The Wyvern's Shadow follows a young hero whose fate becomes intertwined with the mysterious shadow of an ancient wyvern. As forgotten legends awaken and powerful enemies close in, hidden truths, dangerous alliances, and unexpected love reshape the destiny of an entire kingdom. Watch the full episode with English subtitles and enjoy this epic fantasy short drama packed with action, adventure, and unforgettable twists.
#TheWyvernsShadow #DragonFantasy #FantasyDrama #Adventure #EpicFantasy #ShortDrama #DramaSeries #MicroDrama #ENGSUB #FullEpisode
#TheWyvernsShadow #DragonFantasy #FantasyDrama #Adventure #EpicFantasy #ShortDrama #DramaSeries #MicroDrama #ENGSUB #FullEpisode
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Short filmTranscript
00:00In my last life, I died for a god who stood by and watched me be torn to pieces.
00:05He even betrayed me and ran off with my little sister.
00:08But I'm back.
00:09Take your bird, sister.
00:10The trash is mine.
00:12Who would have thought that my trash is a god seething with hatred?
00:15My dear sister, in this life, you won't be so lucky.
00:19On the day of the bonding, I snatched the black sea wyvern right out of Bella's hands.
00:24The other knights crowded around me, their faces twisted in disbelief.
00:27Alara, have you lost your fucking mind?
00:30You're the best we've got!
00:31This mutt is a piece of gutter trash!
00:34Give it to Bella!
00:34In my last life, I chose the pure-blooded sun phoenix.
00:38What a fucking joke.
00:39I spent a decade playing the fool just to hand Bella everything on a silver platter
00:43when the demons were ripping the life out of me.
00:46That bird didn't even blink.
00:48It spread its wings and flew off, shielding Bella without a single look back.
00:53This time, she can have the golden prick.
00:55Let's see how she likes being its goddamn servant.
00:58Every ten years, the Order of Ash and Ember pairs its elite recruits with primal familiars.
01:03I was the ward of the high sentinel, and the deadliest blade in my class.
01:07Naturally, I had first pick.
01:09The beasts were hauled in from the wild wastes some legendary,
01:12most just looking for a throat to tear out.
01:14The most eye-catching creature of all was the solar azure phoenix.
01:17Arrogant beyond measure, it held its neck stiff despite the iron chains binding its feet,
01:22gazing at us, as if we were nothing but roadside filth.
01:25The high priest didn't hesitate.
01:27He assigned the phoenix to me.
01:28The phoenix didn't budge.
01:30It looked at the ceiling.
01:31Its feet turned up in a silent, fuck you.
01:33It didn't lower its regal, head until my little sister.
01:37Bella stepped forward, cradling that pathetic, shriveled black snake.
01:41The snake was bottom of the barrel scrap.
01:43Bella was a fresh recruit.
01:44She could have waited for the next cycle, but she insisted on playing with the big dogs.
01:48In a ritual where you pick your brother in arms, nobody gave a damn about her feelings.
01:53She held that snake, tears welling up in her eyes like she was the victim of some grand conspiracy.
01:58With the phoenix clearly obsessed with her, I looked like the villain tearing apart a star-crossed romance.
02:06Your manner is a mess.
02:08Even if the bird likes you now, it'll burn you to a crisp the moment you try to leave.
02:13I stood up, nodded to the elder, and walked straight to Bella.
02:16Allura, I know I'm not in your league.
02:20I grew up in the mud on the frontier.
02:24I've never seen something as beautiful as the phoenix-
02:27I snatched the limp, cold snake from her hands and flashed the elder a sharp, jagged smile.
02:32I like the look of this one.
02:34If the bird doesn't want me, I'm not gonna beg.
02:36The barracks went dead silent.
02:38I'll swap with the kid.
02:39Allura, have you lost your goddamn mind?
02:41That thing is a mutt!
02:42It's a waste of your bloodline!
02:44My name is Ellara Bane.
02:45At 7th, I watched my parents get turned into mincemeat by feral claws.
02:49The grandmaster saved me and raised me in the citadel.
02:51I had status, and I used it.
02:53In my last life, the phoenix's noble act fooled me too.
02:56I thought, he's a badass.
02:57I have to be the one to break him.
02:59I poured every gold coin and sacred elixir I had into that bird.
03:03The order's stipend wasn't enough, so I bled for extra cash, taking the grittiest contracts
03:08I could find.
