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00:02In my third year as an apprentice Reaper, my family and fiancé arrived among the dead.
00:08As I verified their identities, Alara suddenly asked,
00:11Reaper, could you look up a soul named Kaelin Van?
00:14I froze and heard disgust in her voice.
00:17He was my fiancé. Selfish. Two-faced.
00:20All because we threw Caspian a birthday party he called claiming he'd been kidnapped, then disappeared.
00:25I couldn't take him anymore.
00:27If I'd had a choice, Caspian would have been my fiancé.
00:30The selfish, lying fiancé she despised was me.
00:33She had no idea the call she'd hung up on three years ago had been my only chance at rescue.
00:38No one in the mortal realm had held a funeral for me.
00:41No one cold remembered me.
00:43The Queen of Siddles had taken pity on me,
00:45so she let me remain in the Asher Dominion as an apprentice Reaper.
00:49Once I ferried 999 souls onward, I could finally rest or reincarnate.
00:55These four were my last.
00:57After three years, nothing had changed.
00:59They still crowded around Cassian.
01:01Not one of them recognized me from seven paces away.
01:04My mask lowered my voice as I confirmed their names one by one.
01:08When I reached Caspian, Alara immediately stepped forward.
01:12He's still in shock.
01:13Please don't scare him.
01:15When I was alive, they were afraid I'd bully him.
01:17Now we were dead, and they were still afraid I'd frighten him.
01:20According to our records, all four of you died at 6.15 p.m. mortal time in the fire at
01:26Blackthorn Manor.
01:30There are no surviving members of the Vale family.
01:33I'm the Reaper assigned to escort you to Ash Tribunolo.
01:36Alarda's frown deepened.
01:38Then what about Kaylin?
01:39Isn't he still alive?
01:40My chest seized at the sound of my own name.
01:43Garrett gave a disgusted laugh.
01:45Reaper, could you find him?
01:47Three years ago, we threw Cassian a birthday party.
01:51Kaylin claimed he'd been kidnapped, then disappeared when we ignored him.
01:56We're better off without a son like that.
01:58Cassian's blamed himself for years.
02:00He thinks Kaylin left because we celebrated him instead.
02:03But it wasn't his fault.
02:05Kaylin was the one acting out.
02:08I wish Cassian had been my firstborn.
02:11I looked down at my bluish-white, misshapen hands.
02:14My throat felt packed with sand.
02:16They had no idea.
02:17That call three years ago had been my last chance to survive.
02:23That day, I was dragged into an abandoned warehouse.
02:27With one bar of battery left, I called home for help.
02:30All I got was Evelyn's impatient sigh.
02:32Kaylin, it's Cassiel's first birthday back home.
02:34He's finally letting us in.
02:36You really have to do this now?
02:37He's spoiled rotten.
02:38I lay on the freezing floor, helplessly shaking my head.
02:41All I heard was laughter.
02:43We'll talk when you calm down.
02:44If you're so determined to disappear, then stay gone.
02:47She got her wish.
02:50I never made it home.
02:52The kidnappers never received the ransom.
02:54Afraid they'd be caught, they tortured me, then dumped me in the river.
02:59My body was recovered three days later.
03:02But they still thought I was pretending and didn't even claim my body.
03:08Registration's complete.
03:09Let's go.
03:10It's time for Ash Tribunal.
03:13What's Ash Tribunal?
03:15It shows everything you did in life.
03:17The good and the bad.
03:21As if remembering something, he went white.
03:24Cassian's always been kind.
03:26What could he have done?
03:27Kaylin's the vicious one.
03:28He'll come crying and make us miserable again.
03:32I watched the capital emerge ahead and pulled harder on the oars.
03:36Don't worry.
03:37He won't.
03:38I had already petitioned the crown of cysts.
03:41I would trade every merit I'd earned in three years of service for one thing.
03:45Never seeing them again.
03:49Once the ferry docked, I raised a hand.
03:52The next second, they appeared inside a hall whose ceiling vanished into darkness.
03:56This is the witness glass.
