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Ascension Of The Golden - (2026) ✅ FULL EP
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00:00I am the second princess of Clan Aurelion, pureblood golden scale, and I fell in love with a filthy black
00:07serpent.
00:08In my past life, I chose him at the selection rite, insisted on him as my bonded mate.
00:14I was the one who defied every voice in Clan Aurelion to drag him out of the serpent's abyss and
00:19up to Drake's fire.
00:20We spent every night together, and on our wedding day, the black serpent I dreamed of for years,
00:26drove a blade straight through me, three months pregnant.
00:30I collapsed in a pool of my own blood. Draven's voice was full of disgust.
00:35If you hadn't been in the way, I would have had Isserleef long ago. You deserve this.
00:41Only then did I understand. From the very beginning, he'd had his eyes on my sister,
00:46the one already chosen as the next Archon. His old nestled into his arms.
00:51Her foot slammed into my bleeding chest. Pathetic little wretch.
00:57The pain through my heart sent tremors down every limb.
01:00With my last breath, I curse you both to ruin without end.
01:07If fate grants me another life, I'll be all the one holding the blade.
01:14My eyes open. I'm standing on the sacred altar. Wind howls across Drake's fire, carrying ice and the scent of
01:21stone.
01:21No. I'm alive. No. I'm a Reborn. My father, the man who died long ago in my previous life, touches
01:29my shoulder.
01:30A quiet reminder.
01:32Serafina, you're the one who insisted on bonding with the black serpent. Why are you standing there like you've seen
01:37a ghost?
01:38Bonding? I look down past the sacred altar. The serpent candidates stand in a line, waiting to be chosen.
01:45The selection wretch. I've returned to the day I chose my bonded mate.
01:50Father. A voice cuts me off. Draven Vos steps out of the line.
01:55He walks right past me, his gaze burning toward Isolde behind me. He drops to one knee.
02:00Lord Artron, with all due respect, my heart does not answer to obligation.
02:05It knows only one name, and it is not Serafina.
02:08He lifts his head toward Isolde.
02:10I wish only to stand beside the first princess, Isolde. For the rest of my days.
02:16Dead silence. Father's expression darkens.
02:19Everyone knows the black serpentine claim half-leviathan blood, but the lineage is impure.
02:25By every rule, Draven Vos has no right to set foot on the sacred altar.
02:30I'm the reason he's here. I liked him. I chose him.
02:33I forced Father to make an exception, to let a serpent stand before dragons.
02:38And now, moments before the bond ceremony begins, he slaps me across the face in front of everyone.
02:45David's eyes were cold, contemptuous, and full of calculations.
02:49It hits me at once. He's reborn too.
02:51Draven thinks bonding with my sister will rocket him to the top.
02:55What he doesn't know is that who becomes the true Archon of Clan Aurelion isn't his choice.
03:00It's mine.
03:00This time around, without my designation, I'd love to see how far either of you climb.
03:07Father erupts. His dominance aura crashes down like a man's.
03:11Draven's knees buckle. His forehead hits stone.
03:14You forget what you are.
03:16Seraphina is the second princess of Clan Aurelion.
03:19Do you think you're choosing livestock at market?
03:22Even with the Archon's aura grinding his joints to the breaking point, Draven refuses to yield.
03:28He speaks through clenched teeth.
03:30Lord Archon, what is my crime?
03:32Must I bond with the second princess simply because she fancies me?
03:35I love the first princess, Isolida.
03:38The first princess trains day and night.
03:41Treats everyone with grace.
03:43The second princess is reckless, idle.
03:46Never once honed her power.
03:48If any of you were in my position, who would you choose?
03:52Every word sounds sincere, but I know exactly what's behind it.
03:56In the last life, he learned Isolid was father's chosen successor.
04:00Bond with the Archon's chosen.
04:02Share the ancestral power.
04:03Catalyze his impure Leviathan blood.
04:06Evolve into a true Leviathan.
04:08It's never been about love.
04:10It's about leverage.
04:12Father's fury deepens.
04:13The dominance aura intensifies.
04:15A filthy serpent daring to judge my daughter!
04:19You have a death wish!
04:21Father, stop!
04:23Isolid steps out from behind me.
04:25Her cheeks flush pink.
04:26Her eyes glistened with just the right amount of tears.
04:29Every word of Draven's confession.
04:31She heard it all.
04:32I accept him.
04:33Stunned silence.
04:35Father stares at her.
04:37Isolid, do you hear yourself?
04:39He is Seraphina's chosen mate.
04:42And Draymond Vos is nothing more than a mongrel serpent.
04:45Bonding with him would only drag you down.
04:48Before he finishes, Draven produces an obsidian case from inside his robes.
04:53He kneels again, presenting it to Isolde with both hands.
04:56The lid opens.
04:58Inside lies a pearl.
04:59I offer this to the first princess.
05:02Someone in the crowd recognizes it instantly.
05:05A Leviathan pearl!
05:06I glance at it.
05:07Lower my lashes.
05:08Leviathan pearl.
05:10An ancient relic from the depths of the serpent's abyss.
05:12Nine out of ten who search for it, never come back.
05:15In my last life, I burned through every resource the clan gave me trying to find one for Draven.
05:20He'd held me close, voiced soft.
05:22It's just a myth, Sarah.
05:23Don't waste yourself on it.
05:25The pearl was in his hands the whole time.
05:26And now, to win my sister's favor, he pulls it out without a second thought.
