Warmth.
It wrapped around her like a cocoon, soft and comforting in a way she had never known. For the first time in countless years, she did not wake to the smell of ash or the sting of blood. Instead, she felt the gentle rise and fall of a steady heartbeat beneath her cheek, a rhythm so soothing it tugged at her very soul.
Leng Xueyin's lashes fluttered open. Blurred colors swam before her—golden candlelight, silken fabrics, the faint outline of a woman's face above her. It took her a long moment to realize… she was cradled in someone's arms.
Her tiny hands twitched, wrapped snugly in swaddling cloth. She lifted her gaze slowly. The woman who held her—her mother—looked down with eyes shimmering like starlight, filled with love so deep it made Xueyin's chest ache.
A sound escaped her mother's lips, a soft cooing word she couldn't quite process, but the tenderness in that voice… it was overwhelming.
Her throat tightened.
This feeling… is this… family?
Her mind, still that of a battle-hardened survivor, reeled with disbelief. She remembered standing in burning ruins, the silence of endless death, her last wish whispered into the void. And now—this.
So the heavens truly listened…
Her gaze shifted, catching a flicker of silver at the edge of her vision. Her tail—her own tail—curled lazily across her body, its fur glowing faintly under the candlelight. She blinked in quiet wonder.
Her spirit beast had manifested the moment she was born. In her old world, even with all elements at her command, she had never experienced something like this. The cat that had once been her only companion… now it was her.
Her tiny ears twitched at the muffled sound of footsteps and voices beyond the chamber. She didn't need to understand the words to feel the weight of reverence and solemnity in their tone. Somewhere deep inside, she knew her birth had stirred something vast.
But for now—none of that mattered.
Nestled in her mother's arms, wrapped in warmth she had once only dreamed of, she allowed her eyes to flutter closed again. Her tail flicked once, purring softly.
This time, she whispered inwardly, I won't walk alone. This time… I'll live not just to fight—but to feel. To belong.
The world outside was already shifting around her, empires whispering of destiny, temples recalling prophecy, soldiers swearing loyalty. But in her heart, there was only one truth:
She was no longer a lone orphan fighting the apocalypse.
She was Leng Xueyin, daughter of the Duke's House, niece to the Emperor, child of prophecy—
—and she had finally been born into a world where warmth awaited her.