- 4 hours ago
[Doblado ESP] Apocalipsis La Domadora de Bestias
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Short filmTranscript
00:04Gracias por ver el video
00:54Gracias por ver el video
01:30Gracias por ver el video
03:09I sat there, listening to the whispers and feeling my face go red
03:41They didn't know the truth
03:51I was staring at it when the bear slowly turned its head
03:57And met my eyes
03:58Then it blinked
03:59Once, twice
04:01Not once, not three times
04:03Twice
04:04My chest lit up
04:06Two blinks was a signal
04:08A code we'd created together in our past life
04:11The bear was using it now to tell me
04:13It remembered
04:14It had been reborn too
04:16I was still exchanging glances with the bear
04:19When something warm and soft wrapped around my fingertip
04:21I looked down
04:22My white fox had woken up
04:24I'm not useless
04:26The voice was haughty
04:28Also undeniably baby soft
04:30And stop staring at that chunky little lowlife
04:33I poked the fox gently
04:34Are you talking?
04:36The white fox gave an imperious little sniff
04:39And rolled over in my arms
04:40I thought about what to call it
04:42White fox felt too generic
04:43Little fox felt too soft
04:45I was going to call it
04:47Your Highness
04:48My name is Leo
04:50It announced
04:51You can call me Your Highnesses if you want
04:54I flicked its forehead
04:55Who taught you to be this dramatic?
04:58Up front
04:58Mr. Harris was explaining how to draw binding circles on the board
05:02Most bonds were initiated by humans
05:05Since magical animals were naturally proud creatures
05:08Young kits were gentler than adults
05:11But it was still extremely rare for a familiar to seek out a bond on its own
05:15Everyone began attempting their bonds
05:17Everyone except me
05:20Since I'd already been forcibly claimed by a fox
05:23Leo, I said quietly
05:25Why did you bond with me?
05:27I didn't like that other girl
05:30She smells
05:31Smells?
05:32I kept my voice low
05:34Victoria is literally the most popular girl in school
05:38Half the guys here would say she smells amazing
05:41Those guys are blind
05:43Leo said flatly
05:45They can't see the rod underneath
05:48And me?
05:50Leo buried its nose in my sleeve
05:52Its voice came out slightly strangled
05:55You're fine
05:56You're kind of sweet
05:58I started scratching under Leo's chin while the class droned on
06:03White fox fur had a reputation
06:05And it delivered
06:06Impossibly soft
06:08Dense like a cloud
06:10I scratched its ears
06:11Squeezed its belly
06:13And eventually couldn't help reaching for its tail
06:16They say you should never touch a fox's tail
06:19But Leo was basically a kid
06:22So the usual rules didn't apply
06:24The moment my hands settled on the tail
06:27Leo went completely rigid
06:28Through the white fur
06:30I could see its skin flush faintly pink
06:33Stop it!
06:34What is wrong with you?
06:35It sounded exactly like someone who'd just been caught off guard
06:39And was deeply
06:41Mortifyingly flustered
06:42I pulled my hand back
06:44Keeping my expression neutral
06:45Calm down
06:47You've got a very active imagination
06:49Leo's eyes welled up immediately
06:51It snapped its head away
06:53And refused to look at me
06:54Across the room
06:56Victoria successfully completed her binding circle
06:58A flash of pleasure crossed her face
07:01She directed it toward the bear
07:03The circle activated
07:05Spinning fast around the bear
07:07Inside the light
07:08The bear quietly reached out
07:09And made two small adjustments to the formation
07:12The standard equal bond
07:14Shifted, without a sound
07:16Into a master-servant bond
07:18The bear was the master
07:20Victoria was the servant
07:22It was a technique we'd discovered together in a ruin
07:25Years ago in another life
07:27The bear was now using it to put a leash on Victoria
07:30The bear caught my eye across the room
07:34Satisfied
07:34Proud of itself
07:36Under the table
07:37I gave it a thumbs up
07:39You are so manipulative
07:41Leo muttered into my ribs
07:43I was pinching its soft, borderline boneless little cheek
07:47Me?
07:48How?
07:49You touched my tail
07:51And then stared at that chunky low-light for five whole minutes
07:55You were making eyes at it
07:57Leo's voice was escalating toward genuine grievance
08:00I added another item to my mental description of it
08:03Prone to completely unhinged jealousy
08:07After class ended, Mr. Harris handed out cultivation supplies
08:11One week's worth per student
08:13I kept a single mana crystal for myself
08:16I fed everything else to Leo
08:19Nineteen crystals
08:21Leo crunched through them like chips
08:23We hadn't even left the classroom
08:25The class watched in disbelief
08:28Is she serious?
08:29That's a week's worth of cultivation resources?
08:32And she just fed all of it to the fox?
08:34Did she even listen in class?
08:35Magic animals have slow growth cycles
08:37You're not supposed to rush them
08:38The mana crystals are supposed to be for her own cultivation
08:41The white fox bonded with her for nothing
08:44Some students should note
08:46Mana crystal applications are limited
08:49The school won't give you more if you waste them
08:52He was clearly talking about me
08:54I smiled pleasantly
08:55Understood, sir
08:56Honestly, in my past life
08:58I'd always been generous with the bear
09:00Most students kept a four-to-one ratio for themselves
09:03I split everything 50-50
09:05Equals deserved equal shares
09:07But this?
