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