03:57It shows your memories exactly as they happened.
04:00Then the judge decides where you go.
04:02A side door crashed open.
04:03Two enforcers dragged out a man wild with panic.
04:06Let me go!
04:07I spent my whole life doing charity.
04:10I helped countless people.
04:11You can't condemn me!
04:14The witness glass showed you stole relief funds and left shelter residents to freeze.
04:20Still gonna deny it?
04:21Before he could argue, the floor split open.
04:24Countless hands clawed out of the pits and dragged him down.
04:27They dig up your past even after you die?
04:29That's disgusting.
04:31Stop.
04:32Am I wrong?
04:34You die, and some mirror put your whole life on display.
04:39Who'd want to be here?
04:40What are you afraid of?
04:42Only those who committed serious crimes or deliberately hurt others are punished.
04:47If you're innocent, it won't condemn you.
04:49Don't be scared.
04:50You'll be fine.
04:52Reaper, what if someone lied their whole life?
04:55Turned everyone against someone else?
04:56Cost them everything.
04:58Would they be punished?
05:00I froze before realizing she meant me.
05:03Cassian was found and brought home when Mom was 50.
05:06I'd saved for ages to buy her a necklace, then engraved her name on the pendant myself.
05:11But on her birthday, it vanished.
05:14I spent the whole evening on edge.
05:16Mom had just asked what was wrong when Cassian appeared with my gift box.
05:20Happy birthday, Mom.
05:23That's my necklace!
05:24You stole it!
05:28Alara stared at me, her eyes full of disgust.
05:31Cassian's just trying to belong.
05:33Do you really have to fight him over one gift?
05:36I bought it.
05:38I engraved Mom's name on the back myself.
05:41If you had a gift, you would have brought it out sooner.
05:44Calling me Atif, that's low.
05:47I wouldn't blame you for not having one.
05:50Cassian put thought into his.
05:52Don't accuse him out of jealousy.
05:56That was when I should have understood.
05:58Evidence meant nothing to them.
06:00If Cassian felt wronged, I was guilty.
06:02When I was kidnapped, I tried to tell Alaza I was going to die.
06:06Cailin, stop.
06:08It's Cassian's birthday, and the trust audit's a mess.
06:11I don't have time for this.
06:14Then she hung up, and my life ended at 26.
06:18After I died, the Reaper who met me asked what I still couldn't let go of.
06:22I asked to see home one last time.
06:25After every misunderstanding and fight and wound, I still couldn't let go of my family.
06:30But when I returned, a cake covered in candles sat in the hall.
06:34Cassian stood before it, eyes closed, making a wish.
06:37Mom and Dad smiled and clapped.
06:38And holding the cake was Alara.
06:41The woman who'd just claimed she was buried in a trust audit.
06:45Anyone who breaks their word, twists the truth, and uses lies to destroy others, will be punished.
06:52Alara stiffened.
06:53Before she could speak, the judgment bell rang.
06:57Go inside.
06:58The witness glass is ready.
07:03The moment we entered Ash Tribunan, Cassian stopped and refused to go further.
07:08If Cailin were here, he'd love watching me stand trial.
07:12Cailin's always taken things too far.
07:14Stop thinking about him.
07:16He had the Vale name.
07:17He had Alara.
07:18Yet he still targeted Cassian every chance he got.
07:21Cailin forced your hand.
07:23You have nothing to fear from the witness glass.
07:26He was going to die sooner or later.
07:28Whatever happens, that's on him.
07:33I'd heard that too many times after Cassian came home.
07:36Whenever I told Evelyn, she only sighed.
07:38You had us for years.
07:40Wasn't that enough?
07:41Enough for what?
07:43To make me accept being forgotten?
07:45To let them misunderstand me until I died?
07:49I was part of this family too.
07:51Yet I lived like a stranger they could throw out at any moment.
07:54Before I died, I stared at the ceiling with one thought.
07:58Given another chance, I'd cut every tie to the Vale name.
08:02The second bell of judgment rang.