09:08Nineteen for Leo
09:09One for me
09:11This was something else entirely
09:13It wasn't generosity
09:15It was self-preservation
09:17Because Leo and I had a blood pact
09:19A standard equal bond meant one partner's death didn't affect the other
09:22A blood pact was different
09:23If Leo froze to death on day one of the apocalypse
09:26The same way the white fox died in my past life
09:28I died too
09:29Leo's survival wasn't kindness
09:31It was my only chance to live
09:33The mana crystals were an investment in not dying
09:37After class
09:38Students scattered to train on their own
09:40I carried Leo toward the exit
09:42And Victoria stepped half in front of me
09:44I know you've been reborn too
09:46She said
09:46This time
09:48The cold resistance belongs to me
09:51Then I hope you enjoy it
09:52You and your useless little fox
09:55Can look forward to freezing on day one
09:56I gave you a chance to be useful to me
09:59You threw it away
10:00Leo peeled open one eye from inside my arms
10:03Completely unimpressed
10:08Victoria's composure shattered instantly
10:10She stumbled backward
10:14What is wrong with you?
10:15Get that disgusting thing away from me!
10:18I turned and walked away
10:19Barely holding in a laugh
10:20The mana crystal problem was serious though
10:23I needed a massive supply
10:24And I needed it fast
10:26I was thinking about it
10:27Absently pulling at Leo's fur
10:29When I remembered
10:30Before the ice apocalypse hit in my past life
10:33A news outlet had exposed a small mana vein
10:35Based on timing
10:36Nobody should have found it yet
10:40When I reached the rough coordinates I'd memorized
10:43Victoria was already there
10:47She'd brought twenty plus workers
10:49And they were already mining a vein
10:51I stood at the outer edge
10:53And watched them haul out crystal after crystal
10:56Leo pressed its nose to the window
10:58I covered Leo's eyes
11:00Low quality crystals here
11:02Let's go find something better
11:04Then
11:05From somewhere inside my head
11:07A voice crackled to life
11:08I stopped walking
11:09Sis!
11:11Is that you?
11:12You can do telepathy now
11:14Victoria spent serious resources on me
11:17I can project thoughts directly
11:20Sis!
11:21Take Leo and find somewhere to rest
11:24Once they're done mining
11:25And clear out
11:26I'll call you back
11:27I finished the mental exchange
11:29And came back to the present moment
11:30A very large
11:32Very imperious fox face
11:34Was approximately two inches from my nose
11:37Leo had both front paws planted on my shoulders
11:41What were you doing just now?
11:43You were mentally cheating on me
11:46I grabbed it by the scruff
11:48And I squeezed one soft cheek
11:49By way of reprimand
11:51Leo watch your voculary
11:53I'm not wrong
11:55I can smell the bear on your thoughts
11:57Was that the chunky low knife?
11:59I raised an eyebrow
12:00Sharp nose
12:01For your information
12:02Leo continued voice climbing
12:04When a white fox makes a blood pact with someone
12:07That person is their bonded maid
12:08For life
12:09You can't have secret meetings with a brown bear
12:13Yeah, you're a child
12:15Do you even know what to partner means?
12:17Leo's eyes immediately filled with tears
12:19That refused to actually fall
12:20It waved its tiny paws
12:22In what appeared to be an angry
12:23Thrashing swimming motion
12:25I leaned forward and stuck my tongue out at it
12:28A small damp nose pressed against my cheek
12:31Before I could react
12:32The culprit had already retreated
12:34Voice very small
12:35I kissed you
12:37That means you're mine now
12:38Nobody else is allowed to kiss you there
12:40Leo had just made a move on me
12:42A very small
12:43Very smug
12:44Very baby-toothed move
12:46I pulled myself together
12:47And went to find somewhere to wait
12:48I reclined in the car
12:50With the air conditioning running
12:51Watching a nature documentary on the center screen
12:54The documentary put me to sleep almost immediately
12:57When I woke up, it was dark
13:02Right on cue, the bear's voice appeared in my head
13:05Sis, come now, they're gone
13:08Leo was staring up at me
13:10Suspicious and accusatory
13:12My conscience flickered
13:13This was exactly the energy of someone who'd just been caught
13:17We were just talking
13:18I'm not listening
13:20I'm not talking to you for the rest of the day
13:22Just as the bear had said
13:24The area was empty
13:25All that remained was a concealment formation
13:27To hide the vein's location
13:29The bear deactivated it from inside
13:31And poked its head out
13:33Sis, over here
13:35It had grown enough to speak through
13:37The white fox in my arms took one look at the bear
13:40And immediately bared its teeth
13:42Leo's going through a phase
13:44The bear took the lead
13:46That thing is a fake, nice snake in the grass
13:49Get your hand off me
13:50I'm going to bite it
13:52I am biting it today
13:53Riley, don't hold me back
13:55It went on like that for a while
13:58I didn't address it
13:59I looked at the bear
14:01Its aura drifted quietly around it
14:03Steady and calm
14:04I released Leo and let it jump to the ground
14:07Leo hit the dirt
14:09Spun around
14:09And stared at me
14:10Its expression said it had not expected me to actually let go
14:14It shuffled forward at approximately the speed of a very indignant caterpillar
14:19Every few steps, it looked back at me
14:21On its fourth look back, it hesitated
14:24You're not stopping me?
14:26What if your little buddy gets actually hurt?
