Black Phoenix Heir

Chapter 70: Chapter 70 — A Change of Circumstance

Chapter 70 — A Change of Circumstance

For several long seconds, nobody moved.

The entire village remained bowed against the ground.

No one had yet dared to look up.

Victor, meanwhile, was still sitting on the sacrificial altar.

He looked down at the feather in his hand.

His fingers were trembling.

A moment ago, a blade had been descending toward his stomach.

Victor slowly closed his fingers around the feather.

His body still hadn’t completely accepted what had happened. His heart continued beating faster than it should have, and every now and then, his eyes drifted toward the bloodstained stone beneath him.

That had almost been his blood.

He let out a slow breath.

Then he heard movement.

Victor looked up.

Oheema was the first person in the entire village to finally raise her head.

For a moment, her eyes searched the sky.

Then she realized the Guardian Spirit was gone.

Her gaze slowly shifted.

And locked onto Victor.

The two of them stared at each other.

Victor didn’t know what to expect.

A few minutes ago, Oheema had been sitting above the altar, watching as he was prepared for sacrifice.

Now, however, her expression was completely different.

Then—

She disappeared.

Victor barely had time to react before Oheema appeared directly in front of him.

Her speed was enough to make his eyes widen.

She looked down at him for a moment.

Then, to Victor’s complete surprise, the woman lowered her head.

She bowed.

"It appears that I owe you an apology."

Victor stared at her.

Oheema slowly straightened.

"My name is Oheema. I am the matriarch of this village."

She paused.

"We treated you poorly."

Victor continued looking at her in silence.

The reversal was so sudden that he almost didn’t know how to respond.

A few minutes ago, this woman had been preparing to watch him die.

Now she was standing in front of him with her head slightly lowered.

Oheema’s expression remained composed, but Victor could tell that she was being careful with her words.

"What happened today should never have happened."

Victor looked at her for another moment.

Then he finally spoke.

"I appreciate the apology."

Oheema’s eyes remained on him.

"But I’m probably going to need some time before I forget the part where you tried to kill me."

For the first time since approaching him, Oheema’s expression changed.

Only slightly.

Victor could almost see the surprise in her eyes.

Then, despite everything, a faint smile appeared on his face.

He wasn’t forgiving her.

Not yet.

Maybe not for a long time.

But he also understood something important.

There was no reason to make an enemy of the most powerful person in the village when he had absolutely no idea what the future held.

Oheema studied him for a moment before giving a small nod.

"That is understandable."

Victor looked down at the feather again.

"Good."

For a brief moment, neither of them spoke.

Then Oheema glanced toward the village.

"You must be exhausted."

Victor couldn’t exactly argue with that.

"I will have a place prepared for you immediately."

She turned toward the two guards still standing near the platform.

The guards immediately straightened.

"Prepare Alaska’s old hut."

The two guards looked toward Oheema.

"Yes Oheema."

Then, almost immediately, their eyes shifted toward Victor.

And both of them bowed.

Victor blinked.

The guards turned and rushed down the steps, disappearing into the village.

Victor watched them leave.

Then he slowly looked back at Oheema.

A strange expression appeared on his face.

Oheema noticed it.

"You’re probably going to have to get used to that."

Victor looked toward the guards disappearing between the huts.

Then back at Oheema.

Oheema began walking toward the stairs.

"Come. I’ll show you where you can rest."

Victor looked around the altar one more time.

Then he stood.

His legs felt slightly unsteady.

He followed Oheema toward the stone stairs.

As Victor descended them, he couldn’t help but remember walking in the opposite direction only minutes earlier.

Every step upward had felt heavier than the last.

The tribe had been screaming for his blood.

They had roared his name alongside cries for sacrifice.

He had believed those stairs were leading him toward his death.

Now, as he walked back down them, those same people remained face-down against the ground.

And Victor was descending alive.

That realization settled heavily inside him.

Alive.

He reached the bottom of the stairs.

Oheema continued walking, and Victor followed beside her.

The village was strangely quiet.

Most of the tribe remained gathered near the altar. Those who had begun lifting their heads immediately lowered them again whenever Oheema passed.

Victor noticed the way they looked at him.

Carefully.

Fearfully.

He still wasn’t sure how he felt about it.

As they walked, Oheema suddenly glanced toward him.

"I never got your name."

Victor looked at her.

Then he gave a small laugh.

"Yeah."

Oheema raised an eyebrow.

Victor looked forward again.

"It’s probably kind of hard to get the name of somebody you just throw into a prison."

Oheema stopped walking.

Only for a fraction of a second.

Victor noticed.

Then she continued forward.

The expression on her face was almost impossible to read.

Victor smiled slightly.

"My name’s Victor."

Oheema cleared her throat.

"All right... Victor."

The two continued walking.

Victor looked around the village as they moved between the wooden huts.

It felt different now.

For weeks, he had been a prisoner.

An outsider.

Someone they had locked away and prepared to sacrifice.

Now the matriarch herself was personally escorting him through the village.

Victor still couldn’t fully process it.

Eventually, they reached the edge of the settlement.

Victor’s steps slowed.

A massive hut stood before him.

It was positioned directly beside Oheema’s own residence.

Totem poles surrounded the structure, their carved faces rising toward the sky. The hut itself was nearly as large as the matriarch’s home and noticeably larger than every other residence Victor had seen in the village.

Victor stared at it.

The two guards emerged from the entrance.

They immediately bowed toward Oheema.

"Everything has been prepared."

Then both guards turned toward Victor.

And bowed again.

Victor stood there for a moment.

He slowly looked at the enormous hut.

Then he looked at Oheema.

"This is mine?"

Oheema nodded.

"This will be your residence while you remain in the village."

Victor looked back at it.

Then he glanced around at the surrounding huts.

A moment later, he looked back toward Oheema.

"You guys really don’t do things halfway, do you?"

For the second time that day, Oheema seemed slightly caught off guard by something he said.

But as Victor stared at the hut, his expression slowly became more thoughtful.

He understood why they were giving it to him.

Oheema stepped slightly closer.

"If you need anything, a guard will be assigned nearby."

Victor nodded slowly.

"All right."

Oheema gave him a small bow.

Victor watched her.

Even now, he still wasn’t used to seeing people bow toward him.

Then she turned and began walking away.

Victor remained standing outside the hut for several moments.

The guards followed after Oheema, leaving him alone.

Victor looked down at the feather still resting in his hand.

He slowly tightened his grip around it.

Then he walked toward the entrance.

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