- 15 minutes ago
HOT DRAMA 2026
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Short filmTranscript
00:00I finally got the rarest magic core for you.
00:04You've worked hard.
00:18After rebirth, I abandoned the mighty Phoenix as my magical pet.
00:23Instead, chose an almost dead little black snake in my past life.
00:26I'd hunted rare ingredients for Phoenix, pouring every resource I had into his growth.
00:31He cheated with my sister behind my back.
00:33Finally, to make their little love story easier, they killed me together.
00:36This time around, I wanted to see how that perfect couple managed without me as their stepping stone.
00:41The same pact ceremony, the same standout, undeniably that golden Phoenix.
00:45Even caged with a suppression collar, he held his head high, like the rest of us were beneath him.
00:50As expected, the ceremony elder assigned him to me.
00:53The Phoenix tilted its head back and rolled its eyes, just like in its previous life, its face full of
00:58disdain.
00:59That was when my sister Evelyn walked in, cradling a limp little black snake in her palms, tears rolling down
01:04her cheeks.
01:05My sister was too weak. Phoenix fell in love with her pitiful appearance immediately,
01:09which made me look like the villain standing between them.
01:12The ceremony elder shifted awkwardly and turned on Evelyn.
01:14Your power isn't strong enough. Even if the Phoenix is drawn to you now, you won't be able to handle
01:20him.
01:21She didn't react, instead pretended to be scared by my gaze, bit her lip with tears down.
01:25Lila, I know I have no right to compete with you. It's just, I've never seen a golden Phoenix before.
01:31I didn't have the patience to listen to her feigned weakness.
01:34I reached out and lifted the limp black snake from her hands, smiled at the ceremony elder.
01:38I've taken a liking to this one. The Phoenix clearly doesn't want me. Why not let her have him? I'll
01:44take the snake.
01:45The others thought I'd lost my mind. They pulled me aside.
01:48You're the strongest here. This black snake has a mixed bloodline. He's basically worthless.
01:53But I knew the truth about that Phoenix. He was no prize.
01:56In my last life, in my past life, scene had played out exactly the same way.
02:00The Phoenix ignored me. I felt the sting of being rejected for the first time in my life.
02:05And instead of thinking clearly, I thought, he's so hard to get. I'm obsessed.
02:09As the Archmaster's student, I was supposed to be an example to the others.
02:13I told myself I had to tame the Phoenix, strengthen the Spirit Pact Academy.
02:18So I threw everything I had at him.
02:19Every student got a limited ration of elixirs.
02:22So I took assassin missions, hunting rogue creatures, the kind that had lost their minds and turned feral, to earn
02:28extra elixirs.
02:29I came back bleeding every time. The Phoenix pretended not to notice.
02:32He only came near me when I pulled out elixirs, took what he wanted, and walked away.
02:37Ten years. I spent ten years helping him break through his limits and take human form.
02:42When he finally did, he was stunning. Tall, sharp-featured. But the warmth stopped there.
02:47He always treated me like I was his errand girl. I told myself it was fine.
02:51Creatures with strong bloodlines had pride. One day he'd recognize what I'd given him.
02:55One day we'd fight side by side and I wouldn't have to face those feral creatures alone.
02:59Then one day, I saw him kissed my sister passionately. She was laughing, dancing around him.
03:05A fellow student rode past on her white tiger, saw them in the distance, and shook her head at me.
03:10Liar. You really need to stop asking Evelyn to look after the Phoenix when you go on contracts.
03:15When did I ever ask her that?
03:17She says it every time you leave.
03:19I saw stars. I'd been out there risking my life, and she was back here cheating with my things.
03:24Doesn't she have her own creature?
03:26That little black snake died in its second year.
03:29Then it clicked. I'd spent ten years sewing a wedding dress for someone else.
03:33I wasn't some gentle, forgiving heroine. Turned on Evelyn. It enraged the Phoenix.
03:37As punishment, he lured me to the back forest under false pretenses, then broke open the wards keeping it sealed.
03:44The creatures trapped inside started pouring out, and among them was one that had fallen into complete madness.
03:49A Leviathan.
03:50The Phoenix joined forces with my sister to shoot me down the cliff.
03:53In the end, I died in the beast head, and I could only watch Evelyn snuggle up beside it.
03:58So this time around, I wasn't going to be anyone's sacrifice.
04:01I just wanted to see what this couple would do next.
04:03The Phoenix held onto Evelyn tightly, refusing to let go.
04:07The elder sighed, and spirit-packed academy'd the pact circle drawn.
04:10Once a creature bonded with someone, they were bound to that person's commands.
04:14Harm the bonded partner, and the creature suffered for it.
04:17The bonding ritual's energy agitated the black snake.
04:20He wound himself around my arm with everything he had.
04:23Evelyn got the Phoenix, and was clearly thrilled.
04:25Then she looked at the snake clinging to me.
04:27You and that serpent really do seem meant for each other, Lyra.
04:30She was very smug.
04:31Had she also been reborn?
04:32Watch your tongue, Evelyn!
04:34If Lyra hadn't stepped in for you, you'd never have gotten the Phoenix!
04:37If I were you, I'd be on my knees thanking her.
04:39Oh, stop.
04:40She's crying again.
04:42Always crying.
04:43You'd think she was the tragic one.
04:44The Phoenix paced anxiously while Evelyn sniffled.
04:47Anxious didn't help him.
04:48Evelyn had almost no power at this stage.
04:51The creatures shared energy with their bonded partners.
04:54But Evelyn's reserves were basically empty.
04:56Probably the first time in either life that the Phoenix had been on the losing side of the situation.
05:02Good.
05:03He'd adjust.
05:04This was the consequence of choosing weakness and cheating.
05:07The black snake, finally convinced I wasn't abandoning him, went limp and passed out in my arms.
05:14Back home, I finally got a good look at the snake.
05:17He was tiny.
05:18Couldn't have been more than a few decades old.
05:21Barely passed the threshold of maturity.
05:23But he was strange.
05:25Different from the serpents I knew.
05:27Water serpents had snake-like tails.
05:29This one had a tail more like a fish, with a fin.
05:32Mixed bloodline.
05:34Serpent and something older.
05:36Seafolk, maybe.
05:37I had a natural spring in the courtyard.
05:39The moment he hit the water, he came alive.
05:42Diving and surfacing.
05:44Pulling in energy from the current.
05:46I laughed.
05:47Relax.
05:48I fed a golden phoenix for ten years.
05:50I think I can manage one little snake.
05:52He froze.
05:53And stared at me with those tiny green eyes.
05:56Then he spat water at my face.
05:58I flicked him on the head.
06:00Heal up.
06:01You're not going anywhere.
06:02The next morning, I woke up wrong.
06:04I turned my head and found a face three inches from mine.
06:08Dark lashes.
06:09Warm skin.
06:10The kind of face that belonged in a painting.
06:12Long lashes that trembled slightly.
06:15Objectively gorgeous.
06:17Didn't stop me from nearly jumping out of my skin.
06:19He'd gotten into bed without waking me.
