Dancing on the golden ashes-Chapter 237 : Rebirth

"Your sorry will not save you from your sins!"

The powerful voices of Seo-yeon, Min-jae, and Ji-hoon thundered inside my mind, their words sharp and unforgiving. Before I could react, their figures appeared beside me, their faces twisted with anger and hatred. Each of them held a sword, and without hesitation, they drove their blades into me. The cold steel pierced my flesh, searing pain exploding through my body with each strike.

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Soon, they were joined by others — one after another, the faces of those I had failed appeared before me. The forgotten citizens of the empire, those who had died that day, all gathered around me, their expressions twisted with rage and grief. Their blades tore into me, cutting deep into my body, but the pain went far deeper than flesh. I could feel their emotions as though they had been forced into my very soul — every tear, every ounce of fear, every final cry that had gone unanswered.

I wanted to scream, but my voice was lost beneath the crushing weight of it all. The agony was unbearable, yet somehow the guilt hurt even more.

Why did I even hope to recover... to revive them?

They hate me... Everyone hates me...

I lay there in that field of crimson flowers, suffocating beneath the weight of their stares, and soon my despair twisted into something else. I no longer wanted to escape. I no longer wanted to recover.

I just wanted to end it all...

My trembling hand rose to my throat, my nails sharpening as I prepared to rip it open and silence everything once and for all.

But before I could finish, a voice broke through the storm of chaos in my mind.

"Live on, sister... your path is not lost yet..."

That voice...

The pain, the guilt, the agony — for a moment, all of it seemed to fade. My hand stopped, hovering inches from my throat as my eyes widened.

"Nuri..."

His voice, soft yet clear, rippled through me like a beacon in the dark. My little brother — the one who had always been so cheerful and full of life, the one who had never doubted me no matter how cruel the world became — had called out to me. His words pierced through the suffocating haze that had clouded my mind, and suddenly everything became clear again.

The crimson flowers, sharp as blades, wrapped tightly around me like vines. They cut into my skin, slicing my arms, my wings, and my tail. The pain was constant, yet somehow I no longer felt weak.

"No..." I whispered, my voice shaking as I gritted my teeth. "I will not give up."

I clenched my fists, forcing my trembling body to move. "I swore to myself... I will revive them... all of them... and then... then I can repent for my sins..."

Suddenly, something stirred inside me.

A powerful pulse erupted from deep within my soul, and the energy that had once been trapped in my broken container surged to life. The container, fragile and fractured, could no longer contain the energy, and with a deafening crack, it shattered into countless particles of dust.

In that instant, it felt as though everything had been ripped away from me. My soul felt hollow, my body stripped of everything I had once clung to. Yet even then, I refused to fall. Something inside me refused to give up.

That stubbornness — that raw, unyielding instinct — roared to life, and from the emptiness within me, a new power began to rise.

I felt it swirling inside me, wild and chaotic, yet undeniably strong. The emotions I had buried for so long surged forward, and they refused to be ignored.

The pride that refused to submit to fate.

The envy that cursed destiny itself, swearing to change it by force.

The wrath that raged against the cruelty of this world, furious enough to tear everything apart if that's what it took.

The sloth that simply refused to die, clinging stubbornly to life as if it had no interest in letting me rest just yet.

These forces, once hidden inside me, now surged outward, each one pulsing with its own will. They refused to let me die, and their power erupted like a storm.

The broken fragments of my soul container gathered within me, drawn by that powerful energy, and from those ashes, something new began to take shape. It was as if a phoenix had risen from its own death, reborn stronger than before.

I turned my gaze inward, and there they were — four orbs spinning slowly within me, each radiating with its own powerful glow.

Pride glistened with a deep purple hue, pulsing with defiance.

Envy shimmered with a vibrant green, swirling like a restless flame.

Wrath blazed crimson, its chaotic energy radiating a furious heat.

And sloth, calm yet unwavering, shone with a rich blue, its presence steady and stubborn.

All of them had once been the colors of my eyes, yet now they seemed to burn with a life of their own.

The air around me trembled as a powerful ripple surged from my body. The crimson flowers that had once tried to consume me now danced in response, their petals twisting and swaying beneath the powerful winds that rushed outward from me.

And then I felt it — the unmistakable pulse of life.

The crimson flowers radiated energy, their life force pouring into me like rivers converging on a single point. I could feel something stirring inside me, something new and powerful — a presence that felt both familiar and foreign at the same time.

"Give me..." I muttered, my voice low and strained as I reached out for that power. But something inside me twisted, something darker and more desperate. I didn't just want that power — I demanded it. I craved it, greedy and insatiable, as if it was my birthright. Even if I had to steal it from the heavens themselves, I would take it. I would seize everything I desired, no matter the cost.

As if answering my call, a new color emerged within me — a brilliant golden orb that radiated an energy stronger than all the others combined. It pulsed with a force so powerful that for a moment, I felt as though I could rip the world from its roots and shape it however I wished.

The orbs inside me began to spin faster, their energies converging and weaving together. The container that had once been shattered now reformed, stronger than ever before, as if forged from the ashes of my failure.

Soul energy surged into me from the surroundings, rushing through my veins like a wildfire that refused to be tamed. My body, once frail and broken, began to heal rapidly, yet this time I felt something different. My strength didn't just return — it grew, pushing my body past its former limits.

I clenched my fists and rose to my feet, feeling the power surge within me.

This was not just recovery... this was rebirth.