- il y a 2 jours
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00:00Je suis la seconde princesse de Clan Aurelien, pure-blood golden scale,
00:05et je suis en love avec un chien blanc serpent.
00:07Dans mon passé, j'ai choisi l'un à la selection rite,
00:11j'ai insisti sur l'un comme mon ami.
00:13J'ai été le premier qui défié chaque voix dans Clan Aurelien
00:16pour tirer l'un de la serpente d'abysse et sur le drape d'espoir.
00:20Nous avons passé chaque nuit ensemble,
00:22et sur notre wedding d'aise, le blanc serpent que j'ai rêvé de pendant longtemps
00:25a l'honneur de moi, trois mois pregnant.
00:29J'ai échoué dans un pool de ma propre blood.
00:32Draven's voix était full de disgust.
00:34Si vous n'avez pas été dans la vie,
00:36je devrais avoir été Isolith long ago.
00:39Vous deservez ça.
00:40Only then did I understand.
00:42From the very beginning,
00:44il y avait ses yeux sur ma sister,
00:46le one déjà choisié comme le prochain archon.
00:49Isolde nestled dans ses arms,
00:51ses pieds slammed dans ma bleeding chest.
00:54Pathé, little wretch.
00:56Le pain dans mon cœur sent tremors
00:58down every limb.
00:59With my last breath,
01:01I curse you both
01:03to ruin without end.
01:06And if fate grants me another life,
01:09I'll be all the one holding the blade.
01:13My eyes open.
01:14I'm standing on the sacred altar.
01:16Wind howls across Drake's fire,
01:18carrying ice and the scent of stone.
01:21I'm alive.
01:22No, I'm reborn.
01:24My father,
01:25the man who died long ago in my previous life,
01:28touches my shoulder.
01:29A quiet reminder.
01:31Seraphina,
01:32you're the one who insisted on bonding
01:34with the Black Serpent.
01:35Why are you standing there
01:36like you've seen a ghost?
01:37Bonding?
01:38I look down past the sacred altar.
01:41The serpent candidates stand in a line,
01:43waiting to be chosen.
01:44The selection rite.
01:45I've returned to the day
01:47I chose my bonded mate.
01:50Father.
01:50A voice cuts me off.
01:52Draven Vos steps out of the line.
01:54He walks right past me,
01:55his gaze burning toward Isolde behind me.
01:58He drops to one knee.
02:00Lord Artron,
02:00with all due respect,
02:02my heart does not answer to obligation.
02:04It knows only one name,
02:06and it is not Seraphina.
02:07He lifts his head toward Isolde.
02:09I wish only to stand beside
02:11the first princess Isolde
02:13for the rest of my days.
02:15Dead silence.
02:16Father's expression darkens.
02:18Everyone knows the Black Serpentine
02:20claim half-Leviathan blood,
02:22but the lineage is impure.
02:24By every rule,
02:26Draven Vos has no right
02:27to set foot on the sacred altar.
02:29I'm the reason he's here.
02:30I liked him.
02:31I chose him.
02:33I forced Father to make an exception,
02:35to let a serpent stand before dragons.
02:37And now,
02:38moments before the bond ceremony begins,
02:41he slaps me across the face
02:43in front of everyone.
02:44David's eyes were cold,
02:45contemptuous,
02:46and full of calculations.
02:48It hits me at once.
02:49He's reborn too.
02:51Draven thinks bonding with my sister
02:52will rocket him to the top.
02:54What he doesn't know
02:55is that who becomes
02:56the true Archon of Clan Aurelion
02:58isn't his choice.
02:59It's mine.
03:00This time around,
03:01without my designation,
03:03I'd love to see
03:04how far either of you climb.
03:06Father erupts.
03:07His dominance aura
03:08crashes down
03:09like a landslide.
03:11Draven's knees buckle.
03:12His forehead hits stone.
03:13You forget what you are.
03:15Seraphina is the second princess
03:17of Clan Aurelion.
03:19Do you think
03:19you're choosing livestock at market?
03:21Even with the Archon's aura
03:23grinding his joints
03:24to the breaking point,
03:25Draven refuses to yield.
03:27He speaks through clenched teeth.
03:29Lord Archie,
03:30what is my crime?
03:31Must I bond with the second princess
03:33simply because she fancies me?
03:34I love the first princess Isolida.
03:38The first princess trains day and night,
03:40treats everyone with grace.
03:42The second princess is reckless,
03:45idle,
03:45never once honed her power.
03:47If any of you were in my position,
03:50who would you choose?
03:52Every word sounds sincere,
03:53but I know exactly what's behind it.
03:55In the last life,
03:56he learned Isolde
03:57was father's chosen successor.
03:59Bond with the Archon's chosen,
04:01share the ancestral power,
04:02catalyze his impure Leviathan blood,
04:05evolve into a true Leviathan.
04:07It's never been about love.
04:09It's about leverage.
04:11Father's fury deepens.
04:13The dominance aura intensifies.
04:14A filthy serpent
04:15daring to judge my daughter!
04:18You have a death wish!
04:21Father, stop!
04:22Isolida stuffs out from behind me.
04:24Her cheeks flush pink.
04:25Her eyes glistened
04:27with just the right amount of tears.
04:28Every word of Draven's confession,
04:30she heard it all.
04:31I accept him.
04:32Stunned silence.
04:34Father stares at her.
04:36Isolid, do you hear yourself?
04:39He is Seraphina's chosen mate,
04:41and Draymond Vos
04:42is nothing more than
04:43a mongrel serpent.
04:45Bonding with him
04:46would only drag you down.
04:47Before he finishes,
04:49Draven produces
04:49an obsidian case
04:51from inside his robes.