05:31Everything I gave him.
05:32A joke.
05:33Isolde takes the obsidian case.
05:35Deeply moved.
05:36She flicks a glance at me.
05:38Sharp.
05:38Triumphant.
05:39Then turns to father.
05:40Tears shimmer.
05:42Her voice trembles just enough.
05:43My whole life, you've favored Serafina.
05:48And now, finally, someone chooses me.
05:52Would you tear that away from your own daughter just for Serafina's sake?
05:56Father hesitates.
05:57His gaze lingers on the Leviathan pearl.
05:59Then he turns to me.
06:02Serafina, don't make this difficult.
06:04If his heart lies with your sister, let it go.
06:07Don't be unreasonable.
06:08I close my eyes.
06:09A bone-deep exhaustion settles over me.
06:12Isolde and I share a father.
06:14That's all we share.
06:15Her mother, Ilara, was an iron-scale dragoness.
06:19The lowest subspecies among dragonkind.
06:21She died shortly after giving birth to Isolde.
06:24Too weak to survive.
06:25Father later married my mother, the previous female archon of Clan Aurelion.
06:30Pure blood, golden scale.
06:31Her blood and her rank made me the rightful heir from the moment I drew my first breath.
06:36But growing up, even the clan could see it.
06:39Father measured us on two completely different scales.
06:41With Isolde, he was a merciless drillmaster.
06:44He threw her into the bone wastes as a child and never looked back.
06:48Even when she crawled home covered in wounds, he wouldn't let her shed a single tear.
06:53You are my daughter.
06:55Weakness is not yours to claim.
06:57With me?
06:57Even though my raw talents surpassed Isolde's, he said he worried I'd suffer on the path of cultivation.
07:03Without hesitation, he pulled me out of training entirely.
07:06You don't need to be strong, Sarah.
07:09Just be happy.
07:10To everyone else, I was the pampered princess.
07:13But I knew the truth.
07:14This wasn't love.
07:15It was a leash.
07:16He was raising me to be useless.
07:18In my past life, I wandered deep into the clan crypts by accident.
07:22Found father kneeling before a black obsidian tombstone.
07:25The name carved into it.
07:27Ilara.
07:27His voice was low, tender.
07:29Nothing like the way he spoke to me.
07:31Ilara, my love.
07:33After all these years, it is still you.
07:35It has always been you.
07:37Rest easy.
07:39I've kept my promise.
07:41The girl knows nothing.
07:43Not her power.
07:44Not her birthright.
07:46Nothing.
07:47Our daughter will have everything she deserves.
07:50I stood in the dark.
07:51Ice spreading through my veins.
07:53He wasn't spoiling me.
07:54He was making sure I'd never threaten Isolda.
07:57Father wanted me to choose Draven Vos.
07:59A black serpent with low standing.
08:01Once bonded to him, no one in the clan would ever take me seriously.
08:05And now, Draven has produced a leviathan pearl.
08:08Father seizes the chance to boost Isolda's power.
08:10Pins the label of unreasonable on me.
08:13Orders me to step aside.
08:15Fine.
08:16You want it?
08:17Take it.
08:17I agree too fast.
08:19Father blinks.
08:20Draven's eyes flicker.
08:21Isolda, though.
08:22She walks up to me.
08:23Voice coated in honey.
08:24I only want what's best for you, little sister.
08:28After all, a forced bond breaks both.
08:33Tell you what.
08:34She smiles, scanning the crowd.
08:37Pick another mate.
08:38I'll bond with Draven.
08:39You'll have your own match.
08:40And Father can stop worrying.
08:42Father watches Isolda with open adoration.
08:44But they both know the truth.
08:46Every candidate invited to the sacred altar today is a serpent.
08:49And aside from Draven, not one of them stands out.
08:52I don't bother with her games.
08:53I raise my hand lazily and point in a random direction.
08:57That one.
08:58I'm pointing at a silver serpent.
09:00In human form, he's unexpectedly striking.
09:02Pale skin.
09:03Silver irises with slit pupils.
09:06A lean frame.
09:07Wiry but strong.
09:08Almost a match for Draven Voss in appearance.
09:11But his mana is so faint it barely registers.
09:14A candle about to gutter out.
09:15If black serpentine blood is considered low, then silver serpentine, in the eyes of dragonkind,
09:21is nothing more than a worm with scales.
09:24Apart from shifting into human form, they have almost zero combat ability.
09:28The silver serpent freezes when my finger lands on him.
09:31Isolde presses her hand to her lips, feigning concern.
09:34Each word drips with just enough sweetness to cut.
09:37Oh, Sarah.
09:38Are you sure?
09:39He looks...
09:41Fragile.
09:42I'd hate for him to reject you, too.
09:44The silver serpent speaks.
09:46No hesitation.
09:47No way for him.
09:48I accept.
09:49The entire crowd flinches.
09:52Even I pause.
09:53He walks straight out of the line.
09:54Stops before me.
09:56And extends a pale, slender hand.
09:58Your Highness.
10:00My name is Kale.
10:02A beat of silence.
10:03His voice drops.
10:05Quieter.
10:06Almost to himself.
10:08I've always wanted you to know it.
10:10I take his hand.
10:11It isn't cold the way I expected.
10:13A warmth I didn't anticipate.
10:15In that instant, the skin over my collarbone flares hot.
10:18Kale's grip tightens around my fingers.
