As the princess of the Spirit Realm, I was born bonded to Heartseeker, the blade fabled for its ultimate devotion. In my last life, to hasten the birth of its Blade Spirit, I endured daily baptisms in scorching bronze water and anointed it with my own blood. On the day the Blade Spirit finally formed, celestial energy converged from across the world, shaking the very foundations of existence. The Celestial Emperor himself descended from the heavens to grant me divinity, bestowing upon me dominion over mortal fate. But as I prepared to offer my thanks, the Blade Spirit manifested its true form and ran me through with the very sword I had nurtured. He held my sister, Joanne, in his arms, looking down at me with cold disdain. “You only ascended because of my power,” he sneered. “If you are worthy of this godhood, then Joanne is as well!” Only then did I understand. The Blade Spirit I had sacrificed everything for had loved my sister all along. When I opened my eyes again, I was back in the past, watching Joanne throw a tantrum, demanding to switch bonded blades with me. This time, I didn't hesitate. I tossed Heartseeker straight to her. I wanted to see just how they would ascend to godhood without me. 1 The hollow emptiness of my soul’s dissipation felt as if it had happened only a second ago, yet when I opened my eyes, I was surrounded by the familiar sights of the day my Blade Spirit was to be awakened. As spirits, we exist above mortals but below the gods. Those of us with royal blood are born with a bonded blade, a companion sword whose power and nature reflect our own. My bonded blade was Heartseeker, one of the ten legendary celestial swords. It was foretold that once its spirit awakened, I would gain the power to command the fates of the mortal realm. I grew up bearing the weight of immense expectation, with the Royal Seer himself predicting I would be the next goddess to ascend from our realm. And so, under the watchful eyes of my entire kingdom, the day of the awakening ceremony arrived. In my previous life, a small incident occurred just before the ritual. My half-sister, Joanne, tried to steal Heartseeker and replace it with her own blade. If our father hadn’t discovered her in time, Heartseeker would have been lost to me. Now, I watched as Joanne knelt in the center of the great hall, her face a mask of bitter resentment as she screamed at our father on the throne. “Why? We are both your daughters, yet Sybil was born with Heartseeker by her side, while I was given this useless piece of bronze meant for farming!” Her voice cracked with fury. “I am the elder princess! But Sybil outshines me at every turn. You call it talent, but I call it favoritism!” Our father slammed his hand on the armrest, his face flushed with anger. “As her older sister, you try to steal her bonded blade, and you still have the audacity to argue? For the past century, I have clearly been too lenient with you!” But Joanne wouldn’t back down, her frustration dissolving into tears. “Lenient? Since you married your new queen, when have you ever cared for me? Father, if my mother knew you treated me this way, how could she ever rest in peace?” As she wept, I noticed Heartseeker, resting on its stand, begin to vibrate, a low hum resonating from its steel. In my past life, I was blind. The sword’s preference was so obvious, yet I had noticed nothing. Joanne staggered to her feet, her eyes burning with hatred as she looked at me. “Father, if you cannot decide, then let Heartseeker decide!” she declared. “Sybil, do you dare face the trial with me? Let us both offer our blood and see whom the blade chooses!” Seeing her so resolute, a thought sparked in my mind. She must have been reborn, too. Before my father could forbid it, I accepted without a moment’s hesitation. “Fine. If Heartseeker truly desires you, then I have no want for a blade so quick to betray its master.” Joanne’s eyes lit up. Before our father could intervene, we had both sliced open our palms. As the entire court watched, the moment Heartseeker sensed Joanne’s blood, it shot into the sky like a comet. After circling a few times, it came to a stop, hovering directly before her. A triumphant, almost manic laugh escaped Joanne’s lips. “It chose me! Heartseeker chose me!” Watching the sword make its choice without even waiting for me to complete the ritual, a wave of bitter irony washed over me. For a hundred years, I had submitted myself to daily torture, bathing in molten bronze and feeding it my lifeblood, all so I wouldn't tarnish its legendary name. All that suffering, only to hand-craft a wedding dress for Joanne. While the court reeled in disbelief at Heartseeker’s decision, a drop