06:22Whoever this was, his power was well above mine.
06:25He stirred.
06:26Opened gold slit eyes.
06:28And looked at me.
06:29I scrambled to the corner.
06:31Who are you?
06:32This is Spirit Pact Academy grounds.
06:34Don't try anything.
06:35He sat up.
06:36I noticed he was wearing the clothes I'd set aside for when a creature took human form.
06:41A dark fitted robe with a subtle pattern.
06:43He wore it well.
06:45He was tall.
06:46He'd had to curl up to fit in my bed.
06:48Under those long lashes were a pair of gold vertical pupil eyes.
06:52The answer was obvious.
06:53Snake?
06:54He smirked.
06:55Reached out.
06:56And flicked me on the forehead.
06:57Rude.
06:58I have a name.
06:59It's Kieran.
07:01Kieran, it turned out, had been fleeing an enemy when he crossed paths with my tutor.
07:05He'd taken the form of a small, injured serpent.
07:08My tutor, true to form, had taken him in.
07:11Kieran clearly hadn't been injured because he was weak.
07:13Please tell me your enemies aren't about to show up here.
07:16We're bonded now.
07:18You're the master.
07:19I'm your mate.
07:20So I suggest you train hard and try not to slow me down.
07:23He taught me a breathing and absorption technique developed for serpent kind.
07:27Most days I sat in the spring practicing, while Kieran sprawled in the tree above me, watching with half-closed
07:33eyes.
07:33The breeze moved his hair and caught the light on his skin.
07:36Evelyn appeared at my gate, peering in.
07:38I sighed and got out of the spring.
07:40Kieran dropped from the tree and draped a dry robe over my shoulders without being asked.
07:45Who is this?
07:46You remember him?
07:47The little black snake from the bonding ceremony.
07:50You said yourself we seem meant for each other.
07:52A flicker of something crossed her face.
07:55What do you want?
07:55This is training time.
07:57I was hoping we could raise the phoenix together.
08:01Kieran's hand tightened on mine.
08:02I glanced at him.
08:03He was watching me, clearly unhappy.
08:05I'm not your backup plan.
08:07Figure it out yourself.
08:08How is it not your responsibility?
08:10You took the black snake and left me with the phoenix!
08:13You don't get to just walk away!
08:15Half a year's gone by and I've given him every elixir I had.
08:18There's nothing left for my own training.
08:20And I was in the lower ranks.
08:22I can't go hunting rare ingredients.
08:23I'd die out there.
08:25You bonded with the phoenix first.
08:26You should be helping.
08:27I cut her off mid-sentence, sent a gust of air to push her back through the gate,
08:31and led Kieran inside.
08:33Little sister, don't mistake everyone for a fool.
08:35I'm not spending my resources raising your creature for you.
08:39If you can't afford to keep him, dissolve the bond.
08:41Let someone else take him.
08:43I'm sure the elders would be happy to.
08:45She wouldn't do that.
08:46Her ambitions were too big.
08:48Weeks passed.
08:48I broke through to a new level of power.
08:51What those in the Spirit Pact Academy called,
08:53Fourth Circle Stage.
08:55At the same time,
08:57the Archmaster arranged for me to escort a rare spirit fox
09:00to the Spirit Pact Academy,
09:02alongside Elder Celia,
09:04who was about three centuries older than me
09:06and acted like a kid half the time.
09:09I sweet-talked her through the hand over to the creature registry,
09:11and she settled for it.
09:13Before she left,
09:15she pressed her hand over her mouth to hide a smile.
09:17Your little serpent is very clingy, you know.
09:20I didn't understand until I started up the mountain path
09:23and saw a silhouette leaning against a tree in the distance.
09:28He didn't move.
09:29When I got closer,
09:30he reached out and grabbed the back of my neck.
09:32Lyra, am I not good to you?
09:34Why are you trying to give me away?
09:36What are you talking about?
09:37That girl came to the courtyard today,
09:39said you sent her to check on me.
09:41Did you change your mind about bonding with me?
09:43You hit Fourth Circle and now you're done with me?
09:46Same playbook, different life.
09:48Before I could explain,
09:50Kieran's pupils contracted to thin lines.
09:52He bent his head and pressed his face into my neck.
09:55His tongue brushed the skin there.
09:57Light, quick.
09:59I shivered hard.
10:00Smells like fox.
10:02Lyra, did you already find yourself a replacement?
10:05Doesn't matter.
10:07Once I eat that fox, I'll be your only option.
10:09You hit me for her?
10:11That fox belongs to my Archmaster.
10:13You touch her and I will end you.
10:15Kieran stopped fighting me and let himself be pulled along.
10:19Most students weren't training,
10:20so the residences were quiet.
10:22A few people raised their eyebrows when they saw me coming.
10:25Short greetings, and then they told me,
10:28Evelyn had gone to the back forest with the phoenix.
10:30I frowned.
10:31I wasn't in the phoenix's way anymore.
10:33Why were they sneaking off to the forest?
10:36We found them mid-argument.
10:38Or rather, Evelyn was arguing in the phoenix,
10:41who still hadn't taken human form,
10:43was responding in scratched letters on the ground.
10:46Don't look at me like that.
10:47I've done nothing wrong.
10:49I didn't force you to come to the Spirit Pact Academy.
10:52You said this place would help you grow.
10:54I've given you every elixir I had,
10:57and you're still not satisfied?
10:59You want me to go out hunting rare ingredients?
11:01I just started training.
11:03You'd be sending me to die!
11:05I almost felt something.
11:07In my past life, he'd given me nothing for ten years.
11:11Not a glance.
11:12Not a word.
11:13Not a gesture.
11:14Now he was writing letters in the dirt.
11:16The contrast was something.
11:18Evelyn.
11:19I've been looking for you.
11:21The phoenix scrambles to erase the letters when he heard us.
11:24Evelyn pulled herself together fast,
11:26though not fast enough.
11:28What do you need, Lyra?
11:33I patted Kieran's arm.
11:35He gave me a long-suffering look,
11:37then dropped to one knee and let me settle onto it like a chair.
11:40His hands locked around my waist,
11:42steadying me.
11:44Evelyn's gaze locked onto Kieran and didn't move.
11:46I'm not here about anything in particular.
11:49Just wondering why you paid my companion a visit.
11:51The phoenix's feathers flared, angry.
11:54Evelyn hadn't expected me to know so fast.
11:57No, you've got it wrong.
11:58I was just coming to find you.
12:00He rested his chin on my shoulder.
12:02She lied to me.
12:03She said you stole me from her.
12:05That I was supposed to be hers.
12:06And what did you do?
12:08She came into your territory without permission.
12:10She was weak.
12:11I didn't even use my power.
12:13Just pushed until she left.
12:14I patted his cheek.
12:15I stood and faced Evelyn directly.
12:18If I remember correctly,
12:19you didn't want Kieran in the first place.
12:21He was badly injured.
12:23If he'd ended up with you,
12:24he probably wouldn't have survived his second year.
12:26That's not true!
12:28I would have taken care of him.
12:30The phoenix's crest was fully raised now.