14:30I glanced at the bear's aura
14:32After absorbing a solid hall of mana crystals
14:35It was running at easily 50 times Leo's current output
14:38Whether Leo would be the one doing the hurting was very much an overmatch
14:44It's fine
14:45Show me what you've got
14:46If you win, you'll have my full and undivided attention forever
14:52Leo glanced at the bear
14:53Felt the weight of that aura
14:55Thought about it very carefully
14:58Slowly, reluctantly
14:59It walked back and sat down next to my feet
15:01Fine
15:02You showed good remorse this time
15:06I'll let the secret meeting go
15:08But don't let it happen again
15:10Inside the vein, the bear had divided the crystal stockpile into three piles
15:14One very small pile for itself
15:17A medium small pile
15:19And a pile roughly the size of a small hill
15:22Leo's eyes went green
15:23Literally luminous
15:25This is all I need, sis
15:27A voice in my head
15:29Okay, that chunky thing is definitely not in two
15:32Sis, this one's for your cultivation
15:36And that one's for my little sibling
15:38The bear pointed to the medium pile and the mountain
15:40Riley, it does not have feelings for you
15:43I have been worried for nothing
15:44Run everything through the romance filter, don't you?
15:48I do not
15:48I flicked Leo on the forehead
15:50I said simply
15:51Mana crystals
15:53Leo went quiet and well-behaved immediately
15:56We take all of this
15:58Won't Victoria figure out it was you?
16:00She does everything I say right now
16:04Full compliance
16:05Victoria stared at the hollowed-out vein with all the color drained from her face
16:10You used all of it?
16:12You used every single crystal?
16:14The bear sat on its haunches, eyes wide and guileless
16:17Under the rules of its master-servant bond
16:20It only had to give basic responses
16:22The truth was not required
16:23I don't know
16:25I was asleep all night
16:26Maybe the vein just ran dry on its own
16:28Victoria shook with rage
16:30She brought her entire crew back and tore the cave apart
16:33Not a single crystal shard remained
16:36She stared at the bear for a long time
16:38Something felt wrong
16:40She could tell
16:41But the bond formation read completely normal
16:43The bear's cultivation aura showed no irregularity
16:46She had no choice but to swallow it
16:48Useless!
16:49She snapped
16:50I just left you for a moment
16:52And you couldn't even hold off a bunch of stones
16:54The bear let its ears droop
16:56Internally, it was ecstatic
16:58It sent a message to me
16:59Sis!
17:00She tried to hit me just now
17:02The bonds punished her for it
17:04Hidden in the brush nearby
17:06I pressed my face into Leo's fur to muffle my laughter
17:10She tried to steal from us
17:12The traitor earned it
17:13I tugged one of its ears
17:14Don't call the bear that
17:15It's our teammate
17:17It looked away
17:18But its tail quietly curled around my wrist
17:21Warm and soft and completely involuntary
17:24Once Victoria and her crew were gone
17:26We slipped into the cave
17:28The bear had already bundled the crystal stockpile with vines
17:31Multiple bundles
17:32Organized and ready
17:33Sis!
17:35These should keep the little one fed for a while
17:38Leo's eyes locked on the pile and did not move
17:40And started crunching
17:42The sound echoed through the cave like someone eating gravel
17:45We loaded the crystals into the car
17:47They filled most of the trunk
17:48The bear couldn't come with us
17:50It had to stay and keep up the performance
17:51Before we left, it said
17:53Sis!
17:54The apocalypse is ten days out!
17:55Stock up on supplies!
17:56Be careful
17:58Don't let her spot the cracks in your act
18:02The bear grinned in its easy, unbothered way
18:04She does whatever I tell her
18:06We're fine
18:07We drove back
18:08Leo sat in the passenger seat with a crystal in both paws
18:11Crunching contentedly
18:12Like a squirrel that had found an entire winter's worth of food in one afternoon
18:19Watching it, I thought about the bear in my past life
18:22Always saving the best of everything for me
18:25The shape of that care was different now
18:27But the feeling was the same
18:29Back in the city, I skipped my apartment and went straight to the largest supermarket
18:33I loaded two carts with everything useful
18:37Compressed ration bars, canned goods, bottled water
18:42Instant food
18:43Leo rode in the cart, pointing
18:45More of those chocolate ones
18:47And the meat jerky
18:48The spiced kind
18:49I loaded both
18:50The store staff watched me with visible unease
18:53I didn't slow down
18:54In ten days, none of this would matter to them anyway
18:57Beyond food and water
18:58I grabbed thermal underlayers
19:01Sleeping bags
19:01Flashlights
19:02Batteries
19:03Lighters
19:04A few sharp kitchen knives
19:05A hand axe
19:06Anything with practical value in sustained sub-zero conditions
19:10Two full cart
19:11I drove home to my apartment and spent an hour hauling everything upstairs