10:20He lifts his head.
10:21Looks straight into my eyes.
10:23His silver irises reflect my face.
10:25If you'll have me, I swear on my blood and my bones.
10:31Not in this life or any other.
10:33Trey you.
10:35Or leave you.
10:36Golden divine light.
10:38He flips to the sky and cracks across the sacred altar.
10:41The ceiling is open.
10:42The flash lights up his face.
10:44Something inside my chest cracks open.
10:47Melts.
10:47Kale is the first person in two lifetimes who chose me without a single moment of hesitation.
10:53The corner of my mouth lifts on its own.
10:56A voice shoves its way in from the side.
10:58Draven stands with his arms crossed, looking down at Kale like an insect.
11:02Your Highness.
11:04Silver Serpentine have virtually no Morna.
11:07Bonding with him won't do a thing for your power.
11:09Kale lowers his head slightly.
11:11Not avoidance.
11:12Habit.
11:12He's heard this too many times.
11:14The smile on my lips goes cold.
11:17What's wrong, Draven jealous?
11:19And let's be clear.
11:20You call Silver Serpentine lowborn?
11:24Does Black Serpentine blood run any nobler?
11:27The smirk on Draven's face turns to stone.
11:30I catch it.
11:30The hatred that flashes across his features.
11:33A fraction too slow to hide.
11:35In my past life, I wasn't blind.
11:37I chose him over every candidate because he once saved my life in the bone wastes.
11:41That was the first time anyone shielded me with their own body.
11:45I thought it was real.
11:46Now he humiliates me in public and clings to my sister for power.
11:50So don't expect me to play nice.
11:51I turn to face the plan.
11:53From this day forward, Kale is under my protection.
11:56He is mine.
11:58My gaze sweeps the crowd.
12:00Touch him, and you answer to me.
12:03The crowd shrinks back half a step under my stare.
12:07Draven's fists clench.
12:08Whatever makes you happy, Your Highness.
12:10Kale's fingertip brushes mine.
12:13I turn to look at him.
12:14Those silver-slit pupils fix on me.
12:16Fragile, trembling, and impossibly bright.
12:19You're the only one who ever saw me.
12:21Something slams against my ribs.
12:23Enough.
12:24It's time.
12:25Begin the soul bond right.
12:27Four of us step into the runic circle at the center of the sacred altar.
12:31Ancient dragon script blazes to life beneath our feet.
12:34Divine lightning strikes.
12:36The altar channels it, tearing soul fragments from each pair and branding them into irreversible bonds.
12:42But the power gap between dragon and serpent is vast.
12:45The bond's energy surges from the stronger vessel to the weaker, seeking balance, like a flood pouring into a creek.
12:52Both serpents buckle at once.
12:55Draven collapses under the force.
12:57Blood spills from the corner of his mouth.
12:59He struggles to lift his head, reaching toward Isolda.
13:02Isolda, please, help me.
13:04Isolda starts to extend her hand.
13:06Father stops her cold.
13:08Serpent.
13:09Your blood is barely worthy of my daughter, as it stands.
13:13If you can't endure this, then it's your fate.
13:16Draven's eyes go wide.
13:18He stares at Isolda, the same woman who blushed while accepting him moments ago, now standing safely outside the circle.
13:24Her expression is calmed.
13:26Deren, I am the next Archean of Clan Avelion.
13:29Every drop of my martyr is precious.
13:31So, I can't give you any.
13:34Disbelief carves itself across his face.
13:37On my side, Kale is in just as bad shape.
13:40Silver scales surface along his neck and arms.
13:43His body convulses.
13:44I raise my hand to channel mana into him.
13:47Kale lurches back.
13:48Your Highness, the First Princess is right.
13:51If I can't endure the bond's power, then it means I'm not worthy of you.
13:56They call you Lowborn and you just accept it?
14:01We're bonded now.
14:03That means we live and die together.
14:07So shut up.
14:08I grab his shoulder.
14:09Mana pours from my palm, flooding into his body in a steady, relentless stream.
14:15Golden dragon fire spreads along the bond's pathways, flowing into him.
14:19And then I notice something strange.
14:22Kale's body absorbs my mana with impossible efficiency, as if he was born to receive this exact power.
14:28For the weakest serpent alive, it makes no sense at all.
14:32Now isn't the time to ask.
14:34I file the anomaly away.
14:36The soul bond right ends.
14:39Draven lies soaked in sweat and blood, pinned to the ground, jaw locked, crimson still leaking from his mouth.
14:46Kale stands untouched.
14:48I feel Draven's stare, turned to meet it.
14:51His eyes are dark, resentful, as if I owe him something.
14:55Last life, Draven barely took a scratch.
14:57I was always the one fighting his battles.
15:00Now he's chosen the clan's anointed next archon, and nearly died during the bond ceremony.
15:06And he has the nerve to look at me?
15:07I mouth one word at him.
15:09Ice cold.
15:11Deserved.
15:12Isolde doesn't notice the exchange.
15:15Her eyes close.
15:16She sinks into the fresh mana coursing through her, satisfaction spreading across her face.
15:22Father, the covenant has spoken.
15:26I'm ready to receive the Archon's flame!
15:29The crowd stirs with excitement.
15:31Every new Archon's ascension triggers the dragon's resonance.
15:35The resonance releases ambient mana that nourishes every dragon present, pushing them past barriers, sometimes by an entire rank or
15:43more.
