- hace 2 días
Primal Devourer: The Broken Hatcher’S Rise
Categoría
🎥
CortometrajesTranscripción
00:00Mi mentor gives the blonde girl the best egg in the hall, he tosses me the one no one wanted,
00:05I am last in the rankings, refusal is never an option, for 7 years, I fed it everything I had,
00:11my magic, my sleep, my youth, no one helped, no one noticed, when the shell finally cracks to reveal the
00:18air of Yormonkar, the rarest bloodline in a millennium, suddenly, everyone wants a piece of what I've made, the blonde
00:24girl claims him, my mentor backs her up, three seniors corner me, forcing me to give him up,
00:29and my lindworm, he just stands there, saying nothing, Aurelia is the only one worthy of me, let me go,
00:34I gave you life, I could take it back, so I drive a blade through his heart, devour his core
00:39and become stronger than all of them combined, 7 years ago, the hatching hall, on the altar lay 20 familiar
00:46eggs, each radiating a different light, Aurelia walked to the center and picked up an egg glowing with golden flames,
00:52this egg is calling my name mentor, she said with a smile, she never once looked at me,
00:57the last egg lay alone in the corner, dull, grey white, without a trace of light, Archmaster Maldus gave me
01:02a side lay glance, Vesper you are patient, you can bear this stillness, this one is yours, I cradled it
01:07in my hands, heavy, ice cold, it took me 7 years, I slept with it against my skin every single
01:13night, fed it my magic, thread by thread, I turned down every field trial, missed 3 ascension rites and 4
01:19tower galas, I read every lindworm hatching record in the grand library,
01:23I learned to scrape the absolute bottom of my magical core when utterly exhausted, 7 years later, the shell cracked,
01:29a boy with silver hair and amber eyes stepped out, he opened his eyes, and I was the first thing
01:34he saw, after that, he never chose to see me again, he became Aurelia's shadow, she practiced the sword, he
01:41played the harp by her side, she frowned, the smiled, he bent over backward to make her gentleman,
01:45all she had to say was such a gentleman, and from that moment on, I became an obstacle in his
01:50way, today, 3 senior apprentice block my path, Lysander stands next to them, he says it to my face,
01:55Aurelia is brilliant, she's beautiful and kind, she is the only one worthy to be my mate, Vesper if you
02:00actually care about me, break the bond,
02:03the 3 seniors turn to stare, they are not here to mediate, they are here to witness my humiliation, Cedric
02:08speaks first, talking down to me from on high,
02:10Lysander is the direct heir of Jormagard, there isn't another bloodline like his in the entire northern frontier, face reality,
02:15dragging this out only makes you a laughing stock,
02:18you two were never a man, Orlando chimes in a soft voice, it's not your fault, it's a matter of
02:23bloodline, if you truly love him, set him free, it would be best for everyone,
02:28Gabriel cuts to the chase, the heir of Jormangel is destined for the highest nobility, and Auraria is a daughter
02:34of the phoenix, it's fate,
02:36the whole tower is dying to celebrate their bond ceremony, standing in their way just disgraces you,
02:42word after word, sentence after sentence, then they just wait in Lysander, waiting for my tears, he turns his head,
02:48won't even meet my eyes, he agrees with every single word,
02:527 years, I bled my magic into him, drop by drop, I turned a cold, dead stone into a living,
02:59breathing man, and now they demand I hand him over,
03:02if he will not keep faith, then he forfeits the right to exist,
03:04the meteoric iron dagger sinks into Lysander's chest, I drive it beneath the breastbone, straight into his Lindwarf core crystal,
03:10the one place no hand had reached in 7 years, those amber eyes, always so arrogant, widen in shock and
03:15pain,
03:16Vesper, you, what did you, he stares at me, he really stares, as if the wound had finally taught him
03:21where to look,
03:22I steady my grip, twisting the blade deeper, the meteorite edge crushes his core into dust, not a chance of
03:28survival,
03:29Archmage Maldus mentioned it in a lecture once, the 9 lives of the Lindworm, just a myth,
03:33but the core, that's their fatal weakness, at last, one of Maldus's lessons proves useful,
03:39why wouldn't I, what I gave shape to, I can also destroy, if I want you dead, then you die,
03:45blood runs down the hilt, covers my fingers, Lysander tries to speak, he only chokes on blood,
03:51the light leaves his eyes, his body hits the floor, he shifts back to his true form,
