KYRO, now in his spirit form, was about to attack the Daughter of the Sun.

But he was shocked when all of a sudden, Yumi's body combusted and his wife was reduced to nothing but black ashes.

"No!" Kyro screamed, then he fell on his knees trying to gather Yumi's ashes. He tried to bring her back using his divine powers. But it was useless because his ability to bring back the dead only worked if first, the person had just died for a few minutes. And second, there had to a physical body. Unfortunately, he couldn't bring back Yumi because only her ashes were left. "Yumi…"

"If you have given Kiho half of the love and care that you give Yumi, maybe you could have been a decent father to him before."

He glared at the Supreme while clutching his wife's ashes in his hands. "You don't know anything about my family," he hissed. "I love my son."

"You don't have a son anymore," she said coldly. "I heard Kiho's voice a while ago. He just disowned you and Yumi. Don't ever call my husband your son again, Kyro."

He ignored and tried to gather Yumi's ashes instead.

I'll find a way to bring you back, darling.

Even though he didn't want to admit this, the Supreme was indeed fearsome to be able to kill Yumi. His wife might just be a minor god. But Yumi was still an ancient god with a powerful protection, thus her long life. And yet, it was rendered useless in front of the Black Flame.

"You don't have to collect Yumi's ashes," the Supreme told him. "Rise, White Snake."

He was surprised with what the Supreme said.

But he was even more surprised when all of a sudden, Yumi's ashes turned into a huge black flame. Then, his wife came back to life– her skin didn't even have a single burn mark. The Mana and the life force that he felt from her were unmistakingly Yumi's so he was certain it wasn't fake. But of course, he couldn't completely trust the Supreme.

"Killing Yumi is too light of a punishment," the Supreme said, then she snapped her fingers.

All of a sudden, Yumi woke up.

But at the same time, his wife was once again burned alive. She screamed in agony, and in just a few seconds, she was already burned to ashes.

Kyro was shocked to realize that it all happened before he could even blink.

The Supreme burned Yumi faster this time!

"It's a cycle, Kyro," the Supreme said with a smile. "Yumi won't die. Instead, every time she wakes up, she'll be burned by my flame until she turns into ashes. And then, she'll be back only to be roasted again. It will never end even if I die. As long as the Black Flame is alive, Yumi's punishment will continue forever."

That was a punishment heavier than death.

"Rise, White Snake," the Supreme said.

Like what happened earlier, Yumi came back to life again.

This time, he put his wife into an ice "coffin" and forced her to sleep. The Supreme said that Yumi would be burnt to ashes if she awakened, didn't she?

"It's no use," the Supreme said. "I can command my flame to wake her up whenever I want. And I'm sure you already know that my Black Flame can melt your puny ice."

"Then, I guess I shall steal your Black Flame," he said, then he stood up and came at her.

Since he was only in his spirit form, he didn't have his full power yet.

He knew that what he had right now wasn't enough to kill the Supreme now that her Black Flame was ignited. But if his only goal was to steal the Black Flame, then he could do that.

"Stop."

Kyro was frozen from where he stood when he felt a fearsome aura behind him.

All of a sudden, he felt like several coils were thrown at his neck, squeezing it like a constricting snake. He couldn't move, and he couldn't breathe. Only one person could do that to his spirit form.

"Never again will I let any of you hurt my wife," Kiho hissed behind him. "Drop dead, Kyro."

Ah, his son's memories had truly returned to him.

He tried to get away from the invisible coils that his son wrapped around his neck but to no avail.

Worse, the Supreme disappeared and when he saw her again, she was already standing in front of him. Then, she put her hand on his shoulder. He was sure that she would burn his spirit to death when all of a sudden, another presence joined them.

"If the Moon God disappears, you children will die."

Both the Supreme and his son didn't move an inch.

Kyro smiled when he saw his "savior." I don't regret taking you in as my disciple, Elis Ripperton.

***

TO SAY that Tilly was angry when she saw Winter and Julian floating in the air while being suffocated by Elis Ripperton's violent air would be an understatement.

If her children were taken, it only meant that Luna and Roarke were both in danger.

Despite everything, the Blue Dragon was still a Beast God. It shouldn't surprise her if he was able to defeat Luna and Roarke. After all, she had a feeling that the Keeper lost to Elis Ripperton because of what happened to her a while ago.

"You have a deal with Aku Moonchester," Elis Ripperton, who was floating in the balcony of that room, reminded her strictly. "If you touch the Moon God, I will cancel the deal in his place, Tilly."

""Tilly?"" Kiho snarled at the Blue Dragon. "Who gave you the right to call my wife that casually, you freaking reptile?!"

Coming from you, Kiho? You're an oversized snake, hon.

Anyway, Kiho threw ice daggers at Elis Ripperton who simply enveloped himself inside a tornado.

But she realized that the ice daggers were only meant as distraction. Kiho's real goal was to save their children. As soon as the Blue Dragon defended himself, her husband jumped to grab their sons.

Tilly didn't stay idle. She was also not afraid to turn her back on Elis Ripperton because she knew that Kiho got her back. She also had faith in her husband that he would protect their children while fighting the Blue Dragon.

She faced the Moon God again and summoned her dagger and iron crab mallet. Without missing a beat, she hit the hilt of the dagger to send a ball of Black Flame in Kyro's soul.

Kyro growled angrily. "That will not be enough to kill me."

"I know," she said coldly. "But that flame is enough to hurt you every time you try to possess Kiho's body. That flame will also give me a signal once you're near my husband. In short, you can never hide your presence from me anymore. You can never take over Kiho's body again– not under my watch, Kyro."