04:52He kneels again,
04:53presenting it to Isolde
04:54with both hands.
04:55The lid opens.
04:57Inside lies a pearl.
04:58I offer this
05:00to the first princess.
05:02Someone in the crowd
05:02recognizes it instantly.
05:04A Leviathan pearl!
05:05I glance at it,
05:06lower my lashes.
05:08Leviathan pearl.
05:09An ancient relic
05:10from the depths
05:10of the serpent's abyss.
05:12Nine out of ten
05:12who search for it,
05:13never come back.
05:14In my last life,
05:15I burned through
05:16every resource
05:17the clan gave me
05:18trying to find one
05:18for Draven.
05:19He'd held me close,
05:20voice soft.
05:21It's just a myth, Sarah.
05:23Don't waste yourself on it.
05:24The pearl was in his hands
05:25the whole time.
05:26And now,
05:27to win my sister's favor,
05:28he pulls it out
05:29without a second thought.
05:30Everything I gave him.
05:32A joke.
05:32Isolde takes the obsidian case.
05:34Deeply moved.
05:35She flicks a glance at me.
05:37Sharp.
05:38Triumphant.
05:38Then turns to father.
05:40Tears shimmer.
05:41Her voice trembles
05:42just enough.
05:43My whole life,
05:45you favored Serafina.
05:47And now,
05:48finally,
05:49someone chooses me!
05:51Would you tear that away
05:53from your own daughter
05:54just for Serafina's sake?
05:55Father hesitates.
05:56His gaze lingers
05:57on the Leviathan pearl.
05:59Then he turns to me.
06:01Serafina,
06:02don't make this difficult.
06:03If his heart lies
06:05with your sister,
06:05let it go.
06:06Don't be unreasonable.
06:07I close my eyes.
06:09A bone-deep exhaustion
06:10settles over me.
06:11Isolde and I share a father
06:13that's all we share.
06:14Her mother,
06:15Ilara,
06:16was an iron-scale dragoness,
06:18the lowest subspecies
06:19among dragonkind.
06:20She died shortly after
06:22giving birth to Isolde,
06:23too weak to survive.
06:24Father later married my mother,
06:26the previous female archon
06:28of clan Aurelion.
06:29Pure blood,
06:30golden scale.
06:31Her blood and her rank
06:32made me the rightful heir
06:33from the moment
06:34I drew my first breath.
06:36But growing up,
06:37even the clan could see it.
06:38Father measured us
06:39on two completely different scales.
06:41With Isolde,
06:42he was a merciless drillmaster.
06:44He threw her
06:44into the bone wastes
06:46as a child
06:46and never looked back.
06:48Even when she crawled home
06:49covered in wounds,
06:50he wouldn't let her
06:51shed a single tear.
06:52You are my daughter.
06:54Weakness is not yours to claim.
06:56With me?
06:57Even though my raw talent
06:58surpassed Isolde,
06:59he said he worried
07:00I'd suffer
07:01on the path of cultivation.
07:02Without hesitation,
07:03he pulled me
07:04out of training entirely.
07:06You don't need
07:06to be strong, Sarah.
07:08Just be happy.
07:09To everyone else,
07:10I was the pampered princess.
07:12But I knew the truth.
07:13This wasn't love.
07:14It was a leash.
07:15He was raising me
07:16to be useless.
07:17In my past life,
07:18I wandered deep
07:19into the clan crypts
07:20by accident.
07:21Found Father kneeling
07:22before a black obsidian tombstone.
07:24The name carved into it.
07:26Ilara.
07:27His voice was low, tender.
07:28Nothing like the way
07:29he spoke to me.
07:30Ilara, my love.
07:32After all these years,
07:33it is still you.
07:34It has always been you.
07:37Rest easy.
07:39I've kept my promise.
07:41The girl knows nothing.
07:42Not her power.
07:43Not her birthright.
07:44Nothing.
07:46Our daughter will have
07:47everything she deserves.
07:49I stood in the dark,
07:50ice spreading through my veins.
07:52He wasn't spoiling me.
07:53He was making sure
07:54I'd never threaten Isolda.
07:56Father wanted me
07:57to choose Draven Voss,
07:58a black serpent
07:59with low standing.
08:01Once bonded to him,
08:02no one in the clan
08:03would ever take me seriously.
08:04And now,
08:05Draven has produced
08:06a Leviathan Pearl.
08:07Father seizes the chance
08:08to boost Isolda's power,
08:10pins the label of
08:11unreasonable on me,
08:12orders me to step aside.
08:14Fine.
08:15You want it?
08:16Take it.
08:17I agree too fast.
08:18Father blinks.
08:19Draven's eyes flicker.
08:20Isolda, though.
08:21She walks up to me,
08:22voice coated in honey.
08:24I only want what's best
08:25for you, little sister.
08:27After all,
08:28a forced bond
08:30breaks both.
08:32Tell you what?
08:33She smiles,
08:34scanning the crowd.
08:36Pick another mate.
08:37I'll bond with Draven.
08:38You'll have your own match.
08:39And Father can stop worrying.
08:41Father watches Isolda
08:42with open adoration.
08:44But they both know the truth.
08:45Every candidate invited
08:46to the sacred altar today
08:47is a serpent.
08:48And aside from Draven,
08:50not one of them stands out.
08:51I don't bother with her games.
08:53I raise my hand lazily
08:54and point in a random direction.
08:56That one.
08:56I'm pointing at a silver serpent.
08:59In human form,
09:00he's unexpectedly striking.
09:02Pale skin,
09:03silver irises
09:04with slit pupils,
09:05a lean frame,
09:07wiry but strong.
09:08Almost a match
09:08for Draven Voss in appearance,
09:10but his mana is so faint
09:12it barely registers.
