Selena was put down inside her crib, her little body wrapped in a cozy blanket, she looked like the world's tiniest, cutest wizard.
Outside, her father was in full warrior mode, training with swords that looked twice as big as her. It had only been a few days since she entered the world, but boy (girl), was it a whole new world from the last time.
In this life, thanks to the ever-helpful deity of stories, she was born into a family that actually loved her. That was a huge upgrade from her past life, where she was pretty sure her family's idea of bonding time involved talent competitions.
The kicker? Her new parents knew she was a reincarnated baby. Yup, not your usual newborn experience. "Oh, look at our beautiful daughter! She's so precious!" Also them: "By the way, did you know she's lived before and has all these cool ether powers?"
Totally normal, right? And to make things even more extra, the Deity of Stories had gone ahead and blessed her with the language of the phoenix, which, fun fact, was her actual race. How cool was that?
She had heard her parents say that how much of a blessing she was for them. Selena couldn't talk yet, but if she could, she'd probably say something like, "Well, I'm kind of a big deal." But for now, all she could do was lie there and bottle it up, as any self-respecting magical baby would.
While speaking wasn't on the menu, her ethercraft? Oh, that was a different story. She remembered it all, clear as day, from her first encounter with the deity.
The blue hair, the blue eyes—very aesthetically pleasing, by the way—who had offered her three skills of her choosing. And the Phoenix language thing! Thanks, blue-haired Deity.
When she was presented with a bunch of scrolls to pick her skills, she went straight for the second row like it was the dessert table at a buffet. She had asked very politely if she could skip the first row—because those were for suckers, clearly—and the kind deity was more than happy to oblige. The three golden tickets she picked were Edit, Ether Genius, and Psyche Genius.
Now, Edit was a real gem. It let her mess with people's minds, as long as their psyche wasn't stronger than hers. Sure, the description said she could only control five people at once, but there was a little note at the back of the scroll saying that she could bump that number up if she had enough ether. Challenge accepted, she thought to herself.
Their house was the perfect place to grow up as a phoenix child with world-altering powers. It was a cozy wooden cabin, nestled between a couple of giant trees, almost as if the forest had just decided to casually handcraft the most idyllic home possible.
The walls were a warm oak, each beam etched with tiny runes that gave the place a warm glow at night, but she never felt hot.
The windows were big, letting in soft sunlight that made the whole room feel like it was always late afternoon, the golden hour. Inside, everything was simple but sturdy. A big stone hearth sat in the middle of the main room, and the floor was covered in soft, woven rugs that made even crawling around seem like a luxury.
She lived in a much better mansion, but it was as suffocating as it was luxurious. She was more happy in a warm wooden house rather than an extremely competitive mansion with threats in every corner.
She could hear her father outside, probably swinging a sword at a training dummy like it had personally offended him. Life was peaceful, quiet, and—
Suddenly, the door crashed open. There went the peace.
Her mom barged in, she looked as if she had just sprinted from the far end of the forest. And she wasn't alone.
Behind her came another woman, equally as rushed, but what really caught Selena's attention was the bundle in the woman's arms. No, scratch that—bundles. One was a masked man in a suit, 'Was that standard in a fantasy world, or did her parents choose to live inside a forest in an industrial era? The man looked like he'd seen better days, and the other one in her hand was… an egg?
Melina couldn't believe her eyes, March— her aunt, was near deathbed when she left ('near', not on deathbed), and here she was, standing as if she was just out on a stroll. Melina, couldn't cry anymore, but if she did, she would have been crying the first tears of joy after coming back here. Without a second thought, she jumped into her aunt's arms.
"Oh, my girl, have you decided to come back?" March hugged her tightly, "Have you thought about what I said before you left?"
Melina pulled herself away after a warm hug, she blinked once "You still remember that?"
"Of course, it would be stranger if I did not. That was our last conversation was it not."
Suddenly, another man appeared, he was not an elf. "Sorry, I brought him here as he said he was here to look for Melina." The young elf guardian who had blocked her before was escorting him.
She looked at who it was, it was Gereon, the master whom she currently serve, as well as her teacher. "Patriarch Gereon," She gave him a slight bow, lifting her skirt slightly.
"I was confident that wherever you got teleported to, you would be safe. But that doesn't seem to be the case." Gereon knew about her past, and he had helped her heal, even though only slightly.
The real one who had helped her build a new shell and come out of the void that was consuming her was Eleyn. Eleyn became her only friend after she had left the village.
Melina was about to tell him about how teleportation out of the elves' land was not possible without the permission of a tree spirit, but she heard a loud crash inside the chief's house, grabbing everyone's attention.