19:14The living room
19:15The bedroom
19:16The balcony
19:17All of it stacked floor to ceiling
19:19Leo sprawled across a pile of chocolate bars
19:21Its tail swayed slowly
19:23I collapsed onto the couch
19:25Completely winded
19:28Not bad
19:29You actually know how to shop
19:33These are retinif only
19:34Our survival supplies
19:37The next several days
19:38I took Leo to different locations every day
19:40And kept stocking up
19:41The pharmacy
19:42Cold medicine
19:43Fever reducers
19:45Antibiotics
19:45Bandages
19:46Antiseptic
19:47The outdoor supply store
19:49A tent
19:50Climbing rope
19:51Anti-slip boots
19:52A hardware store for gas canisters
19:54And basic tools
19:55My apartment ran out of space
19:57I rented the unit next door
19:59And the one upstairs
20:00Both became storage
20:02Victoria texted a few times
20:04Cheerful and fake
20:05Asking how I was doing
20:07Casually mentioning that her brown bear
20:09Had broken through to tier 2
20:11I sent her three word replies
20:13I already knew
20:14Everything the bear showed her
20:16Was deliberate
20:17Every breakthrough
20:19Was calculated theater
20:20Designed to keep her compliant
20:22Leo's growth
20:23Was outpacing everything
20:25I'd projected
20:25It ate crystals
20:27Slept and woke up
20:28Noticeably larger each time
20:30It had started out
20:32The size of a kitten
20:33Now it was halfway
20:34To the size of a medium dog
20:36Its fur had deepened
20:37To a white so pure
20:39It was almost blinding
20:41And its eyes had shifted
20:42From pale
20:43To a vivid
20:44Saturated crimson
20:45The kind of beauty
20:46That made it hard
20:47To look away
20:48Its cultivation aura
20:50Was also deepening fast
20:51Something close to tier 3
20:54Was stirring at the edges
20:55I was combing through
20:56Leo's fur
20:57When it went still
20:59Something's happening
21:02In my bloodline
21:03There's pressure building
21:05My pulse jumped
21:07The white fox
21:08In my past life
21:09Had never awakened
21:10Any ability at all
21:11It died before
21:13It had the chance
21:13Was this what happened
21:15When you gave a white fox
21:16Proper resources
21:17And a blood pact
21:18An early awakening
21:20Don't force it
21:22I said quietly
21:23Let it come on its own
21:25Leo closed its eyes
21:26A soft white light
21:28Kindled across its fur
21:29The mana crystals
21:31Around it began
21:32Losing their glow
21:33All that energy
21:34Pouring steadily
21:35Into Leo's body
21:36A small spiral
21:38Of concentrated
21:39Mana formed around it
21:40Rotating slowly
21:42Its fur stood up
21:43Along its spine
21:44Its tail filled out further
21:46The individual hairs
21:48Catching the light
21:49Like fiber optic threads
21:50An hour passed
21:52The light faded
21:53Leo opened its eyes
21:55And there was something
21:56New in them
21:57I awakened
21:58What did you get?
22:00Leo tilted its chin up
22:01Tail flicking
22:02With casual superiority
22:04A small
22:05Perfectly formed
22:06Spike of ice
22:07Materialized from empty air
22:09And dropped to the floor
22:11With a clean
22:12Crystalline tap
22:13Ice manipulation
22:14And void storage
22:16I stared
22:17Ice manipulation
22:19In an ice apocalypse
22:21An ice affinity ability
22:23Wasn't just useful
22:24It was like being native
22:25To the environment
22:26Everyone else was trying
22:27To survive
22:28And void storage
22:30One of the rarest
22:32Abilities in existence
22:33In my past life
22:35People with spatial abilities
22:36Could name their price
22:38At any base
22:39Every faction
22:40Wanted them
22:41Leo
22:42I said
22:43And pulled it into a hug
22:44I kissed the top of its head
22:46Without thinking
22:46Leo's ears went crimson
22:49Its entire body
22:50Locked up for half a second
22:51Then it twisted away
22:53Deeply offended
22:55Stop doing that
22:57Its tail, however
22:59Had already wrapped
23:00Around my wrist again
23:01The same involuntary habit
23:03I smiled and squeezed
23:05Its cheek
23:06My little highness
23:07Is absolutely terrifying
23:09We're going to be fine
23:11Out there
23:11Leo made a dismissive sound
23:13And climbed back into my lap
23:15To resume eating crystals
23:17Three days out
23:18From the apocalypse
23:19The temperature
23:20Had already started dropping
23:21Daytime lows
23:23Were hitting negative 15
23:24People on the street
23:26Moved fast
23:27Buried in their puffer coats
23:29News coverage
23:30Was starting to pick up
23:31On the anomalous
23:32Cold snaps
23:33Experts offered
23:34Competing theories
23:35Extreme weather pattern
23:37Greenhouse rebound effect
23:39Nobody said
23:40What was actually happening
23:42Nobody saw
23:43What was coming
23:44Victoria called
23:46She sounded casual
23:47And then deliberately didn't
23:49Riley
23:50My bear just hit
23:51Tier 3 peak
23:52Almost to tier 4
23:53I'll be able to
23:54Take care of myself
23:55Once things get rough
23:57A pause
23:58Pointed
23:59How about you?
24:00Has your little fox
24:01Even hit tier 1 yet?
