Ethereal Ascendance: A Journey of Transformation(Vol 4)

Vol 4/ Chapter 113 - Farewell

"Be careful, don't drop it!"

Cyra was really causing trouble in her excitement, failing to grip the phoenix egg tightly enough as it suddenly slipped from her hands. Those like Vivianne on the ground immediately cried out in alarm upon seeing it.

"It's fine! How could I make such a low-level mistake!"

Fortunately, angels had fast reflexes. Cyra swiftly reached out and caught the egg from below, ending up just a minor scare. Her fluid motions were seamless, but to the female phoenix watching, it was an extreme provocation. Infuriated yet powerless against Cyra, it could only voice angry screeches in protest.

"Eh? Feels a lot lighter..."

What no one expected was that when Cyra caught the egg, the cracked opening happened to be facing downwards. The little phoenix inside happened to have pecked through that area, promptly tumbling right out of the eggshell.

"Are you kidding me?"

Everyone was dumbstruck, helplessly watching the naked little phoenix plummet from the heights above. Although not terribly high up, if allowed to hit the ground, it would likely be severely injured, if not killed! The first to react were Cysper and I, repeatedly repositioning ourselves in hopes of catching it below.

But none succeeded. After all that fuss, the landing spot proved unpredictable - the little phoenix aimed straight for the red-haired Brennan and simply fell into his outstretched hands.

"Chirp--"

Startled, the hatchling let out a shrill cry, barely opening its eyes to look at Brennan before instinctively snuggling into his embrace.

"What the heck is this?"

Witnessing it all from above, Cyra was dumbfounded, gaping as her supposed divine beast pet ended up belonging to someone else. All she could do was descend beside me with the empty eggshell.

"Serves you right for getting carried away!"

I shot her an irritated glance, but inwardly felt amused. If only she had gripped the egg tighter initially, this mishap wouldn't have occurred.

"Better just accept your fate. Don't have a protagonist complex if you aren't the protagonist!"

"Tch, I was so close..."

Cyra was extremely reluctant, but had no choice but to give up. Besides, Vivianne originally stole that phoenix egg for Brennan, so in a sense, it returned to its rightful owner.

The female phoenix had now flown above Brennan, repeatedly calling out to the hatchling, only to be completely ignored as it nestled deeper into his arms. After circling overhead for a while, she could only fly off disappointedly towards the Sulide Volcanic Peak.

"Vivianne, this...I..."

Seeing her depart, Brennan's expression didn't ease at all. He had previously made clear his refusal, yet fate seemed to deliberately 'shove' the phoenix into his hands, making him even more awkward facing Vivianne now.

"I guess this must be fate. I hope you'll take good care of it."

She had already said her piece earlier. Vivianne shook her head, unwilling to dwell further. Glancing at Yulanda who remained hidden in the crowd, she sighed and returned to her tent alone.

"Perhaps this counts as a happy ending for all..."

Observing this entire commotion unfold, Adrian remarked with some wistfulness. Phoenixes can live for centuries and have multiple clutches, but the chances of hatchlings actually surviving to adulthood are extremely low. This is mainly because mother phoenixes only raise their young briefly until they can fly, after which the hatchlings are kicked out to fend for themselves.