08:05I stopped walking and said, voice flat,
08:08The judgment has begun.
08:09Don't be late.
08:11But he wasn't watching Celesta.
08:13He'd been watching me.
08:14His gaze was fixed on my mask, like he was trying to see through it.
08:18Reaper, I'm curious about something.
08:23You look like you came from money, and you're barely older than us.
08:26What kept you here?
08:27Someone you couldn't let go?
08:31At first, I couldn't cross the Bridge of Oblivion.
08:34I had too much left unresolved.
08:37But over the past three years, the other Reapers and spirits had treated me well.
08:41The first time I escorted an evil spirit, I was terrified.
08:45The Reaper beside me said nothing.
08:47The next day, she gave me a bone lamp.
08:53That never went out.
08:55They were strangers.
08:56Yet they cared more than my family or the woman I loved ever had.
09:00When I looked at her again, the old ache was gone.
09:03All I felt was certainty.
09:05I was an orphan.
09:06My family abandoned me, and the woman I loved betrayed me.
09:09The ass in Dominion took pity on me, and gave me this job so I could survive.
09:13Maybe they didn't abandon you.
09:15People clash.
09:16It happens.
09:17If you swallowed your pride, maybe she'd forgive you.
09:20Before Cassian came back, they had loved me once.
09:23Mom remembered I hated fruit tea.
09:25Dad checked my schoolwork whenever he returned, and always encouraged me.
09:29Whenever people talked about me, Elyra stood in front of me.
09:32Kaylin's my fiancé.
09:33You don't get to talk about him like that.
09:34They were the ones who loved me first, and the ones who later made me wish I were dead.
09:38I couldn't listen anymore.
09:40I turned to leave.
09:42The wind caught my sleeve, exposing the red birth tick inside my wrist.
09:50How do you have the exact same mark as my fiancé?
09:53I froze.
09:54Before I could answer, Alita reached for my mask.
09:58Kaylin, how long are you going to hide from me?
10:03A low bell tolled through the hall.
10:06Chief Judge at Picture 7's voice followed.
10:09Cassian Vale, enter the glass.
10:12No, I won't!
10:15In her panic, at Picture 5 finally remembered I was there.
10:19Reaper, please.
10:20He's too young.
10:21Help him!
10:23Your son was 24 when he died.
10:26He was a grown man.
10:29What do you mean?
10:30You've had it out for Cassian from the start!
10:35Kaylin was the oldest, but always petty.
10:38He hounded Cassian for years.
10:40Whatever Cassian did, Kaylin drove him to it.
10:43If Kaylin had been more reasonable, our family never would have fallen apart.
10:47Three years dead, and I thought they couldn't hurt me anymore.
10:50At Picture 7 glanced at me.
10:52I understood.
10:53I delivered my final souls.
10:55Once the trial began, my service was done.
10:57Yet on my way out, they had to condemn me one last time.
11:02Your Honor, if they're so sure, let the witness glass speak.
11:05The glass showed everything.
11:06Cassian stealing the necklace, deleting the location I'd sent for help, manipulating them
11:10into hanging up on me.
11:11There.
11:12Once Kaylin's gone, everything the Vale's own will be mine.
11:14Then the glass showed me lifting my mask.
11:16The face beneath was exactly as they remembered.
11:18Lucian's voice cut through the mist of the Ashen Dominion.
11:20Reaper Kaylin Val, your final assignment is complete.
11:23You are free.
11:24Kaylin!
11:28Alara's people shrunk.
11:29The diamond ring slipped from her finger and struck the floor.
11:33What are these memories?
11:36Is Kaylin really dead?
11:38He wasn't lying?
11:40No.
11:41This has to be another one of his tricks.
11:43It's all a trick!
11:44He turned on me.
11:45You always knew how to play the victim.
11:48Even dead, you still won't leave us alone?
11:50Enough!
11:51Lucian rose from the high dade.
11:52Dark gold judgment signals lit across his black robes.
11:55The witness glass does not lie.
11:58Kaylin came here too young.
