#Dragon #Love #romance #series #action #Rejected #secondchance #Alpha
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00:06in my last life i died for a god who stood by and watched me be torn to pieces
00:11he even betrayed me and ran off with my little sister but i'm back take your bird sister the
00:17trash is mine who would have thought that my trash is a god seething with hatred my dear sister in
00:23this life you won't be so lucky on the day of the bonding i snatched the black sea wyvern right
00:29out of bella's hands the other knights crowded around me their faces twisted in disbelief alara have you
00:35lost your fucking mind you're the best we've got this mutt is a piece of gutter trash give it to
00:41bella in my last life i chose the pure-blooded sun phoenix what a fucking joke i spent a decade
00:47playing the fool just to hand bella everything on a silver platter when the demons were ripping the
00:52life out of me that bird didn't even blink it spread its wings and flew off shielding bella without a
00:58single look back this time she can have the golden prick let's see how she likes being its goddamn
01:04servant every 10 years the order of ash and ember pairs its elite recruits with primal familiars
01:10i was the ward of the high sentinel and the deadliest blade in my class naturally i had first pick
01:15the
01:15beasts were hauled in from the wild waste some legendary most just looking for a throat to tear
01:20out the most eye-catching creature of all was the solar azure phoenix arrogant beyond measure it held
01:26its neck stiff despite the iron chains binding its feet gazing at us as if we were nothing but
01:31roadside filth the high priest didn't hesitate he assigned the phoenix to me the phoenix didn't
01:36budge it looked at the ceiling its feet turned up in a silent fuck you it didn't lower its regal
01:42head until my little sister bella stepped forward cradling that pathetic shriveled black snake the
01:47snake was bottom of the barrel scrap bella was a fresh recruit she could have waited for the next cycle
01:53but she insisted on playing with the big dogs in a ritual where you pick your brother in arms
01:58nobody gave a damn about her feelings she held that snake tears welling up in her eyes like she
02:03was the victim of some grand conspiracy with the phoenix clearly obsessed with her i looked like
02:08the villain tearing apart a star-crossed romance
02:13your manner is a mess even if the bird likes you now it'll burn you to a crisp the moment
02:19you try
02:19to leave i stood up nodded to the elder and walked straight to bella alora i know i'm not in
02:24your league
02:26i grew up in the mud on the frontier
02:31i've never seen something as beautiful as the phoenix i snatched the cold snake from her hands
02:36and flashed the elder a sharp jagged smile i like the look of this one if the bird doesn't want
02:42me
02:42i'm not gonna beg the barracks went dead silent i'll swap with the kid alora have you lost your
02:47goddamn mind that thing is a mutt it's a waste of your bloodline i watched my parents get turned
02:52into mincemeat by feral claws the grandmaster saved me and raised me in the citadel i had status
02:57and i used it in my last life the phoenix's noble act fooled me too i thought he's a badass
03:02i have to be the one to break him i poured every gold coin and sacred elixir i had into
03:07that bird
03:07the order's stipend wasn't enough so i bled for extra cash taking the grittiest contracts i could find
03:14every time i dragged my bleeding corpse back home with new scars it wouldn't even look at me it only
03:19came close when i opened a vial of rare essence taking it like it was doing me a fucking favor
03:26it took 10 years of my life to help it break its limit and take human form he was beautiful
03:31i'll
03:32give him that tall ethereal a real silver tongue bastard but the arrogance never left he only spoke
03:39to me when he wanted me to go out and kill something for his next upgrade then i saw him
03:44he was brushing a hair from bella's face his eyes full of a tenderness i had never seen bella was
03:49skipping
03:50around him placing a flower crown on his head like they were in a damn fairy tale my blood turned
03:55to
03:55acid another elf walked by glancing at them with a smirk eleda maybe stop asking bella to watch your
04:02bird while you're out on missions looks like he's already found a new master my vision went dark i was
04:08out there risking my neck and she was looting my fucking life while i was gone doesn't she have
04:13her own familiar why the hell is she touching mine that black snake it kicked the bucket in the second
04:18year i'd been a goddamn sugar mummy to that phoenix all bella had to do was wait for her snake
04:23to die