12:32She caught herself.
12:35You're trying to drive a wedge between me and the phoenix.
12:38I stepped forward and put my hand on her shoulder.
12:40You played your game, little sister.
12:42Don't act surprised when I play mine.
12:45Next time you pull something like this,
12:47you will get my punishment.
12:49She blanched.
12:50The council didn't forgive moves against another member's bonded creature.
12:54She couldn't risk it.
12:55On the way back, I was in a good mood.
12:58Kieran was quiet though.
13:00Wouldn't transform and carry me even when I asked.
13:02Once we were back in the courtyard,
13:04he grabbed my arm.
13:05You seem familiar with the phoenix.
13:07I didn't hide it.
13:08We have a history.
13:09It ended badly for me.
13:11Wanna hear it?
13:12He turned away, shifted into serpent form,
13:15and wound himself around my neck.
13:17No.
13:18I'm better than that bird by every measure.
13:21You're not going back to him.
13:23I won't have another mate.
13:25I promise.
13:27Days later.
13:29Laia.
13:30Your growth rate is pathetic.
13:32Sharing energy with you is a form of suffering.
13:37My Archmaster said,
13:38I'm one of the most talented young members in a generation.
13:41All those rare materials and elixirs I found went into me this time.
13:46Not into the phoenix.
13:47Ten years passed.
13:49I moved steadily from fourth circle to sixth circle.
13:52Even the most mean Elder Celia praised me.
13:54You are really a genius, Lyra.
13:57We all expected the phoenix to elevate the whole Spirit Panda Academy.
14:01But ten years in,
14:03there's still no sign of him breaking through.
14:06I'd expected this.
14:08Sustaining creatures took enormous resources.
14:10And the Spirit Pact Academy never had reserves.
14:13The phoenix couldn't break through.
14:15And in my past life,
14:16I'd seen exactly what happened when his patients ran out.
14:19I'd thought about removing him.
14:21Every time I tried to bring it up with my Archmaster or Kiran,
14:24it was like the words hit a wall.
14:26And acting unilaterally,
14:28killing the phoenix before anyone understood why,
14:30would have destroyed the Spirit Pact Academy from the inside.
14:33All I could do was watch him and contain him.
14:37Past that,
14:38I had no choice but to wait.
14:39My past life hadn't survived this year.
14:42I didn't know if this one would go differently.
14:44He stood there staring at Kiran,
14:46who was lazily floating in the spring in human form,
14:49making absolutely no effort to be welcoming.
14:51You have a bonded partner.
14:53Why are you at my gate?
14:56Right.
14:57What possible reason could you have
14:59for neglecting your own bonded partner
15:02to come stand outside someone else's home?
15:04Kiran climbed out,
15:05and immediately tried to lean against me.
15:07I don't worry you're near.
15:08I'll have to know this.
15:10I just want that bird to know
15:12there's no space for him here.
15:15What exactly is here between us?
15:17That's entirely your call.
15:18The phoenix flew away.
15:21Kiran grabbed my face with both hands.
15:23He left.
15:24Can you stop worrying about him for five minutes?
15:26I have to know what he's doing.
15:27That bird has a dark heart.
15:29I don't trust him idle.
15:32He regrets it.
15:34Doesn't want to stay with your little sister anymore.
15:36I turned toward the gate.
15:38Empty.
15:39But something in my gut told me the phoenix was off.
15:42There was no logical reason for him to come to me specifically.
15:46Unless the phoenix had also been reborn.
15:49If that was true, then he knew about the back forest.
15:52He knew what was sealed there.
15:54He knew my parents had died there.
15:56Which I'd only ever told him directly.
15:58In my previous life.
15:59I didn't stop to explain to Kiran.
16:01I pulled out a slip and went straight to the forest wards.
16:04The wards were intact.
16:05I exhaled.
16:06Then I turned around and my stomach dropped.
16:08A handful of golden feathers lay near the edge of the barrier line.
16:12He'd been here.
16:13The phoenix had come back with knowledge he shouldn't have.
16:15The friction between Evelyn and the phoenix had gone public.
16:18He'd refused her commands in training sessions.
16:21Ignored her in front of others.
16:22Made her look incompetent in front of the whole yard more than once in recent weeks.
16:26The reason I kept getting dragged in was simpler and more aggravating.
16:29Every time I appeared, the phoenix drifted toward me.
16:32If looks could kill, Evelyn would have had me buried weeks ago.
16:35Elder Celia found the whole thing delightful.
16:37Her bird appeared at my shoulder one afternoon.
16:40You know what this reminds me of?
16:42One of those stories where the man realizes too late what he had.
16:46He freezes her out at the start and then spends the rest of the book chasing her.
16:51Oh dear.
16:53I could talk to the girl.
16:54Offer her a different creature.
16:56Something she could actually manage.
16:57And transfer the phoenix over to you.
17:00Quietly.
17:01No.
17:01I'm not going near the disciplinary council over this.
17:04Besides, I have Kiran.
17:05That's enough.
17:07Celia looked genuinely mournful.
17:09Then she shifted to her real point.
17:12A creature pulling against its bonded partner is a problem for everyone.
17:15And Evelyn hasn't advanced the first stage in ten years.
17:19The elders have discussed sending her out on a field assignment.
17:21A year or two away from the Spirit Pact Academy.
17:24Practical experience.
17:25Away from all of this.
17:26I understood what she wasn't saying.
17:28They'd given up on the phoenix as a resource for the Spirit Pact Academy.
17:32In the council hall, Evelyn made the whole thing into a production.
17:36She cried.
17:37She accused me of engineering her removal to take the phoenix.
17:40In front of all the senior elders, she made her counter offer.
17:43If Senior wants the phoenix, she should just say so.
17:47I won't stand in the way.
17:49But if she takes him, she gives me Kiran.
17:52A mixed lineage serpent for a pure-blooded phoenix.
17:55Honestly, Lyra comes out a laugh.
17:57Which one, Evelyn?
17:59You focus on your phoenix and stop coming up with terrible ideas.
18:04While the elders dealt with Evelyn, I was at the creature registry with the head keeper, investigating a disappearance.
18:10Three had vanished overnight.
18:12Two small rabbits and a unicorn.
18:15I reinforced the gate myself before I left.
18:18Any disturbance at all and I would have felt it.
18:21There was nothing.
18:23Not a sound.
18:25Not a rogue creature.
18:27No trace of that energy anywhere.
18:29Right?
18:30I looked around.
18:31The registry was built into the mountainside.
18:34The rock face itself was warded.
18:36No slipping through the earth.
18:38No passing through walls.
18:40I was still thinking when the keeper started cooing at one of the deer.
18:43Don't be scared.
18:44Big Brother Serpent just looks mean.
18:47He won't eat you.
18:48That pulled something loose in my mind.
18:51I hesitated.
18:54Do creatures ever turn on each other?
18:56What a horrifying thing to say.
18:59They have awareness.
19:01They would never-
19:02Kieran slipped an arm around me and spoke low into my ear.
19:05People do terrible things to each other.
19:08Creatures aren't different.