03:09Every time I dragged my bleeding corpse back home with new scars, it wouldn't even look
03:14at me.
03:14It only came close when I opened a vial of rare essence, taking it like it was doing me
03:18a fucking favor.
03:21It took 10 years of my life to help it break its limit, and take human form.
03:26He was beautiful, I'll give him that tall, ethereal, a real silver-tongued bastard.
03:31But the arrogance never left.
03:33He only spoke to me when he wanted me to go out, and kill something for his next upgrade.
03:38Then I saw him.
03:39He was brushing a hair from Bella's face.
03:41His eyes full of a tenderness I had never seen.
03:44Bella was skipping around him, placing a flower crown on his head like they were in a damn
03:48fairy tale.
03:49My blood turned to acid.
03:51Another elf walked by, glancing at them with a smirk.
03:54Elayda, maybe stop asking Bella to watch your bird while you're out on missions.
03:59Looks like he's already found a new master.
04:02My vision went dark.
04:03I was out there risking my net, and she was looting my fucking life while I was gone.
04:07Doesn't she have her own familiar?
04:09Why the hell is she touching mine?
04:11That black snake?
04:12It kicked the bucket in the second year.
04:14I'd been a goddamn sugar mummy to that phoenix.
04:17All Bella had to do was wait for her snake to die, and then step into my boots once I
04:21was gone.
04:22I'm no saint.
04:23I started making Bella's life a living hell.
04:25I hated her, and I didn't care who knew it.
04:28And that pissed off the phoenix.
04:29To punish me, he lured me into the forbidden zone and broke the seals.
04:33The monsters smelled blood and swarmed.
04:35One of them was a corrupted leviathan.
04:38A phoenix can fly thousands of miles in a heartbeat.
04:40If he wanted to save me, there were no, ifs.
04:43When the monster's teeth snapped through my leg, I clawed at the dirt, screaming for help.
04:47I looked up and saw him wings wide, golden and glowing, carrying Bella away from the carnage.
04:52He didn't even look back.
04:54This time around, I want to see how he reaches his human form without my gold.
04:58I want to see how Bella feeds that money-sucking bastard.
05:01Back to the present.
05:02The elder gave up on me.
05:03He looked at Bella with pure disgust, like he was handing a diamond to a pig.
05:07But the phoenix was obsessed, nuzzling her like a loyal dog.
05:13The ritual began.
05:14The surge of mana startled the black sea snake.
05:17It coiled around my arms so tight it cut off my circulation.
05:20It was terrified I'd change my mind and toss it back into the gutter.
05:23Bella was beaming now.
05:25She saw the snake on my arm and let out a soft,
05:27You and that snake really are a perfect match, Alara.
05:31I didn't even have to open my mouth.
05:33The other knights did it for me.
05:35Shut your fucking mouth, Bella!
05:37If Alara hadn't stepped aside, you wouldn't even be allowed to smell that bird.
05:41If I were you, I'd be on my knees thanking her for the charity.
05:45Drop it.
05:45Look at her, the waterworks are starting again.
05:47The phoenix saw its princess in distress and started shrieking,
05:51flapping its wings in a frenzy.
05:53Tough shit.
05:54After the bond, a familiar's power is capped by its master's mana.
05:58Bella was a weakling with barely enough energy to light a candle.
06:01This was probably the first time in two lifetimes that the bird felt like a loser.
06:05Get used to it, you golden prick.
06:07As for the snake on my arm, it realized I wasn't going to let go.
06:11It finally relaxed and passed out cold.
06:13I lived in a small cottage halfway up the mountain.
06:16The high sentinel had kept it for me ever since my parents died.
06:19Back home, I finally took a good look at the snake.
06:22It was tiny, barely a few decades old, practically an infant and beast years.
06:26It didn't look like any sea wyvern I knew.
06:29They usually have snake-like tails.
06:31But this thing had a fin like a fish.
06:33A hybrid.
06:34Probably some crack and blood mixed in.
06:37There was an arcane pool in the garden.
06:39The snake woke up the second it hit the water, diving deep and gorging itself on the mana.
06:43You've got balls, kid.
06:45Aren't you afraid I'll poison the water to make room for a better pholylium?
06:48The snake froze.
06:49Then, it spat in my face.
06:51I flicked its head.
06:53Hard.
06:55Shut up and heal.
06:57I can afford a phoenix.
06:59I can certainly afford a scrawny runt like you.
07:04I woke up the next morning feeling like something was crawling under my skin.