04:24and then step into my boots once i was gone i'm no saint i started making bella's life a living
04:29hell
04:30i hated her and i didn't care who knew it and that pissed off the phoenix to punish me he
04:35lured me into
04:36the forbidden zone and broke the seals the monsters smelled blood and swarmed one of them was a corrupted
04:41leviathan a phoenix can fly thousands of miles in a heartbeat if he wanted to save me there were no
04:47ifs when the monster's teeth snapped through my leg i clawed at the dirt screaming for help i looked up
04:53and saw him wings wide golden and glowing carrying bella away from the carnage he didn't even look back
04:58this time around i want to see how he reaches his human form without my goal i want to see
05:03how bella
05:04feeds that money sucking bastard back to the present the elder gave up on me he looked at bella with
05:09pure
05:09disgust like he was handing a diamond to a pig but the phoenix was obsessed nuzzling her like a loyal
05:15dog the ritual began the surge of mana startled the black sea snake it coiled around my arms so tight
05:23it cut off my circulation it was terrified i'd change my mind and toss it back into the gutter
05:28bella was beaming now she saw the snake on my arm and let out a soft you and that snake
05:34really are a
05:35perfect match alara i didn't even have to open my mouth the other knights did it for me shut your
05:41fucking mouth bella if elora hadn't stepped aside you wouldn't even be allowed to smell that bird
05:46if i were you i'd be on my knees thanking her for the charity drop it look at her the
05:51waterworks are
05:52starting again the phoenix saw its princess in distress and started shrieking flapping its wings
05:57in a frenzy tough shit after the bond a familiar's power is capped by its master's mana bella was a
06:03weakling with barely enough energy to light a candle this was probably the first time in two
06:08lifetimes that the bird felt like a loser get used to it you golden prick as for the snake on
06:13my arm
06:13it realized i wasn't going to let go it finally relaxed and passed out cold i lived in a small
06:19cottage halfway up the mountain the high sentinel had kept it for me ever since my parents died back
06:25home i finally took a good look at the snake it was tiny barely a few decades old practically an
06:30infant
06:30and beast years it didn't look like any sea wyvern i knew they usually have snake-like tails but this
06:37thing had a fin like a fish a hybrid probably some crack and blood mixed in there was an arcane
06:43pool in
06:43the garden the snake woke up the second it hit the water diving deep and gorging itself on the manor
06:48you've got balls kid aren't you afraid i'll poison the water to make room for a better phililium
06:53the snake froze then it spat in my face i flicked its head hard
07:00shut up and heal i can afford a phoenix i can certainly afford a scrawny runt like you
07:09i woke up the next morning feeling like something was crawling under my skin
07:13i stiffened slowly turning my head only to find a goddamn man lying right next to me
07:18his face was a deep tan all sharp angles and a straight nose his lashes were thick and dark
07:24casting shadows on his cheeks as they fluttered with every breath he was gorgeous sure but a jolt
07:30of ice water shot through my veins the fact that he'd crawled into my bed without alerting a single
07:35one of my senses meant his power level was fucking astronomical maybe he sensed my lungs seizing up
07:40because he took his sweet time opening his eyes i suddenly got out of bed and grabbed the dagger
07:45beside me who the hell are you this is order territory you better back the fuck off
07:50he sat up stretching like a goddamn cat that's when i noticed he was wearing the gear i'd bought for
07:56a
07:56transformed familiar and then i saw them under those thick lashes were a pair of glowing golden slit
08:02pupils the answer was staring me in the face the snake a smirk tugged at his lips revealing two sharp
08:08fangs he ignored my blade and flicked my forehead with a painful thud watch your mouth kid i have a
08:14name
08:15it's nyx apparently nix had been running from some high level enemies when he crossed paths with my
08:21uncle silas the order's resident collector of useless junk he turned into a wyvern just to catch
08:26a ride and stay alive i let out a hollow desperate laugh if nix could transform he was a heavy
08:33hitter
08:33and the people who'd managed to skin him like that they were probably gods compared to me great just
08:39god damn great when your enemies show up to finish the job am i supposed to just lie down and
08:44die with
08:45you what kind of luck was this i'd barely ditch the phoenix disaster only to pick up a ticking time
08:50bomb quit whining the link is forged you're the master i'm the servant so master you'd better train
