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00:01I finally got the rarest magic core for you.
00:05You've worked hard.
00:13No!
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.
00:37This 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.
00:46Even 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, 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, which made me look like the villains standing between them.
01:12The ceremony elder shifted awkwardly and turned on Evelyn.
01:15Your 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, 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.
01:28It'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.
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, he'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, strengthen 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, 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.
02:31The Phoenix pretended not to notice.
02:33He only came near me when I pulled out elixirs, took what he wanted, and walked away.
02:3710 years.
02:38I spent 10 years helping him break through his limits and take human form.
02:42When he finally did, he was stunning.
02:44Tall, sharp-featured.
02:46But the warmth stopped there.
02:47He always treated me like I was his errand girl.
02:50I told myself it was fine.
02:51Creatures with strong bloodlines had pride.
02:54One 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.
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?
03:18She says it every time you leave.
03:19I saw stars.
03:21I'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 10 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,
03:42then 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.
03:50A leviathan.
03:51The Phoenix joined forces with my sister to shoot me down the cliff.
03:54In the end, I died in the beast's 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 sighed, and Spirit Pact Academy the Pact Circle drawn.
04:11Once 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.
04:26Then 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, 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.
05:18He was tiny, couldn't have been more than a few decades old, barely past the threshold of maturity.
05:24But he was strange, different from the serpents I knew.
05:27Water serpents had snake-like tails.
05:29This one had a tail more like a fish, with a fin.
05:33Mixed 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, pulling in energy from the current.
05:46I laughed.
05:48Relax.
05:48I fed a golden phoenix for 10 years.
05:51I think I can manage one little snake.
05:53He froze, and 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, you'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, warm skin, the kind of face that belonged in a painting.
06:13Long lashes that trembled slightly, objectively 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, opened gold-slit eyes, and 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.
06:54A snake?
06:55He smirked, reached out, and 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.
07:14Please 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, while 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, 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.
07:46Who 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?
07:56This is training time.
07:58I was hoping we could raise the phoenix together.
08:01Kieran's hand tightened on mine.
08:03I glanced at him.
08:04He 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.
08:16Half 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,
08:32and led Kieran inside.
08:33Little sister, don't mistake everyone
08:35for 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.
08:55At the same time, the archmaster arranged for me to escort a rare spirit fox to the Spirit Pact Academy,
09:02alongside Elder Celia, who was about three centuries older than me and acted like a kid half the time.
09:09I sweet-talked her through the 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.
09:27I hear you.
09:28He didn't move.
09:29When I got closer, he reached out and grabbed the back of my neck.
09:33Lyra, 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.
09:40Said 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, 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.
10:01Smells 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?
10:12That 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.
10:26Short 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?
11:02I 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 10 years.
11:11Not a glance.
11:12Not a word.
11:13Not a gesture.
11:14Now he was writing letters in the dirt.
11:17The contrast was something.
11:19Evelyn.
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.
11:27Though not fast enough.
11:28What do you need, Lyra?
11:34I patted Kieran's arm.
11:36He gave me a long suffering look.
11:38Then 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, angry.
11:55Evelyn hadn't expected me to know so fast.
11:57No, you've got it wrong.
11:59I was just coming to find you.
12:01He rested his chin on my shoulder.
12:02She lied to me.
12:04She 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, you didn't want Kieran in the first place.
12:22He was badly injured.
12:24If he'd ended up with you, he probably wouldn't have survived his second year.
12:27That's not true!
12:29I would have taken care of him.
12:31The 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.
12:59Kieran 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?
13:13He turned away, shifted into serpent form, and 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.
13:29Laya.
13:30Your growth rate is pathetic.
13:33Sharing energy with you is a form of suffering.
13:37My arch master said, I'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, not into the phoenix.
13:48Ten years passed.
13:49I moved steadily from fourth circle to sixth circle.
13:53Even 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, there's still no sign of him breaking through.
14:06I'd expected this.
14:08Sustaining creatures took enormous resources, and the spirit-packed academy never had reserves.
14:14The phoenix couldn't break through.
14:15And in my past life, I'd seen exactly what happened when his patients ran out.
14:20I'd thought about removing him.
14:21Every time I tried to bring it up with my arch master or Kiran, it was like the words hit
14:26a wall.