07:08I stiffened, slowly turning my head, only to find a goddamn man lying right next to me.
07:13His face was a deep tan, all sharp angles, and a straight nose.
07:17His lashes were thick and dark, casting shadows on his cheeks as they fluttered with every breath.
07:23He was gorgeous, sure, but a jolt of ice water shot through my veins.
07:27The fact that he'd crawled into my bed without alerting a single one of my senses meant his power level
07:32was fucking astronomical.
07:33Maybe he sensed my lungs seizing up, because he took his sweet time opening his eyes.
07:38I suddenly got out of bed and grabbed the dagger beside me.
07:41Who the hell are you?
07:42This is order territory.
07:44You better back the fuck off.
07:45He sat up, stretching like a goddamn cat.
07:48That's when I noticed he was wearing the gear I'd bought for a transformed familiar.
07:52And then I saw them.
07:53Under those thick lashes were a pair of glowing, golden-slit pupils.
07:58The answer was staring me in the face.
08:00The snake?
08:01A smirk tugged at his lips, revealing two sharp fangs.
08:04He ignored my blade and flicked my forehead with a painful thud.
08:07Watch your mouth, kid.
08:09I have a name.
08:10It's Nyx.
08:11Apparently, Nyx had been running from some high-level enemies when he crossed paths with my uncle Silas the Order's
08:17resident, collector of useless junk.
08:19He'd turned into a wyvern just to catch a ride and stay.
08:23Alive, I let out a hollow, desperate laugh.
08:25If Nyx could transform, he was a heavy hitter, and the people who'd managed to skin him like that, they
08:31were probably gods compared to me.
08:33Great!
08:34Just goddamn great!
08:35When your enemies show up to finish the job, am I supposed to just lie down and die with you?
08:40What kind of luck was this?
08:42I'd barely ditch the Phoenix disaster only to pick up a ticking time bomb.
08:46Quit whining.
08:47The link is forged.
08:48You're the master, I'm the servant.
08:50So, master, you'd better train like your life depends on it.
08:53Because if you drag me down, you really won't like the consequences.
09:01Nyx wasn't just a pretty face.
09:03The guy actually knew his shit.
09:05My mana core was water-based, which synced perfectly with his element.
09:09He taught me a brutal technique to drain energy from the environment like a goddamn sponge.
09:13Even the Grand Master pulled me aside to praise my progress, saying my power was spiking faster than a fever.
09:19Most days, I was submerged in the arcane pool while he lounged on a peach tree branch, supervising me with
09:25a lazy smirk.
09:26The breeze shook the branches, dusting the water with pink petals.
09:29I looked up once, and caught him napping.
09:32His dark hair ruffled in the wind, and his tanned skin glowed under the sun.
09:36His collar was open just enough to be dangerous, revealing the hard lines of his chest.
09:41He was pure, unadulterated sin.
09:44I hadn't even finished my viewing when a voice ruined the goddamn mood.
09:47Bella was peeking through the fence like a stray rat.
09:50I climbed out of the pool, my patience already wearing thin.
09:54Nyx dropped from the tree in one fluid motion, grabbing my cloak and wrapping it around my shoulders before I
09:59could even shiver.
10:00Bella stared at Nyx like she'd just seen a god.
10:04What the hell do you want?
10:06Who is this?
10:07I took Nyx's hand and gave her a sharp...
10:09You know him, Bella.
10:11He's the mudblood snake you tossed my way during the ritual.
10:14You were the one who said we were a perfect match, remember?
10:18Bella's face went through three different shades of pale.
10:21Spit it out, Bella.
10:22She started fidgeting, doing that shy.
10:25Shouldn't you be at the training grounds eating dirt with the other recruits?
10:28Let me get this straight.
10:29You want me to pay for and help you raise that phoenix?
10:34If you can't afford that golden prick, that's your problem.
10:35I don't owe you a damn thing.
10:37How can you say you don't owe me, Alara?
10:40During the ritual six months ago, you snatched the wylan and dumped the phoenix on me!
10:45You can't just walk away now!
10:47You have to take responsibility!
10:51It had taken six months for the reality to sink in.
10:54That sacred bird was a bottomless money pit.
10:57She'd poured every coin and potion she had into the phoenix, leaving herself broke and weak.
11:02The other recruits had already leveled up, while she was still stuck in the novice tier,
11:06barely able to light a candle.
11:08I think you have a duty to it.