12:00Without becoming a Reaper, his soul would have faded by now.
12:03You were his lover.
12:05His family.
12:06Yet you never looked for him.
12:07You called it another trick.
12:10Alara opened her mouth, but no words came.
12:12How could this happen?
12:14He must have been so scared.
12:16But the witness glass kept going.
12:17Memory after memory of Cassian turning my parents and Elyra against me.
12:21He stole the necklace.
12:22Altered the trust records.
12:24Deleted my location.
12:25Contacted my kidnappers.
12:27Paid them.
12:27As the evidence became impossible to deny,
12:30Castia's face darkened.
12:32He looked at Garrett and Olivalent, his voice cold.
12:35Yes, I did it.
12:37But I never told them to kill him.
12:39He died because you didn't believe him or call the police.
12:46You blame me for the kidnapping?
12:49You should have fought your way home and proved you weren't lying.
12:55Cassian, what are you saying?
12:58What?
12:59Too scared to admit it?
13:02He suddenly tore free from the enforcers.
13:05He walked toward the edge of the Dost.
13:07If you all think this is my fault, then I might as well die.
13:11No!
13:12Caspier!
13:13Garrick and Elyra lunged forward and grabbed him.
13:16Don't do anything stupid.
13:22So now you're abandoning me too?
13:24Kaylin's death wasn't all on you.
13:27We should have seen sooner that you'd lost your way.
13:31Cassian, no.
13:32We'd never abandon you.
13:34If Kaylin had just explained himself, our family never would have fallen apart.
13:38Lucian nearly laughed in fury.
13:40Just moments ago, they had cried over my death.
13:42But the instant Cassian made a scene, they forgot the truth.
13:45Lucian had judged countless selfish, cruel, and deceitful souls.
13:49But even he had never seen favoritism this shameless.
13:53Enough.
13:55Fear.
13:56Jealousy.
13:57Greed.
13:58None of it matters.
14:00You helped cause Kaylin Vale's death.
14:05Now answer for it.
14:09Take Cassian Vale to the pits.
14:15There he's just...
14:19As for the three of you, you may not have meant to murder Kaylin.
14:23But when he begged for help, you chose to ignore him.
14:26And even here, during his trial, you continued to defend Cassian.
14:31Your guilt is scarcely lighter than his.
14:34Where will we be sent?
14:36You did some good in life, so you will not be cast into the deepest punishment abyss.
14:40You will serve a hundred years, then be sent to reincarnation.
14:43Don't expect a good life waiting for you.
14:45I have one request.
14:47Cassian has done many terrible things, but he is still my son.
14:51If possible, let me take his punishment.
14:54The rules of hell are not a bargain.
15:02Cassian's hurt Kaylin, but he saved us.
15:04On the day of the fire, without him, we would have died upstairs.
15:09I can't stand by and watch him be sent to a place like that.
15:14Lucian was about to speak.
15:15The doors deep within the inner chamber suddenly burst open.
15:18An ancient pressure swept through the entire hall.
15:20Every bone lamp went out at once.
15:22The enforcers and Lucian immediately lowered their heads.
15:25Father, Mother, Alara, and Cassiel trembled all over.
15:28From the darkness, a figure walked slowly toward them against a surge of dark gold fire.
15:32She wore a floor-length black gown, its hem covered in ancient patterns.
15:35Her commanding guise swept across the hall.
15:38Before the tribunal, who is bargaining over guilt?
15:44She was the true sovereign of the Ashen Dominion.
15:47Aurelia Thorne, Queen of Cinders.
15:49No one knew where she came from or how long she had ruled.
15:52She descended the grand staircase and looked down at them.
15:59Please, let us see my son one more time.
16:01Which son?
16:02Evelyn went pale.
16:03Your Majesty Cassian was wrong, but he also saved us.
16:06We can't stand by and watch him suffer.
16:07We're not asking you to absolve him.
16:09Let us take his punishment.
16:10Please show him mercy.
16:11Then tell me, what did Cassian do for you?