14:26And acting unilaterally, killing 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, I 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 Kiran, who 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 for neglecting your own bonded partner
15:02to come stand outside someone else's home?
15:04Kiran climbed out, and immediately tried to lean against me.
15:08I don't want you on here, I'd have to know this.
15:10I just want that bird to know, there's no space for him here.
15:15What exactly is here between us?
15:18That's entirely your call.
15:19The phoenix flew away.
15:21Kiran 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 idle.
15:32He regrets it.
15:34Doesn't want to stay with your little sister anymore.
15:36I turned toward the gate, empty.
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.
15:50If that was true, then he knew about the back forest.
15:53He knew what was sealed there.
15:55He knew my parents had died there.
15:56Which I'd only ever told him directly, in my previous life.
16:00I didn't stop to explain to Kiran.
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.
16:27The 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.
16:41You know what this reminds me of?
16:42One 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. Besides, I have Kieran. That's enough.
17:07Celia looked genuinely mournful. Then she shifted to her real point.
17:12A creature pulling against its bonded partner is a problem for everyone. And Evelyn hasn't advanced the first stage in
17:18ten 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. They'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. She cried.
17:37She accused me of engineering her removal to take the phoenix. In front of all the senior elders, she made
17:43her counteroffer.
17:44If senior wants the phoenix, she should just say so. I won't stand in the way.
17:50But if she takes him, she gives me Kieran, a mixed lineage serpent for a pure-blooded phoenix. Honestly, Lyra
17:57comes out a laugh.
17:58Which one, Evelyn? You focus on your phoenix and stop coming up with terrible ideas.
18:03While the elders dealt with Evelyn, I was at the creature registry with the head keeper, investigating a disappearance.
18:11Three had vanished overnight. Two small rabbits and a unicorn.
18:15I reinforced the gate myself before I left. Any disturbance at all, and I would have felt it. There was
18:23nothing. Not a sound. Not a rogue creature. No trace of that energy anywhere. Right?
18:30I looked around. The registry was built into the mountainside. The rock face itself was warded. No slipping through the
18:38earth. No passing through walls.
18:40I was still thinking when the keeper started cooing at one of the deer.
18:44Don't be scared. Big Brother Serpent just looks mean. He won't eat you.
18:48That pulled something loose in my mind. I hesitated.
18:54Do creatures ever turn on each other? What a horrifying thing to say.
18:59They have awareness. They would never- Kieran slipped an arm around me and spoke low into my ear.
19:06People do terrible things to each other. Creatures aren't different. I've heard of a practice. A dark technique used by
19:14creatures who want to advance without resources.
19:15My skin had gone cold. Wild creatures had no access to elixirs or rare materials. If they wanted to grow
19:23in power fast, the most efficient shortcut was this. Consume the core of another creature.
19:29The higher the level of the creature they took from, the faster the gain. Kieran had nearly died at the
19:35hands of one practicing exactly that method ten years ago.
19:38Once it works, it will come back for more. We staked out the registry that night. Nothing happened. Quiet all
19:45the way until dawn. I reassured the keeper and headed out.
19:52Hallmaster, there's an incident at the residences.
19:54Kieran shifted, wrapped around me, and moved. When we landed, I didn't need to go inside to know it was
20:00bad. I could hear the crying from the courtyard.
20:03It was one of my newest students. A girl who'd come to the spirit-packed academy with his own creature.
20:07Fox. Soft and round and always sprawled in patches of sunlight.
20:11Kind of creature that made people smile just looking at it. She was sitting on the ground, holding what remained
20:16of her. Not much left.
20:17Your guess was right. The core was removed. One strike, clean. It happened before she could make a sound. She
20:23only noticed when she felt the bond break.
20:25I felt the cold settle in my chest. Without thinking, I looked around for the phoenix. He was standing beside
20:32Evelyn, still as a statue. The picture.
20:34Don't look. It's him. You're certain. I went to the archmaster.
20:40Don't move yet. You need proof. Catch him in the act. He said it with total gravity. Meanwhile, behind him,
20:48his courtyard had become a small zoo. Several of them had taken human form and were crowding around Kieran to
20:54ask about his parents' bloodlines.
