Chapter 1: The rebirth

Death had been cold.

I remembered it-the way my bones shattered when Draco and Ignis threw me from the Sky Spire. Their laughter echoed as I fell, their last words seared into my soul:

"No one will miss a half-breed."

And they were right.

No one avenged me. No one even mourned. My father, Zephyr, bowed his head and accepted the Elders’ ruling: "An accident."

Pathetic.

But death wasn’t the end.

I woke gasping, my small hands clutching a ragged blanket. Sunlight streamed through the cracks of my shabby quarters, the same room I’d slept in before.

I was back.

A child again, weak and unmarked by dragonfire.

My reflection in the water basin showed the same too-round human eyes, the same mousy hair that refused to shimmer like true dragonkin.

"Nyx the Nameless," they called me. "The mistake."

Last time, I had believed them.

This time?

I bared my teeth at the mirror.

...****************...

~~ A few days after the incident~~

At the training hall

Mud splashed under my bare feet as Draco and Ignis cornered me against the wall. Same as before. Same taunts. Same vicious grins.

Last life, I’d cried.

This time, I laughed.

Draco’s silver brows furrowed. "What’s so funny, mutt?"

I wiped imaginary tears from my eyes. "Oh, nothing. Just remembering how you choked during your first flight test."

His face darkened.

Ignis lunged, but I sidestepped; a move I’d learned after he broke my ribs in another life.

"Oho!" I grinned. "Did I strike a nerve? Or are you just mad you’ll never be as strong as your daddy?"

Draco’s punch came next.

I let it land.

Blood bloomed on my lip. Good.

"Uncle Marius!" I screamed, voice drenched in fake tears. "They’re hurting me again!"

Marius stormed in, his glare slicing straight to me. "What now, half-blood?"

I clutched my bleeding mouth. "They attacked me for no reason!"

Draco scoffed. "She insulted our bloodline!"

Marius didn’t even look at him. His hand lashed out, not at Draco, but at me. His grip crushed my wrist. "You dare provoke my sons?"

Last life, I’d cowered.

Now? I met his eyes. "I dare."

His fist swung.

I didn’t flinch.

The blow never came.

Zephyr stood between us, his hand locked around Marius’s wrist. "Enough."

Silence.

Marius yanked free. "She’s a disgrace."

Zephyr’s voice was soft. Deadly. "And you are a coward, striking a child."

For a heartbeat, just for a while, I saw fear in Marius’s eyes.

Then he spat at my feet. "Keep your mongrel leashed, Zephyr."

As they left, Draco smirked back at me. "This isn’t over."

Oh, I knew.

Last life, I’d died helpless.

This time?

I’d burn them all.

...----------------...

Nyx arrives at the library. The library was silent, save for the faint rustle of ancient pages. Nyx moved between the towering shelves, her small fingers tracing the spines of forbidden tomes. The Dragon Clan’s archives were vast, but she knew exactly what she needed.

"The Seal of Suppression," she murmured, pulling out a weathered book bound in black scales. Its title shimmered faintly, as if resisting her touch.

A shadow flickered at the edge of her vision. Draco’s mother, Lady Seraphis, standing at the far end of the hall, her golden eyes narrowed. Nyx didn’t flinch. Instead, she tucked the book beneath her tunic and met the woman’s gaze with a smile too sharp for an eight-year-old.

Seraphis’s lips curled. "Lost, little mongrel?"

"Found, actually," Nyx replied sweetly before slipping away.

Back in her room, Nyx barred the door and spread the book open. The diagrams were familiar; Sylphie had taught her this in her past life. The 147th Master of the 11th Magic Tower had been the only one who saw through the seal placed on her at birth.

"Breaking it takes time," Sylphie had told her in her past life. "But it can be broken. Slowly but surely."

She started her meditation desperately trying to feel her mana. She tried looking deep into her heart, and found all her mana sealed in a tiny space. She tried undoing the seal but nothing happened. Again, she tried but all in vain.

For hours, she sat cross-legged, sweat dripping down her temples as she fought against the invisible chains. Nothing. Not even a flicker.

Nyx exhaled sharply, wiping sweat from her brow as she collapsed onto her thin mattress. Her ribs ached from hours of fruitless effort. The seal hadn’t budged further.

"Enough for today," she muttered, flexing her fingers. The faintest warmth still lingered beneath her skin, but it was useless in a fight. Not yet.

A sharp knock rattled her door.

"Nyx." Her father’s voice, cool and detached. "The family gathers for dinner. You are expected."

She bit back a groan. Family dinners were battlefields.

...******** To be continued ********...

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