"Alan, a teenage miner from Black Pine Town, is sentenced to burning at the stake over a phoenix pendant left by his mother. At the brink of death, he awakens blazing golden-red phoenix flames and incinerates the tax collector and his guards, triggering an empire-wide manhunt. Wounded and on the run, he is captured by the resistance group Children of Ashes. Elder Margaret reveals the truth: his mother, the last bearer of phoenix blood, was vivisected on an altar in the Imperial Sanctuary, and the tale of her death in childbirth was a lie. Seeking vengeance and his mother's remains, Alan infiltrates the Imperial Magic Academy under a false identity and strikes a deal with Princess Victoria. They sneak into the forbidden Sanctuary, where Alan slays the emperor who prolonged his life with phoenix blood, shattering the thousand-year blood bondage. He finally abandons his phoenix heritage and fades into the reborn woods."