"I admit my loss for tonight," Kyro said with a bitter smile. "But just so you wait, my dear daughter-in-law. The day I retrieve my body back is the day you'll die."

"Sure, "Father,"" she said sarcastically. "You should worry about your darling wife for now. Should I teach you a way to save her?"

"Insolent–"

"Yes, I'm an insolent person to people who don't deserve my respect or kindness," she said, cutting the Moon God off. "If you want to save the White Snake from the cycle I cursed her with, then you better find her a new host. Spirit guardians like her are tied to their masters' life force. Once a spirit guardian disown their own masters, they will be free. But to live, they need to find a powerful host." She dug the dagger in his spirit further. "If you truly cherish your wife, you know what to do."

Of course, she liked the idea of Yumi suffering forever.

But as long as the White Snake was connected to Kiho, she would never find peace. She'd rather burn Yumi's tie to her husband for now than punish her gravely. She wanted Kiho to be free from his sh*tty parents.

Plus, she could always redo the curse anyway.

Anyway…

I'm still bothered by the sudden information in my head about the spirit guardians. Is it because I have all of my memories now– including little Soleil's?

Kyro laughed in a bitter way, obviously holding back his anger. "You're a mistake, Daughter of the Sun," he said while shaking his head. "You're a mistake made by the gods. We should have killed you after you swallowed the sun."

I swallowed what?!

That was something she never heard before but she refused to let her shock show on his face.

First rule of fighting with words: don't show the enemies your emotions.

"I knew from the start that the Black Phoenix is a threat to the gods," Kyro continued snarling at her. "If only the Sky God didn't meddle then…" He caught himself and stopped talking midway. "See you later, my dear daughter-in-law."

The Moon God started to disappear and she let him.

My job for now is done anyway.

When she turned to where Yumi was, she wasn't surprised when she didn't see the White Snake there anymore. Kyros definitely took his wife with him.

"Come back here, you flying reptile!"

She turned to see Kiho shouting in the balcony.

Oh, Elis Ripperton ran away, too.

She didn't care about that because her priority right now was her unconscious children. As soon as the enemies were gone, she ran towards Winter and Julian who were both lying on the floor. She knelt between the kids, then she put one hand on each of their chest.

They're breathing normally.

Both the kids' temperature was also normal for them.

"I'm sorry, my little cinnamon rolls," she whispered in a cracked voice. "You were hurt because Mommy failed to protect you."

"It's not your fault, Tilly," Kiho said, then he knelt in front of her while checking on their children. "I'm the one who's been incompetent since time immemorial."

"You're not incompetent, Kiho," she consoled him, then she looked at his face. Her heart broke when she saw the pain in his eyes. "If the Kalel in your heart still feels guilty for the way he treated Soleil in the past, tell him that he still has a lifetime to make it up to her."

He looked surprised with what he said, then he nodded. "I will relay that message to the Kalel in my heart."

She smiled at her husband, but that smile disappeared as soon as she felt a strange burning in her chest. "It hurts," she said in clenched teeth while clutching at her chest tight. "Kiho, my heart feels like it's burning."

Kiho looked so concerned. In just a blink of the eye, he moved her until she found herself between his legs. He let her lean against his chest while he was making his body colder than usual. "I will cool you down with my Mana," he said, then he kissed the top of her head. "But tell me if it becomes too cold, honey."

Tilly nodded, then she closed her eyes and laid her head on his chest. The burning in her heart was still painful. But thanks to her husband's cold Mana, it had become bearable. "Thank you, hon."

But why did it still feel like her heart would combust any moment?

***

"TILLY'S Black Flame has escaped from the Abyss," Wixx said coldly while putting on a robe. He was talking to Wong and Kelsi who where kneeling before him. But he was looking up at the sky while talking. "The Black Phoenix has awaken."

"It's time for the Supreme to wake up and reclaim her power as the Black Phoenix, Lord Wixx," Wong said. Of course, the Keepers knew what Soleil was from the beginning. He just didn't allow them to tell it to his precious little sister. "She's no longer a child, my lord."

"I agree with Wong, Lord Wixx," Kelsi added. "The Supreme is level-headed now. She won't be controlled by the Black Flame anymore."

"You don't understand."

Wong and Kelsi looked confused by what he said, and thus, he explained.

"When Soleil was a child, I locked up the Black Flame in the Abyss because she wasn't able to control it," he told the Keepers. "But when she got pregnant with the Moon Serpent in the past, I had to free the Black Flame so that she could transfer it to her son. That moment, she awakened as the Black Phoenix in secret." He paused for a while, and then he let out a frustrated sigh when he remembered his mistake back then. "Soleil is a Beast God like me even though she refused to ascend the heavens. And do you know what all Beast Gods have in common?"

"A spirit guardian," Wong and Kelsi, the wisest Keepers next to Solaris, answered in unison.

"Yes, a spirit guardian," Wixx said, then he looked down at Wong and Kelsi. "Soleil's spirit guardian betrayed her– and that's the reason why her Black Flame was stolen in the past."

Worse, that spirit guardian with the stolen Black Flame could "awaken" too and kill his precious little sister.

***

LUCINA couldn't breathe.

She felt like her whole being was being burned at the moment. Was it because she used the Black Flame? But that wasn't the worst part of her current torment.

Memories.

Her mind was being flooded by unfamiliar memories. It was giving her headache. And more pain. She thought the only past life that she had was the one Julian "returned" to her five years ago. But she was wrong.

"Spirit guardian," Lucina whispered in agony. "I'm the spirit guardian of the Black Phoenix?"

***

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