Interlude— Starlit Cake & Celestial Chaos

The skies above the Immortal Realm shimmered like someone spilled champagne on the stars. Fireworks laced with phoenix feathers popped in elegant swirls, and spirit beasts wore little hats. Even the usually grumpy Flame Marsh Trolls were polishing their claws and pretending to care about party etiquette.

Why?

Because today… the Starborn child turned one.

And nothing was ever going to be the same.

—

Shen Yueli sat at the center of a floating banquet platform, wrapped in red and silver silk, her long hair braided with tiny starflowers that sparkled on their own.

Her aura was pulsing with both maternal panic and " I dare anyone to ruin this day" energy.

Di Yan stood beside her, too handsome and entirely too calm, wearing ceremonial robes etched with cosmic runes. He kept checking his reflection in the side of a celestial cake knife.

" This party is being attended by twelve dimensions," he murmured. " I want my good side to face the ones that matter."

" Your good side is attached to my bad side," Yueli replied, arching a brow.

From behind the floating gift towers,

their daughter giggled and zipped past riding a cloud in the shape of a dragon.

Her birthday outfit was on fire.

Literally.

" She's sparkling and smoldering," Yueli said with pride. " That's my girl."

" She inherited your drama," Di Yan said,

ducking a streak of magical glitter.

" And your danger."

The cloud dragon roared playfully. The baby summoned a small tornado made of cake crumbs and launched herself into a triple spin mid-air. Somewhere in the audience, a unicorn fainted from emotional overload.

—

The guests came in waves.

The Phoenix Matriarch arrived first,

dressed in embers and sass, bearing a gift box that glowed like a sealed volcano. " A gift from my flames to yours," she said, winking at the baby who responded by belching a fireball.

Next came a delegation from the Cloud Bear Tribe, bringing a blanket woven from thunderclouds that cooed lullabies in twelve languages.

Then— gasp— even the Shadow Crows from the Night Realm slithered out of their anti- light pocket dimension to hand over a glowing black feather that whispered secrets every time it touched air.

" It's rare they show up for anything that doesn't involve doom," Di Yan whispered.

Yueli's eyes narrowed. " Must be the cake."

—

Speaking of cake.

It stood six layers tall, frosted in starlight and topped with a tiny sugar sculpture of the baby girl— complete with sparkly tantrum magic.

" Don't let her eat her own statue this time," Yueli warned.

Too late.

The baby zoomed in, bit the head off her mini-self, and shrieked in joy.

Everyone clapped.

The prophecy whispered across

dimensions just… quivered.

The Wardens of Balance felt it from their dimension- void armchairs.

The Oracle sneezed somewhere in her starlit bathtub and declared, " It begins…"

—

Then came the moment.

The birthday gift from her parents.

Di Yan stepped forward, conjuring a pedestal carved from moonstone. Upon it, a box bloomed open like a lotus— and revealed a crown.

Not gold. Not heavy. But pulsing with ancient light.

Yueli picked it up, kissed the center jewel, and placed it gently on her daughter's head.

The moment it touched her…

BOOM.

A blast of light erupted, silent and all- consuming, sweeping across the arena and far beyond.

The skies split— not with terror, but revelation.

Time shivered.

Mountains hummed.

Every being with power felt it in their bones:

The Starborn had awakened.

—

" Oops," the baby said.

Everyone blinked.

A giant constellation shaped like a phoenix and dragon swirled in the heavens above, flapping wings made of galaxies.

Yueli grabbed Di Yan's arm. " This is it.

This is what the Wardens meant."

He didn't speak.

He didn't have to.

The prophecy's countdown was officially over.

Now came the storm.

—

The guests slowly recovered.

Someone passed out in the salad.

Another was trying to propose to the cake.

The birthday girl sat triumphantly on her exploding cloud- throne, her crown glowing faintly. She looked around at the stunned crowd, lifted her flaming spoon, and screamed, " MORE CAKE!"

Yueli laughed. "Queen behavior."

" Queen and chaos incarnate," Di Yan added.

The baby looked at them, blinking slowly. " Name…"

Yueli froze.

Di Yan stared.

She'd never said that word before. Never even tried to speak with that much intent…

Yueli knelt, her hands trembling. " Do you… want to know your name?"

The baby nodded.

Di Yan stepped forward, his voice steady. " You were born of fire and stars. Of prophecy and love. You were bathed in storms and raised in mischief."

Yueli smiled through tears. " We named you Lianhua. It means lotus flower in bloom, even though fire."

The baby's star mark pulsed.

And then— she spoke.

" Lianhua."

The skies echoed the name.

The planets tilted slightly.

And far away, in the deepest part of the realm where ancient things sleep…

Something woke up.

—

Later, after the party ended and half the guests were recovering from cosmic sugar crashes, Yueli and Di Yan sat in their moon- nest with Lianhua between them, fast asleep.

She held the crown in one hand and a spoon in the other.

Yueli sighed. " She's one. She has a name. The world has felt her magic.

That's one hell of a birthday."

Di Yan kissed her shoulder. " And you said you didn't want children."

" I said I didn't want boring children," she corrected. " This one's a weapon wrapped in sparkles."

He chuckled. " Our little calamity in curls."

Yueli leaned down, brushing hair from her daughter's forehead. " Sleep well, Lianhua. Tomorrow… the real world begins."

—

Beyond the arena, in realms untouched by mortal eyes, figures moved. Plots twisted. Warnings thickened.

But they all whispered the same name:

Lianhua.

Daughter of flame and fate.

Starborn and unstoppably spoiled.

And she had just turned one.

Let the games begin.