19:09I've heard of a practice.
19:11A dark technique.
19:12Used by creatures who want to advance without resources.
19:15My skin had gone cold.
19:17Wild creatures had no access to elixirs or rare materials.
19:21If they wanted to grow in power fast, the most efficient shortcut was this.
19:26Consume the core of another creature.
19:29The higher the level of the creature they took from, the faster the gain.
19:33Kieran had nearly died at the hands of one practicing exactly that method ten years ago.
19:37Once it works, it will come back for more.
19:41We staked out the registry that night.
19:43Nothing happened.
19:44Quiet all the way until dawn.
19:46I reassured the keeper and headed out.
19:51Hallmaster, there's an incident at the residences.
19:54Kieran shifted, wrapped around me, and moved.
19:57When we landed, I didn't need to go inside to know it was bad.
20:00I could hear the crying from the courtyard.
20:02It was one of my newest students.
20:04A girl who'd come to the spirit-packed academy with his own creature.
20:07Fox.
20:07Soft and round and always sprawled in patches of sunlight.
20:10Kind of creature that made people smile just looking at it.
20:14She was sitting on the ground, holding what remained of her.
20:16Not much left.
20:17Your guess was right.
20:18The core was removed.
20:19One strike, clean.
20:21It happened before she could make a sound.
20:23She only noticed when she felt the bond break.
20:25I felt the cold settle in my chest.
20:28Without thinking, I looked around for the phoenix.
20:31He was standing beside Evelyn, still as a statue.
20:33The picture.
20:34Don't look.
20:35It's him.
20:38You're certain?
20:38I went to the Archmaster.
20:40Don't move yet.
20:41You need proof.
20:43Catch him in the act.
20:44He said it with total gravity.
20:46Meanwhile, behind him, his courtyard had become a small zoo.
20:49Several of them had taken human form and were crowding around Kieran to ask about his parents' bloodlines.
20:55I keep all my creatures close.
20:57Your new firehound relieved himself on the floor.
21:00You could clean it up for your teacher.
21:02Absolutely not.
21:03The senior elders started watching the phoenix.
21:05Their eyes went to him more carefully during training.
21:08They noted that his power had grown noticeably in ways that weren't explained by his circumstances.
21:13Then, nothing.
21:14Weeks passed.
21:15No more disappearances.
21:17No incidents.
21:18Two weeks went by.
21:19The girl never quite recovered from losing his fox.
21:22The other students spoke about the disappearances less and less until the whole thing drifted into the category of
21:27Strange Spirit Pact Academy legend.
21:30Something that had happened, maybe, possibly.
21:32Nobody quite remembered the details.
21:33But I couldn't let it go.
21:35Kieran's certainty sat with me every day.
21:37I went to the Archmaster and asked to have the phoenix formally restricted.
21:41You think we don't see it?
21:43But without evidence, what do I tell the students?
21:46If I punish someone without proof, I lose the trust of the whole Spirit Pact Academy.
21:51And without that trust, the Spirit Pact Academy dissolves.
21:55Then, one night, while I was deep in meditation, something flashed past my window.
21:59A pair of red eyes.
22:01Bright.
22:01Gone in an instant.
22:02Where was Kieran?
22:04I moved to the water's edge.
22:05Floating on the surface.
22:06A single golden feather.
22:08An invitation.
22:09Or a taunt.
22:10Find me and I'll give him back.
22:11I reached out through the bond and found Kieran's location.
22:14The back forest.
22:15I hit the ground running.
22:16I arrived through the wards in a flash of light.
22:19And walked straight into a shockwave from two powers colliding.
22:23Kieran and the phoenix were already fighting.
22:25Fully committed.
22:26I went rigid.
22:28When had the phoenix broken through?
22:30He moved through the trees in a golden coat.
22:32Fast and precise.
22:34Ducking and redirecting Kieran's strikes.
22:36With the ease of someone who'd had longer to prepare for this moment.
22:40Beside the ward barrier, Evelyn sat perfectly still.
22:43Like a doll that someone had set down and forgotten.
22:47When I got close enough to see her clearly.
22:49My stomach turned over.
22:51Evelyn was dead.
22:52Her eyes were still open.
22:54Fixed in an expression of complete disbelief.
22:57Her abdomen had been cut open.
22:59Her core.
23:00The source of her power.
23:02The root she'd spent years building.
23:04Was gone.
23:05I hadn't even had time to process it.
23:08Before the sky above the forest went dark.
23:10Clouds banking hard and fast.
23:12Thunder starting low and rolling.
23:15Bond lies.
23:17Harm your bonded partner.
23:18And the consequence comes down from the sky itself.
23:21He'd killed his own bonded partner.
23:24He'd lost his mind.
23:26A lightning judgment of this scale would leave nothing of him.
23:29All that power.
23:30All that scheming.
23:32And he'd thrown it away for this moment.
23:34I didn't bother playing it soft.
23:36You spent ten years plotting with Evelyn against the spirit packed academy.
23:41You used every person here as a platform.
23:43And this life you had the chance to change.
23:46And instead you gutted her for her core.
23:48The god is watching.
23:50Today it ends.
23:51Phoenix smiled.
23:53Cold and strange.
23:54Almost.
23:56One more step.
23:57His hands were already moving behind his back.
24:00Breaking the wards.
24:01The creatures locked in the forest felt the loosening.
24:04The ground shook.
24:06Thunder gathered directly above him.
24:08The archmaster arrived in a streak of light from the peak.
24:11Lyra!
24:11Hold the creatures back!
24:15I'll work on resealing from out here.
24:17Lightning above.
24:19The forest breaking open below.
24:21The phoenix stood in the middle of it all.
24:23With a look of pure madness.
24:25And he turned it on me.
24:27Lyra.
24:28You can't stop this.
24:30Come die with me.
24:32I'll do better by you this time.
24:34I swear it.
24:35In my past life I had died in this exact forest.
24:38In this exact way.
24:40With no one at my back.
24:42I felt fear.
24:43That was honest.
24:44Old fear.
24:45The kind that lived in the body.
24:47Then a hand landed on my shoulder.
24:50Kiran.
24:51Eyes lit with the cold fire of someone who had never once considered losing.
24:55You want to take her down with you?
24:57He laughed once.
24:59Short and sharp.
25:00Ask me first.
25:02You're nobody.
25:04Right.
25:05I had Kiran.
25:06This time.
25:07I wasn't fighting alone.
25:09Kiran pressed forward.
25:11And I covered him.
25:12He trusted me at his back without checking.
25:14I trusted him to end what he started.
25:17Kiran wasn't breaking.
25:19And the phoenix couldn't find a way past him.
25:21Then he understood.
25:23I wasn't going to die here.
25:25The plan had failed.
25:26He broke.
25:28This isn't right.
25:29You're supposed to die.
25:30We're supposed to die together.
25:32I raised one finger and pointed at the sky.
25:35Goodbye.
25:35The lightning came down in a column as wide as a well.
25:39The phoenix didn't scream.
25:41No rebirth for those taken by judgment.
25:44Final and total.