16:14A heating pipe burst and set the manor on fire.
16:16We nearly passed out, but Cassian dragged us down to the foyer.
16:19Before I died, I saw him smash a window trying to get help.
16:22The fire was too strong.
16:23We still didn't make it.
16:24That's all?
16:25I'm not excusing him.
16:26I'm saying he isn't evil.
16:27He was jealous, but he never hurt Caelan himself.
16:30Let me take his punishment.
16:31Aurelia's gaze dropped to Alera's ring and turned even colder.
16:34You wear his ring, hung up as he begged for help and now defend his killer?
16:39Since you insist, look closely.
16:41See who your precious Cassian really is.
16:48The witness glass lit again.
16:50It showed my parents and me, happy before Cassian came home.
16:53Then the memory shifted.
16:55Cassian arrived at the Vale Estate.
16:57Before our parents and Alida, he was controlled and polished.
17:01Alone with me, he became someone else.
17:05The glass showed him luring me onto a wooded road outside the manor.
17:11From a distance, he watched several men force me into a car.
17:16I don't care if you sell him or kill him.
17:18Just make him disappear for good.
17:20With Caelan gone, I'll be the Vale's only heir.
17:23The witness glass went dark.
17:25It really was you?
17:26How could you?
17:27We treated you well!
17:28Of course you didn't!
17:30He was the oldest!
17:31Dad's heir!
17:31The future of the Vales!
17:32It all should have been mine!
17:34Even with the proof in front of you, you still think you had no choice.
17:39This is my fault.
17:41I actually believed you'd love and protect him.
17:44If I'd known you'd hurt him this badly, I never would have let him be reborn into your family.
17:48I was supposed to be his wife.
17:52What did you just say?
17:54I know where Caelan went.
17:56I can take you to him.
17:58Really?
17:59He's still here?
18:00Will he see us?
18:02His service is complete.
18:03He drank from the waters of Oblivion and chose to be reborn.
18:07But you...
18:10still have sentences to serve.
18:12You have no right to follow him.
18:14No!
18:15Caelan would never leave us!
18:16He stayed here for three years!
18:18He was waiting for us!
18:19What makes you think he'd wait?
18:21You branded him a liar and threw him out.
18:24When he was kidnapped and begged for help, where were you?
18:31We had our reasons.
18:33What reason could make you watch your own son die, then keep assuming the worst of him even after death?
18:39Garrick stiffened.
18:41He had no answer.
18:42Elida stood frozen, the diamond cutting into her clenched finger.
18:48I thought he wasn't really in danger.
18:50I thought he was just trying to get you back.
18:53You thought he'd wait forever.
18:55That's why you dared hang up.
18:57I was wrong.
18:59Let me see him once.
19:01I won't ask his forgiveness.
19:02I just need to tell him I loved him.
19:07If that's all you want, I'll allow it.
19:11I'll do anything.
19:12Just let me see him.
19:14But you can only see one.
19:16Caelan Vale or Cassian Vale.
19:19Whoever you don't choose is lost to you forever.
19:23Make your choice.
19:25Alara's lips parted.
19:26Images from the witness glass flashed before her.
19:28I lay in shattered glass, trembling as I called her name.
19:32I stood masked at the Ashpen Crossing, taking down their names in a cold, unfamiliar voice.
19:38Then a much older memory, shielding her from the rain, kneeling to tie her loose shoelace.
19:46Caelan, will you always be on my side?
19:49As long as you don't let go, I'll stay by your side.
19:52Forever.
19:55Elyra's gaze wavered.
19:57She turned to the veils.
19:59They looked at each other through their tears.
20:02Evelyn still clutched the cufflink Cassian had dropped.
20:06After a long silence, Gareth closed his eyes.
20:09The words seemed to take everything he had.
20:13We choose Cassian.
20:17Evelyn nodded through her tears.
20:20Alara looked at the spot where I'd stood, then toward where Cassian had been taken.
20:25I choose Cassian too.
20:28See?
20:29You abandoned him again.
20:31She turned toward the depths of Ash Tribune.