03:56a massive silver white serpent, its scales go dull at once, stripped of all their glory,
04:00it coils across the floor, taking up half the room, I don't blink, I watch until he stops twitching,
04:07I rip the dagger out, walk to the center of the room, drop to my knees, I start carving into
04:12the
04:12floor, deep in the tower's restricted vault lies a book, the chronicle of primal blood rites,
04:17I copied a page from it in secret and hid it in my room, studying it in silence for 7
04:21years,
04:21the devourer's gift, a 3,000 year old taboo, no tools required, no setup needed, just one caster,
04:29and one formidable sacrifice, I finish the last rune, I slice my fingertip open, let the blood drip
04:35into the center, I drag Lysander's corpse into the circle, my blood spreads out, it lights up every
04:40carved line, the whole array blazes with dark old light, I've never seen a color like it, but every
04:45vein in my body hums, Lysander's serpent form lights up, first the scales, then the muscles,
04:51finally the bones, everything breaks down, bit by bit, it melts into threads of dark gold energy,
04:57ripped straight from his corpse, flowing right into me, the threads sink through my skin,
05:02hook into my bloodstream, the moment the first thread enters, something explodes in my head,
05:07a memory that isn't mine, locked deep in my soul since the day I was born, it cracks wide open,
05:12I see a creature, it eats stars, swallows light, devours the laws of reality, it has existed since
05:19the beginning of the world, the first predator, the primal devourer, I always thought I was worthless,
05:25my magic was pathetically weak, ever since I entered the tower at 12, I ranked at the bottom,
05:30I thought I was born broken, but now I realize I was wrong, basic magic is useless to me,
05:35everything the tower taught me is worthless, something in me had lain dormant since birth,
05:40seal behind an appetite no ordinary magic could feed, Lysander, the heir of Jormungandr,
05:45the only sacrifice to break the seal in 3000 years, I smile, so that is the truth,
05:51Lysander's body vanishes completely, every drop of his energy floods my veins, the shackles that
05:56bound my magic for 7 years collapse, one by one, when the last of the dark gold vanishes into me,
06:01I rise with an archmage power in my bones, all that's left is a dried ritual ray and a pool
06:06of
06:06blood, not a single trace of Lysander, like he never existed at all, I rise to my feet and roll
06:12my
06:12wrist, my joints crack, the door bangs open, Maldris stands in the doorway, Aroliya cowers
06:18behind him, eyes red and body shaking, she clutches her golden phoenix, the three seniors flank them,
06:24faces pale with terror, how could you, you killed him and then you devoured him,
06:28she breaks down sobbing, Maldris unleashes his full archmaster era across the room,
06:34Vesper, what you did in this room defiles the tower, yet you also performed a forbidden
06:40ritual, by my authority you are cast out and remounded to the abyss, his power crashes down
06:46on me, 7 years ago, this would have crushed me, but now, I'm an archmage, I hold the power of
06:52the primal devourer, I straighten and meet his gaze, killing my bonded creature, mentor Lysander wasn't a
06:58human, he was a familiar, I hatched him from a shell 7 years ago, Tower Code, Volume 7, Chapter 3,
07:04Section 11, a familiar's life belongs to its hatcher, your language, not mine, Maldris chokes on his
07:10own words, Aroliya suddenly cuts in, tears already gathering as if on command, her voice trembles
07:16with practiced grief, even if he was just a familiar, you were together for 7 years, do you feel
07:22nothing, he was the heir of Jormagon, that bloodline was irreplaceable and you just destroyed it,
07:29irreplaceable or not, he was mine, he wanted to go with someone else, so I killed him, I glare at
07:34her, you care an awful lot about what belongs to other people, do other people's belongings
07:38always catch your eye, Aroliya goes white, the phoenix in her arm struggles, she grips it
07:44tighter, the bird pecks at her wrist, how dare you, Maldis snaps, he knows I have him cornered
07:50on the rules, but Aroliya's tears matter more than his own laws, he cannot accuse me of murdering a
07:55familiar, so he pivots, fine, the familiar was yours, but your mindset is dangerous, you performed
08:01a forbidden ritual, you have shown open malice towards Aroliya, someone like you is a threat
08:05to this tower, I sentence you to 3 years in the abyss, the three seniors actually flinch,
08:10the abyss, the deepest forbidden zone beneath the tower, toxic magic, poisoned air, feral