09:13A candle about to gutter out.
09:15If black serpentine blood
09:16is considered low,
09:18then silver serpentine,
09:19in the eyes of dragonkind,
09:20is nothing more
09:21than a worm with scales.
09:23Apart from shifting
09:24into human form,
09:25they have almost zero combat ability.
09:27The silver serpent freezes
09:29when my finger lands on him.
09:30Isolde presses her hand
09:31to her lips,
09:32feigning concern.
09:33Each word drips
09:34with just enough sweetness
09:36to cut.
09:36Oh, Sarah.
09:38Are you sure?
09:39He looks...
09:40fragile.
09:41I'd hate for him
09:42to reject you, too.
09:43The silver serpent speaks.
09:45No hesitation.
09:46No wait.
09:48I accept.
09:49The entire crowd flinches.
09:51Even I pause.
09:52He walks straight out of the line.
09:54stops before me
09:55and extends
09:56a pale, slender hand.
09:58Your Highness.
10:00My name is Kale.
10:01A beat of silence.
10:03His voice drops.
10:04Quieter.
10:05Almost to himself.
10:07I've always wanted you to know it.
10:09I take his hand.
10:11It isn't cold
10:11the way I expected.
10:12A warmth
10:13I didn't anticipate.
10:14In that instant,
10:15the skin over my collarbone
10:17flares hot.
10:18Kale's grip
10:18tightens around my fingers.
10:20He lifts his head,
10:21looks straight into my eyes.
10:22His silver irises reflect my face.
10:25If you'll have me,
10:27I swear on my blood
10:29and my bones.
10:30Not in this life
10:31or any other.
10:33Trey you
10:33or leave you.
10:36Golden divine lightning
10:37flips the sky
10:38and cracks across
10:39the sacred altar.
10:40Ceiling is open.
10:41The flash lights up his face.
10:43Something inside my chest
10:45cracks open,
10:46melts.
10:46Kale is the first person
10:48in two lifetimes
10:49who chose me
10:50without a single moment
10:52of hesitation.
10:53The corner of my mouth
10:54lifts on its own.
10:55A voice
10:56shoves its way in
10:57from the side.
10:58Draven stands
10:58with his arms crossed,
11:00looking down at Kale
11:01like an insect.
11:01Your highness,
11:03Silver Serpentine
11:04have virtually no Morna.
11:06Bonding with him
11:07won't do a thing
11:08for your power.
11:09Kale lowers his head slightly.
11:11Not avoidance,
11:11habit.
11:12He's heard this
11:12too many times.
11:14The smile on my lips
11:15goes cold.
11:16What's wrong,
11:17Draven Jealous?
11:18And let's be clear,
11:20you call Silver Serpentine
11:22lowborn?
11:23Does Black Serpentine
11:25blood run any nobler?
11:27The smirk on Draven's face
11:28turns to stone.
11:29I catch it.
11:30The hatred that flashes
11:31across his features,
11:32a fraction too slow
11:34to hide.
11:34In my past life,
11:36I wasn't blind.
11:37I chose him
11:37over every candidate
11:38because he once saved
11:39my life in the bone wastes.
11:41That was the first time
11:42anyone shielded me
11:43with their own body.
11:44I thought it was real.
11:45Now he humiliates me
11:46in public
11:47and clings to my sister
11:48for power.
11:49So don't expect me
11:50to play nice.
11:51I turn to face the clan.
11:53From this day forward,
11:54Kale is under my protection.
11:56He is mine.
11:58My gaze sweeps the crowd.
11:59Touch him
12:01and you answer to me.
12:03The crowd shrinks back
12:04half a step under my stare.
12:06Draven's fists clench.
12:08Whatever makes you happy,
12:09your highness.
12:10Kale's fingertip
12:11brushes mine.
12:12I turn to look at him.
12:13Those silver-slit pupils
12:15fix on me.
12:16Fragile,
12:16trembling,
12:17and impossibly bright.
12:18You're the only one
12:19who ever saw me.
12:20Something slams
12:21against my ribs.
12:22Enough.
12:23It's time.
12:25Begin the soul bond right.
12:26Four of us step into
12:28the runic circle
12:28at the center
12:29of the sacred altar.
12:30Ancient dragon script
12:31blazes to life
12:33beneath our feet.
12:34Divine lightning strikes.
12:35The altar channels it,
12:37tearing soul fragments
12:38from each pair
12:38and branding them
12:39into irreversible bonds.
12:41But the power gap
12:42between dragon
12:43and serpent is vast.
12:45The bond's energy
12:46surges from the stronger
12:47vessel to the weaker,
12:48seeking balance,
12:49like a flood
12:50pouring into a creek.
12:52Both serpents
12:53buckle at once.
12:54Draven collapses
12:55under the force.
12:56Blood spills
12:57from the corner
12:58of his mouth.
12:59He struggles
12:59to lift his head,
13:00reaching toward Isolde.
13:02Isoleth,
13:02please help me.
13:04Isolde starts
13:04to extend her hand.
13:06Father stops her cold.
13:07Serpent,
13:09your blood is barely
13:10worthy of my daughter
13:11as it stands.
13:13If you can't endure this,
13:14then it's your fate.
13:16Draven's eyes go wide.
13:17He stares at Isolde,
13:19the same woman
13:19who blushed
13:20while accepting him
13:21moments ago,
13:22now standing safely
13:23outside the circle.
13:24Her expression is calm.
13:25Darin,
13:26I am the next Archean
13:27of Clan Avelion.
13:28Every drop of my martyr
13:30is precious,
13:31so I can't give you any.
13:33Disbelief carves itself
13:35across his face.
13:36On my side,
13:37Kale is in just as bad shape.