15:44Father Beans.
15:45The sacred altar is cleared.
15:48Isolde stands at the center of the open circle.
15:51She glances at me, motionless on the sideline, and her lip curls.
15:55Sarah, I understand you're upset about Draven, but that's no reason to stand in the way of the resonance.
16:05Would you drag the entire clan down with you?
16:07The crowd catches it.
16:09Murmurs swell.
16:10Your Highness, settle your quarrel with the first princess in private.
16:14Don't delay the resonance!
16:16Draven was right.
16:17The second princess can't compare to the first princess.
16:19If it were me, I'd choose the first princess too.
16:22Draven smiles.
16:24Sarah, everyone can see the truth.
16:26I must have been blind to ever stand by you.
16:30Kale's brow furrows.
16:31He shoulders Draven aside, steps in front of me, and gently presses his hands over my ears.
16:37Their words are poison.
16:38Don't let them in.
16:39The weight on my chest lifts.
16:42I give him a real smile, then turn toward Isolde, basking in her victory, and speak calmly.
16:48Islene, you will never be Archie, and the Covenant will not grant you the flame.
16:54If you try, the resonance will destroy your power from the inside out.
16:58A beat of silence.
16:59Then the crowd bursts into laughter.
17:02Draven folds his arms, contempt dripping from every glance.
17:05Who are you to judge the first princess?
17:08If she can't be Archie, who can?
17:11You?
17:12Enough of this nonsense.
17:14Father's expression hardens.
17:16Seraphina, step aside.
17:18A flick of the first.
17:19Mana shoves me and Kale to the edge of the platform.
17:22Isolde locks eyes with me, triumphant.
17:24Watch closely, Sarah.
17:27Watch what centuries of sacrifice look like.
17:30Isolde stands at the heart of the Sacred Altar.
17:33She unleashes her mama.
17:35A deep hum resonates through the stone.
17:37Power radiates outward.
17:39The ground shudders.
17:43Pillars of golden light converge from every direction.
17:47Ancestral echoes of countless dragon bloodlines answer the call,
17:51weaving together into a thunderous, sky-darkening tide of resonance.
17:55Isolde stands at the center, poised, regal.
17:59Layer upon layer of golden energy knits itself into a breathtaking tapestry.
18:04A net of staggering power.
18:06The clan watches, mesmerized.
18:09The dense mana begins to disperse, drifting toward every dragon present.
18:14Then, confusion.
18:16Strange.
18:17Why can't I absorb any of it?
18:19Same here.
18:20It just passes through me.
18:22Like it doesn't recognize me.
18:25More voices.
18:26More unease.
18:28Heads turn back toward Isolde on the altar.
18:30She doesn't notice.
18:32Still lost in the moment.
18:34The ritual concludes.
18:35She bows to heaven and earth.
18:37Then raises her voice.
18:38I, Isolet Aurelion, firstborn of the Golden Scale.
18:41Call upon the dragon's re-resonance.
18:43Grant me the Archon's flame.
18:46Silence.
18:47Nothing happens.
18:49Panic flickers across her face.
18:51She prostrates herself, calls out again.
18:53I, Isolet Aurelion, invoke the rite of ascension!
18:59This time, she gets an answer.
19:01From me.
19:03I stand beside Kale, voice steady.
19:05You can kneel until your scales crack.
19:08The answer is no.
19:11Dead silence.
19:12Every pair of eyes in the clan turns to me.
19:15Father thinks I'm sabotaging the ceremony.
19:17Combined with Isolde's failed succession, his rage boils over.
19:22His full dominance aura crashes down, driving me to my knees.
19:27Seraphina.
19:28You have never disappointed me more than today.
19:31I've indulged you in everything.
19:33But this...
19:34This is the clan's future.
19:36And you keep sabotaging it.
19:41Today, I'll discipline you on your mother's behalf.
19:44He raises his hand.
19:45Mana compresses into a force field, hurtling toward my face.
19:48I watch it come, calm.
19:50Draven stands nearby, suddenly anxious.
19:52Sarah, just apologize.
19:54Now.
19:55Do you actually want to get hit?
19:56The blast is interesting.
19:58He flinches.
19:59Self-preservation kicks in.
20:00And darts to the side without a second thought.
20:02Then Kale launches himself forward.
20:04His eyes shift from silver to pure white.
20:06Slit pupils contract to pinpoints.
20:09Silver scales erupt across his neck and forearms.
20:11A low, guttural hiss tears from his throat.
20:14Half-shifted, he throws himself in front of me and takes the Archon's full-force strike, head-on.
20:19Blood sprays from his mouth.
20:21Once.
20:22Twice.
20:22Three times.
20:23And he crashes backward into me.
20:25His fingers claw at my arm, trying to push his last scraps of mana into my body.
20:30Kale.
20:30Truly.
20:31Completely.
20:31For me.
20:32Father sees a serpent openly defy him.
20:35Fury consumes what's left of his restraint.
20:37He begins charging another strike.
20:39In the same breath, I lean down, wrap my arms around Kale, and whisper against his ear.
20:43Don't be afraid.
20:44The Covenant of Flame answers to me.
20:47Father's attack never lands.
20:49A bolt of golden dragon fire descends from the heavens.
20:53Boom.
20:54It hits Father dead on.
20:55Scales to bone.
20:57Everything scorches black.
20:58But that's only the beginning.
20:59One bolt.
21:01Two.