11:09It's a legendary asset for the order.
11:11If it doesn't level up, we all lose.
11:13You've been here your whole life.
11:15Even if it's just for the guild, you have to help it reach its potential.
11:17I flipped my wrist, and a blast of pressurized mist sent her tumbling right out of my garden gate.
11:23Bella, quit being a delusional bitch.
11:25You're a sugar mama?
11:26You think I'm that goddamn stupid?
11:28If you're too broke to keep the bird, break the soul link and walk away.
11:32Give the resources to someone who actually has a brain.
11:35I'm sure the high priest would be thrilled to take that golden headache off your hands.
11:42It didn't take long for my mana to hit the breaking point.
11:45I finally broke through the ceiling.
11:47I wasn't just an adept anymore, I was a master now.
11:51As luck would have it, the order acquired a rare nine-tailed spirit fox.
11:55The grandmaster had to trade two high-tier artifacts to get his hands on it.
11:59He sent me an elder lotus to escort the creature back to the stables.
12:02Elder lotus was 300 years my senior, but she had the temperament of a spoiled brat.
12:07I had to bribe and soothe her the entire way before she'd finally hand the fox over to the master
12:12of hounds.
12:14She was sulking because she'd fallen in love with the thing at first sight, and the grandmaster had flat out
12:19refused to let her keep it.
12:21She leaned in before leaving.
12:28With that, she hopped onto her giant crane and took off into the clouds.
12:32I didn't catch her drift until I started the hike up the mountain.
12:36I saw a silhouette leaning against a gnarled oak by the trail.
12:41He didn't move.
12:42The air was heavy.
12:44The moment I got close.
13:02My stomach dropped.
13:04Bella.
13:05Still playing games.
13:06Before I could speak.
13:08Nix's pupils narrowed to lethal needles.
13:10He buried his face in my neck.
13:12He licked my throat.
13:14A jolt shot through my spine.
13:16He whispered against my ear.
13:20He pulled back.
13:22Looming with a dark smirk.
13:29I smacked the back of his head.
13:40Nick stopped fighting and let himself be led like a sulky dog.
13:44The barracks were quiet.
13:46Recruits said Bella took the phoenix to the Forbidden Woods.
13:49I frowned.
13:50I hadn't even touched her in this life.
13:52What was she doing?
13:53They were having a goddamn domestic.
13:54Don't look at me like that.
13:55I haven't done anything wrong.
13:57Do you have any idea how many potions I've wasted on you?
13:59I'm broke because of you and you're still not satisfied.
14:00You want me to raid the black market for rare herbs?
14:02You're insane.
14:02I'm a novice.
14:03If you want me dead, just say it to my face.
14:04Alara's snake has a human form or a human speak.
14:06Stop scratching those symbols on the ground.
14:08I don't want to see them.
14:09I snorted.
14:10Last life he ignored me.
14:12Now he grovels in the dirt for her.
14:14Karma.
14:18You're a hard person to track down.
14:22Alina.
14:24Is there something you need?
14:25I tapped Nix's shoulder.
14:31My familias here has a question.
14:33What business did you have with him today?
14:36Bella blinked, her brain scrambling for a lie.
14:40No, it's a misunderstanding.
14:42I was looking for you.
14:43She's lying.
14:44She told me you stole me from her.
14:45Said I belonged to her.
14:47And what did you do?
14:48She was trespassing.
14:50I handled it.
14:50Pathetic.
14:51She's so pathetic, I didn't even need to use my mana to kick her out of the garden.
14:55Bella, if I remember correctly, you looked at Nix like he was garbage on bonding day.
14:59He was half dead.
15:00If you'd taken him, he'd be a rotting corpse by now.
15:03I wouldn't have.
15:04I would have treated him perfectly.
15:09You're trying to ruin my bond with the phoenix.
15:11I stepped in close.
15:13Bella, stop the goddamn games.
15:14Touch my property again and the next time you talk it'll be in front of the high inquisitor.
15:17Once you're in the inquisitor's hands, you're finished.
15:20They'll rip your soul link apart and kick you out of the guild.
15:24She wasn't that brave.
15:25Walking back, I felt lighter.
15:27The weight of my past life finally started to lift.
15:31However, Nix was sulking.
15:32He wouldn't even shift to carry me.
15:34You seem to know that pretty well.
15:36We have a history.
15:37A very ugly one.
15:37Want the details?
15:39No.
