Chapter 142

• Phoenix
• Love. Sacrifices. The willingness to lay down one's life for another. These were foreign concepts to me, ones I had never truly understood. My entire life had been a selfish pursuit, always taking and never giving. I had convinced myself that I knew what true love felt like, that it was an all-consuming passion for one person, a desire to possess and claim them at any cost.
• But as I watched Terona walk past me, stepping into the enchanted circle where Luna lay trapped, something shifted within me. I began to grasp the true meaning of love, the kind that requires sacrifice, selflessness, and a willingness to die for another without expectation of reward or reciprocation. At that moment, I realized what I had been missing, and the weight of obsession settled down on me.