08:17beasts, most apprentices don't last 3 weeks down there, so that is a sentence, death, draped
08:22in formal language, a flash of satisfaction crosses Aroliya's eyes, then she fakes a worried
08:27look, mentor, surely there is another punishment, the abyss will kill her, please, not that, her
08:34mouth says the words, her feet don't move an inch, my word is final, take her away, the
08:41tower guards step forward, I will walk on my own, I head for the entrance, passing Aroliya,
08:47I stop, I lean in and drop my voice to a whisper just for her, hold that bird close, I
08:53may decide
08:54I'm hungry, Aroliya freezes, she hugs her bird tighter, pure terror in her eyes, I walk to the
09:01edge of the abyss, black mist rolls up from the dark below, I jump in, and let the abyss swallow
09:06me
09:07whole, I hit the bottom of the abyss, blood, rot, the stench from hundreds of feral beasts, old bones
09:13under my boots, green eyes flashing in the shadows, growls echoing from every direction, the primal
09:19devourer in my veins wakes up instantly, it feels no fear, only hunger, a forbidden zone, looks more
09:26like a grand feast, I crack a smile, a spike armored boar charges first, bone plates hard as
09:31steel, tusks meant to shred metal, I don't even use magic, I sidestep, drive my bare fist into its ribs,
09:38crack, the boar slams into the rock wall, bone gives way, it dies instantly, the devourer doesn't
09:44just give me magic, it remakes my body, I press my palm to the boar's chest, dark gold breads rip
09:50from
09:50its corpse into me, core, bloodline, energy, I take it all, the corpse crumbles into an empty husk,
09:56not a bad start, over the next few days, I hunt my way through the abyss, shadow panders give me
10:02speed,
10:03rock shell lizards leave toughness in my bones, toxic bog toads try their poison on me, and my blood
10:07devours that too, the magical concentration is higher than I expected, I stalk through the abyss like an apex
10:13predator, grating my prey, everything in my path runs for its life, my power surges to archmage, level 2,
10:20every day, I grow stronger, I just killed a two headed wind serpent, as I reach for its core, I
10:25sense
10:25movement above, I hide my aura, melt into the shadows, up on a rock ledge, Maldus, Aurelia, and the three
10:32seniors, standing inside Maldus's protective ward, without it, the toxic air would destroy their lungs in
10:38minutes, Aurelia hugs her golden phoenix, her dress somehow still spotless, she holds a silk handkerchief to
10:44her nose, staring down into the dark, Mentor, the dark magic down here is dreadful, do you think she's even
10:49alive,
10:50I'm worried for her, she's resilient, she'll survive, a little suffering might finally teach her her place,
10:58Alaria strokes as her bird's feathers, that's a relief, it is still such a tragedy that his bloodline was
11:05lost, if you were still here, my phoenix could have joined with him, their cores would have
11:09resonated beautifully, the phoenix lets out a sharp cry, backing up its master, don't waste tears on him
11:14Aurelia, Lysandar was rare, yes, but your phoenix is pure blood, its future reaches even higher,
11:20exactly, Vesper is selfish and cruel, she killed Lysandar, what a loss to the whole tower,
11:25you have a heart of gold, stop wasting your pity on her, Aurelia nods softly, then, she raises her
11:31voice, I just think, maybe she's broken down, lost her way, if she just came out and apologized,
11:38Lysiander is gone, but Mentor is generous, he'd give her a second chance, she doesn't have to suffer
11:43here, from the shadows, I listen and wait, the phoenix breaks free from Aladia's arms, it spreads its
11:49wings and dives for my dead serpent, pure arrogance in its eyes, it thinks the kill is unclaimed,
11:54a glowing golden light trails from its claws as it swoops down, so it comes down after all,
11:59before its talons hit the serpent, I burst out of the shadows, the phoenix senses danger,
12:04tries to pull away, too late, my right hand snaps around its throat, its screech cuts off,
12:10it thrashes wildly, golden fire erupts from its feathers, trying to melt my arm to the bone,
12:15but a pulse of dark gold energy instantly snuffs out the fire,
12:23I slowly tighten my grip, I look up at their faces, everyone is frozen solid,
12:31your bird came to steal my kill, why shouldn't I take it, snap, its neck cracks cleanly under my
12:36grip, the phoenix goes limp, the light in its eyes dies, the golden glow fades, I toss it in the
12:42dirt,
12:42Aurelia's scream rips through the abyss, her face turns white, her knees buckle,