15:40I'm a hundred times better than that trash bird.
15:42You're never going back to him.
15:43Nix, I'm not looking for anyone else.
15:45It's just you, Nix.
15:52Alara, you're moving like a goddamn turtle.
15:54His eyes flashing with irritation.
15:57The sentinel said I'm the top of my class.
16:00I'm practically a prodigy.
16:01Turns out, his idea of a prodigy involved dragging me by the collar to hunt high-level
16:06bounties across the continent.
16:07Unlike my last life, every drop of rare elixir and every enchanted artifact went straight into
16:13my own veins and gear.
16:14Ten years vanished in the heartbeat.
16:16I hit the middle tiers of the master rank.
16:19The old master of hounds retired to go find god or some such bullshit, and the grandmaster
16:24handed the keys to the stables to me.
16:26We thought the sun phoenix would be our ticket to the big leagues.
16:32But the damn bird hasn't even started its human transformation.
16:37He's too far off.
16:38No surprise there.
16:39Our order was broke compared to the alchemist guilds or the sword schools.
16:44Raising familiars is a money pit, and we never had any surplus.
16:47Nobody joins the order unless they're desperate, or looking for blood.
16:51And that bird wasn't leveling up.
16:53Thinking about the bloodbath from my last life, I'd stayed clear of that bird, but I
16:58couldn't shake the feeling that a storm was brewing.
17:00A beast with that much raw power if its heart turns black.
17:03It's not just a problem.
17:05It's a goddamn apocalypse.
17:06All I could do was watch it like a hawk.
17:08I thought about gutting the thing, but every time I tried to warn the sentinel or nix about
17:13the future, my throat locked up.
17:15It was like some cosmic barrier was keeping me mute.
17:17The new crop of recruits was enough to give me a stroke.
17:20They'd nod and promise to train, then vanish the moment I turned my back.
17:24I'm starting to think the old master of hounds didn't find god.
17:27He just found a way to quit.
17:31Look, Ilara, your new brothers and sisters.
17:34Aren't they adorable?
17:39Please, old man.
17:40Just go back to your meditation and stop making this harder.
17:46I'd barely stepped into my cottage when he grabbed me and tossed me over his shoulder
17:50like a sack of grain.
17:51What the hell are you doing?
17:56Keep your voice down.
17:58I'm taking you to see a real show.
18:00The show was a screaming match between Bella and the Phoenix.
18:04Well, a loudmouth bitch screaming at a mute bird.
18:07Don't you dare blame me!
18:11You were the one who said the Order was the best place for your ascension!
18:15I could have been living the high life at the Alchemist Guild if it wasn't for you!
18:21Now I'm stuck in this broke-ass dump!
18:25I can't even quit!
18:26Everyone thinks I'm a goddamn spy!
18:28You think I like living on these pathetic stinules?
18:31The Elder tried to give you to Alara, but you were too much of a stuck-up prick to take
18:36the deal!
18:36She's the Sentinel's favorite!
18:38She has more potions than you have feathers!
18:40If you'd stayed with her, you'd have a human body by now!
18:43I stiffened, my knuckles turning white.
18:46I never understood why the bird chose her.
18:48They were partners in crime from the start.
18:51The Order wasn't a home to them.
18:52It was a goddamn battery they intended to drain dry.
18:55So that was the game.
18:57A chill crawled up my spine.
18:59Which meant, whoever bonded with that phoenix was a dead man walking.
19:03There are only two ways to break a soul link.
19:05The master lets go.
19:06Or the master dies.
19:08But I didn't bond with him in my last life.
19:10Why did he kill me anyway?
19:12The realization hit me like a physical blow.
19:14Once the phoenix took human form, the Order was dead weight.
19:17To get a better offer from a powerful guild, they needed a tragic backstory.
19:21What's better than the lone survivor and her noble beast escaping a fallen order?
19:26Nyx didn't seem to catch the dark undertones.
19:28He was shifted into his snake form.
19:31Hanging from a branch and twitching his tail like he was watching a comedy special.
19:35I looked at him and sighed.
19:37I was glad he was an idiot.
19:41A few days later, that golden bastard actually had the nerve to show up at my cottage.
19:46He stood by the gate, glaring at Nyx.
19:49Nyx was being a total prickstain in his human form.
19:52Half naked and glistening, radiating.
19:54I'm the better familiar vibes.
19:56What the hell are you doing at my gate?
19:59Yeah.
