Phoenix Nirvana. Transcendence Through Fire
Xu Zhi walked out of the yard, brushing off his hands. "So, I take a short walk and come back to find a phoenix in my oven?"
It was completely unexpected.
A creature born from burning bread?
Even Xu Zhi found it absurd.
"Could this be... a supernatural evolutionary path?"
He turned his gaze toward the horizon, where the sky blazed in hues of red and gold. A scorching trail cut across the clouds, like a comet of flame. The temperature in the small sandbox world skyrocketed, and even from the other side of the yard, he could feel waves of heat.
The oven had turned into a blazing furnace.
A blazing oven that birthed a divine bird.
—Boom!!
A roaring gust of wind exploded from the sandbox. It was as though heaven and earth were trembling from the emergence of a mighty being.
Flames surged in all directions.
In the center of the scorched landscape, a crimson bird slowly rose from the ashes. Its wings stretched wide, fire cascading off its feathers like liquid light. It cried out, a beautiful, echoing screech that stirred the soul.
The players inside the game were completely dumbfounded.
"What... is this thing?"
"Oh my god, I'm getting goosebumps... Is this a boss?"
"No! Look at its eyes—it's intelligent! It's... it's one of us!"
The phoenix hovered mid-air, its eyes filled with bewilderment and awe.
"I... was born from fire?"
It lowered its head, seeing the charred oven beneath it. Inside, a loaf of bread had completely evaporated, and the oven had collapsed from the heat.
"I was just trying to cook a meal... How did I become... this?"
It looked at its body—feathers forged in fire, talons like molten gold. Its life force was overwhelming, divine even.
Its transformation hadn't come from logic or science—but from myth, belief, and emotion. It had cooked with passion, with obsession. It had burned and died. And from its death... came rebirth.
This was a miracle of evolution driven by imagination.
Xu Zhi narrowed his eyes slightly.
"What an anomaly..."
This wasn't evolution through biological theory or scientific experimentation. It was conceptual evolution. Spiritual evolution.
A new path.
"First, the chef. Now this. Are the players starting to break through the boundaries I've set?"
He wasn't angry—he was excited.
After all, this was what he wanted. Evolution that wasn't bound by logic alone.
As if on cue, a line of system messages appeared for the players.
[Congratulations! A new evolutionary species has emerged—Phoenix: Flameborn Ascendant.] [First Mythic Creature born! Awarding 3 Evolution Points to all players.] [Unlocked: Supernatural Evolution Pathways.]
Everyone in the chat exploded.
"WHAT THE HELL?! MYTHIC?!"
"DID SOMEONE JUST UNLOCK A LEGENDARY RACE?!"
"This is ridiculous! We've got slime people, humans, octopus warriors—and now this guy becomes a phoenix?!"
"I was over here picking berries like a monkey!"
Even the high-level evolution streamers lost their composure.
"New goal unlocked," one of them said, eyes gleaming. "I don't care what I have to do—next time, I'm dying in an oven."
The phoenix flapped its wings slowly, still adjusting to its new form.
"I... was human. I lived. I died. And now I am reborn."
Its voice was calm, deep. It stared at its reflection in a nearby pool of glassy lava, studying its own divine form.
"This is my nirvana."
And then, as naturally as breathing, it flapped its wings and took off into the sky, leaving a trail of fire across the heavens.
Xu Zhi looked up, silent for a long moment.
"A firebird born from a loaf of bread... Well, that's one way to ascend."
Then he turned and walked back inside, muttering, "Guess I should start charging rent."