13:39Silver scales surface
13:40along his neck and arms.
13:42His body convulses.
13:43I raise my hand
13:44to channel mana into him.
13:46Kale lurches back.
13:47Your Highness,
13:48the First Princess.
13:48The First Princess is right.
13:50If I can't endure
13:51the Bond's power,
13:53then it means
13:54I'm not worthy of you.
13:55They call you Lowborn
13:57and you just accept it?
14:00We're bonded now.
14:03That means we live
14:04and die together.
14:06So shut up.
14:07I grab his shoulder.
14:09Mana pours from my palm,
14:11flooding into his body
14:12in a steady,
14:13relentless stream.
14:14Golden Dragonfire
14:15threads along
14:16the Bond's pathways,
14:18flowing into him.
14:19And then I notice
14:20something strange.
14:21Kale's body
14:22absorbs my mana
14:23with impossible efficiency,
14:25as if he was born
14:26to receive this exact power.
14:28For the weakest serpent alive?
14:30Makes no sense at all.
14:32Now isn't the time to ask.
14:33I file the anomaly away.
14:36The Soulbond Rite ends.
14:38Draven lies
14:39soaked in sweat and blood,
14:41pinned to the ground,
14:42jaw locked.
14:43crimson still leaking
14:44from his mouth.
14:45Kale stands untouched.
14:47I feel Draven's stare.
14:49Turn to meet it.
14:51His eyes are dark,
14:52resentful,
14:53as if I owe him something.
14:54Last life,
14:55Draven barely took a scratch.
14:57I was always the one
14:58fighting his battles.
14:59Now he's chosen
15:00the clan's anointed
15:01next Archon
15:02and nearly died
15:04during a bond ceremony.
15:05And he has the nerve
15:06to look at me?
15:07I mouth one word at him.
15:09Ice cold.
15:11Deserved.
15:11Isolde doesn't notice
15:13the exchange.
15:14Her eyes close.
15:15She sinks into the fresh
15:17mana coursing through her,
15:19satisfaction spreading
15:20across her face.
15:21Father,
15:23the covenant has spoken.
15:26I'm ready to receive
15:27the Archon's flame!
15:29The crowd stirs
15:30with excitement.
15:31Every new Archon's ascension
15:32triggers the dragon's resonance.
15:34The resonance releases
15:36ambient mana
15:37that nourishes
15:37every dragon present,
15:39pushing them past barriers,
15:41sometimes by an entire rank
15:43or more.
15:44Father beams.
15:45The sacred altar is cleared.
15:47Isolde stands at the center
15:49of the open circle.
15:50She glances at me,
15:52motionless on the sideline,
15:53and her lip curls.
15:54Sarah,
15:55I understand you're upset
15:57about Drahan,
15:59but that's no reason
16:00to stand in the way
16:01of the resonance.
16:04Would you drag
16:05the entire clan down
16:06with you?
16:06The crowd catches it.
16:08Murmurs swell.
16:10Your Highness,
16:11settle your quarrel
16:12with the first princess
16:13in private.
16:14Don't delay the resonance!
16:15Draven was right.
16:16The second princess
16:17can't compare
16:17to the first princess.
16:19If it were me,
16:20I'd choose
16:20the first princess too.
16:22Draven smiles.
16:23Sarah, everyone
16:24can see the truth.
16:26I must have been blind
16:27to ever stand by you.
16:29Kale's brow furrows.
16:31He shoulders Draven aside,
16:33steps in front of me,
16:34and gently presses
16:35his hands over my ears.
16:36Their words are poison.
16:38Don't let them in.
16:39The weight on my chest lifts.
16:41I give him a real smile,
16:43then turn toward Isolde,
16:44basking in her victory,
16:46and speak calmly.
16:47Islene,
16:48you will never be Archie,
16:51and the Covenant
16:52will not grant you
16:52the flame.
16:53If you try,
16:55the Resenance
16:55will destroy your power
16:56from the inside out.
16:57A beat of silence.
16:59Then the crowd
17:00bursts into laughter.
17:01Draven folds his arms,
17:02contempt dripping
17:03from every glance.
17:05Who are you
17:05to judge
17:06the first princess?
17:07If she can't be Archie,
17:09who can?
17:10You?
17:11Enough of this nonsense.
17:13Father's expression hardens.
17:16Seraphina,
17:17step aside.
17:18A flick of a wrist,
17:19Manna shoves me
17:20and Kayle
17:20to the edge
17:21of the platform.
17:22Isolde locks eyes
17:22with me,
17:23triumphant.
17:24Watch closely,
17:25Sarah.
17:26Watch what centuries
17:27of sacrifice
17:29look like.
17:30Isolde stands
17:31at the heart
17:31of the sacred altar.
17:32She unleashes
17:33her monarch.
17:34A deep hum
17:35resonates through the stone.
17:37Power radiates outward.
17:38The ground
17:39shudders.
17:42Pillars of golden light
17:44converge
17:44from every direction.
17:46Ancestral echoes
17:47of countless dragon bloodlines
17:49answer the call,
17:50weaving together
17:51into a thunderous,
17:52sky-darkening tide
17:54of resonance.
17:55Isolde stands
17:55at the center,
17:56poised,
17:57regal.
17:58Layer upon layer
18:00of golden energy
18:01nits itself
18:01into a breathtaking tapestry,
18:04a net of staggering power.
18:06The clan watches,
18:07mesmerized.
18:08The dense Manna
18:09begins to disperse,
18:11drifting toward
18:11every dragon present.
18:13Then,
18:14confusion.
18:16Strange.
18:16Why can't I absorb
18:17any of it?
18:18Same here.
18:20It just
18:20passes through me
18:22like it doesn't
18:23recognize me.