20:55I keep all my creatures close. Your new firehound relieved himself on the floor. You could clean it up for
21:01your teacher. Absolutely not.
21:03The senior elders started watching the phoenix. Their eyes went to him more carefully during training. They noted that his
21:09power had grown noticeably in ways that weren't explained by his circumstances.
21:14Then, nothing. Weeks passed. No more disappearances. No incidents. Two weeks went by. The girl never quite recovered from losing
21:21his fox.
21:22The other students spoke about the disappearances less and less until the whole thing drifted into the category of strange
21:28spirit-packed academy legend.
21:30Something that had happened, maybe. Possibly. Nobody quite remembered the details. But I couldn't let it go. Kieran's certainty sat
21:37with 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? But without evidence, what do I tell the students? If I punish someone without
21:48proof, I lose the trust of the whole spirit-packed academy. And without that trust, the spirit-packed academy dissolves.
21:55Then, one night, while I was deep in meditation, something flashed past my window. A pair of red eyes. Bright.
22:02Gone in an instant.
22:03Where was Kieran? I moved to the water's edge. Floating on the surface. A single golden feather. An invitation. Or
22:10a taunt.
22:10Find me and I'll give him back. I reached out through the bond and found Kieran's location. The back forest.
22:16I hit the ground running.
22:17I arrived through the wards in a flash of light. And walked straight into a shockwave from two powers colliding.
22:23Kieran and the phoenix were already fighting. Fully committed. I went rigid. When had the phoenix broken through?
22:30He moved through the trees in a golden coat. Fast and precise. Ducking and redirecting Kieran's strikes. With the ease
22:38of someone who'd had longer to prepare for this moment.
22:41Beside the ward barrier, Evelyn sat perfectly still. Like a doll that someone had set down and forgotten.
22:47When I got close enough to see her clearly, my stomach turned over. Evelyn was dead. Her eyes were still
22:54open.
22:54Fixed in an expression of complete disbelief. Her abdomen had been cut open. Her core. The source of her power.
23:02The root she'd spent years building. Was gone.
23:06I hadn't even had time to process it. Before the sky above the forest went dark. Clouds banking hard and
23:12fast. Thunder starting low and rolling.
23:15Your bond lies. Harm your bonded partner. And the consequence comes down from the sky itself. He'd killed his own
23:23bonded partner. He'd lost his mind.
23:26A lightning judgment of this scale would leave nothing of him. All that power. All that scheming. And he'd thrown
23:33it away for this moment. I didn't bother playing it soft.
23:37You spent ten years plotting with Evelyn against the Spirit Pact Academy. You 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. The God is
23:49watching. Today it ends.
23:52Phoenix smiled. Cold and strange. Almost. One more step.
23:58His hands were already moving behind his back. Breaking the wards. The creatures locked in the forest felt the loosening.
24:05The ground shook. Thunder gathered directly above him. The Archmaster arrived in a streak of light from the peak.
24:11Lyra! Hold the creatures back. I'll work on resealing from out here.
24:18Lightning above. The forest breaking open below. The Phoenix stood in the middle of it all. With a look of
24:24pure madness. And he turned it on me.
24:28Lyra. You can't stop this. Come die with me. I'll do better by you this time. I swear it.
24:35In my past life I had died in this exact forest. In this exact way. With no one at my
24:41back.
24:42I felt fear. That was honest. Old fear. The kind that lived in the body. Then a hand landed on
24:49my shoulder.
24:50Kieran. Eyes 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. Short and sharp.
25:01Ask me first. You're nobody.
25:04Right. I had Kieran. This time I wasn't fighting alone.
25:10Kieran pressed forward and I covered him. He trusted me at his back without checking. I trusted him to end
25:16what he started.
25:18Kieran wasn't breaking and the Phoenix couldn't find a way past him. Then he understood. I wasn't going to die
25:25here. The plan had failed. He broke.
25:28This isn't right. You're supposed to die. We're supposed to die together.
25:32I raised one finger and pointed at the sky. Goodbye.
25:36The lightning came down in a column as wide as it was. The Phoenix didn't scream. No rebirth for those
25:43taken by judgment. Final and total.
25:46I finally got the rarest magic core for you. You've worked hard.