08:57like your life depends on it because if you drag me down you really won't like the consequences
09:06nix wasn't just a pretty face the guy actually knew his shit my mana core was water-based which
09:12synced perfectly with his element he taught me a brutal technique to drain energy from the
09:16environment like a goddamn sponge even the grand master pulled me aside to praise my progress
09:21saying my power was spiking faster than a fever most days i was submerged in the arcane pool while he
09:27lounged on a peach tree branch supervising me with a lazy smirk the breeze shook the branches dusting the
09:33water with pink petals i looked up once and caught him napping his dark hair ruffled in the wind and
09:39his tan skin glowed under the sun his collar was open just enough to be dangerous revealing the hard
09:45lines of his chest he was pure unadulterated sin i hadn't even finished my viewing when a voice ruined
09:51the goddamn mood bella was peeking through the fence like a stray rat i climbed out of the pool my
09:58patience already wearing thin nix dropped from the tree in one fluid motion grabbing my cloak and
10:03wrapping it around my shoulders before i could even shiver bella stared at nix like she'd just seen a
10:07god what the hell do you want who is this i took nix's hand and gave her a sharp you
10:14know him bella
10:16he's the mudblood snake you tossed my way during the ritual you were the one who said we were a
10:21perfect match remember bella's face went through three different shades of pale spit it out bella she
10:27started fidgeting doing that shy shouldn't you be at the training grounds eating dirt with the other
10:32recruits let me get this straight you want me to pay for and help you raise that phoenix if you
10:39can't
10:39afford that golden prick that's your problem i don't owe you a damn thing how can you say you don't
10:44owe me alara during the ritual six months ago you snatched the wyland and dumped the phoenix on me
10:50you can't just walk away now you have to take responsibility
10:56it had taken six months for the reality to sink in that sacred bird was a bottomless money pit
11:02she'd poured every coin and potion she had into the phoenix leaving herself broke and weak the other
11:07recruits had already leveled up while she was still stuck in the novice tier barely able to light a candle
11:13i think you have a duty to it it's a legendary asset for the order if it doesn't level up
11:17we all lose
11:18you've been here your whole life even if it's just for the guild you have to help it reach its
11:22potential i flicked my wrist and a blast of fresher eyes miss sent her tumbling right out of my garden
11:27gate bella quit being a delusional bitch sugar mama you think i'm that goddamn stupid if you're too
11:34broke to keep the bird break the soul link and walk away give the resources to someone who actually has
11:39a brain i'm sure the high priest would be thrilled to take that golden headache off your hands
11:47it didn't take long for my mana to hit the breaking point i finally broke through the ceiling i wasn't
11:53just an adept anymore i was a master now as luck would have it the order acquired a rare nine
11:59-tailed
11:59spirit fox the grandmaster had to trade two high-tier artifacts to get his hands on it he sent me
12:05an elder
12:05lotus to escort the creature back to the stables elder lotus was 300 years my senior but she had the
12:11temperament of a spoiled brat i had to bribe and soothe her the entire way before she'd finally
12:16hand the fox over to the master of hounds she was sulking because she'd fallen in love with the thing
12:22at first sight and the grandmaster had flat out refused to let her keep it she leaned in before
12:27leaving alara honey that snake of yours is possessive as hell
12:33with that she hopped onto her giant crane and took off into the clouds
12:38i didn't catch her drift until i started the hike up the mountain i saw a silhouette leaning against a
12:43gnarled oak by the trail nice he didn't move the air was heavy the moment i got close alara am
12:51i not
12:52enough for you are you already looking to replace me with something else what the hell are you talking
12:55about that bitch bella showed up at the house today with a smug look on her face said you sent
12:58her
12:58to take care of me what now that you've reached master rank you're already tired of your current contract
13:08my stomach dropped bella still playing games before i could speak nix's pupils narrowed to lethal needle
13:15looming with a dark smirk it doesn't matter i'll just find that fox and gut it then i'll be your
13:21only choice again i smack the back of his head you're hitting me over a fox that's the sentinel's fox
13:30you
