red eyes burned with intelligence this time. Not mindless predators.
Dark Monsters.
They split apart, circling, testing. The ground trembled beneath their movements.
Lyra staggered back, fingers digging into her jacket. No training. No control. And barely enough strength left to stand.
Fear coiled tight in her chest.
The Phoenix Flame responded instantly.
Crimson and gold erupted around her, her aura flaring outward in shimmering waves that bent the air. Heat rippled across the park, warping stone and ash alike.
Not like this…
I can't—
The first monsters of darkness lunged.
Lyra reacted on instinct.
Fire burst from her hands—violent, uncontrolled. The ground cracked open like molten veins beneath her feet. Shadows hissed and recoiled, their forms unraveling—only to pull back and regroup.
They were learning.
Eva clutched Lyra's jacket, her knees shaking. "I… I don't understand…," she whispered, fear and awe tangled in her voice.
The second wave struck faster.
Lyra's flame scorched earth and air alike, but it was chaotic—burning everything indiscriminately. Her vision blurred, chest constricting under the sheer pressure of her own power. Every heartbeat felt too heavy.
Then—
Warmth.
Not fire.
Light.
Golden radiance washed over the park, gentle yet absolute. Sparks drifted through the air like falling stars, and the oppressive weight of the shadows faltered.
Lyra squinted, shielding her eyes.
A figure descended between her and the monsters.
Wings of pure light unfurled, feathers gleaming like polished dawn. The figure landed soundlessly, golden aura flaring as darkness recoiled instinctively.
"I am Serena," the voice said—calm, commanding.
"And you are the Phoenix Princess."
Lyra's breath caught. "W—What?!"
"I—I don't know who I am or what I am!" she cried. "And I can't control it!"
Serena turned slightly, her gaze warm but unyielding.
"Then let me help you."
The shadows surged and the dark monsters attacked again.
Darkness clashed with flame and light, twisting violently as the creatures adapted, feeding on chaos itself. Lyra's fear spiked, and with it came something worse—
Power.
Hotter. Fiercer. Vast.
The Phoenix Flame roared inside her, no longer content to burn quietly.
Release.
Lyra screamed—a raw, primal sound torn from her soul.
The air ignited.
Fire exploded outward, tearing through the shadows. Screeches echoed as bodies disintegrated under the brilliance of her flame. But still—some survived, regrouping, striking from impossible angles.
Serena moved instantly. Light wove through the battlefield, wrapping around Lyra's flames—not suppressing them, but guiding them.
"Focus!" Serena called. "Let it flow through you—do not let it consume you!"
Lyra's vision flooded with crimson and gold. The park vanished, replaced by a furnace of flames. Something powerful stirred deep inside her—older than the beginning of the Aetherion Galaxy itself.
The strongest power in the Aetherion Galaxy pulsed beneath her skin.
And then—
She let go.
With a scream that shook the horizon, Lyra unleashed the full force of the Divine Phoenix Flame.
A pillar of red and gold erupted skyward, engulfing the park in searing radiance. Shadows didn't scream this time.
They were engulfed by the divine phoenix flames and ceased to exist.
When the light finally faded, silence followed—absolute and heavy.
Lyra collapsed.
Her body trembled violently as embers drifted through her hair, shimmering along crimson and gold strands like dying stars. The Phoenix Flame receded, leaving only exhaustion and burning ache behind.
Serena knelt beside her, gathering Lyra gently into her arms.
"Rest," she whispered. "You've done more than you realize."
Eva approached slowly, pale and shaken.
"Lyra… what just happened?"
Serena looked at her—stern, but not unkind.
"You cannot know. Forget this night. Forget the magic you witnessed. Never speak of it."
Eva hesitated, lips trembling.
"I… I don't want to forget. But… I understand. I promise."
Serena nodded once.
"It is for her protection. And yours."
Golden light enveloped them.
The ruined park dissolved beneath their feet, city lights blurring into ember and shadow as warmth carried them skyward.
"Where… where are we going?" Lyra murmured weakly.
"To the Fairy Academy," Serena replied softly. "There, you will heal. And learn to control what has awakened."
Eva squeezed Lyra's hand tightly.
"I'll wait for you. I won't tell anyone. Ever."
Lyra managed a faint smile before darkness and light merged—
And the world disappeared.