24:04It's fine
24:05Tier 3
24:06Roughly
24:07Silence on the other end
24:09Then a short
24:10Dismissive laugh
24:11Riley
24:12You don't have to
24:13Make things up
24:14White fox maturation
24:15Timelines are long
24:17There's no world
24:18Where it's already
24:19Tier 3
24:19Another pause
24:21Look
24:22If things get too hard
24:23You can come to me
24:24You can work for me
24:25I'll keep you alive
24:27I hung up
24:29Leo was lying next to me
24:30Expression flat
24:32She thinks tier 3 peak
24:34Is impressive
24:35It said
24:35When I hit tier 4
24:37I could end her
24:39I scratched behind its ear
24:41Don't get careless
24:43Victoria is reckless
24:44But her family has real reach
24:46When the apocalypse hits
24:48She'll have numbers
24:49We play it smart
24:50Leo pressed its nose down
24:52Onto its paws
24:52Still eating crystals
24:54Those last 3 days
24:56I didn't go out
24:57I stayed home with Leo
24:59And we trained together
25:00Leo had already gotten
25:01A solid handle
25:02On his boy's torch
25:03The space inside
25:04Wasn't enormous
25:05Roughly the size
25:06Of a basketball board
25:08But more than sufficient
25:09For supplies
25:10We loaded the majority
25:11Of what I'd stockpiled
25:12Into the board
25:13My own cultivation
25:14Was moving faster
25:15Than I'd expected
25:16The blood pack
25:17Shared mana flow
25:18Between us
25:19And with the crystals
25:20On top of that
25:21I'd pushed to tier 2
25:22Mid level
25:23Not close to Leo
25:25Or the bear
25:25But solidly mid range
25:27For a human practitioner
25:28The night before
25:29The apocalypse
25:30The temperature
25:31Had already dropped
25:32To negative 30
25:33Outside
25:34The snow came in heavy
25:35Diagonal sheets
25:36And the wind sounded
25:38Like something screaming
25:39I stood at the window
25:40And looked at the city
25:41Disappearing under white
25:42In my past life
25:44I had been so afraid
25:45So completely alone
25:47This time
25:48I had the bear
25:49And I had Leo
25:51That was enough
25:52Leo came and pressed
25:54Against my leg
25:54Its head reached my hip now
25:56Stop stressing
25:57It said
25:58I'm here
26:00Nobody touches you
26:01I crouched down
26:02And pulled it close
26:03I know
26:04We're going to make it
26:06The bear checked in
26:07Through telepathy
26:07Sis
26:08Victoria and her people
26:09Have retreated
26:10To her family's
26:11Underground facility
26:13Good supplies
26:14Good infrastructure
26:15I've already made
26:16Some adjustments
26:17To have now
26:17We'll figure out
26:18What that means
26:19Once the apocalypse hits
26:21Good work
26:21Stay safe
26:23I didn't sleep
26:24When morning came
26:25The world outside
26:26Had ended
26:27Negative 50 degrees
26:28The window panes
26:30Had cracked from the cold
26:31Ice flowers
26:32Blooming across the glass
26:33Outside
26:34Cars had frozen
26:35Into sculptures
26:36People who had been
26:37Caught in the streets
26:37Were down and still
26:39The power grid was gone
26:40Communication networks
26:41Were gone
26:42The city was silent
26:43The ice apocalypse
26:44Had arrived
26:45I layered on everything
26:46I had
26:47Pulled on my hat and gloves
26:48Held Leo against my chest
26:50And walked out of the apartment
26:51The wind hit my face
26:53Like something solid
26:54A burning cold
26:55That cut through
26:56Even the layers
26:56But Leo and I
26:57Both had cultivation auras
26:59As a buffer
26:59Leo's ice manipulation
27:01Shaved off another layer
27:02Of the cold
27:03On top of that
27:04We could bear it
27:05The streets were a wreck
27:06Abandoned vehicles everywhere
27:07Frozen bodies
27:08Half buried in the drifts
27:10Mutant beasts
27:11Proud the snow
27:12Between the cars
27:13Eyes sharp and predatory
27:15Tracking us as we passed
27:16The apocalypse had done
27:17Something to the wildlife
27:18The extreme cold
27:20Triggered genetic shifts
27:21And what came out
27:22The other side
27:23Was faster
27:24Meaner
27:24And far more adapted
27:26To the temperature
27:26Than anything that had
27:27Existed before
27:28Leo dropped out of my arms
27:30Its body expanded
27:31In one smooth motion
27:33Doubling in size
27:34The white fur settled
27:35Dense and wind resistant
27:37Its eyes locked
27:38Onto the nearest creature
27:39With the calm of something
27:40That had already decided
27:41The outcome
27:42You're looking at my person
27:43Bad call
27:45Its tail swept sideways
27:47Six ice spikes
27:48Launched simultaneously
27:49They punched through
27:51The throats of the closest mutants
27:52Before any of them
27:53Could react
27:54The bodies dropped
27:55And were still
27:56Completely ridiculous
27:57Completely dramatic
27:58Completely reliable
27:59We moved toward
28:00The city center
28:01That was where
28:01The survivor base was
28:02In my past life
28:03The government had organized
28:05Several large scale shelters
28:06In the weeks after
28:07The apocalypse hit
28:08The central base
28:09Was the biggest
28:10And the safest
28:11Two hours on foot
28:12Then the base
28:14Appeared through the blizzard
28:15A ring of steel walls
28:16Rising over ten meters
28:18Soldiers posted on the upper
28:20Walkways with rifles
28:21Scanning the perimeter
28:22A crowd of survivors
28:24Was already queued
28:25At the gate
28:25We joined the line
28:27The couple ahead of us
28:28Had a baby pressed
28:29To the woman's chest
28:30The baby was crying
28:31The woman's face
28:33Was hollow
28:33The man looked like
28:35He hadn't slept in days
28:36The woman said
28:37To the soldier
28:37At the checkpoint
28:38She hasn't eaten
28:39In three days
28:40The soldier's expression
28:41Didn't move
28:42Entry requires
28:43A resource payment
28:44Ten pounds of food
28:46Five bottles of water
28:47Or one warm garment
28:49No exceptions
28:50The man's voice cracked
28:52Everything we had
28:53Was taken by a mutant pack
28:55We have nothing left
28:58Please
28:59Policy is policy
29:01The woman started crying
29:02The baby cried
29:04I'd been there before
29:06I knew what it felt like
29:07When every door was shut
29:08And there was nothing left
29:09To bargain with
29:11I reached into my pack
29:12And pulled out two cans
29:13And a water bottle
29:14I held them out
29:15To the couple
29:16Use these for your entropy
29:18They turned around
29:19The woman looked at me
29:21You're a good person
29:23You're a good
29:23I smiled and didn't say anything
29:25Leo made an irritated noise
29:27Beside me
29:28You're going to keep
29:29Doing this
29:29Aren't you
29:31Helping complete strangers
29:32We might need a stranger's help
29:34Someday too
29:35Leo said nothing more
29:37But it didn't argue
29:38When we reached the checkpoint
29:40The soldier looked at Leo
29:42And went wary
29:43Handed over five pounds
29:44Of rations
29:45Is that enough?
