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