12:47Cedric barely catches her before she falls to the ground, my phoenix, you really killed him,
12:53tears spill over, her finger points at me, no sweetness now, only hatred, he was my destined
12:58mate, how dare you, how dare you, mentor, she killed Lysaner, and now she killed my phoenix,
13:05Aurelia throws herself at Maldus's feet, Maldus's face shifts from cold indifference to murderous
13:11fury, that phoenix was a pureblood, handpicked for Aurelia, raised on the tower's premium resources,
13:17years of investment, worth far more than Lysaner had ever been, the cornerstone of his entire
13:21master plan for Aurelia, and the student he cast into the abyss to die, has just snapped its neck
13:26as if it were nothing, his archmaced aura explodes, his magic pours out, a giant hand made of raw
13:31our power hangs above me, it slams down, he is trying to kill me, I will grind your soul into
13:36ash, the hand hasn't even touched me yet, the pressure already cracks my bones, the primal
13:41devourer roars awake, I dig my heels in to hold my ground, I look up at him, grind my soul,
13:47for a
13:47phoenix, mentor am I not your student toos, seven years of questions boiling over, something flickers
13:53across his face, it vanishes, buried by absolute rage, shut up, you murdered your bonded beast,
13:58you slaughtered your sister's familiar, and now you play the victim, she wanted Lysaner,
14:02you forced me to give him up, her bird swoops in to steal my kill, and now you want me
14:06dead,
14:07since the day I walked into this tower at 12 years old, she had the best of everything,
14:10every mistake, every unfairness was mine to bear, because she's more talented, because her
14:14tears matter more, because she's the chosen one in your eyes, then what am I, you pulled
14:19me out of an orphanage, was this the plan all along, was I just a stepping stone, was I always
14:23supposed to die the second she needed me to, answer me mentor, dead silence, the three
14:27seniors don't say a word, everyone knows, it's an open secret, but no one ever ripped it open
14:33and forced them to face it, Aurelia stops sobbing, her eyes dart around, showing the fear of being
14:38exposed, Muldrus's face twists, my words strike a nerve he refuses to face, taking me from the
14:43orphanage might have started as real pity, but year after year, beside Olyria's talent and fortune
14:47my mediocre gifts lost all value to him, my worth had been decided long ago, whatever served
14:51Elyria best, and now, the tool in his hand has turned on him, silver tongue, twisted fact,
14:57his tone is hard, merciless, he tries to cover the wound I have carved into his pride, what
15:01you have done is beyond forgiveness, the last shred of loyalty I had for this place, it
15:06burns out completely, then as of today I owe neither you nor this tower anything, we are
15:10done, done you think a lowest rank apprentice gets to decide when this ends, this abyss is
15:14your grave, the magic hand glows brighter, the power spikes, enough to level the entire bottom
15:19of the abyss, the shockwave alone cracks the ground under my boots into a spiderweb, I
15:23can't take this hit head on, my eyes lock on the phoenix corpse, broken neck, fainted gold,
15:27the primal devourer roars with hunger, this pure blood core is stronger than Lysiater's,
15:32no time for a full ritual, I grab the bird and shove it against my chest, dark gold threads
15:36rip out of the corpse, they flood straight into me, pure phoenix essence explodes in my
15:40body, every vein burns, my power surges, archmaster level 3, level 4, peak, 3 leaps, 3 heartbeats,
15:47Maldius's magic hand is still dropping, I lift my head, I point a single finger, dark
15:52gold energy pools at the tip, it isn't magic, it's the devourer's source, older, stronger
15:57than everything, I flick my finger, Maldius's peak archmist attack shatters like glass breaking
16:02from within, soundless, everything fades into a thousand specks of light glistening across
16:06the abyss, the abyss falls silent, 5 faces staring down at me, I'll never forget their expressions,
16:12it's the look people wear when their world shatters before their eyes, I don't hesitate,
16:16I launch myself from the bottom onto the ledge, Cedric, a blast of dark gold energy slams
16:21them into the rock wall, they go limp before they hit the ground, Aurelia crashes to the
16:25dirt, paralyzed by fear, Maldius the man who just tried to kill me is frozen, his eyes are
16:29wide with disbelief, I walk up to him a full head shorter, he takes a step back, mentor
16:33do you remember what you told the orphanage mage from the day you brought me here?