13:30idiot touch a single hair on its tail and i'll skin you alive myself nick stopped fighting and let
13:36himself be led like a sulky dog the barracks were quiet recruits said bella took the phoenix to the
13:41forbidden woods i frowned i hadn't even touched her in this life what was she doing they were having a
13:47goddamn domestic don't look at me like that i haven't done anything wrong do you have any idea how
13:51many potions i've wasted on you i'm broke because of you and you're still not satisfied you want me to
13:54raid the black market for rare herbs you're insane i'm a novice if you want me dead just say it
13:58to my
13:58face alara snake has a human form order of human speak stop scratching those symbols on the ground
14:01i don't want to see them i snorted last life he ignored me now he grovels in the dirt for
14:07her karma
14:12you're a hard person to track down
14:17alina is there something you need i tapped nix's shoulder
14:25my familius here has a question what business did you have with him today bella blinked her brain
14:32scrambling for a lie no it's a misunderstanding i was looking for you she's lying she told me you
14:38stole me from her said i belonged to her and what did you do she was trespassing i handled it
14:44pathetic
14:45she's so pathetic i didn't even need to use my mana to kick her out of the garden
14:49bella if i remember correctly you looked at nikes like he was garbage on bonding day
14:53he was half dead if you'd taken him he'd be a rotting corpse by now
14:57i wouldn't have i would have treated him perfectly
15:03you're trying to ruin my bond with the phoenix i stepped in close
15:06bella stop the goddamn games touch my property again and the next time we talk it'll be in front
15:10of the high inquisitor once you're in the inquisitor's hands you're finished they'll rip
15:15your soul link apart and kick you out of the guild she wasn't that brave walking back i felt lighter
15:21the weight of my past life finally started to lift however nix was sulking he wouldn't even shift to
15:28carry me you seem to know that pretty well we have a history a very ugly one want the details
15:33no i'm a hundred times better than that trash bird you're never going back to him
15:37relax i'm not looking for anyone else it's just you nux
15:46alara you're moving like a goddamn turtle
15:48his eyes flashing with irritation
15:51the sentinel said i'm the top of my class i'm practically a prodigy
15:55turns out his idea of a prodigy involved dragging me by the collar to hunt high-level bounties across the
16:01continent
16:01unlike my last life every drop of rare elixir and every enchanted artifact went straight into my own veins and
16:07gear
16:08ten years vanished in a heartbeat i hit the middle tiers of the master rank
16:13the old master of hounds retired to go find god or some such bullshit
16:17and the grandmaster handed the keys to the stables to me
16:20we thought the sun phoenix would be our ticket to the big leagues
16:26but the damn bird hasn't even started its human transformation
16:32no surprise there our order was broke compared to the alchemist guilds or the sword schools
16:37raising familiars is a money pit and we never had any surplus nobody joins the order unless they're
16:43desperate or looking for blood and that bird wasn't leveling up thinking about the bloodbath from my last
16:49life i'd stayed clear of that bird but i couldn't shake the feeling that a storm was brewing
16:54a beast with that much raw power if its heart turns black it's not just a problem
16:58it's a goddamn apocalypse all i could do was watch it like a hawk
17:02i thought about gutting the thing
17:04but every time i tried to warn the sentinel or nix about the future
17:07my throat locked up
17:08it was like some cosmic barrier was keeping me mute
17:11the new crop of recruits was enough to give me a stroke
17:14they'd nod and promise to train
17:16then vanish the moment i turned my back
17:18i'm starting to think the old master of hounds didn't find god
17:21he just found a way to quit
17:25look ilara your new brothers and sisters aren't they adorable
17:33please old man just go back to your meditation and stop making this harder
17:40i barely stepped into my cottage when he grabbed me and tossed me over his shoulder like a sack of
17:45grain
17:45what the hell are you doing
17:50keep your voice down
17:52i'm taking you to see a real show
17:54the show was a screaming match between bella and the phoenix
17:58well a loud mouth bitch screaming at a mute bird
18:01don't you dare blame me
18:05you were the one who said the order was the best place for your ascension
18:09i could have been living the high life at the alchemist guild if it wasn't for you
18:15now i'm stuck in this broke-ass dump
18:18i can't even quit
