Chapter 1: Prologue: Phoenix
Written by: 菁鸟
1
A pitch-black void.
"Beep. Beep."
"Memory module. Operational. Language module. Operational."
"Beep. Beep."
"Motor module. Operational. Sensory module. Operational."
"Beep. Beep."
"Emotion module. Operational."
"Beep——"
"Project Rebirth activated."
She tried to open her eyes, but she only encountered an intensely bright white light.
Immediately after, a wave of dizziness and an uncomfortable ringing in her ears ensued.
Subsequently, there was silence.
2
"Ding——"
A hand reached out, smashing the noisy alarm clock to silence the dream-shattering sound.
The girl rubbed her messy sky-blue hair and sat up in bed.
Lazily opening her deep golden eyes, she softly complained about the recurring dream of recent days.
"Why is it this dream again..."
"What are the guys in my dream saying?"
She drew back the curtains after changing clothes and tying her long hair into a slender, low ponytail.
Sunlight struggled to filter through the gaps of the densely packed residential buildings into the room. She stretched lazily and gazed down at the bustling people below.
"Good morning, Ceres."
However, unlike usual, the market below today was not as crowded as before.
"What's happening..."
Suddenly remembering something, she froze in place, then exclaimed, quickly grabbed her coat from the chair behind her, and rushed out the door.
"Phoenix, come back for breakfast..."
"Mom, I will after getting back!"
"Where are you going?"
"The ceremony is about to begin!"
The girl named Phoenix hastily put on her coat, waved to her mother holding bread, and rushed out of the door without looking back.
3
"Excuse me,..."
Phoenix navigated through the crowded throng of people.
It was the award ceremony for the person she admired the most. How could she be late?
It's all because of that odd dream!
Repeatedly shouting her dissatisfaction with the dream in her mind, she just kept her head down and maneuvered through the gaps in the crowd.
Bang!
"Ouch!"
She ended up bumping into the back of a man.
"Ah..." she rubbed her forehead and looked up at the tall figure before her, "Oh, I'm sorry."
"I'm very sorry, miss."
The man in a blue suit also took off his hat in apology.
"It's fine." Determining to get to the ceremony, she smiled, waved her hand, and slipped through the gap in the crowd.
When the man saw Phoenix's face, he was stunned.
When he came to his senses, Phoenix’s figure had already disappeared.
"That was..."
"Aries, what's wrong?"
"Oh, it's nothing, Starless."
He looked in the direction Phoenix had left.
"Well, I accidentally bumped into a lady just now."
"Let's hurry. Colonel Proxymar's award ceremony is about to begin."
Starless tugged at Aries' sleeve to move forward, but Aries remained indifferent.
As he was about to question Aries about his slow pace, he noticed the shock in his eyes.
"Aries, what's up?"
"That face was so familiar. Just like I've seen it somewhere."
4
As Phoenix entered the crowd, she overheard snippets of the audience's whispers.
"I heard that the Marshal Fujin is here this time?"
"Yes, he's standing over there. Look!"
"That's going to be historic. Two generations of heroes appear together."
The host was energetically recounting the hero's combat process. From spotting enemy aircraft to charging in alone, the precise strikes of the missiles were described as if guided by a divine hand, while the giant bomb appeared formidable.
The voice was so loud, and her chest reverberated along with it.
5
When Phoenix finally squeezed her way to the front of the crowd, the lights around the platform suddenly lit up.
"Now, please welcome— the hero who rescued Ceres from danger— Colonel Proxymar!!"
A loud cheer erupted from the audience below, with many people tossing their military caps into the air in celebration.
Through the crowd's gaps, she finally saw the middle-aged man on the stage.
Colonel Proxymar was dressed in a dark brown trench coat and had neat, light brown, short hair. He waved his hand, and the audience below again cheered again.
"Hero!" "Our Warrior!" "Colonel!"
The people of Ceres shouted, and the journalists' cameras kept flashing.
However, Phoenix just stared blankly at the hero on the stage.
From below, a man with long hair slowly walked up, his purple robe billowing without wind, holding a medal in his hand.
This medal belonged to the hero.
"Marshal Fujin."
Proxymar bowed to the Marshal.
"This is the reward you deserve, Colonel." The Marshal smiled gently as he placed the medal on Proxymar.
Fujin turned around and raised the microphone, and the boiling crowd quieted instantly.
"The person standing beside me is Colonel Proxymar, who recently almost single-handedly annihilated the enemy ambush in an invasion. He disrupted the enemy's plans to attack this place, saving this planet.
"Colonel Proxymar is a role model for the warriors of the Galactic Alliance Army. Here, on behalf of the Galactic Alliance Army, I present this medal to the brave Shipsians warrior.
"From this moment on, Proxymar is promoted to Commander. I hope that in future battles, there will be more, even braver warriors fighting to protect the stability of the galaxy."
Amidst thunderous applause, Phoenix's eyes shimmered.
"I want to be... that kind of hero too."
6
"Heh, the beloved Marshal Fujin has the leisure and elegance to grace my humble abode?"
The door creaked open, and a beam of light pierced into the dim and dilapidated room.
The dust in the air was illuminated by the beam of light, followed by the muffled sound of an object falling heavily in a corner.
"Sir, I sincerely hope you closed your olfactory module before entering. After all, this place is much dirtier than the Alliance military office. Of course, mine has been broken for a long time."
A middle-aged man with yellow-green hair sat on a chair that had seen better days, and the coffee table was covered in cobwebs.
He looked at Fujin, who had pushed open the door. At this moment, Fujin was in civilian clothes, wearing a hat that concealed his face.
"I haven’t seen you for a long time, old friend, and you can still recognize me," Fujin said.
"My radar isn't broken. I knew it was you when you stood outside the door," the man sneered. "Remember me, this old friend of yours, how delightful."
"Can't I come to see an old friend? You haven't cleaned the house since then, have you?" Fujin closed the door, removed his hat, and said, "Trinity."
"Your clean-freak old friend died in Blight long ago."
Trinity lifted a bottle of somewhat murky liquor from the table.
"Old wine. Care for a drink?"
"I didn't come here to reminisce, Trinity."
He put down the bottle, flexed his arms, cleared his throat, and sneered, "Oh, is the Marshal here to fight? I should fix my Chrono Field, but Darkfire should still work."
"Trinity, I'm serious."
"Cut the crap."
"..."
7
When Trinity heard those words, his body trembled involuntarily.
"Really...? Trinity, you're not lying to me?"
"Absolutely true."
"Good. What a great Galactic Alliance Army. What a great humanity. What a great 'Project Rebirth'..."
"What do you plan to do?"
"Me? Of course, I'm going to make some repairs."
"Don't do anything stupid. Don't forget you're still on those human's wanted list."
"Don't fuss."
"Then bye."
"Wait, Fujin, promise me."
"Just say it."
"Don't let her repeat the same mistakes this time."
"But isn't that the purpose of the Project ?"
"If that happens, Fujin, I might also make the same mistakes."
"Everything has changed, including you and me. And I believe she has, too."
8
As he watched his old friend leave, Trinity slumped in the chair, the words echoing in his mind, over and over again—
"I saw Phoenix."