20:34Follow me.
20:36Evelyn stumbled to her feet, Gareth catching her.
20:40Alara followed in silence.
20:42The air slowly filled with the stench of rot.
20:46Where are we?
20:48Aurelia said nothing.
20:51I hope you don't regret your choice.
20:53Before Alara could ask, a furious roar came from the darkness ahead.
20:58I confessed!
20:59What more do you want?
21:01Cassian stood behind iron bars, heavy shackles around his neck, wrists, and ankles.
21:07An enforcer faced him, holding a long clap burning with ghostfire.
21:11Bloody welds crisscrossed Cassian's back.
21:13Cracks spread across his face like shattered porcelain.
21:17Still, he gritted his teeth and refused to bow his head.
21:20Alara went pale and rushed forward.
21:22The moment she neared the gate, dark red flames erupted from the floor.
21:28I promised you could see him.
21:29I never said you could take him with you.
21:33Alara clenched her fists, but faced with that wall of flame, she didn't dare take another step.
21:38Say it.
21:39I had Kaylee kidnapped.
21:41I stole the necklace, altered the trust records, and deleted his location.
21:44I started it!
21:45Evelyn's legs gave out.
21:46She crumpled to the floor.
21:47Go on.
21:48They were going to find Kaylee, call the police, reopen the kidnapping case.
21:52I didn't let that happen.
21:53Once they were dead, it'd all be mine.
21:55The fire was supposed to look like an accident.
21:57I wasn't supposed to die, too.
22:01But I didn't know I'd die, too.
22:03The corridor went dead silent.
22:06Alara stood frozen, as if she'd forgotten how to breathe.
22:09She stared at the broken soul behind the cars.
22:12What have I done?
22:14Slowly, she turned toward the way they'd come.
22:17The corridor stretched into endless gray mist.
22:20There was no one there.
22:22Selin?
22:24If I just believed you that day.
22:27No one answered.
22:31I swallowed the last of the waters of oblivion.
22:34But the memories remained.
22:36I still remember.
22:38The young reaper guarding the bridge froze.
22:39He took the bowl and examined it from every angle.
22:41I've been here for centuries.
22:42It's never failed.
22:43Orin!
22:44Come look at this!
22:45An old spirit emerged from the foot of the stone steps.
22:48He ran his fingers over the silver bowl and held it to the light, his frown deepening.
22:53The water's gone, but the memories remain.
22:56That can only mean there's still something your soul won't release.
22:59What does that mean?
23:01Some people and memories lodge in the soul like nails.
23:04Even the waters can't wash them away.
23:08What drove the nail in?
23:11It reveals the memories buried deepest in your soul.
23:16A mirror-slid monument stood on its bank, carved with ancient words.
23:21I pressed my palm to it.
23:23Cold pierced my fingertips and burrowed into my soul.
23:26The river curled and the monument shook.
23:28Before I could scream, I was dragged under.
23:32When I opened my eyes again, I was lying on a narrow bed.
23:36A young woman peered through the curtains.
23:39Barely twenty, with tussled black hair and startlingly bright eyes.
23:43You're finally awake.
23:44She reached in, gently brushing my cheek with her fingertips.
23:48Father says you'll live here now, but he hasn't named you yet.
23:52She paused, her smile soft.
23:54Can I call you Cailin?
23:57I stared at her strangely familiar face, but couldn't place it.
24:00I blinked.
24:01Broken images flashed before me, memories from my previous life.
24:05Back then, an ancient house had taken me in.
24:07I had no parents.
24:08No surname.
24:09A girl at the estate was always running to my room.
24:12She was the daughter of the house lord's ally, and the sole heir to House Thorn.
24:16Aurelia was five years older than me.
24:18She'd line up treasures from who know where.
24:20A worn button etched with laurel leaves.
24:22A lopsided wooden bird.
24:26Sometimes honey cake smuggled from the kitchen.
24:30Cailin, once it warms up, I'll take you to the Lantern Festival beyond Mistridge.
24:34Okay?
