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