18:20everyone thinks i'm a goddamn spy
18:22you think i like living on these pathetic stinules
18:25the elder tried to give you to alara but you were too much of a stuck-up prick to take
18:30the deal
18:30she's the sentinel's favorite
18:32she has more potions than you have feathers
18:34if you'd stayed with her you'd have a human body by now
18:37i stiffened my knuckles turning white
18:40i never understood why the bird chose her
18:42they were partners in crime from the start
18:44the order wasn't a home to them
18:46it was a goddamn battery they intended to drain dry
18:49so that was the game
18:51a chill crawled up my spine
18:52which meant
18:53whoever bonded with that phoenix was a dead man walking
18:56there are only two ways to break a soul link
18:59the master lets go
19:00or the master dies
19:02but i didn't bond with him in my last life
19:04why did he kill me anyway
19:06the realization hit me like a physical blow
19:08once the phoenix took human form
19:10the order was dead weight
19:11to get a better offer from a powerful guild
19:14they needed a tragic backstory
19:15what's better than the lone survivor and her noble beast escaping a fallen order
19:20nyx didn't seem to catch the dark undertones
19:22he was shifted into his snake form
19:25hanging from a branch and twitching his tail like he was watching a comedy special
19:29i looked at him and sighed
19:31i was glad he was an idiot
19:35a few days later
19:36that golden bastard actually had the nerve to show up at my cottage
19:40he stood by the gate
19:41glaring at nyx
19:43nyx was being a total prick staying in his human form
19:46half naked and glistening
19:47radiating
19:48i'm the better familiar vibes
19:50what the hell are you doing at my gate
19:53yeah
19:55master lets me rest because she actually likes me
19:58what's your excuse for being a lazy piece of shit
20:02nyx was decades older than me
20:03hearing him call me master or big sister in that tone made my skin crawl in a way that wasn't
20:09entirely unpleasant
20:10nyx climbed out of the pool soaking wet and pressed his cold damp body against mine
20:16i just want that stupid bird to know there's no room for him here
20:22since when do you have squatting rights
20:27you tell me master
20:32the bird is gone
20:33don't waste your breath on him
20:35i need to know what he's planning
20:37that bird is pure poison
20:39he's regretting his choices
20:41he wants to ditch that weakling and find a new gold mine
20:44my heart skipped a beat
20:46it wasn't just regret
20:47what if the phoenix was reborn
20:49two
20:49i grabbed a teleportation scroll and blasted myself straight to the forbidden zone
20:54the seal was intact
20:55but a few feet away
20:57i found a single
20:58glowing golden feather
20:59the bastard had been here
21:04the phoenix was flat out ignoring her commands and stalking me instead
21:07bella looked like she wanted to rip my throat out every time we crossed paths
21:11oh look at that
21:13the ex is crawling back
21:15begging for a second chance
21:20that girl can't afford him anyway
21:22how about i talk to the sentinel
21:24we'll just transfer the contract to you
21:29shut up you old bat
21:32no thanks
21:33i'm not interested in an inquiry
21:35besides
21:38nyx is all i need
21:40finally the elders decided to send bella
21:42and the phoenix out on a long-term field mission
21:45i knew it was a move to protect me
21:47a familiar that hates its master
21:49is a ticking time bomb
21:50sending them away would give me the breathing room i needed to finish this
21:53once and for all
21:57it helped that nyx was a goddamn wrecking ball
22:00wyverns are born for the kill
22:01and with our synergy
22:03we could trade blows with the high inquisitors without breaking a sweat
22:06if bella and her bird cleared out
22:08i'd finally have a decade of peace
22:10ten years is more than enough time to turn the forbidden zone seal into an iron fortress
22:15i wasn't going to give that bird a second chance to screw me over
22:19the council hall
22:20bella lost her shit when she heard she was being sent on a field mission
22:23the order isn't a five-star hotel
22:25but it's a roof over your head
22:27bella was a stray scavenger
22:29before we picked her up
22:30she wasn't about to give up a warm bed
22:32and three meals a day to go back to sleeping in the dirt
22:35she had the goddamn nerve to blame me
22:37in her twisted head i was orchestrating her exile so i could swoop in and claim the phoenix once she
22:43accidentally kicked the bucket in the wild
22:45she stood before the elders
22:46crying her eyes out
22:48doing the whole persecuted martyr act
22:50swearing she'd rather die than leave
22:54if elia wants the phoenix she just has to ask
22:57i'm her sister i'd give her anything
23:00but if i give her my bird shouldn't she give me nikes as compensation