24:37Not long after my adoption, the house lord's wife relapsed.
24:40He came to hate me for it.
24:42Only Aurelia stood by me.
24:44Every time.
24:46Years later, when I was 18, she slipped a ring onto my finger beneath a laurel tree.
24:51Once we're of age, we'll marry.
24:53No one will ever cast you out again.
24:55You'll be my husband, the family I chose for myself.
24:59Then, when I was 22, a wizard came to the estate.
25:05His soul bears calamity.
25:06If he remains, this house will end in blood.
25:09The house lord stiffened.
25:10Lies.
25:11He's my husband, not some curse.
25:13But it changed nothing.
25:14While Aurelia was away at a gathering,
25:16the house lord ordered his steward to confine me at a remote estate for life.
25:21Maybe because I'd once called him father.
25:24Or maybe he only feared the rumors my death might cause.
25:27He never meant to kill me himself.
25:29But he didn't know the steward had trafficked people for an underground auction house before joining the family.
25:34Before the carriage even cleared their lands, I was sold.
25:38They took me to a windowless tower.
25:40An old man in a silver mask ripped the family crest from my neck and tossed it into a berger.
25:46Whoever you were before, from this day on, you have one name.
25:51Nineteen.
25:53And I am your master.
25:55You will obey me, absolutely.
25:58After that day, I learned to feel nothing.
26:01Only obey.
26:03I learned to wield a knife, silence my footsteps,
26:06and slit a throat before my target could strike.
26:09Of everyone brought to the tower with me, I alone survived.
26:13Seven years later, the old man in the silver mask gave me an order.
26:17A highborn woman had stumbled upon the tower's secret.
26:20Now she was hiding in an abandoned manor at the edge of Mist Ridge.
26:24I was to kill her.
26:26I was twenty-nine.
26:27Dagger in hand, I slipped into the manor after dark.
26:31A fire burned in the great hall.
26:33A woman sat beside it, her gaunt frame hidden beneath a dusk-hate cloak.
26:36I sprang from the shadows.
26:38My blade grazed her throat.
26:39She was fast.
26:40She dodged the first strike.
26:42I slashed again, then again.
26:45She never drew her sword.
26:47She only barely dodged.
26:49Until my blade split the black veil across her face.
26:53The fire caught my face.
26:55She froze.
26:56I seized the opening and drove my dagger into her chest.
27:00Warm blood splashed across my hand.
27:01She looked down at the wound.
27:03Then slowly raised a hand and pressed her palm to my cheek.
27:07Salen, I finally found you.
27:10Her veil slipped away.
27:12In the firelight, I saw her face.
27:16The girl who'd smiled beside my bed and asked me to the lantern festival.
27:21Who slipped me honey cakes after every scolding.
27:23Who alone stood before me when everyone said I'd bring ruin.
27:26He's my fiancé.
27:27The woman I had sworn to marry.
27:29My one and only love.
27:33Aurelia.
27:33She had spent her life searching for me.
27:36And I had killed her with my own hands.
27:39I caught her and sank to my knees.
27:41Blood slowly spread beneath her.
27:43Only the faint crackle of flames broke the silence.
27:46After what felt like forever, a single tear fell into the warm blood on her chest.
27:50Then the memory shattered.
27:52When I opened my eyes, I was lying beside the black river.
27:55Its churning water washed over my clothes again and again.
27:57The young reaper crouted beside me.
27:59Kaelin, did you find the one who made the waters fail?
28:02How could I ever forget?
28:03She had protected me from the day I was taken in.
28:07She had spent her life searching for me.
28:11And she had died by my blade.
28:13She was the queen of senders.
28:15On my very first day in the Asgible Dominion,
28:17I had already been reunited with the one person who truly loved me.
28:23I scrambled to my feet and ran back.
28:26Wind tore past my ears.
28:28My footsteps split the thick fog, only for it to close behind me.
28:32I had never run so fast.
28:34Sharp gravel cut into my feet.
28:37Icy river water soaked my clothes.
28:39I felt none of it.