18:24More voices,
18:26more unease.
18:27Heads turn back
18:28toward Isolde
18:29on the altar.
18:30She doesn't notice.
18:31Still lost
18:32in the moment,
18:33the ritual concludes.
18:34She bows
18:35to heaven and earth,
18:36then raises her voice.
18:37I Isolet Aurelion,
18:39firstborn of the golden scale,
18:40call upon the dragon's
18:42re-resonance.
18:43Grant me the Archon's flame.
18:45Silence.
18:46Nothing happens.
18:48Panic flickers
18:49across her face.
18:50She prostrates herself,
18:52calls out again.
18:53I Isolet Aurelion,
18:55invoke the right of ascension!
18:59This time,
19:00she gets an answer
19:01from me.
19:02I stand beside Kael,
19:04voice steady.
19:04You can kneel
19:05until your scales crack.
19:07The answer
19:08is no.
19:10Dead silence.
19:11Every pair of eyes
19:12in the clan
19:13turns to me.
19:14Father thinks
19:15I'm sabotaging
19:16the ceremony.
19:17Combined with Isolde's
19:18failed succession,
19:19his rage boils over.
19:21His full dominance aura
19:23crashes down,
19:24driving me to my knees.
19:26Seraphina,
19:27you have never
19:28disappointed me
19:29more than today.
19:30I've indulged you
19:31in everything.
19:33But this,
19:34this is the clan's future,
19:36and you keep
19:37sabotaging it.
19:40Today,
19:41I'll discipline you
19:41on your mother's behalf.
19:43He raises his hand.
19:44Mana compresses
19:45into a force field,
19:47hurtling toward my face.
19:48I watch it come,
19:49calm.
19:49Draven stands nearby,
19:50suddenly anxious.
19:51Seraphina,
19:52just apologize.
19:53Now.
19:54Do you actually
19:55want to get hit?
19:56The blast
19:56is inches away.
19:57He flinches,
19:58self-preservation
19:59kicks in,
20:00and darts to the side
20:01without a second thought.
20:02Then Kael
20:02launches himself forward.
20:03His eyes shift
20:04from silver
20:05to pure white.
20:06Slit pupils
20:07contract to pinpoints.
20:08Silver scales
20:09erupt across his neck
20:10and forearms.
20:11A low,
20:12guttural hiss
20:12tears from his throat.
20:13Half-shifted,
20:14he throws himself
20:15in front of me
20:16and takes the Archon's
20:17full-force strike
20:18head-on.
20:19Blood sprays
20:20from his mouth
20:20once,
20:21twice,
20:22three times,
20:23and he crashes
20:23backward into me.
20:24His fingers claw
20:25at my arm,
20:26trying to push
20:26his last scraps
20:27of mana into my body.
20:29Kael,
20:30truly,
20:30completely,
20:31for me.
20:32Father sees a serpent
20:33openly defy him.
20:34fury consumes
20:35what's left
20:36of his restraint.
20:36He begins charging
20:37another strike.
20:38In the same breath,
20:39I lean down,
20:40wrap my arms
20:41around Kael,
20:41and whisper
20:42against his ear.
20:43Don't be afraid.
20:43The Covenant of Flame
20:45answers to me.
20:47Father's attack
20:47never lands.
20:49A bolt of golden
20:50dragon fire
20:51descends from the heavens.
20:52Boom.
20:53It hits Father
20:54dead on.
20:55Scales to bone,
20:56everything scorches black.
20:58But that's only
20:58the beginning.
20:59one bolt.
21:00Two,
21:01they hammer down
21:02like divine tribulation
21:03made personally.
21:05By the end,
21:06Father is blasted back
21:07into his beast form.
21:10Isolde agapes at me.
21:12Seraphina,
21:13what did you do
21:14to Father?
21:15I pull my hand
21:16from Kael's healed wounds
21:18and rise slowly.
21:20Centuries ago,
21:21my mother gave her life
21:23defending Clan Auralian
21:24against the Dark Horde.
21:25The ancient dragon god
21:26Pyracis honored her sacrifice
21:28with a divine gift
21:29to her bloodline.
21:30I,
21:30Seraphina of Orion,
21:31second princess of Clan
21:32of Orion,
21:33hold the right of designation.
21:34Anyone who strikes me
21:35will face divine repriotion
21:37and anyone who harbors
21:38malice towards me
21:39will never be Archon.
21:40I don't believe you!
21:41You're lying!
21:43You're nothing!
21:44You haven't grown
21:44a single rank
21:45in centuries!
21:47You!
21:48Designate Archon!
21:49You must have
21:50sabotaged me!
21:51Set some trap!
21:52I won't let you
21:53get away with this!
21:54She charges at me.
21:55Her flawless features
21:57twisting into
21:57something feral.
21:59I exhale.
22:01You're no exception.
22:03Golden Dragonfire
22:04falls on Isolde.
22:06Her cultivation
22:06is nowhere near
22:07Father's level.
22:08The bolts
22:09chase her
22:10across the platform,
22:11scrambling,
22:12stumbling,
22:13all dignity
22:13stripped away.
22:14The same Clan members
22:15who worshipped her
22:16moments ago
22:17don't dare move
22:18an inch.
22:19Sarah,
22:20you hid this from me.
22:22If you'd told me
22:23the truth,
22:23I wouldn't have
22:24done it this way.
22:25I laugh.
22:26Scalding tears
22:27roll down.
22:28I wouldn't have
22:29what?
22:29I wouldn't have
22:30put a blade
22:30through my heart?
22:32Derevan,
22:33didn't I tell you?
22:34Yes,
22:34I can never
22:35be Arpen myself.