29:47The soldier checked it
29:48Nodded
29:49You can go in
29:50We were almost through the gate
29:52When a familiar voice
29:53Called from behind us
29:55Riley!
29:57I turned
29:57Victoria was pushing through the crowd
29:59Surrounded by a cluster of people
30:01With the brown bear walking calmly at her side
30:04She was wearing an expensive puffer coat
30:06Her face perfectly composed and confident
30:08Her group had weapons
30:10I didn't expect you to make it this far
30:12She looked me over with a slow, deliberate appraisal
30:14I guess that fox of yours isn't completely decorative
30:17Leo's fur went electric
30:19Its body expanded
30:21Hackles lifting
30:21Lips pulling back
30:23Say that again
30:24Victoria took a step back without meaning to
30:26Then collected herself and shifted behind the bear
30:29The bear stepped forward and positioned itself between them
30:32It glanced at me
30:33Its expression said
30:34I know
30:35I tried to stop her
30:36She wouldn't listen
30:37I looked back at it and gave a small signal
30:40Not now
30:41Too many people
30:41What happens to us in there
30:43Has nothing to do with you
30:44I said
30:45And pulled Leo toward the gate
30:47Hold on
30:48Victoria's voice sharpened
30:49Riley
30:50You think a tier 3 fox is enough to hold any ground in there?
30:53This base runs on strength
30:55My bear is tier 4
30:56That makes me the top of the food chain here
30:58You have two options
30:59Fall in line and work under me
31:01Or I make sure you can't move in this base without running into a wall
31:04The crowd around the gate had started paying attention
31:06Tier 4 was rare in the early apocalypse
31:09People recognized what that meant
31:11I let the moment sit for exactly one breath
31:14Then I looked at Leo
31:15Leo understood without being told
31:17Its cultivation aura detonated outward
31:20Tier 4 pressure rolled across the gate plaza like a physical force
31:24The snowflake still drifting in the air simply stopped moving
31:27The cold deepened noticeably
31:30Several people stumbled back
31:31Victoria's face lost its color
31:34That's not possible
31:36How is your fox already tier 4?
31:39Leo tilted its chin up to a frankly insufferable angle
31:42You assumed your bear was the ceiling
31:44Embarrassing the stake
31:46The bear chose that moment to release its own tier 4 aura alongside Leo's
31:51Two tier 4 signatures layered together
31:53The crowd scattered back from the gate
31:55Half of them barely staying upright
31:58Victoria stood there
31:59Mouth open
32:00Staring between Leo and the bear
32:02The bear which was supposed to be hers
32:04Aligned with the girl she'd been trying to humiliate
32:08She tried to form words
32:09Couldn't find them
32:10I walked through the gate with Leo and the bear on either side of me
32:13And left Victoria and her group at the entrance with whatever was left of the impression she'd tried to make
32:19Inside we were brought to a registration desk
32:21Name, cultivation tier, magical animal
32:24The soldier processing our forms looked at Leo's tier 4 listing
32:27Then at the bears and spent a long moment saying nothing
32:30Then the professionalism kicked back in
32:33Somewhat overcorrected
32:35Miss Riley
32:35With two tier 4 familities you qualify for our highest tier accommodations
32:39We'd like to offer you a room in the VIP wing
32:41Independent room, heating system, full resource allocation
32:44That works
32:45Can I get an additional room for my companion?
32:47Of course
32:48Absolutely
32:49Right away
32:49The soldier escorted us to the VIP wing
32:52It was its own building near the center of the base
32:54Inside, functioning radiators
32:56Hot water
32:57A private bathroom
32:58A small kitchen
32:59A sitting area
33:00The soldier handed me a keycard and stepped back with the careful deference usually reserved for people who could level
33:06buildings
33:06I opened my room and started pulling supplies out of Leo's void storage
33:10Organized the space
33:12Stacked what we needed
33:13Leo jumped onto the couch and stretched its full length
33:16Tail hanging off the edge
33:17Finally, that walk was miserable
33:20The bear appeared in the doorway, eyes warm
33:23Victoria and her group got assigned to general housing
33:26Leave her alone
33:28Let's rest and get our bearings
33:29Over the following days, we mapped the base
33:32Around 5,000 survivors
33:33The majority were civilians with no cultivation ability and no magical animal
33:38A small fraction had some level of training and bonded mates
33:41The base ran a strict allocation system
33:44Resources distributed by contribution level and cultivation tier
33:47Victoria established herself quickly
33:49The tier 4 bear was enough to pull in followers
33:52And she assembled a decent sized crew within the first week
33:55She used them to push people around
33:57The kind of entitlement that survives context changes
34:00Because it was never really about context
34:02One afternoon in the base cafeteria
34:04She walked in with her group and found us eating
34:06You have some nerve
34:08These rations are for people who actually contribute
34:10Not passengers who coast on the strength of their magic animal
34:13Leo set down its jerky strip
34:15Its eyes went flat
34:16Repeat that
34:17Victoria was visibly unnerved but committed
34:20I called you a passenger
34:21Your fox got lucky hitting tier 4
34:23That doesn't make you anything special
34:24I set my chopsticks down, stood up and said
34:27Then let's settle it
34:28If you win, I don't set foot in this cafeteria again
34:31If I win, you leave the base and stop terrorizing everyone in it
34:35Victoria's expression lit up
34:37She'd wanted this for days
34:39Deal!