28:41I only knew someone was waiting for me.
28:43Soon, several figures appeared beside the bridge.
28:46Aurelia stood with her back to me.
28:48Her black gown swept the ground, its dark gold patterns glowing like dying embers.
28:53Evelyn, Garak, and Alara stood nearby.
28:56Their eyes were red from crying.
28:58Aurelia!
28:59Aurelia!
28:59Alara's head snapped up, hope flaring in her eyes.
29:02Her lips parted.
29:07Aurelia!
29:09She slowly turned.
29:11The same eyes that had watched me drive a blade into her chest now held mine.
29:16You remember?
29:17I raised a hand to her face.
29:20Then I pulled her into my arms.
29:23Through her black gown, I heard the slow beat of her heart.
29:27She was cold, yet holding her felt safer than any hearth I remembered.
29:35Kaelin, you remember.
29:38I remember.
29:39Why didn't you tell me?
29:40You're my one true love.
29:45I didn't want our past to cost you your chance to start over.
29:49Kaelin, who is she?
29:51I thought I was the one you loved.
29:53She's Aurelia Thorn.
29:55My fiancé from my previous life.
29:57What about me?
29:58We were engaged.
29:59We were supposed to get married.
30:01You were the one Cassian trusted most.
30:04You said it yourself.
30:05I shouldn't lie just to make everyone come running.
30:08Alara stepped closer, panic filling her eyes.
30:11I was wrong.
30:13Kaelin, I was wrong.
30:14Punish me.
30:15Hate me.
30:16Do anything you want.
30:18Just don't leave me like this.
30:21Kaelin, we were wrong about everything.
30:24Once we've served our time, we can be a family again.
30:30I'm not leaving the Ashen Dominion, but I'm staying for Aurelia.
30:33This has nothing to do with you.
30:37Evelyn froze, then broke into sobs.
30:40Garak stood motionless, his shoulders finally slumping.
30:43Kaelin, I did love you.
30:45We grew up together.
30:46You promised you'd stand by me.
30:49I did.
30:50But every time I needed you to stand by me, you chose Cassian.
30:57I just thought you'd never really leave.
31:00So you thought you could hurt me again and again, because I'd always be waiting when
31:04you came back.
31:06She couldn't say another word.
31:10Aurelia looked at me.
31:12You can still choose Rebirth.
31:14A world without the Veils, Cassian, or any old debts.
31:18You can stay.
31:19But not because of me.
31:22Only because it's what you choose.
31:25Alara's head snapped up.
31:27I'm not staying to run from the past.
31:30I'm staying because I finally know who I want to be.
31:32Lucian stepped out beside the bridge.
31:35He raised a hand, and a badge dropped into my palm.
31:40Kaelin Vale, by the laws of the Ashen Dominion, I hereby appoint you Warden of the Final Gate.
31:48I accept.
31:49Aurelia's face lit with a brilliant smile.
31:51So, you really don't want me anymore?
31:54This isn't me leaving you.
31:55You let me go first.
32:02Later, Cassian was sentenced to 300 years in the pits.
32:06There, he would relive every terror he had inflicted, again and again.
32:11Garrick and Evelyn had left me to die, enabled Cassian's cruelty for years, and still tried
32:16to protect him at trial.
32:18Each received a century.
32:20Afterward, they would be reborn in a barren world.
32:26There, they would live long lives haunted by guilt and loss they could never explain.
32:32Alara's sentence was lighter.
32:34She hadn't planned my murder, but her choices still carried a price.
32:39She was stripped of her name and sent to the soul workshops at the edge of the Ashen Dominion.
32:45There, she sorted the belongings of the unclaimed dead.
32:48I had no interest in what became of her.
32:53I was now the Ashen Dominion's new king, and Aurelia and I were about to marry.
32:59Before our wedding, I saw Alara for the first time in ages.
33:03Caelan!
33:05I turned.
33:07From now on, no matter who it is or what they tell me, I'll hear them out.
33:12Some things, she no longer deserved to hear from me.