26:05After rebirth, I abandoned the mighty Phoenix as my magical pet. Instead chose an almost dead little black snake in
26:13my past life.
26:13I'd hunted rare ingredients for Phoenix. Pouring every resource I had into his growth, he cheated with my sister behind
26:19my back.
26:20Finally, to make their little love story easier, they killed me together. This time around, I wanted to see how
26:25that perfect couple managed without me as their stepping stone.
26:27The same packed ceremony. The same standout, undeniably that golden Phoenix. Even caged with a suppression collar, he held his
26:34head high, like the rest of us were beneath him.
26:36As expected, the ceremony elder assigned him to me. The Phoenix tilted its head back and rolled its eyes, just
26:42like in its previous life, its face full of disdain.
26:45That was when my sister Evelyn walked in, cradling a limp little black snake in her palms, tears rolling down
26:51her cheeks.
26:52My sister was too weak. Phoenix fell in love with her pitiful appearance immediately, which made me look like the
26:57villain standing between them.
26:58The ceremony elder shifted awkwardly and turned on Evelyn.
27:01Your power isn't strong enough. Even if the Phoenix is drawn to you now, you won't be able to handle
27:07him.
27:07She didn't react, instead pretended to be scared by my gaze, bit her lip with tears down.
27:12Lila, I know I have no right to compete with you. It's just, I've never seen a golden Phoenix before.
27:18I didn't have the patience to listen to her feigned weakness. I reached out and lifted the limp black snake
27:22from her hands, smiled at the ceremony elder.
27:25I've taken a liking to this one. The Phoenix clearly doesn't want me. Why not let her have him? I'll
27:31take the snake.
27:31The 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.
27:47The Phoenix ignored me. I felt the sting of being rejected for the first time in my life.
27:52And instead of thinking clearly, I thought, he's so hard to get. I'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, strengthen the Spirit Pact Academy. So I threw everything I had
28:06at him.
28:06Every student got a limited ration of elixirs. So I took assassin missions, hunting rogue creatures, the kind that had
28:12lost their minds and turned feral, to earn extra elixirs.
28:15I came back bleeding every time. The Phoenix pretended not to notice. He only came near me when I pulled
28:21out elixirs, took what he wanted, and walked away.
28:24Ten years. I spent ten years helping him break through his limits and take human form. When he finally did,
28:30he was stunning. Tall, sharp-featured. But the warmth stopped there.
28:34He always treated me like I was his errand girl. I told myself it was fine. Creatures with strong bloodlines
28:39had pride.
28:40One day, he'd recognize what I'd given him. One day, we'd fight side by side, and I wouldn't have to
28:44face those feral creatures alone.
28:46Then one day, I saw him kiss my sister passionately. She was laughing, dancing around him. A fellow student rode
28:52past 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?
29:04She 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 my feelings.
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.
29:25As 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.
29:36A Leviathan.
29:37The Phoenix joined forces with my sister to shoot me down the cliff.
29:40In the end, I died in the beast head.
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.
29:48I 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 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.
30:04The bonding ritual's energy agitated the black snake.
30:07He wound himself around my arm with everything he had.
30:10Evelyn 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.
30:17She was very smug.
30:18Had she also been reborn?
30:19Watch your tongue, Evelyn.
30:21If 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.
30:29Always crying.
30:30You'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.
31:01Back 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.
31:08Barely passed the threshold of maturity.
31:10But he was strange.
31:11Different from the serpents I knew.
31:13Water serpents had snake-like tails.
31:16This one had a tail more like a fish.
31:18With a fin.
31:19Mixed bloodline.
31:20Serpent and something older.
31:23Seafolk, 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.
31:48You'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.
31:56Warm 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.
32:10His power was well above mine.
32:12He stirred.
32:13Opened gold slit eyes.
32:15And looked at me.
32:16I scrambled to the corner.
32:18Who are you?
32:18This is Spirit Pact Academy grounds.
32:21Don't try anything.
32:21He sat up.
32:23He 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.
32:33He'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.
32:47Kieran, it turned out, had been fleeing an enemy when he crossed paths with my tutor.
32:52He'd taken the form of a small, injured serpent.
32:55My tutor, true to form, had taken him in.