22:36But bond with me,
22:38stay faithful,
22:39and on the day
22:39I ascend,
22:40you would have
22:41evolved into
22:42a true Leviathan.
22:43Our children
22:44would have
22:44inherited the covenant.
22:46But you didn't
22:47believe me.
22:47Do you know
22:48why you were
22:48reborn with me?
22:49because the moment
22:50I died,
22:51the bond
22:52tore your soul
22:53apart with mine.
22:54My death
22:55was yours.
22:56You just didn't
22:57feel the blade.
22:58Derevan stumbles
22:59backward.
23:00He looks down
23:01at the bond mark
23:02on his hand,
23:03the one tying him
23:04to Isolde.
23:05The color drains
23:06from his face.
23:07A dragon's roar
23:09erupts
23:09from the sacred altar.
23:11Isolde,
23:11scorched,
23:12humiliated
23:13by divine retribution,
23:15consumed by jealousy
23:16over the power
23:17I hold,
23:18loses the last
23:20thread of reason.
23:21The dormant
23:22void taint
23:22in her iron scale
23:23bloodline ignites.
23:25She shifts
23:26into beast form.
23:27Golden scales
23:28begin to darken
23:29at the edges.
23:30Her eyes bleed
23:30from gold
23:31to the empty black
23:32of the void.
23:33Her dragon form
23:34warps,
23:35twists,
23:36until she looks
23:36less like a noble dragon
23:38and more like something
23:39that clawed its way
23:40out of an abyss.
23:42Why?
23:44Why's her mother
23:46purebred
23:46and mine
23:47was not?
23:48Why does she
23:49get everything
23:49without lifting
23:50a finger?
23:51I refuse
23:52to accept this.
23:53It should all
23:54be mine!
23:56She attacks
23:57indiscriminately.
23:58Corrupted dragon fire
24:00sprays in every direction.
24:02Clan members
24:02scatter,
24:03screaming.
24:04The sacred altar,
24:05once solemn
24:06and revered,
24:07becomes an inferno.
24:09Father drags himself
24:11toward me
24:12in beast form.
24:13Tears line
24:14his reptilian eyes.
24:17Sarah,
24:18please,
24:19spare Islet.
24:20This is all my fault.
24:21I was wrong.
24:22I should never have done
24:24what I did to you.
24:25But she has trained
24:26for centuries.
24:27I can't watch her
24:29lose everything.
24:31I look into his eyes.
24:32My mother's last words
24:34echo back.
24:35Sarah,
24:36I hate him.
24:38You know what the saddest
24:39part of my life is?
24:40I can never compete
24:42with a ghost.
24:44There is one way
24:45to save her power.
24:46Hope flares in his gaze.
24:49Deren is bonded
24:50to Islet.
24:51He bears half
24:52her karmic burden.
24:53Appoint a Draven.
24:55To save her,
24:56you'll need to sacrifice him.
24:57Extract his serpent's core.
24:59Let Islet absorb it completely.
25:01She'll stabilize.
25:05No!
25:06Take my core
25:06and I'll never evolve!
25:08Never become a Leviathan!
25:10Sarah,
25:11this is revenge!
25:13Father doesn't even glance at him.
25:15Serpent,
25:16you swore you'd give
25:18everything for Isleth.
25:21Now keep your word.
25:22Father extracts
25:23the serpent's core himself.
25:25The moment the fist-sized,
25:27pulsing black crystal
25:28is torn free.
25:29In that instant,
25:31Draven seems to age sentry.
25:33He can only watch
25:34as Father feeds the core
25:36to Isolde.
25:37No!
25:38I've seen enough.
25:40Kale leans against my shoulder,
25:42voice low.
25:42Sarah,
25:43let's go.
25:44Deep into the night,
25:46I lean against the edge
25:47of the Moonveil hot spring.
25:48A silver serpent glides
25:50across the surface toward me.
25:52Kale shifts to human form.
25:54He rests against me,
25:55letting my palm
25:56wander across his chest.
25:58I study him.
26:00Kale's silver irises
26:01glow faintly in the dark.
26:02No calculation in them.
26:04Nothing but feeling.
26:05Deep,
26:06bare,
26:06bottomless.
26:07The question has been circling
26:08since this morning.
26:09We've never met before.
26:11Why does he feel like this about me?
26:13Is it because of my title?
26:14Kale 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
26:22and into my mind.
26:23A flash.
26:24A finger-length silver snake
26:26pinned under the boots
26:27of dragon-born boys,
26:29battered and bleeding.
26:31A younger version of me
26:32barges in,
26:33plants herself between them,
26:34and chases them off
26:35with a tongue lashing.
26:37Another flash.
26:38The little silver snake,
26:39barely alive,
26:40curled in a crack
26:41between rocks.
26:42A teenage version of me
26:44crouches down.
26:45A wild rabbit.
26:46A handful of berries.
26:48Again and again.
26:49Without knowing it,
26:50I saved him more times
26:52than I can count.
26:53The last image.
26:54Kale,
26:54now in human form,
26:56standing at the farthest edge
26:57of the crowd,
26:58watching me on the sacred altar,
27:00about to begin the soul bond rite
27:02with Draven.
27:03The memory breaks off.
27:04My voice comes out rough.
27:06Is this about debt?
27:07Who chose me because I saved you?
27:10It isn't suspicion.
27:11It's fear.
27:12Fear that one day,
27:13he'll say what Draven said,
27:15that I chained him with kindness.
27:16I didn't fall in love with you
27:18because you saved me.
27:19I was already in love with you.
27:21Everything you did
27:22only proved I wasn't wrong.
27:26My heart hammers against my ribs.
27:28Kale rests his head on my shoulder.
27:30His voice drops to a murmur,
27:32warm breath against my skin.