21:02They hammer down like divine tribulation made personal.
21:05By the end, Father is blasted back into his beast form.
21:11Isolda gapes at me.
21:13Serafina!
21:14What did you do to Father?!
21:16I pull my hand from Kale's healed wounds and rise slowly.
21:20Centuries ago, my mother gave her life defending Clan Auralian against the Dark Horde.
21:26The ancient dragon god Pyrasis honored her sacrifice with a divine gift to her bloodline.
21:30I, Serafina of Auralian, second princess of Clan Auralian, hold the right of designation.
21:35Anyone who strikes me will face divine repriotion.
21:37And anyone who harbors malice towards me will never be Arkham.
21:41I don't believe you!
21:42You're lying!
21:43You're nothing!
21:44You haven't grown a single rank in centuries!
21:47You!
21:48Designate Archon!
21:50You must have sabotaged me!
21:52Set some trap!
21:53I won't let you get away with this!
21:54She charges at me, her flawless features twisting into something feral.
22:00I exhale.
22:01You're no exception.
22:04Golden Dragonfire falls on Isolda.
22:06Her cultivation is nowhere near Father's level.
22:09The bolts chase her across the platform, scrambling, stumbling, all dignity stripped away.
22:15The same Clan members who worshipped her moments ago don't dare move an inch.
22:20Serafina, you hid this from me.
22:22If you'd told me the truth, I wouldn't have done it this way.
22:26I laugh.
22:27Scalding tears roll down.
22:29Wouldn't have what?
22:30Wouldn't have put a blade through my heart?
22:32Derevan, didn't I tell you?
22:34Yes, I can never be Arpen myself.
22:37But bond with me.
22:38Stay faithful.
22:39And on the day I ascend, you would have evolved into a true Leviathan.
22:44Our children would have inherited the Covenant.
22:46But you didn't believe me.
22:48Do you know why you were reborn with me?
22:49Because the moment I died, the bond tore your soul apart with mine.
22:55My death was yours.
22:57You just didn't feel the blade.
22:59Derevan stumbles backward.
23:00He looks down at the bond mark on his hand.
23:03The one tying him to Isolda.
23:06The color drains from his face.
23:08A dragon's roar erupts from the sacred altar.
23:11Isolda, scorched, humiliated by divine retribution, consumed by jealousy over the power I hold, loses the last thread of reason.
23:22The dormant void taint in her iron scale bloodline ignites.
23:25She shifts into beast form.
23:27Golden scales begin to darken at the edges.
23:30Her eyes bleed from gold to the empty black of the void.
23:34Her dragon form warps, twists, until she looks less like a noble dragon and more like something that clawed its
23:40way out of an abyss.
23:42Why?
23:45Why is her mother purebred and mine was not?
23:48Why does she get everything without lifting a finger?
23:52I refuse to accept this.
23:54It should all be mine!
23:56She attacks indiscriminately.
23:59Corrupted dragon fire sprays in every direction.
24:02Clan members scatter, screaming.
24:05The sacred altar, once solemn and revered, becomes an inferno.
24:10Father drags himself toward me in beast form.
24:13Tears line his reptilian eyes.
24:17Sarah, please.
24:19Spare Islet.
24:20This is all my fault.
24:22I was wrong.
24:23I should never have done what I did to you.
24:25But she has trained for centuries.
24:28I can't watch her lose everything.
24:31I look into his eyes.
24:33My mother's last words echo back.
24:35Sarah, I hate him.
24:38You know what the saddest part of my life is?
24:41I can never compete with a ghost.
24:44There is one way to save her power.
24:47Hope flares in his gaze.
24:49Darren is bonded to Islet.
24:51He bears half her karmic burden.
24:54Appoint a Draven.
24:55To save her, you'll need to sacrifice him.
24:58Extract his serpent's core.
25:00Let Islet absorb it completely.
25:01She'll stabilize.
25:05No, take my core and I'll never evolve.
25:08Never become a leviathan.
25:11Sarah, this is revenge.
25:14Father doesn't even glance at him.
25:15Serpent, you swore you'd give everything for Isleth.
25:21Now keep your word.
25:23Father extracts the serpent's core himself.
25:25The moment the fist-sized pulsing black crystal is torn free.
25:30In that instant, Draven seems to age centuries.
25:33He can only watch as father feeds the core to Isolda.
25:37No!
25:39I've seen enough.
25:40Kale leans against my shoulder, voice low.
25:43Sarah, let's go.
25:45Deep into the night, I lean against the edge of the moon veil hot springs.
25:49A silver serpent glides across the surface toward me.
25:52Kale shifts to human form.
25:54He rests against me, letting my palm wander across his chest.
25:58I study him.
26:00Kale's silver irises glow faintly in the dark.
26:03No calculation in them.
26:04Nothing but feeling.
26:06Deep, bare, bottomless.
26:08The question has been circling since this morning.
26:10We've never met before.
26:11Why does he feel like this about me?
26:13Is it because of my title?
26:15Kale reads the doubt on my face.
26:16This isn't the first time we've met.
26:18His silver scales shimmer.
26:20Memory fragments flow through the bond and into my mind.
26:24A flash.
26:25A finger-length silver snake.
26:27Pinned under the boots of dragon-born boys.
26:30Battered and bleeding.
26:31A younger version of me barges in.
26:33Plants herself between them.
26:35And chases them off with a tongue lashing.
26:37Another flash.
