"So Phoenixes, like Giants, Sanguine, and Elves, evolved from humans who survived the Old Era... No wonder some human city-states worshipped Phoenixes...
"Hmm... The battle in which Lilith supposedly perished alongside the Magic Wolf King and the Mutant King drove the Elves and Giants of the humanoid faction apart. But the Phoenixes and Dragons of the 'nonhuman' faction stopped trusting each other, too.
"The Phoenix Progenitor Gregrace, who wielded the Door Pathway, somehow failed to arrive 'in time' for that battle. That's rather hard to explain...
"Maybe Gregrace really was a traitor within the nonhuman faction.
"After all, she was originally human, and she may well have been close to Old Liu when he was the God of Luck... Hence Goddess's Poem...
"That would also explain why the Goddess insisted that I, rather than Abner, retrieve her Cast-off Body.
"Come to think of it, a Cast-off Body is simply the old body a Phoenix discards after each rebirth. If some characteristics are deliberately left behind, it can generally serve as a 'vessel' or 'avatar.'
"What I just saw must have been Gregrace's first Nirvana, when she cast off her human identity completely and became a Complete Mythical Creature.
"The Ancient Gods knew nothing of Potion Sequences or the corresponding advancement rituals. After swallowing characteristics whole, remaining human in form was hardly realistic. Only by becoming a Mythical Creature completely could they resist the corruption that came from Divinity.
"Gregrace probably managed to retain a human form for a while because of something peculiar to the Undying. Perhaps each 'death' washed away some of her accumulated madness... But that wouldn't work once she approached the level of a God.
"The images made it clear how terrible her condition was. She must have reached her limit and had no choice but to