25:46I finally got the rarest magic core for you.
25:51You've worked hard.
26:05After rebirth, I abandoned the mighty phoenix as my magical pet.
26:09Instead, chose an almost dead little black snake in my past life.
26:13I'd hunted rare ingredients for phoenix.
26:15Pouring every resource I had into his growth, he cheated with my sister behind my back.
26:19Finally, to make their little love story easier, they killed me together.
26:22This time around, I wanted to see how that perfect couple managed without me as their stepping stone.
26:27The same packed ceremony, the same standout, undeniably that golden phoenix.
26:31Even caged with a suppression collar, he held his head high, like the rest of us were beneath him.
26:36As expected, the ceremony elder assigned him to me.
26:39The phoenix tilted its head back and rolled its eyes, just like in its previous life, its face full of
26:44disdain.
26:45That was when my sister Evelyn walked in, cradling a limp little black snake in her palms, tears rolling down
26:50her cheeks.
26:51My sister was too weak.
26:53Phoenix fell in love with her pitiful appearance immediately, which made me look like the villain standing between them.
26:58The ceremony elder shifted awkwardly and turned on Evelyn.
27:01Your power isn't strong enough.
27:03Even if the phoenix is drawn to you now, you won't be able to handle him.
27:07She didn't react, instead pretended to be scared by my gaze, bit her lip with tears down.
27:11Lila, I know I have no right to compete with you. It's just, I've never seen a golden phoenix before.
27:17I didn't have the patience to listen to her feigned weakness.
27:20I reached out and lifted the limp black snake from her hands, smiled at the ceremony elder.
27:25I've taken a liking to this one. The phoenix clearly doesn't want me.
27:28Why not let her have him? I'll take the snake.
27:31The others thought I'd lost my mind. They pulled me aside.
27:34You're the strongest here. This black snake has a mixed bloodline. He's basically worthless.
27:39But I knew the truth about that phoenix.
27:40He was no prize. In my last life, in my past life, scene had played out exactly the same way.
27:46The phoenix ignored me. I felt the sting of being rejected for the first time in my life.
27:51And instead of thinking clearly, I thought, he's so hard to get. I'm obsessed.
27:56As the Archmaster's student, I was supposed to be an example to the others.
27:59I told myself I had to tame the phoenix, strengthen the Spirit Pact Academy.
28:04So I threw everything I had at him.
28:06Every student got a limited ration of elixirs.
28:08So I took assassin missions, hunting rogue creatures, the kind that had lost their minds and turned feral, to earn
28:14extra elixirs.
28:15I came back bleeding every time. The phoenix pretended not to notice. He only came near me when I pulled
28:20out elixirs, took what he wanted, and walked away.
28:23Ten years. I spent ten years helping him break through his limits and take human form.
28:28When he finally did, he was stunning. Tall, sharp-featured. But the warmth stopped there.
28:33He always treated me like I was his errand girl. I told myself it was fine.
28:37Creatures with strong bloodlines had pride. One day, he'd recognize what I'd given him.
28:41One day, we'd fight side by side, and I wouldn't have to face those pharaoh creatures alone.
28:45Then one day, I saw him kiss my sister passionately. She was laughing, dancing around him.
28:51A fellow student rode past on her white tiger, saw them in the distance, and shook her head at me.
28:56Liar, you really need to stop asking Evelyn to look after the phoenix when you go on contracts.
29:01When did I ever ask her that?
29:03She says it every time you leave.
29:05I saw stars. I'd been out there risking my life, and she was back here cheating with her things.
29:11Doesn't she have her own creature?
29:12That little black snake died in its second year.
29:16Then it clicked. I'd spent ten years sewing a wedding dress for someone else.
29:19I wasn't some gentle, forgiving heroine, turned on Evelyn.
29:23It enraged the phoenix. As punishment, he lured me to the back forest under false pretenses,
29:27then broke open the wards keeping it sealed. The creatures trapped inside started pouring out,
29:32and among them was one that had fallen into complete madness, a leviathan.
29:36The phoenix joined forces with my sister to shoot me down the cliff.
29:39In the end, I died in the beast half, and I could only watch Evelyn snuggle up beside it.
29:44So this time around, I wasn't going to be anyone's sacrifice.
29:47I just wanted to see what this couple would do next.
29:50The phoenix held onto Evelyn tightly, refusing to let go.
29:53The elder sighed, and spirit-pact academy'd the pact circle drawn.
29:56Once a creature bonded with someone, they were bound to that person's commands.
30:00Harm the bonded partner, and the creature suffered for it.
30:03The bonding ritual's energy agitated the black snake.
30:06He wound himself around my arm with everything he had.
30:09Evelyn got the phoenix, and was clearly thrilled.
30:11Then she looked at the snake clinging to me.
30:13You and that serpent really do seem meant for each other, Lyra.
30:16She was very smug.
30:17Had she also been reborn?
30:19Watch your tongue, Evelyn!
30:20If Lyra hadn't stepped in for you, you'd never have gotten the phoenix!
30:24If I were you, I'd be on my knees thanking her.
30:25Oh, stop. She's crying again. Always crying.
30:29You'd think she was the tragic one.
30:31The phoenix paced anxiously while Evelyn sniffled.
30:33Anxious didn't help him.
30:35Evelyn had almost no power at this stage.
30:37The creatures shared energy with their bonded partners,
30:40but Evelyn's reserves were basically empty.
30:43Probably the first time in either life,
30:45that the phoenix had been on the losing side of a situation.
30:48Good. He'd adjust.
30:50This was the consequence of choosing weakness and cheating.
30:54The black snake, finally convinced I wasn't abandoning him,
30:57went limp, and passed out in my arms.
31:00Back home, I finally got a good look at the snake.
31:03He was tiny.
31:05Couldn't have been more than a few decades old.
31:07Barely past the threshold of maturity.
31:09But he was strange.
31:11Different from the serpents I knew.
31:13Water serpents had snake-like tails.
31:15This one had a tail more like a fish,
31:17with a fin.
31:18Mixed bloodline.
31:20Serpent and something older.
31:22Seafolk, maybe.
31:23I had a natural spring in the courtyard.
31:25The moment he hit the water, he came alive.
31:28Diving and surfacing.
31:30Pulling in energy from the current.
31:32I laughed.
31:34Relax.
31:34I fed a golden phoenix for ten years.
31:37I think I can manage one little snake.
31:39He froze.
31:39And stared at me with those tiny green eyes.
31:42Then he spat water at my face.
31:44I flicked him on the head.
31:46Heal up.
31:47You're not going anywhere.
31:48The next morning I woke up wrong.
31:50I turned my head and found a face three inches from mine.
31:54Dark lashes.
31:55Warm skin.
31:56The kind of face that belonged in a painting.
31:59Long lashes that trembled slightly.
32:01Objectively gorgeous.
32:03Didn't stop me from nearly jumping out of my skin.
32:06He'd gotten into bed without waking me.
32:08Whoever this was, his power was well above mine.
32:11He stirred, opened gold-slit eyes, and looked at me.
32:15I scrambled to the corner.
