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