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