WINTER was alone in the carriage. Lord Denver was the one acting as the coachman, while Miss Luna sat beside him while performing a protective spell that would make them unrecognizable by the enemies.

But the carriage that they were using was different from the ones that he was used to. In fact, that carriage didn't have seats so he was lying down of the floor while hugging his mother's urn.

It was uncomfortable, but it wasn't the reason why he couldn't sleep.

"Mommy, I'm sorry," Winter whispered in a cracked voice. "I'm sorry I failed to protect you. And now, I can't even go and save Dad."

It was too much to take in all of the information that he got after "waking up."

But to be honest, he was a bit glad that he wasn't in his right mind when his mother was publicly executed. He wouldn't have handled it if he was himself when that happened. The same goes for his father.

"Mommy, I will avenge you," Winter promised himself while wiping the tears off of his face. "And then, I will save Dad."

***

"REMEMBER this, Winter Prescott," Miss Luna said seriously. "You only have two hours. That's how long my protection spell will work. If you don't come out thirty minutes before it expires, I will send Mikhail Denver to retrieve you."

Winter nodded firmly. "I understand, Miss Luna."

Right now, they were in the rooftop of the abandoned mansion next to the temple.

Miss Luna covered his whole body in a spell that would teleport him in to where he needed to be. Since the teleportation spell wasn't an easy one to create, he was the only one the witch could send.

"If you're caught by the High Priest, kill him," the witch said. "I don't like that guy."

"Miss Luna, don't say that," Lord Denver scolded the witch. "Killing the High Priest isn't a part of our goal tonight."

The witch just clicked her tongue.

"Young Master," Lord Denver said, completely ignoring the witch's complaint. Then, he held his shoulders and met his eye level. "Please don't get caught. We don't want His Majesty and his people to know that you have returned alive. Right now, I'm pretty sure that they are looking for you. And if they get a hold of you again, they will surely brainwash you again."

"I won't let that happen," he said determinedly. "I will find the Red Phoenix and ask him to help me avenge my mother."

"Then, we should work now," Miss Luna said, then she put a hand on top of his head. "Please close your eyes, Young Master."

Winter nodded, then he closed his eyes.

Red Phoenix, I hope I find you as soon as possible.

***

WHEN Winter opened his eyes, he was already inside the temple.

He was glad he was sent to the secluded area. Well, it was just an empty hallway. He had been to the temple to pray before but he was always in the main hall. To be precise, he sat beside His Majesty in the balcony overlooking the entire hall where people prayed.

In short, he had no idea where to go.

"Winter, remember to trust your instinct if you find yourself in a tight spot."

He flinched when he heard his father's voice in his head. Ah, right. That was the advice that his dad gave him a long time ago.

Thank you, Dad.

He calmed down and poured his concentration to his surroundings. His senses sharpened and he was able to feel different kinds of aura coming from each room. Then, he put the hood in his head to conceal his face before he walked quietly.

Of course, he held the bag hanging by his shoulder carefully. That was where his mother's urn was kept.

"As I thought, there's really an intruder here."

He froze on his spot when he heard the familiar voice behind him.

It's High Priest Howard!

He clicked his tongue and began to run fast. As expected, the High Priest followed him and even alerted the Holy Knights to capture the "intruder."

Well, I guess I'm still lucky that he didn't recognize me.

He was about to turn into a corner when all of a sudden, the ground shook really hard. And before he could even comprehend what was happening, his whole body was suddenly engulfed in flame.

The trauma he had made him close his eyes tight.

I hate flame…

"How could the only son of the Supreme Fire Mage hate flame?"

He gasped when he heard an unfamiliar voice. When he opened his eyes, he was greeted by a strange man with red hair and dark purple eyes. His aura was different and he felt a pure kind of Mana coming from him. "The Red Phoenix…?"

That was what his instinct told him.

"Yes, I'm the Red Phoenix," the strange man said with a scowl. "And you're definitely that despicable man's son. My condolences for having the same gold eyes as that bastard."

Winter stood up and stood away from the Red Phoenix. His aura was so hot that his skin felt burnt just for standing near him. "I like that my eyes have the same color as Dad's."

The Red Phoenix scoffed. "Your mother's purple eyes are prettier."

"They are," he admitted. "But I also like my father's eyes. If I could choose my eye-color, I'd choose to have both."

The Ancient Beast laughed. "We think alike, Winter. That's the reason why I gave my son different-colored eyes. One is from me, and the other is from my wife."

"You have a son?" he asked curiously. Well, it was possible for an Ancient Beast to have children for them to have descendants. Just like the case with House Ainsworth. He was just unsure if the Ancient Beasts had the power to choose their children's appearance. "And you were the one who "gave" him his eye-color?"

The smile that the Red Phoenix gave him told him that he had no intention to answer his questions. And so, he changed the topic.

"How did you know my name, Red Phoenix?"

"Luna told me all about your family," he said. "And don't call me by my title. My name is Winchell but you can just call me 'Wixx.'"

"Alright, Lord Wixx."

"Don't add honorific to my name."

"I can't call you by your name, Lord Wixx," he argued. "You're an Ancient Beast and therefore, calling you so casually will make me feel uncomfortable."

"Then, why don't you just call me 'uncle?'"

"That's a little too familiar."

"Ah, you don't know yet," the Red Phoenix said which confused him. "I'm your real uncle, Winter."

"Huh?"

"Your mother is my sister," Lord Wixx said bluntly. "To be precise, she's the reincarnation of the sister that I had in the past."

To say that he was shocked to hear that would be an understatement.

"You're my mother's brother?"

The Red Phoenix smirked haughtily. "Yes, so you should be proud of your bloodline."

"Are you kidding me?" he snapped at his "uncle." "If you were my mother's brother, then why did you let her die?! You're the Red Phoenix– you're supposed to be powerful! But why couldn't you even leave this damned temple to save Mommy?!"

If it was revealed to him in a different circumstance, he would have been thrilled that he had the lineage of a god. But he already lost his mother. What was the use of his supposedly powerful blood if he couldn't protect the most important person in his life?

The fact that his mother's brother was a being worthy to be called a god just made it worse.

It doesn't make me happy at all.

On the other hand, the Ancient Beast was unfazed by his hurtful remarks.

To other people, it may seem like the Red Phoenix didn't care about his accusations. But he had seen that expression before.

Ah, that's the face that Dad made when he took all the blame for Mommy's misery.

"You are right. I'm pretty useless for a god," Lord Wixx said with a bitter smile. "My title as a Beast God is nothing but a fancy name."

After seeing how remorseful his uncle was, he didn't have the energy to get mad at him anymore. And it wasn't like he had the right to blame the Red Phoenix. He was by his mother's side all this time but he also failed to save her. "Uncle?"

He still felt awkward but to be honest, now that his mother was gone and he couldn't see his father yet, he was longing for the warmth of his family.

Although he was still lucky that he had Lord Denver and Miss Luna by his side.

Anyway, the Red Phoenix's face lit up when he called him "uncle." "What is it, Winter?"

"Miss Luna sent me here," he said seriously. One of the reasons why they didn't have time to point fingers at each other was that they had a mission to accomplish. "I want to avenge my mother's death."

"I understand your feelings but there's something more important that you must do before you seek revenge," Lord Wixx said. Then, in just a blink of the eye, he was already standing in front of him. Then, he poked his forehead with a finger. "You must see why your mother was punished during this lifetime first."

Winter blinked when he remembered that Miss Luna said the same thing.

Just what did Mommy do in her past life?

***

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