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