32:17Who are you?
32:18This is Spirit Pact Academy grounds.
32:20Don't try anything.
32:21He sat up.
32:23I noticed he was wearing the clothes I'd set aside for when a creature took human form.
32:27A dark fitted robe with a subtle pattern.
32:29He wore it well.
32:31He was tall.
32:32He'd had to curl up to fit in my bed.
32:34Under those long lashes were a pair of gold vertical pupil eyes.
32:38The answer was obvious.
32:40Snake?
32:40He smirked.
32:41Reached out.
32:42And flicked me on the forehead.
32:44Rude.
32:44I have a name.
32:46It's Kieran.
32:47Kieran, it turned out, had been fleeing an enemy when he crossed paths with my tutor.
32:51He'd taken the form of a small, injured serpent.
32:54My tutor, true to form, had taken him in.
32:57Kieran clearly hadn't been injured because he was weak.
32:59Please tell me your enemies aren't about to show up here.
33:02We're bonded now.
33:04You're the master.
33:05I'm your mate.
33:06So I suggest you train hard and try not to slow me down.
33:10He taught me a breathing and absorption technique developed for serpentkind.
33:13Most days I sat in the spring practicing, while Kieran sprawled in the tree above me, watching with half-closed
33:19eyes.
33:19The breeze moved his hair and caught the light on his skin.
33:22Evelyn appeared at my gate, peering in.
33:24I sighed and got out of the spring.
33:26Kieran dropped from the tree and draped a dry robe over my shoulders without being asked.
33:31Who is this?
33:32You remember him?
33:34The little black snake from the bonding ceremony.
33:36You said yourself we seemed meant for each other.
33:38A flicker of something crossed her face.
33:41What do you want?
33:41This is training time.
33:43I was hoping we could raise the phoenix together.
33:47Kieran's hand tightened on mine.
33:48I glanced at him.
33:49He was watching me, clearly unhappy.
33:51I'm not your backup plan.
33:53Figure it out yourself.
33:54How is it not your responsibility?
33:56You took the black snake and left me with the phoenix!
33:59You don't get to just walk away!
34:02Half a year's gone by and I've given him every elixir I had.
34:05There's nothing left for my own training.
34:07And I was in the lower ranks.
34:08I can't go hunting rare ingredients.
34:10I'd die out there.
34:11You bonded with the phoenix first.
34:12You should be helping.
34:14I cut her off mid-sentence, sent a gust of air to push her back through the gate,
34:17and led Kieran inside.
34:19Little sister, don't mistake everyone for a fool.
34:22I'm not spending my resources raising your creature for you.
34:25If you can't afford to keep him, dissolve the bond.
34:27Let someone else take him.
34:29I'm sure the elders would be happy to.
34:31She wouldn't do that.
34:32Her ambitions were too big.
34:34Weeks passed.
34:35I broke through to a new level of power.
34:37What those in the Spirit Pact Academy called,
34:40Fourth Circle Stage.
34:42At the same time,
34:43the Archmaster arranged for me to escort a rare spirit fox
34:46to the Spirit Pact Academy,
34:48alongside Elder Celia,
34:50who was about three centuries older than me
34:52and acted like a kid half the time.
34:55I sweet-talked her through the hand over to the creature registry,
34:58and she settled for it.
35:00Before she left,
35:01she pressed her hand over her mouth to hide a smile.
35:03Your little serpent is very clingy, you know.
35:06I didn't understand until I started up the mountain path
35:10and saw a silhouette leaning against a tree in the distance.
35:13Do you hear it?
35:13He didn't move.
35:15When I got closer,
35:16he reached out and grabbed the back of my neck.
35:18Lyra,
35:19am I not good to you?
35:20Why are you trying to give me away?
35:22What are you talking about?
35:23That girl came to the courtyard today,
35:25said you sent her to check on me.
35:27Did you change your mind about bonding with me?
35:29You hit Fourth Circle and now you're done with me?
35:32Same playbook, different life.
35:34Before I could explain,
35:36Kieran's pupils contracted to thin lines.
35:39He bent his head and pressed his face into my neck.
35:41His tongue brushed the skin there.
35:43Light, quick.
35:45I shivered hard.
35:46Smells like fox.
35:48Lyra,
35:49did you already find yourself a replacement?
35:52Doesn't matter.
35:53Once I eat that fox,
35:54I'll be your only option.
35:56You hit me for her?
35:57That fox belongs to my Archmaster.
36:00You touch her and I will end you.
36:01Kieran stopped fighting me and let himself be pulled along.
36:05Most students weren't training,
36:06so the residences were quiet.
36:08A few people raised their eyebrows when they saw me coming.
36:11Short greetings,
36:12and then they told me.
36:14Evelyn had gone to the back forest with the Phoenix.
36:16I frowned.
36:17I wasn't in the Phoenix's way anymore.
36:20Why were they sneaking off to the forest?
36:22We found them mid-argument.
36:24Or rather,
36:25Evelyn was arguing and the Phoenix,
36:27who still hadn't taken human form,
36:29was responding in scratched letters on the ground.
36:32Don't look at me like that.
36:33I've done nothing wrong.
36:35I didn't force you to come to the Spirit Pact Academy.
36:38You said this place would help you grow.
36:41I've given you every elixir I had and you're still not satisfied?
36:45You want me to go out hunting rare ingredients?
36:47I just started training!
36:49You'd be sending me to die!
36:51I almost felt something.
36:53In my past life,
36:55he'd given me nothing for ten years.
36:57Not a glance,
36:58not a word,
36:59not a gesture.
37:00Now he was writing letters in the dirt.
37:02The contrast was something.
37:04Evelyn,
37:05I've been looking for you.
37:07The Phoenix scrambles to erase the letters when he heard us.
37:10Evelyn pulled herself together fast,
37:12though not fast enough.
37:14What do you need, Lyra?
37:20I patted Kieran's arm.
37:21He gave me a long-suffering look,
37:23then dropped to one knee and let me settle onto it like a chair.
37:27His hands locked around my waist,
37:29steadying me.
37:30Evelyn's gaze locked onto Kieran and didn't move.
37:33I'm not here about anything in particular.
37:35Just wondering why you paid my companion a visit.
37:38The Phoenix's feathers flared,
37:39angry.
37:40Evelyn hadn't expected me to know so fast.
37:43No, you've got it wrong.
37:44I was just coming to find you.
37:46He rested his chin on my shoulder.
37:48She lied to me.
37:49She said you stole me from her.
37:51That I was supposed to be hers.
37:53And what did you do?
37:54She came into your territory without permission.
37:56She was weak.
37:57I didn't even use my power.
37:59Just pushed until she left.
38:00I patted his cheek.
38:02I stood and faced Evelyn directly.
38:04If I remember correctly,
38:05you didn't want Kieran in the first place.
38:08He was badly injured.
38:09If he'd ended up with you,
38:11he probably wouldn't have survived his second year.
38:13That's not true!
38:14I would have taken care of him.
38:16The Phoenix's crest was fully raised now.
38:19She caught herself.
