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