20:01Master lets me rest because she actually likes me.
20:04What's your excuse for being a lazy piece of shit?
20:07Nyx was decades older than me.
20:09Hearing him call me, master, or big sister, in that tone made my skin crawl in a way that
20:14wasn't entirely unpleasant.
20:16Nyx climbed out of the pool, soaking wet, and pressed his cold, damp body against mine.
20:22I just want that stupid bird to know there's no room for him here.
20:28Since when do you have squatting rights?
20:33You tell me, master.
20:38The bird is gone.
20:39Don't waste your breath on him.
20:41I need to know what he's planning.
20:43That bird is pure poison.
20:45He's regretting his choices.
20:47He wants to ditch that weakling and find a new gold mine.
20:50My heart skipped a beat.
20:52It wasn't just regret.
20:53What if the phoenix was reborn?
20:55Two.
20:56I grabbed a teleportation scroll and blasted myself straight to the forbidden zone.
21:00The seal was intact.
21:01But a few feet away, I found a single, glowing golden feather.
21:05The bastard had been here.
21:09The phoenix was flat out ignoring her commands and stalking me instead.
21:13Bella looked like she wanted to rip my throat out every time we crossed paths.
21:17Oh, look at that.
21:19The X is crawling back, begging for a second chance.
21:25That girl can't afford him anyway.
21:28How about I talk to the Sentinel?
21:30We'll just transfer the contract to you.
21:35Shut up, you old bat!
21:38No thanks.
21:39I'm not interested in an inquiry.
21:41Besides,
21:44Nyx is all I need.
21:45Finally, the elders decided to send Bella and the phoenix out on a long-term field mission.
21:50I knew it was a move to protect me.
21:53A familiar that hates its master is a ticking time bomb.
21:56Sending them away would give me the breathing room I needed to finish this, once and for all.
22:03It helped that Nyx was a goddamn wrecking ball.
22:05Wyverns are born for the kill.
22:07And with our synergy, we could trade blows with the High Inquisitors without breaking a sweat.
22:12If Bella and her bird cleared out, I'd finally have a decade of peace.
22:16Ten years is more than enough time to turn the Forbidden Zone seal into an iron fortress.
22:21I wasn't going to give that bird a second chance to screw me over.
22:25The Council Hall.
22:26Bella lost her shit when she heard she was being sent on a field mission.
22:29The Order isn't a five-star hotel, but it's a roof over your head.
22:33Bella was a stray scavenger.
22:35Before we picked her up, she wasn't about to give up a warm bed and three meals a day to
22:39go back to sleeping in the dirt.
22:41She had the goddamn nerve to blame me.
22:43In her twisted head, I was orchestrating her exile so I could swoop in and claim the phoenix once she
22:48accidentally kicked the bucket in the wild.
22:50She stood before the elders, crying her eyes out.
22:53Doing the whole persecuted martyr act, swearing she'd rather die than leave.
23:00If Aliyah wants the phoenix, she just has to ask.
23:03I'm her sister.
23:04I'd give her anything.
23:06But if I give her my bird, shouldn't she give me Nyx's compensation?
23:09Trading a mutt for a legendary phoenix, Alura would be getting the deal of a lifetime.
23:12Is your name again?
23:12Right, Bella.
23:13Watch your bird and keep your mouth shut.
23:15We're passing on that generous offer.
23:19I heard all about her little performance later through the grapevine.
23:22While she was busy gaslighting the elders, Nyx and I were at the stables investigating something that made the hair
23:28on my neck stand up.
23:30The stables hold the wild ones creatures recently captured and not yet bonded to a knight.
23:35Last night, two moon rabbits and a damn unicorn vanished into thin air.
23:40I locked the wards myself.
23:41I should have felt even a breeze hitting those gates.
23:44But last night, nothing.
23:47Not a goddamn sound.
23:50It wasn't a wild monster.
23:53There's no stench of the forest here.
23:55I looked around.
23:57The stables are carved into the mountain, lined with anti-teleportation wards.
24:01You don't get in or out without an order badge.
24:04Whoever took those beasts was one of our own.
24:06I turned around and saw the Houndmaster cooing at a trembling spirit stag.
24:10Don't worry, little one.
24:11The big scary wyther is just a mean-looking boy.
24:14He won't eat you.
24:16Do familiators ever kill each other?
24:20What kind of sick shit is that?
24:21They're sentient warriors!
24:23They don't pull that animalistic crap!
