"Accept yourself, love yourself, and keep moving forward. If you want to fly, you have to give up what weighs you down"

In a magnificent palace high atop an enormous mountain, hurried sounds, voices, and footsteps echoed through the halls. In one of the most elaborately decorated rooms, a large group of people - adorned in colorful garments with all kinds of embellishments - had gathered.

They wore necklaces, rings, bracelets, earrings, talismans, brooches, sequins - there was not a single patch of clothing left unadorned.

At this moment, all eyes were fixed on a pile of eggs resting on a podium nearby. These eggs were simple, with a pale pink hue, yet unusually large for bird eggs, each the size of a human head. The room itself was towering, with a high ceiling, and each wall was adorned with paintings that depicted the history of a people. These beings had feathers and magnificent plumage, their bodies primarily covered in shades of red. Indeed, this palace belonged to a powerful species from the vast universe - the Phoenixes.

The room we now observe is the sacred chamber where eggs were laid for development and monitoring. This very space housed the bones of their great ancestor - the first Phoenix to have founded the clan. These remains lay beneath the platform where the eggs rested. By laying their eggs here, they ensured the unborn phoenixes developed their souls before hatching, influencing the power they would inherit.

The Phoenix clan took great pride in their innate ability to control fire and influence life through its flames. Thus, they eagerly awaited new successors to continue their legacy. Unfortunately, over time, fewer and fewer descendants inherited the sacred flame of life. In the last generation, only three young phoenixes had been born. There was nothing they could do about this decline - their ancestor had perished long ago, and the influence of his remains was growing weaker. Still, they did not lose hope. Since the previous generation, they had carefully selected the strongest genes in an attempt to give birth to a child capable of awakening the ancestor's power and claiming his soul.

The clan had preserved a fragment of the ancestor's soul, and if a worthy heir emerged, they could be reborn with his strength. However, no progress had been made over the millennia. Once, the soul had reacted slightly to blood relatives, but now, it showed no sign of recognition.

Thus, the clan devised a new conception plan, aiming to create a pureblood phoenix compatible with the ancestor's soul. A new generation of phoenixes emerged every 300 years, and this time, they had put great effort into producing as many offspring as possible. However, only the best possible combinations were allowed. Now, they could do nothing but wait.

On the platform lay seven phoenix eggs, all seemingly identical. Suddenly, the platform lit up in a deep red glow, and steam-like energy rose, enveloping each egg equally. Yet from one egg, the mist vanished instantly. This was the first egg - the one meant to be the greatest among them. While its steam disappeared without a trace, the egg beside it was engulfed by so much energy that it became completely obscured. The remaining eggs also had steam surrounding them, though in varying intensities.

Then, the soft sound of cracking filled the room. Small fractures appeared on each egg, and one by one, in the order they had been placed, the chicks emerged effortlessly from their shells.

The incubation period for phoenixes is relatively short, and their eggshells are delicate, making them among the most fragile of eggs. Newly hatched phoenix chicks are extremely vulnerable, requiring the care of their parents for nearly everything.

Before the clan could properly examine each hatchling, a red light tinged with gold burst forth from a statue affixed to the ceiling. This was the fragment of the ancestor's soul. Its reaction meant that one of the chicks had successfully formed a bond with it.

The clan erupted in excitement. A sign had finally appeared - their species had a chance to reclaim its former glory.

Soft chirping echoed throughout the grand hall. The chicks, eager and instinctive, began calling for their parents, drawing attention away from the ceiling and back to the small pile of fluff.

However, the joyous expressions of the gathered adults quickly darkened. One chick stood out too much.

The first hatchling, still half inside its shell, was entirely black - from head to tail tip. The faces of many in the room twisted in disgust.

By contrast, the chick beside it burned with a brilliant red hue, as if it were aflame. The other chicks also had bright red plumage, though none as intense as this one.

Three figures stepped forward - their "parents."

The three women halted at a short distance. It was a tradition that the chicks would instinctively recognize their own mothers. This was their first Ritual in Life.

The small, chirping chicks quickly took notice. Moved by pure instinct, each one wobbled toward the woman they were blood-related to.

The little black phoenix struggled out of its shell and began making its way toward one of the women. She was the most beautiful of the three, adorned in expensive jewelry with her hair styled meticulously. Unlike the others, she belonged to the main branch of the family and held a higher status.

Unfortunately, her beauty was marred by the look of sheer disgust on her face. As she watched the black chick approach, she barely restrained the urge to kick it away.

Beside this small outcast was the chick with flames in its feathers. At first, it did not move, waiting until the other chicks had already reached their respective mothers. Then, finally, it turned toward the elegant woman of higher status.

At her feet, the little black phoenix nuzzled its head against her leg, seeking warmth and affection. Yet it received no response. The woman's gaze softened only as she looked at the fiery chick that had chosen her.

Because she was older than the other mothers, this had been her last fertile mating cycle, and she had only laid two eggs. She was delighted to have given birth to a pureblood phoenix. Too bad she wasn't allowed to dispose of the useless cub at her feet.

~~~~Blackbird's Point of View ~~~~~

The world was loud. Bright. Too bright. The tiny creature inside the cracked shell stirred, its damp feathers clinging to fragile skin. It had never known anything beyond warmth and darkness, but now the air was sharp, filled with strange, overwhelming noises.

It blinked, disoriented, and pushed its way out of the shell. The world was so vast, so unfamiliar. The figures surrounding the platform were enormous, towering over them with gleaming eyes and adorned in strange colors. The chick did not yet know fear, nor did it understand the murmurs of disgust rippling through the crowd.

It stumbled forward, its tiny body weaker than the others that had already emerged. It saw movement, felt something in its core tugging it toward one figure in particular. Warmth. Familiarity. Mother.

It chirped, a frail sound swallowed by the vastness of the chamber, and wobbled toward her. The instinct was undeniable. This woman - dressed in shimmering jewels, her presence commanding - was its mother. The chick nudged its small head against her leg, seeking warmth, seeking the comfort it had known in the egg.

But no warmth came.

Instead, the air around her turned to ice.

The chick hesitated, confused. The mother it had sought did not bend down, did not croon or touch it. Her eyes were cold, and her hands remained still at her sides, as though she refused to acknowledge its presence at all. The little black phoenix tilted its head. Had it done something wrong?

Then, beside it, another presence moved. The chick turned slightly and saw a sibling—one that burned, its feathers glowing like embers, radiant and strong.

The mother's gaze softened. Her hand lifted, reaching toward the fiery chick with something that looked like… affection.

The small black chick did not understand the tightening in its chest, the quiet way it shrank into itself. It chirped again, softer this time, uncertain. It nudged her leg once more, desperately seeking recognition.

Nothing.

It was alone.

A strange sensation pricked at its small heart—something cold, something heavy. Something it had no name for.

It did not know that it had been born wrong. That its color had doomed it from the moment it had cracked through the shell. It only knew that the warmth it longed for was never going to come.

The mother stepped away, her foot narrowly missing the small chick. The black phoenix lowered its head, its chirps falling silent. It did not understand why, but something inside it whispered the truth.

It was unwanted.

She didn't know why but she felt that the situation was not new. The place where she felt those indescribable emotions slowly became quiet. She felt numb and tired.

Comically, after not even 3 minutes of life she was already tired of this life.

'However, I will not give up! I will find warmth! I will find...'

The little black phoenix's small eyes, which were like black stones that absorbed light, received a small star-like glow. Which most likely represented many things. Desire, hope and life in this case.