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