24:25Oh, did the mean lady scare you?
24:27Don't listen to her.
24:28She's just telling scary stories.
24:30Humans kill humans.
24:32Familiars are no different.
24:34There's a dark path.
24:35A way for a beast to power up instantly by devouring the soul cores of its own kind.
24:41Want the details?
24:41My blood went cold.
24:43Wild monsters don't have the luxury of elixirs.
24:46To them, the best fuel is the raw essence of another, familiar.
24:50Ten years ago, Nyx almost lost his life to one of those core snatchers.
24:54The higher the rank of the victim, the bigger the power spike.
24:57Now that this thing has had a taste, it's not gonna stop.
24:59We set an ambush in the stables that night, but the hours ticked by, and nothing happened.
25:04The place stayed silent as a tomb.
25:08It might not be a familiar.
25:10Go get some rack time.
25:12Nyx and I will pull the night shift tonight.
25:14I barely cleared the threshold when a recruit came skidding around the corner, his face the
25:18color of a goddamn sheet.
25:19Master, there's blood everywhere at the barracks!
25:22Something's wrong!
25:23My gut twisted.
25:24Damn it!
25:25Nyx didn't waste a second.
25:26He shifted into a massive, jagged-scaled wyvern, and let out a low rumble, signaling me to
25:32mount up.
25:32The moment my boots hit the ground at the barracks, Nyx's golden pupils thinned into lethal needles.
25:38I smell iron.
25:40A lot of it.
25:41I didn't need to step inside to hear the screaming.
25:43It was a raw, jagged sound that ripped through the night air.
25:47It was one of my recruits.
25:48He'd brought a fluffy, three-tailed cat-sith with him when he joined.
25:52The little thing used to spend its days napping in the sun.
25:55But now, he was cradling a heap of mangled, blood-soaked fur.
25:59Elder Lotus was already there, her face a mask of cold fury.
26:03Stomach was ripped open.
26:05The manochore was torn out raw.
26:07It was a clean kill.
26:09The poor thing didn't even have time to shriek.
26:12My knuckles turned white as I scanned the crowd.
26:14The phoenix was perched near Bella, looking like a goddamn saint.
26:18Acting like the perfect, loyal companion.
26:21Nix's hand clamped over my eyes.
26:23His voice a low vibration against my ear.
26:26Don't look.
26:27It's the bird.
26:30He reeks of it.
26:31He smells exactly like the core snatcher that tried to gut me years ago.
26:37I took the intel to the sentinel, but the old man told me to keep my head down and wait
26:41for a slip-up.
26:42No evidence.
26:43No arrest.
26:45He said, looking grave in his mountaintop menagerie.
26:48The place looked like a goddamn farm, full of barking dogs and bleating sheep.
26:52I let out a dry, frustrated snort.
26:54Old man, aren't you sick of the smell of shit in here with all these animals?
26:59Get lost.
27:00They're family.
27:02And your hellhound just took a dump on my rug.
27:04Clean it up.
27:05Two years crawled by.
27:06The order moved on.
27:08The dead cat became a ghost story.
27:10A cold case that no one talked about anymore.
27:12But I didn't forget.
27:13I felt the bird's eyes on me every goddamn day.
27:16I was meditating in my cottage one night when a pair of blood-red eyes flashed outside my window.
27:21I bolted upright, and chased the shadow outside.
27:24The garden was silent as a tomb.
27:26Only a sliver of a moon hung in the sky.
27:28And a single golden feather drifted in the pool.
27:31The feather felt like a taunt.
27:32Come find me, or watch Nyx die.
27:34I pulsed our soul link.
27:36Nyx was at the forbidden zone.
27:38I teleported in and was immediately slammed back by a shockwave of raw power.
27:42Nyx was locked in a brutal exchange with the phoenix.
27:44And Bella.
27:45Bella was slumped against a tree like a broken doll.
27:48Blood leaked from her eyes and ears.
27:50Her stomach had been ripped open.
27:51Her mana core completely gone.
27:53Elata.
27:54You were reborn too, weren't you?
27:57You knew on bonding day.
27:59That's why you ditched me.
28:00What the hell does that mudblood Wilsen have that I don't?
28:03I'm letting them all out.
28:04We're going back together.
28:05In the next life, I won't give that snake a goddamn chance.
28:10Go to hell, you golden prank!
28:13Nyx took a heavy blow to the shoulder just around.
28:15I'm going to reach my side.