26:38The little silver snake, barely alive.
26:41Curled in a crack between rocks.
26:43A teenage version of me crouches down.
26:45A wild rabbit.
26:47A handful of berries.
26:48Again and again.
26:50Without knowing it, I saved him more times than I can count.
26:53The last image.
26:54Kale.
26:55Now in human form.
26:56Standing at the farthest edge of the crowd.
26:58Watching me on the sacred altar.
27:00About to begin the soul bond rite with Draven.
27:03The memory breaks off.
27:04My voice comes out rough.
27:06Is this about debt?
27:08Who chose me because I saved you?
27:10It isn't suspicion.
27:12It's fear.
27:13Fear that one day, he'll say what Draven said.
27:15That I chained him with kindness.
27:17I didn't fall in love with you because you saved me.
27:19I was already in love with you.
27:22Everything you did only proved I wasn't wrong.
27:26My heart hammers against my ribs.
27:29Kale rests his head on my shoulder.
27:31His voice drops to a murmur.
27:32Warm breath against my skin.
27:34From now on, you're all I have.
27:37You scared me today.
27:39Will you stay close tonight?
27:41His lower half shifts.
27:43Silver tail coiling around my calf.
27:46Sliding higher.
27:47Slow.
27:48Deliberate.
27:48My eyes narrow.
27:50My voice drops.
27:51A little hoarse.
27:52What kind of close did you have in mind?
27:55He leans in.
27:57Hot spring water laps over both our shoulders.
28:00Silver scale marks glow beneath the surface.
28:03Kale's body temperature rises the instant he presses against me.
28:06Nothing like the cold serpents are known for.
28:09You're warm.
28:11Only when I touch you.
28:12His lips find my collarbone.
28:14Then, a sharp, brief sting.
28:16A silver serpent mark brands itself into my skin.
28:20Mate mark.
28:20I grip the back of his neck and bite down.
28:23A golden dragon scale mark surfaces on his nape.
28:26From this moment, the bond is absolute.
28:29He is mine, and I am his.
28:31One night of passion.
28:32Serpents aren't that impressive, honestly.
28:35He just flipped me around and wore me out until dawn.
28:37I could barely stand.
28:39The next morning, I haul myself upright.
28:41One hand braced on my lower back, and kick Kale in the side.
28:46He blinks up at me, genuinely wounded.
28:49Did I break you?
28:50Satisfied.
28:51Very satisfied.
28:52Kale scrambles up to help me walk.
28:55We barely make it past the sanctum's ward line before I stop.
28:58Someone is crouching outside the barrier.
29:00Draven.
29:01Draven looks years older than yesterday.
29:04His gaze finds the silver mate mark on my collarbone.
29:07His pupils shrink.
29:08His face goes gray.
29:09He stares for a long time before he speaks.
29:12Sarah, I was wrong.
29:14Isoleth and your father.
29:16They don't see me as a living thing.
29:19Only you ever treated me as an equal.
29:21Draven thought bonding with the Archons chosen would launch him to the top.
29:25But beyond that Leviathan pearl, he has nothing of value to offer.
29:29They stripped him and threw him aside.
29:31Last night, father's rage needed a target.
29:34He doesn't dare touch me again.
29:36Those dozen bolts of divine dragonfire already hammered him back to beast form.
29:41Provoking me further might annihilate his soul entirely.
29:44But the fury needed somewhere to go.
29:46The daughter he spent years crippling turns out to be the Covenant's bearer.
29:51Everything he built for Isolda.
29:53A joke.
29:53Overnight.
29:54So he turned on Draven.
29:56A mongrog like you is utterly useless.
30:00You're not even fit to be my daughter's pet.
30:03I'm starting to wonder if your little display was a performance you and Seraphina arranged together.
30:09Father used a soul siphon on Draven.
30:11Forced his way through layer after layer of memory.
30:14Searching for proof of betrayal.
30:17The process is agony.
30:18He found nothing.
30:20Draven barely survived.
30:21But relief didn't last.
30:23When Isolde awoke and the full humiliation of the day settled in.
30:27Something in her curdled.
30:29She seized Draven by the throat.
30:31Teeth bared.
30:32You declared your love for me in front of everyone.
30:34And when it mattered, you chose a worthless organ over my life.
30:39Devin Vox, you deserve to rot.
30:43I look at his broken body.
30:45Feel nothing.
30:46The moment that blade went through my heart.
30:48Whatever connected us died with me.
30:50Kale speaks for me.
30:51You merely hu-iliated Sarah in public.
30:55Then abandoned Isoleth when she needed you.
30:58And now you come crawling back.
31:01Drarion, where is your shame?
31:04Killing intent flashes in Draven's eyes.
31:06His body tenses.
31:08Then the realization crashes in.
31:10No serpent's core.
31:12No power.
31:13Just a shell.
31:14He crumbles, pleading.
31:16Sarah, you hold the right of desigonation.
31:19You must be able to break a bond too, right?
31:21Break my bond with Isoleth.
31:23And I'll serve alongside the White Sperpant.
31:25As your mate.
31:27After everything we had.
31:29You'll help me.
31:30I know you will.
31:31Kale's head whips toward me.
31:34Panic in his eyes.
31:36How adorable.
31:37You actually believe that?
31:41Darren.
31:42Why would I help you?
31:44I gave you everything.
31:46You wanted her.
31:47I carried your child.
31:49You put a blade through my heart.
