Transmigrated Into a Cannon Fodder Phoenix, Stuck With the Ice Dragon-Chapter 115: The Faces

Celeste’s body suddenly jerked upright.

A sharp gasp tore from her lungs, raw and desperate, cutting straight through the heavy silence left behind by the shattered window. Her chest rose violently as though she had been drowning and only just reached air again.

"Celeste—" Vaylen staggered forward, his voice breaking before he could reach her.

Her fingers clawed at the sheets, trembling as if she couldn’t tell whether the world beneath her was real. Her eyes fluttered wildly, unfocused, glassy, before finally locking onto the ceiling like she was afraid it would disappear if she blinked.

Auren was at her side in an instant, one hand hovering over her heart, a wide blue glow flaring faintly beneath his palm as he searched for the rhythm of a soul returning home.

"She’s here," he breathed. "She’s really here."

Celeste drew another breath, then another, slower this time... deeper.

And then, at last, a hoarse whisper left her lips. "Father...?"

Vaylen crumpled where he stood.

His legs gave out as if all strength had finally abandoned him, and he fell to his knees with a broken sound caught in his chest. Tears flooded his vision as his hands trembled against the cold floor.

"Thank you... thank you..." he choked, the words tumbling out like prayers that had waited half a century to be answered.

He dragged himself forward on unsteady knees, moving toward Seraphina as though she were a miracle given shape. When he tried to bow, she caught him by the arms at once.

"No," she said firmly, pulling him back up before he could lower himself any further.

Her grip was gentle, but unyielding.

"You don’t kneel to me," she said quietly. "You stand... for your daughter."

Vaylen froze, staring at her like he didn’t quite believe she was real.

Behind him, Celeste shifted again on the bed, her fingers curling weakly into the sheets as she tried to sit up.

"Father..." she called, stronger this time.

And at that, Vaylen turned, and the world narrowed down to one thing—his daughter.

"I’m here... I’m here..." he whispered as he reached her side, his hands hovering over her at first, afraid she might vanish if he touched her too hard.

Then Celeste lifted her weak arms.

That was all it took.

Vaylen gathered her into his chest like a man who had waited fifty years to finish an embrace, every breath he took shaking as if his body finally remembered how to cry.

Celeste pressed her face against him, her voice muffled but real. "Father... I’m so tired..."

"I know," he whispered into her hair, holding her like he might never let go again. "I know... but you’re home now."

Lucian cleared his throat softly, giving Vaylen a moment before stepping closer.

"Lord Vaylen," he said gently, "she needs rest. We can talk once she’s strong enough to sit up properly. For now... I suggest both of you stay here and let her rest for a few days."

Vaylen nodded quickly, brushing Celeste’s hair back from her pale face. "Of course. Of course... I won’t let her out of my sight again."

Celeste sighed against his shoulder, already wilting with exhaustion, her eyelids fluttering as though sleep was claiming her again.

Nearby, Auren stood frozen in place, staring at her as if the world had shifted without asking his permission.

He studied her profile carefully.

The curve of her cheek.

The shape of her eyes.

The soft color of her hair falling across her face.

And with every detail, a quiet unease settled deeper inside him.

Because this was not the child he remembered.

Back then... the girl by the lake had been brighter somehow. Lighter. Like a piece of sky had fallen to earth and learned how to cry.

But Celeste Blaze in Vaylen’s arms now, she looked exactly like Seraphina.

And that... was what terrified him the most—How?

Auren swallowed hard and finally tore his gaze away from her. His eyes shifted to Vaylen.

"Lord Blaze," Auren said quietly, forcing his voice into steadiness, "may I speak with you for a moment?"

Vaylen hesitated, glancing down at his daughter in his arms, then carefully laid her down back on the bed.

"For whatever you need," he murmured, though his voice still shook with emotion.

Auren led him a few steps away, just far enough from the bed that their voices would not reach her.

And only then did he speak again, lower, careful... and almost afraid of the answer, "Did Celeste always look like this?"

Vaylen blinked, clearly taken aback, "What do you mean, Lord Auren?"

"I mean..." Auren hesitated, his brows knitting slowly. "All this time... whenever I saw her, she wore this face. The same face as Seraphina’s." His voice dropped further. "But the child I met back then... the one I gave the feather to... she didn’t look like this."

Vaylen swallowed.

"Lord Auren..." His gaze fell to the floor for a moment, as though he were weighing whether he should speak at all.

Then, quietly, he said, "Celeste did not look like this when she was little."

Auren’s breath caught.

"One day," Vaylen continued, his voice rough, "she went to sleep looking like herself..." His hands tightened into fists at his sides, "And when she woke up... she had that face."

A fragile silence fell between them.

"We thought it was a blessing at first," Vaylen admitted bitterly. "A miracle... but then she started to get sick... very sick."

He laughed once, hollow and broken.

"I never questioned why my daughter’s face changed."

Auren slowly lifted his eyes.

"And you never wondered how your daughter woke up as someone else?"

Vaylen pressed his lips together, unable to answer at first. Then he slowly shook his head.

"I guessed... it was my fault," he admitted hoarsely. "I should have been more alert. I should have questioned it. But as she grew up, I thought her features might change little by little, the same way any child would." His voice cracked faintly. "I convinced myself it was just... part of growing up."

His gaze fell to the floor, shame weighing down his shoulders.

"I didn’t want to suspect anything," he whispered. "Because if something had truly gone wrong... it meant I had already failed her." 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Auren turned slowly toward Lucian, who had already been watching him in silence.

"I’m certain now," Auren said quietly. "We still haven’t uncovered the truth about why they looked almost like twins."

Lucian’s jaw tightened, his eyes darkening with thought.

And somewhere between suspicion and dread, they both understood... This story was far from over.