of blood from my hand fell, landing unnoticed on the humble bronze sword Joanne had tossed aside. The next moment, the discarded blade flared with a soft, warm light. It rose from the floor and stood before me, silent and steady. It had chosen me. 2 “Hahaha! Well, well, little sister, it seems this piece of junk is your true destiny after all! I knew it! A blade like that could never be worthy of the great elder princess of the Spirit Realm!” Joanne, now holding Heartseeker, mocked me without restraint. “You two are a perfect match! Aren’t you always talking about bringing fortune to the mortals? Go on then! Go help those wretched peasants plant their crops!” Our father, surveying the chaos, rubbed his temples. “Joanne, that’s enough! Return Heartseeker to Sybil at once!” “No need,” I said, speaking before Joanne could. I reached out and took the hilt of the plain bronze sword. “Since the blades have chosen their masters, let it be. A bronze sword, a celestial sword—what does it matter? In the end, it is the hand that wields the blade that counts.” My defiance only enraged Joanne more. “Don’t you get high and mighty with me! We’ll see how proud you are when you can’t even conjure a spirit from that pathetic excuse for a sword!” I ignored her taunts. She was right about one thing: my priority now was to awaken the spirit within this bronze blade. A fully formed Blade Spirit was a being of near-divine power, after all. Back in my palace, I prepared to anoint the bronze sword with my lifeblood, just as I had done with Heartseeker for a century. But as I moved to do so, the sword seemed to sense my intent and pulsed with a gentle light, stopping me. It then tilted, showing me the engravings on its side. On the hilt was the art of the harvest; on the blade itself, the words “Mountains, Rivers, Grass, and Trees.” I ventured a guess. “Are you telling me the way to awaken your spirit is to ensure the mortal world’s crops and livestock flourish in their proper seasons?” The sword hummed and flew two quick, happy circles around me. I immediately summoned the Mirror of Souls, a divine artifact used to observe the mortal realm, intending to find a place in need of a blessing. But what I saw horrified me. Instead of an orderly cycle of seasons, a famine stretched for a thousand miles across the land. “How could this be?” I gasped. “How long has it been since Joanne fulfilled her duty to the mortal world?” As if on cue, Joanne’s scornful voice drifted in from outside my palace. “Sybil, you truly are determined to debase yourself. Are you really rushing to save those worthless mortals?” She entered, sneering. “We are spirits. Are they even worth our time? Only someone with your pathetic, narrow view of the world would willingly do such thankless work.” Her eyes narrowed with contempt. "You're just like your mother. Pathetic and baseborn." Joanne’s mother had died in childbirth. Though no one in the palace ever spoke of her, Joanne had always carried herself as the true, legitimate heir. She saw my mother as nothing more than an illegitimate usurper and never showed her an ounce of respect. Hearing her insult my mother so brazenly, the rage I had suppressed finally erupted. “Shut your mouth!” I lashed out with a wave of spiritual energy. Joanne didn’t even try to dodge. A calculating smile played on her lips. In the next instant, Heartseeker materialized from thin air, shattering my attack before hurtling straight towards me. The bronze sword at my side shot in front of me, trying to protect me, but it was no match for a celestial blade. It held for a mere second. If not for my quick reflexes, the blade would have claimed my life, not just grazed my cheek. I pressed a hand to the bronze sword, which was trembling with fury. Joanne, who had never seen me so disheveled, burst into laughter. “Do you see now, Sybil? Do you know what it feels like to be trampled underfoot? Oh, this is just delightful!” Her voice was giddy with power. “Do you realize that with a single command, I can have Heartseeker end your life? This feeling is absolutely intoxicating!” I stared at her coldly, then aimed for her weak spot. “Joanne, you have neglected your duties for a century, causing endless famine in the mortal realm. If word of this were to reach the Celestial Court, do you still think you could ascend to godhood?” Just as I expected, the triumphant smile on her face froze. To become a god, one must accumulate blessings and merit. By neglecting the mortals, she had earned their hatred, not their worship. Her own merits were shallow to begin with; if the gods discovered she had actively harmed the mortal realm, her path to divinity would be severed