31:51I gave you the right to stand on the Sacred Ultra.
31:54You humiliated me in front of my entire clan.
31:57Every.
31:58Single.
31:59One.
31:59The fact that you're still breathing is mercy enough.
32:03The light dies in Draven's eyes.
32:05A long silence.
32:06Then he covers his face and a strangled sound escapes.
32:09What have I done?
32:10He knows me well enough to know I don't look back.
32:13Draven returns to Isold.
32:14In my last life, I never let anyone in the clan belittle him.
32:18I shielded his pride at every turn.
32:20In public.
32:21In private.
32:21Isold doesn't bother with any of that.
32:24She tears him apart in front of everyone.
32:27Strips him down to nothing whenever the mood strikes.
32:31The clan follows her lead.
32:33They only kneel to whoever holds the leash.
32:36Draven's life now, compared to the one I gave him, worlds apart.
32:41Father summons me to the Sacred Altar.
32:44Before the entire clan, he performs the appropriate gesture.
32:48Forces Isold to lower her head and kneel in front of me.
32:51But her words give everything away.
32:53Sarah, perhaps father went too far.
32:55But the clan cannot go a single day without an Archen.
32:58Would the Covenant let Clan Aureon crumble?
33:01Just to protect you?
33:02Let's set our differences aside.
33:04The clan's survival matters more than either of us.
33:07Not an apology.
33:09Not an apology.
33:10A negotiation.
33:11It works on the crowd.
33:12Hesitation ripples through.
33:14Then voices join in.
33:16Your Highness, the last Archic, your mother, gave her life to protect us from the Dark Horde.
33:21The Dark Horde is growing restless.
33:23Without a new Archen, when the wards fall, we won't survive a single assault.
33:28Please, grant the succession to the First Princess.
33:32I stay silent.
33:33My gaze catches the knowing glance Isold and Father exchange.
33:38The picture crystallizes.
33:40Father, Mother was right about you.
33:42You have no vision.
33:43You'd do anything to put your first love's daughter on the throne.
33:46Even lie to the entire clan!
33:49Serafina, what are you talking about?
33:51I raise my hand.
33:53The Covenant responds.
33:54Every clan member's mana rank materializes before my eyes.
33:58Laid bare.
33:59Isolda's power is impressive.
34:01Radiant, even.
34:02But she's not the strongest here.
34:04Issa Leath is your archer's chosen.
34:07But Clan Avelian has never chosen its Archen by blood.
34:11It has always been by strength.
34:13My mother put you in power to prevent a civil war.
34:16And after all these years, you just couldn't let go.
34:19A voice rings out from the crowd.
34:22Thyra, Copper Scale Dragon.
34:23The only one who never mocked me since the Selection Rite.
34:27She stands straight-backed.
34:29Power should be earned by those who prove it.
34:32Not handed to those born with the right name.
34:35I meet her eyes.
34:36Give a single nod.
34:38Clan Arion will hold open trial of merit.
34:41Whoever stands last earns the right to rule.
34:44The clan erupts in cheers.
34:47Only Father and Isolda stand pale and still.
34:50That night, Kale clings to me as usual.
34:53He nuzzles his forehead into the curve of my neck.
34:56His nose brushes my jaw.
34:58I sigh, about to pull him closer.
35:00The world lurches.
35:02I sense it instantly.
35:03The ward barrier shattered.
35:05Drake's fire's protective wards were set by my mother,
35:08sealed with a fragment of her own soul.
35:10No dark horde, no matter how powerful, could breach them easily,
35:15unless someone opened them from the inside.
35:17By the time Kale and I reach the surface,
35:20Drake's fire is in chaos.
35:22Dark horde.
35:23Everywhere.
35:24High-tier beasts rampaging through the clan.
35:27A dragon hatchling is pinned under a beast's clawed foot,
35:30seconds from death.
35:31I move without thinking.
35:33One strike.
35:34The head rolls.
35:35Warm blood splashes across the hatchling's face.
35:38She throws herself into my arms, sobbing.
35:41Your Highness, I almost died.
35:43Mama and my sister.
35:44They led the beast away to protect me.
35:47I hand her to Kale, tell him to keep her hidden,
35:50and run in the direction she pointed.
35:52I arrive to find the mother and sister cornered by a pack of beasts,
35:56barely hanging on.
35:58I cut in.
35:59Save one.
36:01Then a second.
36:02A third.
36:03Through the smoke and carnage, I spot Phyra.
36:06She's shifted.
36:07Copper dragon form.
36:08Leading a small squad in a defensive line.
36:11Shielding the elderly, the young, the wounded.
36:14Her commands are sharp.
36:15Her fighting is vicious.
36:16I make a note of her.
36:17By the end, I'm running on fumes.
36:19Then I see them.
36:20Isolde.
36:21Father.
36:21No surprise.
36:22The moment I announced the trial of merit,
36:24I felt it through the covenant.
36:26Someone was deliberately weakening the ward barrier.
36:29I knew he'd gamble everything.
36:31Isolde crouches in front of me.
36:33Her arm moves.
36:34A blade punches through my chest.
36:36I cough blood.
36:37Her eyes are fully black now.
36:39Void corruption running deeper than before.
36:42Sarah, so what if you hold the covenant?
36:44Put you in the ground,
36:45and the next archon will still be me!
36:48I look down at the sword in my chest.
36:51Then I look up at Isolde.
36:52I smile.