32:57Kieran clearly hadn't been injured because he was weak.
32:59Please tell me your enemies aren't about to show up here.
33:03We're bonded now.
33:04You're the master.
33:06I'm your mate.
33:07So I suggest you train hard and try not to slow me down.
33:10He taught me a breathing and absorption technique developed for serpentkind.
33:14Most days I sat in the spring practicing, while Kieran sprawled in the tree above me, watching with half-closed
33:19eyes.
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.
34:20Little sister.
34:21Don'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.
34:32She wouldn't do that.
34:33Her 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.
34:43The Archmaster arranged for me to escort a rare spirit fox.
34:47To the Spirit Pact Academy.
34:49Alongside Elder Celia.
34:51Who was about three centuries older than me.
34:53And acted like a kid half the time.
34:55I sweet talked her through the hand over to the creature registry.
34:58And she settled for it.
35:00Before she left.
35:01She 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.
35:10And saw a silhouette leaning against a tree in the distance.
35:14He didn't move.
35:15When I got closer he reached out and grabbed the back of my neck.
35:19Lyra.
35:20Am I not good to you?
35:21Why are you trying to give me away?
35:23What are you talking about?
35:24That girl came to the courtyard today.
35:26Said you sent her to check on me.
35:28Did you change your mind about bonding with me?
35:30You hit fourth circle and now you're done with me?
35:31I'm pulling again.
35:33Same playbook.
35:34Different life.
35:35Before I could explain.
35:36Kieran'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.
35:45Quick.
35:45I shivered hard.
35:47Smells like fox.
35:49Lyra.
35:50Did you already find yourself a replacement?
35:52Doesn't matter.
35:54Once I eat that fox I'll be your only option.
35:56You hit me for her?
35:58That fox belongs to my arch master.
36:00You touch her and I will end you.
36:02Kieran stopped fighting me and let himself be pulled along.
36:05Most students weren't training.
36:07So the residences were quiet.
36:09A few people raised their eyebrows when they saw me coming.
36:12Short greetings.
36:13And 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.
36:25Or rather.
36:26Evelyn was arguing in the phoenix.
36:28Who 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.
36:36I didn't force you to come to the spirit pocked academy.
36:39You said this place would help you grow.
36:41I've given you every elixir I had and 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 10 years.
36:58Not a glance.
36:59Not a word.
36:59Not a gesture.
37:01Now he was writing letters in the dirt.
37:03The contrast was something.
37:05Evelyn.
37:06I've been looking for you.
37:07The phoenix scrambles to erase the letters when he heard us.
37:11Evelyn pulled herself together fast.
37:13Though not fast enough.
37:15What do you need Lyra?
37:20I patted Kieran's arm.
37:22He gave me a long suffering look.
37:24Then dropped to one knee and 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 and 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, you'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.
37:58I 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, you didn't want Kieran in the first place.
38:08He was badly injured.
38:10If he'd ended up with you, he probably wouldn't have survived his second year.
38:14That'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 between me and the phoenix.
38:24I stepped forward and 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, you will get my punishment.
38:36She blanched.
38:37The council didn't forgive moves against another member's bonded creature.
38:40She couldn't risk it.
38:42On the way back, I was in a good mood.
38:45Kieran was quiet though.
38:46Wouldn't transform and carry me even when I asked.
38:49Once we were back in the courtyard, he 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.
38:57Wanna hear it?
38:59He turned away, shifted into serpent form, and 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.
39:15Lya.
39:16Lya.
39:17Your growth rate is pathetic.
39:19Sharing energy with you is a form of suffering.
39:23My Arch Master 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.
39:32Not into the phoenix.
39:34Ten years passed.
39:36I moved steadily from fourth circle to sixth circle.
39:39Even the most mean elder Celia praised me.
39:41You are really a genius, Lyra.
39:44We all expected the phoenix to elevate the whole Spirit Panda Academy.
39:48But ten years in, there's still no sign of him breaking through.
39:52I'd expected this.
39:54Sustaining creatures took enormous resources.
39:57And the Spirit Pact Academy never had reserves.
40:00The phoenix couldn't break through.
40:02And in my past life, I'd seen exactly what happened when his patience ran out.
40:06I'd thought about removing him.
