Hundred and Thirty-Three

"Blaze..." Arabella choked back a sob; her eyes fixated on Blaze's unmoving body. She didn't need words; the truth was discernable. Blaze lay dead before her, just as the prophecy had foretold.

Consumed by overwhelming grief, Arabella let out an ear-splitting screech, her fingers clenching the bars of the now-visible cage. "Please, no," she whispered, shaking her head, tears streaming down her pale face. How could life continue without him? How could she possibly defeat Sandro without Blaze? How could she...?

"You're cruel!" she yelled, her voice reverberating through the room. "So cruel for taking him away from me!" She cast her gaze around the dimly lit space, a desperate search for any god or goddess in charge of the phoenixes. Even for any of her predecessors but it was futile.

They had witnessed Blaze's final moments as they had her father's. A fresh wave of grief coursed through her, and she shuddered, tears flowing until they couldn't anymore. Her sobs ebbed into quiet whimpers