36:54Thank you, sister.
36:55I needed you to do exactly that.
36:58Isolde freezes.
36:59Pain blazes through me,
37:01stamped into the soul.
37:03A memory the body never forgets.
37:05I can't stop the trembling.
37:08Father walks to my side.
37:09His voice is almost gentle.
37:11If you weren't the bearer,
37:12if you hadn't stood in Isolde's way,
37:14I might have let you live.
37:17Pity.
37:18I lift my head.
37:19My voice doesn't waver.
37:22So to kill me,
37:24you broke the ward barrier.
37:27Let the Dark Horde in.
37:30Let your own people die!
37:33Father doesn't blink.
37:34Acceptable losses.
37:35Everything I've done
37:36is to give Isolde the flame.
37:40To give the clan a stronger leader.
37:42The weak die to beasts because they were never meant to survive.
37:48One thrust isn't enough for Isolde.
37:50She snaps.
37:51The blade drives into me again and again,
37:54pouring out everything she's held in.
37:56I'm stronger than you!
37:58Why do you get to decide?
38:00I suffered for centuries.
38:01And I was so close.
38:04And you took it all away.
38:07With a few words!
38:09Even Drarin.
38:11Her teeth grind harder.
38:13That mongrel said he regretted choosing me.
38:18Said I could never compare to you.
38:21So I took his core.
38:24Let him go ahead and wait for you.
38:27Sarah,
38:28the clan's faith belongs to me.
38:32So you have to die!
38:35Behind me,
38:36the roar of beasts.
38:37The screams of the dying.
38:39All tangled together.
38:40I look at Isolde.
38:41When the Covenant granted me the right of designation,
38:45it also feared the power would be too concentrated.
38:48So it sealed half my divine power inside you
38:52as your talent.
38:53And it barred me from becoming Archen myself.
38:55If you had truly served the clan,
38:58if you'd held no malice towards me,
39:01the succession would have been yours without question.
39:04But you chose the wrong path.
39:06Your suffering wasn't my doing.
39:08It was father's obsession and your own hunger for power.
39:11But you blamed me for all of it.
39:12And now that you've struck me with intent to kill,
39:21the seal is broken.
39:23Isoleth.
39:25Your talent was never yours.
39:28It was my power holding you up.
39:30Now it comes home.
39:32The blade buried in my body erupts with golden light.
39:35Isolde tries to release the hilt.
39:36Her hands won't move.
39:38Mana drains from her body.
39:39Torrential.
39:40Unstoppable.
39:41Flooding into mine.
39:42Father, help me!
39:43My power!
39:44It's draining!
39:46I look up at father.
39:48He's always loved Isolde best.
39:50The daughter of the woman who owned his heart.
39:52That devotion never wavered.
39:54Not even now.
39:55He moves to kill me outright.
39:57But in his desperation, he forgets.
39:59Striking me, parries a price.
40:03This time, the covenant shows no mercy.
40:06Golden dragon fire hammers father until his soul disintegrates.
40:10He scatters into nothing before our eyes.
40:13Isolde doesn't have time to grieve.
40:15Isolde doesn't have time to grieve.
40:16Every shred of gifted talent has been reclaimed.
40:18Her mana plummets to that of an ordinary dragon.
40:21And behind her, the dark horde circles.
40:24I pull the sword from my chest and walk away.
40:27Isolde finally grasps her situation.
40:30Terror floods her face.
40:31Sarah, you can't do this to me!
40:33I'm Isoleth!
40:34I'm the first princess of Clan Arion!
40:37I'm your sister!
40:38You can't abandon me for those!
40:40Scream behind me.
40:42This time, I don't turn around.
40:43I drive out every last beast and rebuild order on Drake's fire.
40:47The hatchling from before runs up and wraps herself around my leg.
40:51Your Highness, without you I'd be an orphan!
40:54Clan members who used to look through me now kneel at my feet.
40:57Your Highness, we were blind before.
40:59You drove back the horde.
41:01You saved Dragonspine.
41:02The Archon's crown belongs to you.
41:05I shake my head.
41:06I place the Archon's crown into Thyra's hands.
41:08The one who never mocked me.
41:10The first to stand up for an open trial.
41:12The one who held the line when the dark horde came.
41:14Shielding the weak.
41:16Saving lives while others ran.
41:18I will always protect Clan Arion.
41:20But the Archon's seat was never meant to be inherited by blood.
41:23Power belongs to those who protect, not those who take.
41:26Thyra is the right choice.
41:27I return to the Sanctum.
41:28Devote myself to Cultivation.
41:30With my full divine power restored, my strength surges beyond anything I imagined.
41:34Divine Tribulation descends.
41:36Bolt after bolt.
41:37And I weather everyone.
41:38Then, Ascension.
41:39Under the gaze of the entire clan, I shift into my true form.
41:43A complete golden dragon, blazing against the sky.
41:46A silver dragon coils beside me.
41:48Kale, transformed through the bond.
41:50No longer silver serpentine.
41:52A silver dragon.
41:53Though his clingy nature hasn't changed one bit.
41:55His voice flows through the bond.
41:56Where you go, I go.
41:58That was the oath.
41:59I tilt my dragon head toward him.
42:01Then hold on tight.
42:02I've heard the Divine Realm has terrible weather.
42:04Two dragons, one gold, one silver, spiral upward and vanish into the clouds.
42:10They never come back.
42:10I'll see you next time.
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