23:03trading a mutt for a legendary phoenix
23:05allura would be getting the deal of a lifetime
23:06is your name again
23:07right bella
23:07watch your bird and keep your mouth shut
23:09we're passing on that generous offer
23:13i heard all about her little performance later through the grapevine
23:17while she was busy gaslighting the elders
23:19nix and i were at the stables investigating something that made the hair on my neck stand up
23:24the stables hold the wild ones creatures recently captured and not yet bonded to a knight
23:29last night two moon rabbits and a damn unicorn vanished into thin air
23:34i locked the wards myself i should have felt even a breeze hitting those gates
23:39but last night
23:40nothing
23:42not a goddamn sound
23:45it wasn't a wild monster
23:48there's no stench of the forest here
23:49i looked around
23:51the stables are carved into the mountain
23:53lined with anti-teleportation wards
23:55you don't get in or out without an order badge
23:58whoever took those beasts was one of our own
24:01i turned around and saw the hound master cooing at a trembling spirit stag
24:05don't worry little one
24:06the big scary wyther is just a mean looking boy
24:08he won't eat you
24:11do familiators ever kill each other
24:14what kind of sick shit is that
24:16they're sentient warriors
24:17they don't pull that animalistic crap
24:19oh did the mean lady scare you
24:22don't listen to her
24:23she's just telling scary stories
24:25there's a dark path
24:26a way for a beast to power up instantly by devouring the soul cause of its own kind
24:31want the details
24:33my blood went cold
24:34wild monsters don't have the luxury of elixirs
24:36to them
24:37the best fuel is the raw essence of another
24:40familiar
24:41ten years ago
24:42nix almost lost his life to one of those core snatchers
24:45the higher the rank of the victim the bigger the power spike
24:48now that this thing has had a taste it's not gonna stop
24:50we set an ambush in the stables that night
24:53but the hours ticked by
24:54and nothing happened
24:55the place stayed silent as a tomb
25:00it might not be a familiar
25:01go get some rack time
25:03nix and i will pull the night shift tonight
25:05i barely cleared the threshold when a recruit came skidding around the corner
25:09his face the color of a goddamn sheep's
25:11master
25:11there's blood everywhere at the barracks
25:13something's wrong
25:14my gut twisted
25:15damn it
25:16nix didn't waste a second
25:17he shifted into a massive
25:19jagged scaled wyvern
25:21and let out a low rumble
25:22signaling me to mount up
25:24the moment my boots hit the ground at the barracks
25:26nix's golden pupils thinned into lethal needles
25:29i smell iron
25:31a lot of it
25:32i didn't need to step inside to hear the screaming
25:34it was a raw
25:35jagged sound that ripped through the night air
25:38it was one of my recruits
25:39he'd brought a fluffy
25:41three-tailed cat sith with him when he joined
25:43now
25:43he was cradling a heap of mangled
25:45blood-soaked fur
25:47elder lotus was already there
25:48her face a mask of cold fury
25:50stomach was ripped open
25:53the mana core was torn out raw
25:55it was a clean kill
25:56knuckles turned white as i scanned the crowd
25:58the phoenix was perched near bella
26:00looking like a goddamn saint
26:02acting like the perfect
26:04loyal companion
26:05nix's hand clamped over my eyes
26:07his voice a low vibration against my ear
26:10don't look
26:11it's the bird
26:14he reeks of it
26:15he smells exactly like the core snatcher
26:17that tried to gut me years ago
26:21i took the intel to the sentinel
26:23but the old man told me to keep my head down and wait for a slip up
26:27no evidence
26:28no arrest
26:29he said
26:30looking grave in his mountaintop menagerie
26:32the place looked like a goddamn farm
26:34full of barking dogs and bleating sheep
26:36i let out a dry frustrated snort
26:38old man
26:39aren't you sick of the smell of shit in here with all these animals
26:43get lost
26:44they're family
26:46and your hellhound just took a dump on my rug
26:49two years crawled by
26:51the order moved on
26:52the dead cat became a ghost story
26:54a cold case that no one talked about anymore
26:56but i didn't forget
26:58i felt the bird's eyes on me every goddamn day
27:00i was meditating in my cottage one night when a pair of blood red eyes flashed outside my window
27:05i bolted upright and chased the shadow outside
27:08the garden was silent as a tomb
27:10only a sliver of a moon hung in the sky
27:12and a single golden feather drifted in the pool
27:15the feather felt like a taunt
27:16come find me
27:17or watch nyx die
27:19i pulsed our soul link
27:20nyx was at the forbidden zone
27:22i teleported in and was immediately slammed back by a shockwave of raw power