16:37Aurelia was next to me, 3 years older, you adopted her from a top tier noble family the
16:42year before, you said she had the phoenix mark, a once in a century prodigy, 7 years,
16:47I woke up 2 hours early every day to study, she slept in, I stayed up 4 hours late every
16:52night to research, she went to galas, in every magical trial I placed at the absolute leg top,
16:56you said she never even sat for an attempt, 7 years hatching and you tossing like rubbish,
16:59I hatched into the air of Yerma Mangahar, and today, today you tried to kill me for her phoenix,
17:03Maldus's lips tremble, Vesta, I, I press my hand against his chest, your turn, the devourer wakes
17:10up, not death, an archmage does not fear death, this is worse, total eration, his magic, everything
17:16that makes him an archmaster, pulled out, thread by thread, turned into dark gold energy, drawn into
17:22my veins, I do not devour him completely, I let him live, I strip him of everything, magic, affinity,
17:29rank, I leave him breathing, for a man like Maldus, life without magic is worse than death,
17:35I pull my hand back, he collapses, his hair turns white, deep wrinkles carve into his face,
17:41his eyes go dim, he looks up at me, I look down at him, tell me Maldus, who betrayed who,
17:47Aurelia is still on the ground, too terrified to make a sound, I pick up the phoenix corpse,
17:51most of its energy is gone, even dead, its flesh and bones still have value, the three knocked out
17:55seniors, not worth my time, and then there's Mardus, a few bounds up the abyss walls,
17:59I grab the bird by the wing and leap upward, and I land dead center in the tower's main plaza,
18:03the senior mentors and apprentices are crowded together, panicking over the power spakes from
18:07below, was that archmaster energy, what happened, it came from the abyss, do we have an intruder,
18:11if the archmist is handling it himself, we should be fine, I drop from the air,
18:14holding a dead bird in one hand, pouring out massive dark power without restraint, is that
18:20Vesper, she got out of the abyss, is that the phoenix, that power, peak archmaster, no way,
18:26she's only been down there a few days, Vesper, what are you doing here, that phoenix,
18:31what did you do to Aurelia, where is the archmaester, I toss the bird on the cobblestones
18:36and sweep my gaze across the plaza, every apprentice flinches when I look at them,
18:41the archmaster, you mean the man who abandoned me to that place, he tried to kill me, I pause,
18:47so I took everything from him, impossible, lies, how dare you slander the archmaster,
18:53Tividar and the other mentors flare their magic, getting ready to take me down, don't believe me,
18:58go look, he's on the edge of the abyss, if you hurry you might just save his life,
19:02they feel my power, that cannot be faked, as for the rest of you, I glare at the mentors,
19:07especially fixed on Tividar, you all agreed to throw me into that abyss, I move, fast as lightning,
19:12three strikes land before anyone can react, the shields of Tividar and the other two mentors,
19:16who approved my sentence, shatter, piece by piece, one by one, they collapse onto the ground, out cold,
19:21silence, even the senior mentors don't have time to lift a finger, as of today, the tower of ashes
19:25belongs to me, if any among you object, step forward, no one, no one bows, but the first one drops
19:33his
19:33head, then the second, the third, one after another, every one of them lowers their head,
19:39two guards drag Aurelia into the plaza, her pristine image is ruined, her dress is torn to shreds,
19:46covered in dirt and blood, she drops to her knees, no fake tears this time,
19:51please, I was wrong, just leave me alive, her voice cracks, she crawls towards me,
19:57reaches for my robes, I give her one look, she freezes, it was me, I was jealous, I only wanted