27:34From now on,
27:35you're all I have.
27:36You scared me today.
27:38Will you stay close tonight?
27:41His lower half shifts,
27:43silver tail coiling around my calf,
27:45sliding higher,
27:47slow,
27:47deliberate.
27:48My eyes narrow.
27:49My voice drops.
27:50A little hoarse.
27:52What kind of close did you have in mind?
27:55He leans in.
27:56Hot spring water laps over both our shoulders.
27:59Silver scale marks glow beneath the surface.
28:02Kale's body temperature rises the instant he presses against me.
28:06Nothing like the cold serpents are known for.
28:08You're warm.
28:10Only 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.
28:19Mate mark.
28:20I grip the back of his neck and bite down.
28:22A golden dragon scale mark surfaces on his nape.
28:25From this moment, the bond is absolute.
28:28He is mine, and I am his.
28:30One night of passion.
28:32Serpents aren't that impressive, honestly.
28:34He just flipped me around and wore me out until dawn.
28:37I could barely stand.
28:38The next morning, I haul myself upright.
28:41One hand braced on my lower back and kick Kale in the side.
28:45He blinks up at me, genuinely wounded.
28:48Did I break you?
28:50Satisfied.
28:51Very satisfied.
28:52Kale scrambles up to help me walk.
28:54We barely make it past the sanctum's ward line before I stop.
28:58Someone is crouching outside the barrier.
29:00Draven.
29:00Draven looks years older than yesterday.
29:03His 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.
29:11Sarah, I was wrong.
29:13Isoleth and your father, they don't see me as a living thing.
29:18Only you ever treated me as an equal.
29:21Draven thought bonding with the Archons Chosen would launch him to the top.
29:24But beyond that Leviathan Pearl, he has nothing of value to offer.
29:28They stripped him and threw him aside.
29:30Last night, father's rage needed a target.
29:34He doesn't dare touch me again.
29:35Those dozen bolts of divine dragonfire already hammered him back to beast form.
29:40Provoking me further might annihilate the 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.
29:50Everything he built for Isolde.
29:52A joke.
29:53Overnight.
29:54So he turned on Draven.
29:56A mongrog like you is utterly useless.
29:59You're not even fit to be my daughter's pet.
30:02I'm starting to wonder if your little display was a performance you and Serafina arranged together.
30:08Father used a soul siphon on Draven, forced his way through layer after layer of memory, searching for proof of
30:15betrayal.
30:16The 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, something in her curdled.
30:28She seized Draven by the throat, teeth bared.
30:31You declared your love for me in front of everyone.
30:34And when it mattered, you chose a worthless organ over my life.
30:38Devon Vox, you deserve to rot!
30:43I look at his broken body, feel nothing.
30:46The moment that blade went through my heart, whatever connected us died with me.
30:50Kale speaks for me.
30:51You merely hu-iliated Sera in public, then abandoned Isoleth when she needed you.
30:58And now you come crawling back?
31:00Drerrin, where is your shame?
31:03Killing intent flashes in Draven's eyes.
31:06His body tenses.
31:07Then the realization crashes in.
31:10No serpent's core.
31:12No power.
31:13Just a shell.
31:14He crumbles, pleading.
31:16Sera, you hold the right of desigonation.
31:18You must be able to break a bond too, right?
31:21Break my bond with Isoleth, and I'll serve alongside the White Sperpent.
31:25As your mate, after everything we had, you'll help me.
31:29I know you will.
31:31Kale's head whips toward me.
31:33Panic in his eyes.
31:35How adorable.
31:37You actually believe that.
31:41Deren, why 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.
31:57Single.
31:58One.
31:59The fact that you're still breathing is mercy enough.
32:02The light dies in Draven's eyes.
32:04A long silence.
32:06Then he covers his face, and a strangled sound escapes.
32:09What have I done?
32:09He knows me well enough to know I don't look back.
32:12Draven returns to Isolde.
32:14In my last life, I never let anyone in the clan belittle him.
32:17I shielded his pride at every turn, in public, in private.
32:21Isolde doesn't bother with any of that.
32:23She tears him apart in front of everyone.
32:26Strips him down to nothing whenever the mood strikes.
32:30The clan follows her lead.
32:32They 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.
32:47Forces Isolde 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, just 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.
33:09A negotiation.
33:11It works on the crowd.
33:12Hesitation ripples through, then voices join in.
33:15Your Highness, the last Archic, your mother,
33:18gave her life to protect us from the Dark Horde.
33:20The Dark Horde is growing restless.
33:22Without a new Archen, when the wards fall,
33:25we 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 Isolde and Father exchange.
33:37The 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!
33:48Seraphina, what are you talking about?
33:51I raise my hand.
33:52The Covenant responds.
33:54Every clan member's mana rank materializes before my eyes.
33:58Laid bare.
33:59Isolde's power is impressive.
34:00Radiant, even.
34:01But she's not the strongest here.
34:03Issa Leith is your arch's chosen.
34:07But Clan Avelian has never chosen its arch in by blood.
34:10It 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.
34:21Thyra, 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.
34:34I meet her eyes.
34:36Give a single nod.
34:37Clan Arion will hold open trial of merit.
34:41Whoever stands last earns the right to rule.
34:44The clan erupts in cheers.
34:46Only Father and Isolde 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.
34:57I sigh, about to pull him closer.
35:00The world lurches.
35:01I sense it instantly.
35:03The ward barrier shattered.
35:05Drake Spire'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.
35:14Unless someone opened them from the inside.
35:17By the time Kale and I reach the surface,
35:19Drake Spire is in chaos.
35:21Dark 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, I move without thinking.
35:33One strike, the head rolls.
35:35Warm blood splashes across the hatchling's face.