40:07Every time I tried to bring it up with my Arch Master or Kiran, it was like the words hit
40:12a wall.
40:13And acting unilaterally, killing the phoenix before anyone understood why, would have destroyed the Spirit Pact Academy from the inside.
40:20All I could do was watch him and contain him.
40:23Past that, I had no choice but to wait.
40:26My past life hadn't survived this year.
40:29I didn't know if this one would go differently.
40:31He stood there staring at Kiran, who was lazily floating in the spring in human form, making absolutely no effort
40:37to be welcoming.
40:38You have a bonded partner.
40:40Why are you at my gate?
40:43Right.
40:44What possible reason could you have for neglecting your own bonded partner to come stand outside someone else's home?
40:51Kiran climbed out and immediately tried to lean against me.
40:54I don't worry you're near. I'll have to know this.
40:57I just want that bird to know there's no space for him here.
41:01What exactly is here between us?
41:04That's entirely your call.
41:06The phoenix flew away.
41:07Kiran grabbed my face with both hands.
41:09He left.
41:10Can you stop worrying about him for five minutes?
41:12I have to know what he's doing.
41:14That bird has a dark heart.
41:16I don't trust him idle.
41:19He regrets it.
41:20Doesn't want to stay with your little sister anymore.
41:23I turned toward the gate.
41:24Empty.
41:25But something in my gut told me the phoenix was off.
41:29There was no logical reason for him to come to me specifically.
41:33Unless the phoenix had also been reborn.
41:35If that was true then he knew about the back forest.
41:39He knew what was sealed there.
41:41He knew my parents had died there.
41:43Which I'd only ever told him directly.
41:45In my previous life.
41:46I didn't stop to explain to Kiran.
41:48I pulled out a slip and went straight to the forest wards.
41:50The wards were intact.
41:52I exhaled.
41:53Then I turned around and my stomach dropped.
41:55A handful of golden feathers lay near the edge of the barrier line.
41:58He'd been here.
41:59The phoenix had come back with knowledge he shouldn't have.
42:02The friction between Evelyn and the phoenix had gone public.
42:05He'd refused her commands in training sessions.
42:07Ignored her in front of others.
42:09Made her look incompetent in front of the whole yard more than once in recent weeks.
42:13The reason I kept getting dragged in was simpler and more aggravating.
42:16Every time I appeared, the phoenix drifted toward me.
42:19If looks could kill, Evelyn would have had me buried weeks ago.
42:22Elder Celia found the whole thing delightful.
42:24Her bird appeared at my shoulder one afternoon.
42:26You know what this reminds me of?
42:29One 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.
42:39I could talk to the girl.
42:41Offer her a different creature.
42:42Something she could actually manage.
42:44And transfer the phoenix over to you.
42:46Quietly.
42:47No.
42:48I'm not going near the disciplinary council over this.
42:50Besides, I have Ciaran.
42:52That's enough.
42:53Celia looked genuinely mournful.
42:56Then she shifted to her real point.
42:58A creature pulling against its bonded partner is a problem for everyone.
43:02And Evelyn hasn't advanced the first stage in ten years.
43:05The elders have discussed sending her out on a field assignment.
43:08A year or two away from the Spirit Pact Academy.
43:11Practical experience away from all of this.
43:13I understood what she wasn't saying.
43:15They'd given up on the phoenix as a resource for the Spirit Pact Academy.
43:19In the council hall, Evelyn made the whole thing into a production.
43:22She cried.
43:23She accused me of engineering her removal to take the phoenix.
43:26In front of all the senior elders, she made her counter-offer.
43:31If senior wants the phoenix, she should just say so.
43:34I won't stand in the way.
43:36But if she takes him, she gives me Ciaran.
43:39A mixed lineage serpent for a pure-blooded phoenix.
43:42Honestly, Lyra comes out a laugh.
43:44Which one, Evelyn?
43:46You focus on your phoenix and stop coming up with terrible ideas.
43:50While the elders dealt with Evelyn,
43:52I was at the creature registry with the head keeper,
43:55investigating a disappearance.
43:57Three had vanished overnight.
43:59Two small rabbits and a unicorn.
44:01I reinforced the gate myself before I left.