34:40Don't cry when you lose
34:42People crowded in from three directions
34:44We moved to the training yard
34:46Victoria summoned the bear in front of me
34:48Arms crossed, smiling
34:50You go first
34:51I'll be generous
34:52I looked at Leo
34:53Show her, little highness
34:55Leo expanded to full size
34:57The tier 4 aura hit the yard and dropped weight
35:01It launched itself at the children's fear
35:03The bear, rawr
35:05And met it head on
35:06Ice spikes against bear claws
35:09The impact sounds concussive
35:11The training yard floor spider webbing cracks from the force
35:15But Victoria's bear had no real combat death
35:18Leo did
35:19And beyond experience
35:21Leo's ice affinity directly countered the bear's earth
35:25Crossed against terror
35:27Leo controlled the pace of the entire fight from the first exchange
35:31Victoria screamed from the sidelines
35:34Hit harder!
35:36Kill it!
35:37The bear tried
35:38It was already falling back
35:40Leo moved faster than it could track
35:42The ice in the air responding to Leo like an extension of its own body
35:47One massive tail strike caught the bear's square
35:50And launched it across the ground
35:52It landed hot
35:53It was blood in the snow
35:55It didn't get back up
35:57Leo landed
35:58Turned
35:59And looked at Victoria with no expression
36:01Anything else?
36:03Victoria stared at the bear on the ground
36:05Her composure had completely disintegrated
36:08Possible!
36:09My bear can't lose!
36:12I walked up to her
36:13You made a bet
36:14Honor it
36:15Take your people and go
36:18Victoria looked at the crowd around her
36:20At every face watching
36:22At every person she'd pushed around for the past week
36:25Her expression went through several colors
36:28Then she grabbed the injured bear and walked
36:31The base watched her leave
36:33That night the bear came back on its own
36:35It stopped at the edge of our shelter and looked at me
36:38Victoria hadn't wanted it
36:40She'd only ever wanted to win
36:43I let it
36:44With Victoria gone, things settled quickly
36:46Our position in the base became something people organized around
36:50Instead of something they resented
36:51Survivors approached us
36:53A lot of them
36:54I didn't take everyone
36:55I looked for people with usable skills and genuine character
36:59Eventually we had a small, functional team
37:01We ran daily operations
37:03Resource runs outside the walls
37:05Mutant beast hunts
37:06Leo's ice control and void storage were decisive in both
37:09The bear handled direct engagement
37:11I coordinated and covered flanks
37:14The team filled in around us and learned fast
37:16Mutant beasts had energy cores in our bodies
37:19Dense, crystallized power
37:21Both the cultivation resource and the base's functional currency
37:25We found supply caches and others in the mist
37:28Brought back more cores than any other team
37:30Leo's tiered catapulted
37:32Tier 5 came quickly
37:33Its ice domain expanded
37:35Able to suppress an entire zone
37:37Slowing enemy movement and attacks
37:39The void storage grew larger
37:42The bear made it tier 5 too
37:44My own cultivation reached tier 4 mid-level
37:47Then, the temperature dropped again
37:49Negative bases
37:50More movers
37:51Stronger movers
37:52Reports from other bases
37:54Some had been overwhelmed
37:55Others had collapsed from starvation
37:58The pressure on our base was built
37:59The mutant waves at the walls
38:01Were the movers
38:03Our team became the base's first line of defense
38:06During one of the large-scale defense operations
38:09Something came out of the storm
38:10That stopped everyone
38:12A tier 6 mutant
38:14Snowback
38:15Massive
38:16White fur and yellow eyes
38:18Perfectly advanced
38:19In a way that suggested the coal
38:22Is no longer its environment
38:23It was element
38:24It hit the outer wall with steam
38:27And punched straight through the fence line
38:29Soldiers scattered
38:31The walkway section nearest the bridge
38:33Was cleared in seconds
38:34This is bad
38:35My stomach dropped
38:37A tier 6 in the
38:38The bear was something we hadn't planned for
38:42Leo and the bear exchanged one look
38:44Both moved at the same time
38:46Leo drove ice spikes into the wolf's path
38:48And froze its legs to the ground
38:50The bear closed the gap
38:52And dropped both forefroats down hard
38:54The wolf broke the ice restraints
38:56Faster than either of them had anticipated
38:58Lunged sideways
38:59And locked its jaws on the bear's shoulder
39:02The bear's blood hit the snow
39:04Bear!
39:05My voice came out louder than I meant it to
39:07Leo saw the blood
39:09And something shifted
39:10The temperature around it dropped independently
39:14It called up a full ice storm
39:16The biggest construct I'd seen it produce
39:19It brought it down directly on the wall
39:21The wolf released the bear
39:22And came up to move the sword head away
39:25A defensive line
39:26Bear and white one try
39:27The collision detonated
39:29The shockwave threw every soldier
39:32Within 20 meters off their feet
39:34The wolf had taken a serious wound
39:36Deep enough that blood was running steadily into the snow
39:39But it was still moving
39:41And now it went
39:42Furious
39:43It wheeled
39:44And drove
39:45And Leo
39:45I made the call
39:46Letting this drag on wasn't an option
39:48Every additional exchange cost us
39:51I reached into my pack
39:53Pulled out the hand axe
39:54I ran my cultivation through my arms
39:56Until I could feel it pushing at my joint
39:58And I threw the axe directly at the wolf's left eye
40:02It hadn't expected a human to engage at that risk
40:04It turned too late
40:06The axe connected
40:07The wolf screamed
40:08A sound that rolled across the base walls
40:11And thrashed its head violently
40:13Leo took the opening
40:15Ice sword straight down
40:16Clean
40:17The wolf's body settled into the snow and went still
40:20We stood there for a moment breathing
40:22The bear's shoulder wound was deep
40:24I had the antiseptic and bandages out before anyone else moved
40:28Leo was on the ground
40:30Sides heaving
40:31Cultivation reserves nearly empty
40:33Fist?