28:16He spat a mouthful of blood and grinned.
28:18Enough talk, Alara.
28:20Let's gut this bird.
28:23The sky turned a bruised purple.
28:25And lightning began to coil in the clouds like hungry snakes.
28:28He'd killed his master.
28:30The heavens were coming for him.
28:32Goodbye, you piece of shit.
28:33A pillar of lightning, thick as a well, slammed into the phoenix.
28:38He didn't even have time to scream before he was vaporized.
28:41Nothing left but a goddamn pile of soot.
28:44But the seals were broken.
28:45The monsters in the woods were waking up.
28:47Nyx froze.
28:48He stared into the darkness of the woods.
28:51My mother.
28:52I smell her.
28:53I thought he was a mutt.
28:55Turns out his mother was the goddamn legend herself, the torch dragon.
28:59We sprinted into the mist.
29:00Suddenly, a pair of eyes the size of boulders flared red in the darkness.
29:04The torch dragon.
29:06Her face was a warped mask of scales and madness.
29:09A primordial goddess corrupted by darkness.
29:12Mother!
29:14No!
29:14The massive jaws stopped inches from us.
29:16She thrashed her head, her eyes flickering between a sane gold and a mindless, murderous red.
29:22Nyx, kill me.
29:25She coughed up a glowing orb her manacore.
29:27Nyx grabbed the core.
29:28His hands were shaking so hard I thought they'd snap.
29:31Tears streamed down his face.
29:33He couldn't do it.
29:34He pressed the core into my hands, his palms covering mine.
29:38Goodbye, mother.
29:39I squeezed.
29:40The core shattered.
29:42The dragon let out a long, weary sigh of relief as her massive form dissolved into starlight.
29:47At the same moment, the sky above me exploded with a crack of thunder that nearly deafened me.
29:52With the massive surge of energy from the dragon's core, my mana was overflowing.
29:57I was leveling up.
29:58Nyx, I'm gonna die.
30:00Nyx grabbed my hand, standing before me like a wall of iron.
30:03Like hell you are.
30:05If the sky falls, I'll catch it for you.
30:07Thirty-six bolts of lightning later, the clouds cleared.
30:10I was smoking, bruised, and bleeding but I felt like a god.
30:14We walked out of the woods, hand in hand.
30:16The sun was coming up.
30:20The chaos we caused in the woods gave the Grand Sentinel and the elders the breathing room they needed.
30:26They spent a month sweating over the seals, finally patching the Forbidden Zone until it was tighter than a vault
30:31at the Iron Bank.
30:32Within a month, every merc guild, a knightly order, on the continent knew the name Elara Vane.
30:37I had my junk-collecting Uncle Silas to thank for that the man couldn't stop running his mouth, turning my
30:43survival into some legendary epic.
30:45Elara, seeing you so got away blessed by the stars, it puts my heart at ease.
30:50My time here is up.
30:51The council and I agree, you're the perfect fit for the big chair.
30:55Once I ascend, you're the new Grand Master.
30:57Lead the order into a glorious future, kid.
30:59Old man, quit the bullshit. You're just looking for a way to quit and leave me with the paperwork, aren't
31:04you?
31:05My ward here has a good heart, even if she's as stubborn as a mule.
31:09You're lucky to have her, son.
31:10I hereby name you High General of the Menagerie.
31:13You're in charge of every beast in the stables.
31:16The future is in your hands, try not to burn it down.
31:19The Sentinel's ascension wasn't some minor level up like mine.
31:22If he made it, he'd reach the higher planes, eternal life, and all that crap.
31:26But it's a suicide mission.
31:27Word is, only one Swordmaster in the last five centuries actually made it through the Great Gate without turning into
31:33a pile of ash.
31:34Two weeks later, the big day arrived.
31:37That's when I finally understood what the winner takes it all really meant.
31:40I expected something holy choirs of angels, blinding light, regal dignity.
31:45Instead, the Grand Sentinel looked like a frantic farmer at a livestock auction.
31:50He was literally herding a chaotic mob of cats, dogs, and bleating sheep toward the Golden Gate.
31:56I vaguely saw a hamster perched on that guy's head.
31:59Gnawing on a nut.
32:00I looked at Nix.
32:01Then I looked at the chaotic mess of recruits in the courtyard.
32:04Yeah.
32:05The future of the Order of Ash and Ember.
32:07It was looking real goddamn.
32:09Bright.
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