35:37She throws herself into my arms, sobbing.
35:40Your Highness, I almost died.
35:42Mama and my sister, they led the beasts 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.
35:57I cut in.
35:59Save one.
36:00Then a second.
36:01A third.
36:03Through the smoke and carnage, I spot Phyra.
36:05She's shifted.
36:07Copper dragon form.
36:08Leading a small squad in a defensive line.
36:11Shielding the elderly, the young, the wounded.
36:13Her commands are sharp.
36:14Her 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.
36:20Father.
36:21No surprise.
36:22The moment I announced the trial of merit,
36:24I felt it through the covenant.
36:25Someone was deliberately weakening the ward barrier.
36:28I knew he'd gamble everything.
36:31Isolde crouches in front of me.
36:32Her 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.
36:41Sarah, so what if you hold the covenant?
36:43Put you in the ground,
36:45and the next archon will still be me!
36:48I look down at the sword in my chest.
36:50Then I look up at Isolde.
36:52I smile.
36:53Thank you, sister.
36:55I needed you to do exactly that.
36:57Isolde freezes.
36:59Pain blazes through me.
37:01Stamped into the soul.
37:02A memory the body never forgets.
37:04I can't stop the trembling.
37:07Father walks to my side.
37:09His voice is almost gentle.
37:10If 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.
37:26Let the Dark Horde in.
37:29Let your own people die!
37:32Father doesn't blink.
37:33Acceptable losses.
37:35Everything I've done
37:36is to give Isolde the flame.
37:40To give the clan a stronger leader.
37:43The weak die to beasts
37:45because they were never meant to survive.
37:48One thrust isn't enough for Isolde.
37:50She snaps.
37:50The blade drives into me again and again,
37:54pouring out everything she's held in.
37:56I'm stronger than you!
37:57Why do you get to decide?
37:59I suffered for centuries
38:01and I was so close.
38:04And you took it all away
38:06with a few words!
38:09Even Drarin.
38:11Her teeth grind harder.
38:13That mongrel
38:14said he regretted choosing me.
38:17Said 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.
38:31So you have to die!
38:34Behind me,
38:35the roar of beasts,
38:37the screams of the dying,
38:38all tangled together.
38:39I look at Isolde.
38:41When the Covenant granted me
38:42the right of designation,
38:44it also feared the power
38:46would be too concentrated.
38:48So it sealed half my divine power
38:50inside you
38:51as your talent.
38:52And it barred me
38:53from becoming Archon 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
39:02without question.
39:03But you chose the wrong path.
39:06Your suffering wasn't my doing.
39:07It was father's obsession
39:09and your own hunger for power.
39:10But you blamed me for all of it.
39:12And now that you've struck me
39:14with intent to kill,
39:20the seal is broken.
39:23Isoleth.
39:25Your talent was never yours.
39:27It was my power holding you up.
39:30Now it comes home.
39:31The blade buried in my body
39:33erupts with golden light.
39:34Isolde tries to release the hilt.
39:36Her hands won't move.
39:37Mana drains from her body,
39:39torrential, unstoppable,
39:40flooding 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
39:51who owned his heart.
39:52That devotion never wavered.
39:54Not even now.
39:55He moves to kill me outright.
39:57But in his desperation,
39:58he forgets.
39:59Striking me carries a price.
40:02This time,
40:04the covenant shows no mercy.
40:06Golden dragon fire
40:07hammers father
40:08until his soul disintegrates.
40:10He scatters into nothing
40:12before our eyes.
40:13Isolde doesn't have time to grieve.
40:15Every shred of gifted talent
40:17has been reclaimed.
40:18Her mana plummets
40:19to that of an ordinary dragon.
40:21And behind her,
40:22the dark horde circles.
40:24I pull the sword from my chest
40:25and walk away.
40:27Isolde finally grasps her situation.
40:29Terror 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!
40:36I'm your sister!
40:37You can't abandon me for those!
40:40Scream behind me.
40:41This time, I don't turn around.
40:43I drive out every last beast
40:45and rebuild order on Drake's fire.
40:47The hatchling from before
40:48runs up and wraps herself around my leg.
40:51Your Highness,
40:52without you, I'd be an orphan.
40:54Clan members who used to look through me
40:55now kneel at my feet.
40:57Your Highness,
40:58we were blind before.
40:59You drove back the horde.
41:00You saved, Dragonspine.
41:02The Archon's crown belongs to you.
41:04I shake my head.
41:05I place the Archon's crown
41:07into Thyra's hands.
41:08The one who never mocked me.
41:09The first to stand up for an open trial.
41:11The one who held the line
41:13when the dark horde came.
41:14Shielding the weak.
41:15Saving lives while others ran.
41:17I will always protect Clan Arion.
41:19But the Archon's seat
41:20was never meant to be inherited by blood.
41:22Power belongs to those who protect,
41:24not those who take.
41:25Thyra is the right choice.
41:27I return to the Sanctum.
41:28Devote myself to cultivation.
41:29With my full divine power restored,
41:31my strength surges beyond anything I imagined.
41:34Divine tribulation descends,
41:35bolt after bolt,
41:37and I weather everyone.
41:38Then, Ascension.
41:39Under the gaze of the entire clan,
41:41I shift into my true form.
41:43A complete golden dragon,
41:44blazing against the sky.
41:46A silver dragon coils beside me.
41:48Kale, transformed through the bond.
41:49No longer silver serpentine,
41:51a silver dragon.
41:52Though 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.
42:00Then hold on tight.
42:01I've heard the Divine Realm has terrible weather.
42:04Two dragons,
42:05one gold,
42:06one silver,
42:07spiral upward
42:08and vanish into the clouds.
42:09They never come back.
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