27:26nyx was locked in a brutal exchange with the phoenix
27:29and bella
27:29blood leaked from her eyes and ears
27:31larta
27:32you were reborn too weren't you
27:34you knew on bonding day
27:36that's why you ditched me
27:38what the hell does that mudblood wilson have that i don't
27:41i'm letting them all out
27:42we're going back together
27:43in the next life i won't give that snake a goddamn chance
27:49go to hell you golden prank
27:51nyx took a heavy blow to the shoulder just to reach my side
27:54he spat a mouthful of blood and grinned
27:56enough talkalara let's gut this bird
28:00the sky turned a bruised purple
28:03and lightning began to coil in the clouds like hungry snakes
28:06he'd killed his master
28:08the heavens were coming for him
28:10goodbye you piece of shit
28:12a pillar of lightning thick as a well
28:15slammed into the phoenix
28:16he didn't even have time to scream before he was vaporized
28:19nothing left but a goddamn pile of soot
28:22but the seals were broken
28:23the monsters in the woods were waking up
28:25nyx froze
28:26he stared into the darkness of the woods
28:29my mother
28:30i smell her
28:31i thought he was a mutt
28:33turns out his mother was the goddamn legend herself the torch dragon
28:37we sprinted into the mist
28:38suddenly
28:39a pair of eyes the size of boulders flared red in the darkness
28:42the torch dragon
28:44her face was a warped mask of scales and madness
28:47a primordial goddess corrupted by darkness
28:50mother
28:52the massive jaws stopped inches from us
28:55she thrashed her head
28:56her eyes flickering between a sane gold and a mindless
28:59murderous red
29:00nyx
29:02kill me
29:03she coughed up a glowing all per manacle
29:05nyx grabbed the core
29:06his hands were shaking so hard i thought they'd snap
29:09tears streamed down his face
29:11he couldn't do it
29:12he pressed the core into my hands
29:14his palms covering mine
29:16goodbye mother
29:17i squeezed
29:18the core shattered
29:20the dragon let out a long
29:22weary sigh of relief as her massive form dissolved into starlight
29:25at the same moment
29:26the sky above me exploded with a crack of thunder that nearly deckened me
29:30with the massive surge of energy from the dragon's core
29:33my mana was overflowing
29:35i was leveling up
29:36nyx i'm gonna die
29:38nyx grabbed my hand
29:39standing before me like a wall of iron
29:41like hell you are
29:43if the sky falls i'll catch it for you
29:46thirty-six bolts of lightning later
29:47the clouds cleared
29:48i was smoking
29:49bruised
29:50and bleeding but i felt like a god
29:52we walked out of the woods
29:53hand in hand
29:54the sun was coming up
29:59the chaos we caused in the woods gave the grand sentinel
30:02and the elders the breathing room they needed
30:04they spent a month sweating over the seals
30:06finally patching the forbidden zone until it was tighter than a vault at the iron bank
30:11within a month every merc guild and nightly order on the continent knew the name elara vain
30:16i had my junk collecting uncle silas to thank for that the man couldn't stop running his mouth
30:20turning my survival into some legendary epic
30:24elara seeing you so got away blessed by the stars it puts my heart at ease
30:28my time here is up
30:30the council and i agree you're the perfect fit for the big chair
30:33once i ascend you're the new grand master
30:35lead the order into a glorious future kid
30:38old man quit the bullshit you're just looking for a way to quit and leave me with the paperwork aren't
30:42you
30:43my ward here has a good heart even if she's as stubborn as a mule
30:47you're lucky to have her son
30:49i hereby name you high general of the menagerie
30:52you're in charge of every beast in the stables
30:54the future is in your hands try not to burn it down
30:57the sentinel's ascension wasn't some minor level up like mine
31:00if he made it he'd reach the higher planes eternal life and all that crap
31:04but it's a suicide mission word is only one sword master in the last five centuries actually made it through
31:10the great gate without turning into a pile of ash
31:12two weeks later the big day arrived that's when i finally understood what the winner takes it all really meant
31:18i expected something holy choirs of angels blinding light regal dignity
31:23instead the grand sentinel looked like a frantic farmer at a livestock auction
31:28he was literally herding a chaotic mob of cats
31:31dogs and bleating sheep toward the golden gate
31:34i vaguely saw a hamster perched on that guy's head
31:37gnawing on a nut
31:38i looked at nix
31:39then i looked at the chaotic mess of recruits in the courtyard
31:42yeah
31:43the future of the order of ash and ember
31:45it was looking real goddamn
31:47bright
31:48bright