20:04Lysomir for his bloodline, I shouldn't have let my phoenix go after you, she chokes on her sobs,
20:09stuttering, please, we studied together for seven years, just spare me, I'll do anything,
20:14I'll leave the tower, I'll give up the title, daughter of the phoenix,
20:16Aurelia, I cut her off, and crouch down so we are eye to eye, do you remember what you said
20:22to me three
20:22years ago, she goes blank, I was hatching Lysender, three months with no sleep, my magic was so drained,
20:28I almost fell down the stairs, you grabbed my arm and comforted me, you said, don't push yourself
20:33too hard, when your familiar hatches, he'll take care of you, did you mean any of it, she can't
20:38answer, I stand up, looking at the unconscious seniors and mentors, you told me to do the decent
20:43thing and let go, did any of you hear what you were saying, Lysander was mine, seven years,
20:48I raised him from an egg, little by little, and you just expected me to hand him over,
20:52did anyone ask whether I was willy, I did, oh man, you kept Muldris preaching about Avodia,
20:56the daughter of the phoenix, the tower's golden hope, everyone had to protect her, did you forget,
21:00at 12, my control scores exceeded hers by 12%, at 14, I undertook my first solo mission,
21:05I nearly died bringing back a toxic Magrosa from the Blackwood Ridge, you said adequate,
21:10then you spent 20 minutes praising Alaria for picking a lavender in the garden,
21:14at 16, I volunteered for a beast hunt on the Ebis Rim, you said Aurelia was a better candidate,
21:19she backed out, said she had a headache, the hunt got cancelled, you never brought my name up again,
21:25this jerk's his head up, his cloudy eyes are blank, he has absolutely nothing to say,
21:30I stare at his blank face, the last trace of pity in my chest dies, you all forgot, I didn't
21:36choose
21:36to be like this, you made me this way, your favoritessness taught me that resources must be
21:41taken, your sentence taught me that stepping back means getting crushed, your attempt on my life
21:45taught me that weakness is a sin, if you hadn't squeezed every drop of humanity out of me, if you
21:50hadn't thrown me in the Abyss to die, I'd still be the quiet little Vesper, keeping her head down,
21:55begging for fair treatment, you created the monster standing in front of you, utter silence,
22:00just Auraria's muffled sobs, the crowd is barely breathing, they understand now, I wasn't born
22:06cold, they made me this way, their bias indifference and cruelty, strike by stroke they forged me,
22:12I square my shoulders and turn away, not looking at their faces, you admitted your sins, now it's time
22:17to pay, Aurelia, she looks up, your apprentice status is revoked, your magic is sealed, just enough to
22:23keep you alive, you will live at the bottom of the Abyss, where your terror will draw out the lesser
22:27beasts, to serve as target practice for the apprentice, you will live, that much, I will
22:31guarantee, but you're going to spend the rest of your life in the Abyss where you tried to bury me,
22:36all the color drains from her face, she knows exactly what that means, she opens her mouth to beg, I
22:42don't
22:42give her the chance, Maldus, for the sake of the one useful thing he taught me, volume 7 chapter 3
22:48sectional 11, he gets to stay in the tower, stripped of all privileges, reduced to the lowest servant in
22:53the tower, a former archmist, scrubbing floors and handing out rations, the rest of you keep your
22:58lives, for now, but this tower will never drag anyone down again, starting tomorrow advancement
23:04will be earned under my rule alone, fewer rewards, harder trials, no exceptions, all resources go through
23:11me, I walk toward the main spire, I don't look back, only one thought remains, what I will hunt next.
Comentarios