forever. Cornered by my threat, Joanne had no choice but to retreat, her face a mask of bitter reluctance. After she left, I followed the guidance of the bronze sword. Using the Mirror of Souls, I sowed seeds across the famished lands. Then, using my own lifeblood as a conduit, I called down the waters of the Celestial River, causing the crops to grow with miraculous speed. As ripened wheat and plump fruits appeared before their eyes, the mortals wept with joy, falling to their knees and bowing towards the heavens. “Praise be to the Harvest God! Thank you, thank you!” Absorbed in their joy, I didn't notice that as my bronze sword absorbed the mortals’ grateful blessings, a faint golden light shimmered across its surface. 3 After several seasons of tending to the mortal realm, the day of my ascension from my previous life arrived. This time, however, the star of the show was Joanne. She had been boasting for weeks, proclaiming to the entire Spirit Realm that this was the day she would summon her Blade Spirit and become the new goddess. As guests and dignitaries arrived, she held her head high, already behaving as if she wore a divine crown. She seemed to be waiting for me. Only when I appeared did she speak, her voice dripping with arrogance. “Today is the day I become a god. Soon, I will be one of the divine, a world apart from the likes of you! Try not to be too jealous, Sybil.” Ignoring the sour looks from the crowd, she drew on her spiritual power and poured it into Heartseeker. The next moment, the eternally pleasant weather of the Spirit Realm roiled and turned violent. Dark clouds gathered, and lightning split the sky. With two deafening cracks of thunder, a man clad in green, radiating immense divine power, appeared before them. The Royal Seer was the first to cry out. “The Blade… the Blade Spirit! That’s the Spirit of Heartseeker! He’s a demigod!” The spirit, whose name was Ignis, glanced at the crowd with disdain, but his expression softened the moment his eyes fell on Joanne. He stepped forward, ignoring everyone else, and gently caressed her cheek, his eyes filled with an almost obsessive adoration. “Joanne,” he murmured. “We finally meet.” “You have awakened me. You are my fated love. For all of eternity, I will protect you.” Joanne was trembling with excitement, gazing at Ignis, her heart pounding in anticipation of what would come next. But then… nothing. The dark clouds dispersed, and tranquility returned. The great convergence of celestial energy from my past life never happened. The Celestial Emperor did not descend to grant her divinity. The smile on Joanne’s face slowly vanished. She grabbed Ignis’s sleeve, her voice shrill with panic. “Why did nothing happen? Where is the Emperor? Why haven’t I ascended? Say something!” Ignis looked just as confused. He tried to summon the world’s energy, but failed. Before he could answer, I felt an invisible force lift me into the air. My bronze sword, which I had put away, materialized before me, letting out a sharp, clear ring. Having been through this once, I knew exactly what this was: the prelude to a Blade Spirit’s birth. But this was just a simple bronze sword. Could it truly birth a spirit? As I hesitated, Joanne, still seething from her failed ascension, turned her anger on me. “That piece of junk? You actually think it can produce a Blade Spirit? Sybil, you’ve truly lost your mind!” Her mockery was the final push I needed. I cast aside my doubts, drew on my own spiritual power, and merged it with the bronze sword. The sky, which had just cleared, was once again swallowed by darkness. But this time, beneath the roiling clouds, the roar of dragons echoed, and golden dragons could be seen weaving through the gloom. The very earth shook, sending boulders tumbling down from the Unshakable Mountain. The divine pressure was so immense that everyone present was forced to their knees, prostrating themselves on the ground. Only I remained untouched, my robes fluttering gently as I stood in the center of the storm, face-to-face with the Blade Spirit who had just appeared before me. He wore a golden crown, his black robes embroidered with golden dragons. His gaze was direct and intense, and though he moved with the grace of a scholar, he radiated the power of a thunderstorm. “My lady,” he said, his voice a low rumble. “My name is Anthony. I am the Blade Spirit you have awakened.” Two Blade Spirits born in a single day. It was unheard of in the history of the Spirit Realm. I saw the muscles in Joanne’s jaw tighten. She was afraid. Afraid that I, just like in her previous life, would draw the attention of the Emperor and ascend to godhood. But this time was different. I did not immediately ascend. Joanne let out a shaky breath, her arrogant demeanor returning in a rush. “Hmph. So you managed to stumble your way into summoning a low-level spirit. A shame he’s nothing compared to my Ignis.” She shot me a condescending look. “Just you wait. The next goddess to ascend from this realm will be me!” With that, she grabbed Ignis’s hand and practically dragged him toward her palace. Others might not have known what she was planning, but I did. Once bonded, a Blade Spirit was the most compatible partner for cultivation. Joanne was going to use him to rapidly increase her power and force her ascension. I suppressed a scornful smile. I only hoped she wouldn't regret her choice. 