Chapter 125: Burning Heart

Her throat felt dry and she could feel her lips almost crack. The air was hot and suffocating, and her mana was running wild.

Seraphine’s eyes were glued to the heart that was beating in Valerian’s hand. Even separated from the being it gave life to, the heart of the ancient phoenix still refused to fully die.

"A ph-phoenix..."

They were legendary beings that embodied the concept of life and rebirth. In some nations they were treated even as deities, and in others they were the whole reason for the cycle of reincarnation.

Beings of eternal life whose immortality comes from death and rebirth. She couldn’t believe that such a being’s heart was right in front of her, and it wasn’t just any phoenix heart. It came from Azuriel, the Sovereign of Azure Flames, a being that stepped past the demigod rank, capable of wiping out entire planets.

The mana coming off of this priceless treasure was enough to make the atmospheric mana run wild, and she, as a being [Loved by Mana], could feel the influence it had on the world.

"I want you to take it."

Valerian’s voice came from in front of her, but she couldn’t take her eyes off the heart. She had to force herself to turn away, but even then her eyes unintentionally wandered back to it.

"You... what?"

Her brain couldn’t process it for a moment; the emergence of the heart was just too shocking.

"It belonged to someone that reached the sovereign rank. It will be of great help for you."

Valerian moved his hand in front of her, holding the heart directly in front of her. He took her hand with his other and placed it underneath the heart before pulling his own away.

It was almost as large as her head, so she supported it with both her hands.

Seraphine could feel the weight of the heart and the heat it was producing. But the heat didn’t burn her; when she felt the warmth, the exhaustion she felt from the days of research and hours preparing for the presentation went away, burned away by the healing flames of the heart.

"Val... I-I don’t know what to say."

Handing over such a treasure would be considered the greatest mistake someone could make in their life. A normal person that assimilated this heart could become someone that shakes the very foundation of Eldoria, and in the hands of the [Pride of Eldoria]...

Valerian smiled and placed his hand around hers, supporting her to hold the heart.

"Just say ’thank you, my amazing, handsome, perfect boyfriend.’ That should be enough."

He said it with a teasing tone, but Seraphine looked at him with the brightest smile that he had ever seen, causing his eyes to widen and something inside him to burn.

"Thank you, Val."

Valerian just looked at Seraphine’s face as she already began to examine the heart with a gentle smile.

’I really have the cutest girlfriend.’

After Valerian gave her the heart, Seraphine was more than excited to try and assimilate the phoenix bloodline here and now, but Valerian had to stop her.

"You should take in the mana slowly. You are at the S rank, and this heart belongs to a sovereign. If you just take in all the mana at once, your body will tear itself apart trying to integrate such powerful mana."

With a sulking face, Seraphine waddled to the training room, following behind Valerian. Now they sat on the ground with Valerian sitting behind her.

"I will help your mana fully flow into your core, and weave it into your body."

It was a similar process he had already done with Arthur and his [Origin Bloodline], so he was confident he could get 100% out of the heart. When he sat behind her, he looked at her back and the sudden urge to hug her came over him, but he kept it in for the sake of progress and put his hands on her back.

Seraphine began to let the mana of the heart flow through her body. It made its way through her arms, and Valerian gently guided it into her core and heart at the same time.

The normal process for a bloodline integration was to take in the mana and connect it with the mana in the core; after that, the mana would reconstruct the body to fit whatever bloodline mana the person took in.

But Valerian had something a bit more special in his head. He didn’t just want to help her gain a bloodline. No, what he was trying was something no one else could achieve, as it required the mana sensitivity and control he had as the [Child of Mana].

He wanted to transform her heart into a phoenix heart.

If she were to gain this phoenix heart, it would be much more than just a bloodline; it would make the transition into becoming a phoenix much, much easier and smoother. So that eventually, Seraphine could ascend her race to a phoenix entirely.

When she felt the mana guided by Valerian not only go to her mana core but actually into her heart, she became nervous for a second, before leaning slightly into his hands and trusting him to do what would benefit her.

For the first second everything was fine, but then a burning azure fire ignited in her chest as part of her heart went into literal flames.

"Agh!"

A short yelp of pain escaped her, but she gritted her teeth and took in more of the phoenix mana, letting Valerian guide it through her body. The pain was excruciating; her heart was burning, and she felt every bit of it.

Her skin became sweaty and her teeth hurt from biting too hard. Tears began to form in her eyes, and she became light headed.

But she didn’t stop, didn’t let the tears fall, and continued the assimilation process. To her, it felt like days were going by, and then weeks. She lost her sense of time in the inferno raging inside her.

But then it changed; the pain disappeared and a gentle warmth bloomed in her chest. That warmth felt like all the pain, all the suffering, was worth it just to experience this feeling.

"You can stop now."

Barely hearing Valerian’s voice in this bliss, she stopped channeling the mana from the heart as the warmth disappeared with the mana.

Valerian stood up and kneeled down in front of her, concern written all over his face.

"How are you feeling, Sera?"

He knew what was happening inside her body; he was the one that made the fire burn her heart, after all. And while he didn’t know how much it hurts to have your heart literally burn, he could feel the twitching of her back, and the short yelps before biting down on her tongue to keep it in.

"I’m feeling... amazing?"

She looked down at her hands. They felt stronger, and for some reason she was feeling warm right now, not in an annoying way, but more like the gentle warmth from a hug that fully enveloped her.

Valerian activated his [Dragon Eyes]. He ignored the status that popped up for now and looked past her clothes and the outer parts of her body, looking straight at her heart. It was beating normally, but now part of it was replaced by a blue fire that had the rough shape of the piece it replaced.

The fire moved in sync with the beating of her heart, becoming one with it with every pump.

"Do you like my boobs that much?"

Hearing her voice, he realized how it must look from the outside; to Seraphine, he had just been staring at her chest for the past minute.

"Yes, I do, but I wasn’t looking at them this time. I was checking on your heart."

Not fully convinced, she bored holes into his head with her eyes. Valerian ignored her stares and finally turned to the status revealed by his [Dragon Eyes].

│ ─────── STATUS ─────── │

│ Name : Seraphine Luna Verdantia

│ Age : 16

│ Race : Royal Verdant High Elf

│ ─────── ORIGIN ─────── │

│ Bloodline : Verdantia World Tree Matriarch (82%) | Sovereign Azure Phoenix (18%)

│ Physique : Primordial World Heart

│ Core : S

│ ─────── ATTRIBUTES ─────── │

│ Vitality : S+

│ Strength : S-

│ Agility : S

│ Dexterity : S

│ Intelligence : SS

│ Mana : S+

│ Charm : SS+

│ ─────── AFFINITIES ─────── │

│ Wind

│ Water

│ Fire -> Phoenix Ember

│ Earth

│ Light

│ Darkness

│ Solar

│ Life

│ ─────── TITLES ─────── │

│ [Pride of Eldoria]

│ [Princess of Verdantia]

│ [Loved by Mana]

│ [Touched by True Divinity]

│ [Bearer of the Azure Flame] [NEW]

│ ─────── SKILLS ─────── │

│ [Racial Skills]

│ [Verdant Longevity]

│ [Sap of Restoration]

│ [Unique Skill]

│ [Reality Weaver]

│ ─────── BOND ─────── │

│ Bound Entity : -

’Her fire evolved and she gained a new title; that’s pretty good for a partial awakening.’

Standing up, Valerian stretched his limbs and shot her a grin.

"Want to test out the changes?"

Getting his intention, Seraphine stood up and had a grin of her own plastered over her face.

"I would love to."

Blue flames ignited around her body and swallowed everything around her in a hellfire inferno.