The first thing I felt was burning.
Not the kind of burn from a fever, or the sting of a wound—but the kind of heat that could peel back the fabric of reality itself. It wasn't pain, though. It was liberation. A cosmic fire that sang in every cell of my body, telling me I was no longer what I used to be.
And then—silence.
When I opened my eyes again, I wasn't drifting in an endless inferno of stars. I was lying on a bed, staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling. The sharp scent of wood polish and tatami told me I was in Japan, but the memories that surged into my mind confirmed it.
Kuoh. Kuoh Academy. A town where angels, devils, and fallen fought in shadows. A place that was supposed to be nothing more than a high school setting in the anime I used to binge late at night.
Only this wasn't anime anymore.
I sat up, clutching my chest. My heart pulsed—not like a mortal organ, but like a furnace. Every beat sent ripples of power through me, restrained only because I willed it to be restrained. In the back of my mind, whispers echoed:
Life. Death. Rebirth. Consume. Ignite.
The Phoenix Force. The cosmic embodiment of destruction and creation. Somehow, someway… I had been chosen—or cursed—to bear it.
I rubbed my forehead, trying to make sense of it. Last I remembered, I had died. Stupidly, too. Wrong place, wrong time, a drunk driver who didn't even see me crossing the street. Darkness after that. Then the fire. And now… this.
My reflection in the window confirmed what I feared. My eyes glowed faintly gold, like twin embers in the dark. Mortal flesh, with immortal flame lurking beneath.
A knock came at the door.
"Are you awake?"
The voice was gentle, feminine. I recognized it instantly—Akeno Himejima. Which meant this wasn't a dream.
I forced my voice steady. "Yeah… come in."
The door slid open, and there she stood, just as the anime had painted her: long black hair, violet eyes, and that smile that could disarm the deadliest enemies. But I didn't miss the way her gaze sharpened the moment she looked at me, like she could sense the fire coiled beneath my skin.
"You're finally up," she said warmly. "Buchou will be glad to hear it. You gave us quite a scare collapsing in front of the school like that."
Collapsed? So that's how my story here began. Dropped into Kuoh with power I couldn't hope to hide, fainting like some lost child. Not exactly the entrance of a cosmic god.
I stood, and the floor creaked softly under my weight. My aura must've been slipping out, because Akeno tilted her head, expression tightening.
"What… are you?" she asked softly.
The flames stirred inside me, eager to scream their truth to the universe: I am the end. I am rebirth. I am the Phoenix.
But I swallowed hard and forced a weak smile. "Just… someone trying to figure that out."
Her smile returned, but it didn't reach her eyes. She already knew I wasn't human. Devils in Kuoh could sense power, and mine was leaking like a broken dam.
Still, Akeno's tone grew teasing as she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "You're very mysterious. And cute, too. I'm sure Rias will enjoy having you around."
Heat rushed to my face—not Phoenix fire, but actual embarrassment. Cosmic entity or not, being called "cute" by Akeno Himejima was enough to short-circuit me.
The Phoenix whispered in my mind, amused. You are infinite fire, and yet a single mortal girl unsettles you?
Shut up, I thought back.
As she led me out of the room toward the Occult Research Club, I clenched my fists. This world already had its gods and demons, its sacred gears and dragons. But now, it had me.
And if the whispers in my head were right, the Phoenix Force wasn't interested in playing by anyone else's rules