38:21You're trying to drive a wedge between me and the Phoenix.
38:24I stepped forward and put my hand on her shoulder.
38:26You played your game, little sister.
38:29Don't act surprised when I play mine.
38:32Next time you pull something like this,
38:33you will get my punishment.
38:35She blanched.
38:36The council didn't forgive moves against another member's bonded creature.
38:40She couldn't risk it.
38:41On the way back,
38:43I was in a good mood.
38:44Kieran was quiet though.
38:46Wouldn't transform and carry me even when I asked.
38:49Once we were back in the courtyard,
38:50he grabbed my arm.
38:52You seem familiar with the Phoenix.
38:54I didn't hide it.
38:55We have a history.
38:56It ended badly for me.
38:58Wanna hear it?
38:58He turned away, shifted into serpent form,
39:01and wound himself around my neck.
39:03No.
39:04I'm better than that bird by every measure.
39:07You're not going back to him.
39:09I won't have another mate.
39:11I promise.
39:13Days later.
39:15Laia.
39:16Your growth rate is pathetic.
39:18Sharing energy with you is a form of suffering.
39:23My Archmaster said,
39:24I'm one of the most talented young members in a generation.
39:27All those rare materials and elixirs I found went into me this time.
39:32Not into the Phoenix.
39:33Ten years passed.
39:35I moved steadily from fourth circle to sixth circle.
39:38Even the most mean Elder Celia praised me.
39:41You are really a genius, Lyra.
39:43We all expected the Phoenix to elevate the whole Spirit Panda Academy.
39:48But ten years in,
39:50there's still no sign of him breaking through.
39:52I'd expected this.
39:54Sustaining creatures took enormous resources.
39:56And the Spirit Pact Academy never had reserves.
39:59The Phoenix couldn't break through.
40:01And in my past life,
40:02I'd seen exactly what happened when his patients ran out.
40:05I'd thought about removing him.
40:07Every time I tried to bring it up with my Archmaster or Kiran,
40:10it was like the words hit a wall.
40:12And acting unilaterally,
40:14killing the Phoenix before anyone understood why,
40:17would have destroyed the Spirit Pact Academy from the inside.
40:19All I could do was watch him and contain him.
40:23Past that,
40:24I had no choice but to wait.
40:26My past life hadn't survived this year.
40:28I didn't know if this one would go differently.
40:30He stood there staring at Kiran,
40:32who was lazily floating in the spring in human form,
40:35making absolutely no effort to be welcoming.
40:37You have a bonded partner.
40:40Why are you at my gate?
40:43Right.
40:44What possible reason could you have for neglecting your own bonded partner
40:48to come stand outside someone else's home?
40:50Kiran climbed out and immediately tried to lean against me.
40:53I don't worry you're near, I'll have to know this.
40:56I just want that bird to know,
40:59there's no space for him here.
41:01What exactly is here between us?
41:03That's entirely your call.
41:05The Phoenix flew away.
41:07Kiran grabbed my face with both hands.
41:09He left.
41:10Can you stop worrying about him for five minutes?
41:12I have to know what he's doing.
41:13That bird has a dark heart.
41:15I don't trust him idle.
41:18He regrets it.
41:20Doesn't want to stay with your little sister anymore.
41:22I turned toward the gate.
41:24Empty.
41:25But something in my gut told me the Phoenix was off.
41:28There was no logical reason for him to come to me specifically.
41:32Unless the Phoenix had also been reborn.
41:35If that was true, then he knew about the back forest.
41:38He knew what was sealed there.
41:40He knew my parents had died there.
41:42Which I'd only ever told him directly.
41:44In my previous life.
41:45I didn't stop to explain to Kiran.
41:47I pulled out a slip and went straight to the forest wards.
41:50The wards were intact.
41:51I exhaled.
41:53Then I turned around and my stomach dropped.
41:55A handful of golden feathers lay near the edge of the barrier line.
41:58He'd been here.
41:59The Phoenix had come back with knowledge he shouldn't have.
42:01The friction between Evelyn and the Phoenix had gone public.
42:05He'd refused her commands in training sessions.
42:07Ignored her in front of others.
42:08Made her look incompetent in front of the whole yard more than once in recent weeks.
42:12The reason I kept getting dragged in was simpler and more aggravating.
42:16Every time I appeared, the Phoenix drifted toward me.
42:18If looks could kill, Evelyn would have had me buried weeks ago.
42:22Elder Celia found the whole thing delightful.
42:24Her bird appeared at my shoulder one afternoon.
42:26You know what this reminds me of?
42:28One of those stories where the man realizes too late what he had.
42:32He freezes her out at the start and then spends the rest of the book chasing her.
42:38Oh dear.
42:38I could talk to the girl.
42:40Offer her a different creature.
42:42Something she could actually manage.
42:44And transfer the Phoenix over to you.
42:46Quietly.
42:47No.
42:47I'm not going near the disciplinary council over this.
42:50Besides, I have Kieran.
42:52That's enough.
42:53Celia looked genuinely mournful.
42:55Then she shifted to her real point.
42:58A creature pulling against its bonded partner is a problem for everyone.
43:02And Evelyn hasn't advanced the first stage in ten years.
43:05The elders have discussed sending her out on a field assignment.
43:07A year or two away from the Spirit Pact Academy.
43:10Practical experience.
43:11Away from all of this.
43:13I understood what she wasn't saying.
43:15They'd given up on the Phoenix as a resource for the Spirit Pact Academy.
43:18In the council hall, Evelyn made the whole thing into a production.
43:22She cried.
43:23She accused me of engineering her removal to take the Phoenix.
43:26In front of all the senior elders, she made her counteroffer.
43:30If Senior wants the Phoenix, she should just say so.
43:33I won't stand in the way.
43:35But if she takes him, she gives me Kieran.
43:38A mixed lineage serpent for a pure-blooded Phoenix.
43:41Honestly, Lyra comes out a laugh.
43:44Which one, Evelyn?
43:45You focus on your Phoenix and stop coming up with terrible ideas.
43:50While the elders dealt with Evelyn, I was at the creature registry with the head keeper.
43:55Investigating a disappearance.
43:57Three had vanished overnight.
43:58Two small rabbits and a unicorn.
44:00I reinforced the gate myself before I left.
44:04Any disturbance at all and I would have felt it.
44:08There was nothing.
44:09Not a sound.
44:11Not a rogue creature.
44:13No trace of that energy anywhere.
44:16Right?
44:17I looked around.
44:18The registry was built into the mountainside.
44:20The rock face itself was warded.
44:22No slipping through the earth.
44:24No passing through walls.
44:25I was still thinking when the keeper started cooing at one of the deer.
44:29Don't be scared.
44:31Big brother serpent just looks mean.
44:33He won't eat you.
44:35That pulled something loose in my mind.
44:37I hesitated.
44:40Do creatures ever turn on each other?
44:42What a horrifying thing to say.
44:45They have awareness.
44:46They would never.
44:48Kieran slipped an arm around me and spoke low into my ear.
44:52People do terrible things to each other.
44:54Creatures aren't different.