4 Back in my palace, I watched Anthony, who followed me with quiet devotion. I couldn’t help but ask. “Anthony, Ignis was nurtured by divine power and a century of my lifeblood to take form. But you… I’ve done nothing for you. How is this possible?” Hearing my words, Anthony frowned slightly. He stepped closer and gently pressed his forehead against mine. “A century of your lifeblood,” he murmured, his voice soft. “That must have hurt terribly.” A stream of pale golden energy flowed from where we touched. To my astonishment, I felt the chronic ache in my heart begin to fade. To nourish Heartseeker, I had strained my heart to the point of illness, a secret I had never told anyone. In my last life, even after we were bonded, Ignis knew of my condition but never showed a hint of concern. Sensing my sudden wave of sorrow, Anthony wrapped his arms around me, gently patting my back. “You have already done more than enough for me,” he explained. “You brought order to the seasons of the mortal world, making their harvests plentiful. The mortals, in their gratitude, offered you their prayers and worship. Those blessings became the power that allowed me to take form.” He held me tighter. “Sybil. From now on, I will protect you. I will ensure you live up to your name, free of all worry.” I leaned against him. Though Joanne was right that he might not be as powerful as Ignis, his simple embrace brought me a sense of peace I hadn’t felt in lifetimes. After that day, the entire Spirit Realm was watching Joanne and me, speculating on which of us would be the first to ascend. For the next two weeks, Joanne left me in peace. But I never expected that on the very day Anthony was away tending to the mortal realm's spring planting, she and Ignis would come for me. I frowned, instinctively calling for the guards outside. But Ignis simply tossed their lifeless bodies at my feet. “Sybil,” he said coolly, “they can’t help you.” Seeing him kill with such casual cruelty, I trembled with rage. “You call yourself a demigod, yet you slaughter our people like a demon! Ignis, do you not fear retribution?” He was completely unbothered. “I am the spirit of Heartseeker. Even minor gods must bow to me. Do I look like I fear anything?” A ball of fire materialized in Joanne’s hand, a divine power she had gained from cultivating with Ignis. Her eyes were filled with malice. “I was going to spare you,” she hissed, “but you just had to push your luck, forcing a spirit from that pathetic sword to compete with me.” “If that’s how you want it, then don’t blame me for forgetting we are sisters! Today, you will die!” Heartseeker was a fire-aligned blade, its flames rivaling those of the mythical Vermilion Bird. Realizing her intent, I immediately launched myself at her, fighting for my life. But after cultivating with Ignis, Joanne’s power was now equal to my own. And Ignis, forgetting the century I had spent nurturing him, saw his chance. While I was engaged with Joanne, he struck, slamming his palm directly into my chest. “How dare you lay a hand on Joanne!” he roared. “You’re asking for death!” A wave of excruciating pain shot through me. I coughed up mouthfuls of blood, unable to even get back on my feet. Seeing me so broken and helpless, Joanne let out a wild, triumphant laugh. “Look at you, Sybil! Like a drowned dog! This is more satisfying than I ever imagined! After tonight, there will be only one princess in the Spirit Realm, and only one goddess to ascend!” “Now, sleep forever!” With her final word, she and Ignis combined their power to summon a raging inferno that consumed my palace. Then, after wiping every trace of their presence, they vanished. The air shimmered with heat. I struggled to my feet, trying to escape, but I was completely surrounded by a wall of fire. The flames began to devour my robes, the searing pain on my skin unbearable. Staring into the void, I choked out a desperate cry. “Anthony, save me!”
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