44:05Any disturbance at all and I would have felt it.
44:08There was nothing.
44:10Not a sound.
44:11Not a rogue creature.
44:13No trace of that energy anywhere.
44:16Right?
44:17I looked around.
44:18The registry was built into the mountainside.
44:21The rock face itself was warded.
44:23No slipping through the earth.
44:25No passing through walls.
44:26I was still thinking when the keeper started cooing at one of the deer.
44:30Don't be scared.
44:31Big Brother Serpent just looks mean.
44:33He won't eat you.
44:35That pulled something loose in my mind.
44:37I hesitated.
44:40Do creatures ever turn on each other?
44:43What a horrifying thing to say.
44:46They have awareness.
44:48They would never-
44:49Kieran slipped an arm around me and spoke low into my ear.
44:52People do terrible things to each other.
44:54Creatures aren't different.
44:56I've heard of a practice.
44:58A dark technique used by creatures who want to advance without resources.
45:02My skin had gone cold.
45:04Wild creatures had no access to elixirs or rare materials.
45:08If they wanted to grow in power fast, the most efficient shortcut was this.
45:13Consume the core of another creature.
45:15The higher the level of the creature they took from, the faster the gain.
45:20Kieran 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.
45:30Nothing happened.
45:31Quiet all the way until dawn.
45:33I reassured the keeper and headed out.
45:38Hallmaster, there's an incident at the residences.
45:41Kieran shifted, wrapped around me, and moved.
45:43When we landed, I didn't need to go inside to know it was bad.
45:47I could hear the crying from the courtyard.
45:49It was one of my newest students.
45:51A girl who'd come to the Spirit Pact Academy with his own creature.
45:54Fox.
45:54Soft and round and always sprawled in patches of sunlight.
45:57Kind of creature that made people smile just looking at it.
46:00She was sitting on the ground, holding what remained of her.
46:03Not much left.
46:04Your guess was right.
46:05The core was removed.
46:06One strike, clean.
46:07It happened before she could make a sound.
46:09She only noticed when she felt the bond break.
46:12I felt the cold settle in my chest.
46:15Without thinking, I looked around for the phoenix.
46:17He was standing beside Evelyn, still as a statue.
46:20The picture.
46:21Don'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, 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.
47:05Two weeks went by.
47:06The girl never quite recovered from losing his fox.
47:08The other students spoke about the disappearances less and less until the whole thing drifted into the category of
47:14Strange 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?
47:33If 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.
47:48Gone 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.
47:55An 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.
48:06And walked straight into a shockwave from two powers colliding.
48:10Kieran 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.
48:19Fast 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.
48:34When I got close enough to see her clearly.
48:36My 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.
48:49The 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.
49:02The bond flies.
49:04Harm 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.
49:16All that power.
49:17All that scheming.
49:18And he'd thrown it away for this moment.
49:21I didn't bother playing it soft.
49:23You spent ten 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.
49:38Phoenix smiled.
49:39Cold and strange.
49:41Almost.
49:42One more step.
49:44His hands were already moving behind his back.
49:47Breaking the wards.
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.
49:58Lyra!
49:58Hold the creatures back!
50:02I'll work on resealing from out here.
50:05Lightning 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.
50:21I swear it.
50:22In my past life I had died in this exact forest.
50:25In this exact way.
50:27With no one at work out.
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.
50:36Kieran.
50:37Eyes lit with the cold fire of someone who had never once considered losing.
50:42You wanna take her down with you?
50:44He laughed once.
50:45Short.
50:46And sharp.
50:47Ask me first.
50:49You're nobody.
50:51Right.
50:52I had Kieran.
50:53This time.
50:54I wasn't fighting alone.
50:56Kieran pressed forward.
50:57And I covered him.
50:59He trusted me at his back without checking.
51:01I trusted him.
51:02To 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.
51:16You're supposed to die.
51:17We'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 a well.
51:26The phoenix didn't scream.
51:28No rebirth for those taken by judgment.
51:31Final.
51:32And total.
51:32How did you react to the phoenix?
51:32What do you react to the phoenix?
51:32I found a lot of people as many people.
51:33I found a lot of people as well.
51:33The phoenix has been named as well.
51:33But a lot of people are just here.
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