44:56I've heard of a practice.
44:57A dark technique.
44:59Used by creatures who want to advance without resources.
45:02My skin had gone cold.
45:03Wild creatures had no access to elixirs or rare materials.
45:07If they wanted to grow in power fast, the most efficient shortcut was this.
45:13Consume the core of another creature.
45:15The higher the level of the creature they took from, the faster the game.
45:19Kieran had nearly died at the hands of one practicing exactly that method ten years ago.
45:23Once it works, it will come back for more.
45:27We staked out the registry that night.
45:30Nothing happened.
45:31Quiet all the way until dawn.
45:32I reassured the keeper and headed out.
45:38Hallmaster, there's an incident at the residences.
45:40Kieran shifted, wrapped around me, and moved.
45:43When we landed, I didn't need to go inside to know it was bad.
45:46I could hear the crying from the courtyard.
45:49It was one of my newest students.
45:50A girl who'd come to the spirit-packed academy with his own creature.
45:53Fox.
45:54Soft and round and always sprawled in patches of sunlight.
45:57The kind of creature that made people smile just looking at it.
46:00She was sitting on the ground, holding what remained of her.
46:02Not much left.
46:03Your guess was right.
46:04The core was removed.
46:06One strike, clean.
46:07It happened before she could make a sound.
46:09She only noticed when she felt the bond break.
46:11I felt the cold settle in my chest.
46:14Without thinking, I looked around for the phoenix.
46:17You were standing beside Evelyn, still as a statue.
46:19The picture.
46:20Don't look.
46:21It's him.
46:24You're certain.
46:25I went to the Archmaster.
46:26Don't move yet.
46:27You need proof.
46:29Catch him in the act.
46:30He said it with total gravity.
46:32Meanwhile, behind him, his courtyard had become a small zoo.
46:36Several of them had taken human form and were crowding around Ciaran to ask about his parents' bloodlines.
46:41I keep all my creatures close.
46:44Your new firehound relieved himself on the floor.
46:46You could clean it up for your teacher.
46:48Absolutely not.
46:49The senior elders started watching the phoenix.
46:51Their eyes went to him more carefully during training.
46:54They noted that his power had grown noticeably in ways that weren't explained by his circumstances.
47:00Then, nothing.
47:01Weeks passed.
47:02No more disappearances.
47:03No incidents.
47:04Two weeks went by.
47:05The girl never quite recovered from losing his fox.
47:08The other students spoke about the disappearances less and less until the whole thing drifted into the category of strange
47:14spirit-packed academy legend.
47:16Something that had happened, maybe, possibly.
47:18Nobody quite remembered the details.
47:19But I couldn't let it go.
47:21Ciaran's certainty sat with me every day.
47:24I went to the Archmaster and asked to have the phoenix formally restricted.
47:28You think we don't see it?
47:30But without evidence, what do I tell the students?
47:32If I punish someone without proof, I lose the trust of the whole spirit-packed academy.
47:37And without that trust, the spirit-packed academy dissolves.
47:41Then one night, while I was deep in meditation, something flashed past my window.
47:45A pair of red eyes.
47:47Bright.
47:47Gone in an instant.
47:49Where was Ciaran?
47:50I moved to the water's edge.
47:51Floating on the surface.
47:53A single golden feather.
47:54An invitation.
47:55Or a taunt.
47:56Find me and I'll give him back.
47:57I reached out through the bond and found Ciaran's location.
48:00The back forest.
48:01I hit the ground running.
48:02I arrived through the wards in a flash of light.
48:05And walked straight into a shockwave from two powers colliding.
48:09Ciaran and the phoenix were already fighting.
48:11Fully committed.
48:12I went rigid.
48:14When had the phoenix broken through?
48:16He moved through the trees in a golden coat.
48:19Fast and precise.
48:20Ducking and redirecting Ciaran's strikes.
48:23With the ease of someone who'd had longer to prepare for this moment.
48:26Beside the ward barrier, Evelyn sat perfectly still.
48:30Like a doll that someone had set down and forgotten.
48:33When I got close enough to see her clearly, my stomach turned over.
48:37Evelyn was dead.
48:39Her eyes were still open.
48:41Fixed in an expression of complete disbelief.
48:43Her abdomen had been cut open.
48:46Her core.
48:47The source of her power.
48:48The root she'd spent years building.
48:50Was gone.
48:51I hadn't even had time to process it.
48:54Before the sky above the forest went dark.
48:57Clouds banking hard and fast.
48:59Thunder starting low and rolling.
49:01The bond blows.
49:03Harm your bonded partner.
49:05And the consequence comes down from the sky itself.
49:08He'd killed his own bonded partner.
49:10He'd lost his mind.
49:12A lightning judgment of this scale would leave nothing of him.
49:15All that power.
49:17All that scheming.
49:18And he'd thrown it away for this moment.
49:20I didn't bother playing it soft.
49:23You spent ten years plotting with Evelyn against the Spirit Pact Academy.
49:27You used every person here as a platform.
49:30And this life you had the chance to change and instead you gutted her for her core.
49:34The God is watching.
49:36Today it ends.
49:38Nick smiled.
49:39Cold and strange.
49:41Almost.
49:42One more step.
49:43His hands were already moving behind his back.
49:46Breaking the wards.
49:47The creatures locked in the forest felt the loosening.
49:50The ground shook.
49:52Thunder gathered directly above him.
49:54The Archmaster arrived in a streak of light from the peak.
49:57Lyra!
49:58Hold the creatures back!
50:01I'll work on resealing from out here.
50:04Lightning above.
50:05The forest breaking open below.
50:07The phoenix stood in the middle of it all.
50:09With a look of pure madness.
50:12And he turned it on me.
50:13Lyra.
50:14You can't stop this.
50:17Come die with me.
50:19I'll do better by you this time.
50:20I swear it.
50:21In my past life, I had died in this exact forest.
50:24In this exact way.
50:26With no one at my back.
50:28I felt fear.
50:29That was honest.
50:31Old fear.
50:32The kind that lived in the body.
50:34Then a hand landed on my shoulder.
50:35Kieran.
50:37Eyes lit with the cold fire of someone who had never once considered losing.
50:42You wanna take her down with you?
50:43He laughed once.
50:45Short.
50:46And sharp.
50:46Ask me first.
50:48You're nobody.
50:50Right.
50:51I had Kieran.
50:53This time, I wasn't fighting alone.
50:55Kieran pressed forward and I covered him.
50:58He trusted me at his back without checking.
51:00I trusted him to end what he started.
51:03Kieran wasn't breaking.
51:05And the phoenix couldn't find a way past him.
51:08Then he understood.
51:09I wasn't going to die here.
51:11The plan had failed.
51:12He broke.
51:14This isn't right.
51:15You're supposed to die.
51:16We're supposed to die together.
51:18I raised one finger and pointed at the sky.
51:21Goodbye.
51:22The lightning came down in a column as wide as it was.
51:25The phoenix didn't scream.
51:27No rebirth for those taken by judgment.
51:30Final.
51:31And total.
51:32Natural.
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