40:34Leo said
40:34Lifting its head toward the wolf's remains
40:37That core is going to be something
40:39I extracted it
40:41It was the size of a closed fist
40:43Tier 6
40:44Enough concentrated energy inside
40:46To push Leo's cultivation to a level we hadn't projected for months
40:50Back at the base gate
40:51The facility director was waiting to receive us personally
40:54Without us
40:55The wolf would have been through the walls and into the civilian sectors
40:58Leo spent the next several days absorbing the tier 6 core
41:01Tier 6 came steadily
41:03And with it
41:03Leo's isomane became something else entirely
41:06Inside the field it could now project
41:08Every enemy was running at a fraction of normal capacity
41:11Movement slowed
41:12Attack force dropped sharply
41:14The cold inside the field was a different kind of cold
41:17From the ambient apocalypse temperature
41:19It had intent behind it
41:21The bear's wound closed
41:22And its cultivation pushed to tier 6 as well
41:25Its defensive strength reached a point
41:27Where smaller mutants couldn't break through
41:28Even without active effort
41:30My own cultivation crossed into tier 4 peak during that same stretch
41:34Not comparable to either of them
41:35But functional enough to contribute real value in a fight
41:38We were the strongest team in the base
41:40People came looking for us constantly
41:42I kept filtering
41:44The ones I added were worth adding
41:46The mutant incursions kept escalating
41:48Tier 6 became the new baseline outside the walls instead of the exception
41:52Other survivor bases sent messages when they still could
41:55And those messages grew more desperate
41:57Some stopped coming altogether
41:58We started ranging further out on our supply runs
42:01Into the deeper city where higher tier mutants had settled
42:03And where the ruins held things worth finding
42:05That was how we found the ancient ruin
42:09The structure shouldn't have been there
42:10It predated everything around it by what felt like centuries
42:13The architecture didn't match anything currently in use
42:16The interior was layered with old formation arrays
42:19Pressure sensitive trap zones
42:21And guardian beasts that hadn't been active in a long time
42:24But had woken up when we came in
42:26We moved carefully
42:27Some of the traps caught us anyway
42:29The guardians were tough
42:30A different kind of tough from the mutants outside
42:33Older, more deliberate
42:34Less wild
42:35We took losses in terms of supplies and time
42:38And a few team members needed serious recovery afterward
42:41But we came out the other side
42:43Deep in the ruin
42:44Past the densest section of guardian formations
42:47We found two things
42:48A cultivation manual
42:50Ice system
42:51High grade
42:52Title
42:52Frost God Codex
42:54And a sword
42:55Ice forged
42:56Single edged
42:57The blade holding a sustained cold
42:59That made the air around it visible
43:01Bound to an ice practitioner
43:03Both were meant for Leo
43:04After Leo absorbed the Frost God Codex
43:07And bonded the ice sword
43:08Its cultivation moved faster than I could track
43:11Tier 7 came within days
43:13Its ice manipulation had crossed from skilled into something that felt more like fluency with a fundamental force
43:19It could project a full glacier construct now
43:22Hold it
43:22Shape it
43:23Move it
43:24In combat
43:25It summoned a faint reflection of something vast and cold above itself
43:28A presence that made enemies hesitate before they understood why
43:32The bear found a high grade earth system manual in the same chamber
43:36Earth Warden Codex
43:37Tier 7 followed shortly after
43:39Its defensive capability became nearly absolute at close range
43:43The ground responded to it in ways that were useful in ways we were still discovering
43:48My own cultivation
43:49Drawing on the dense ambient energy inside the ruin
43:52Broke through to tier 5 mid-level
43:54We left the ruin carrying more than we'd expected to find
43:57And returned to the base to prepare for the next phase
44:00Because we had decided
44:01We were done
44:02Staying in one place
44:04Before we left
44:05We distributed the base's stored supplies to the civilians
44:08The ones who couldn't fight
44:09Who had no familiar
44:10Who had survived this far by nothing except luck and stubbornness
44:14We left them what we could
44:16Then we loaded our team into a convoy of modified SUVs
44:20Every vehicle packed with supplies and equipment
44:22And drove out
44:23The road was what the apocalypse had made of it
44:26Stripped vehicles
44:27Frozen terrain
44:28Weather that shifted from rural to catastrophic and back without warning
44:32Mutants on every major route
44:34Survivors in varying states of desperation
44:37We didn't run from any of them
44:39Leo's ice domain covered a wide enough radius to make a convoy defensive on the road
44:43The bear took point in the lead vehicle cargo bed
44:46Our team had developed into something cohesive
44:48People knew their roles
44:50Executed them
44:51Adjusted without needing to be managed
44:53The enemies that came at us found out quickly that the cost wasn't worth it
44:57We drove through city after city
44:59In each one we looked for survivors
45:01We pulled out the ones who could be helped
45:03Assessed the ones who wanted to join us
45:05Turned away the ones who were dangerous
45:06The convoy grew
45:08Dozens became hundreds
45:09We found our location in a valley that sat inside a mountain green
45:13Flat ground in the center
45:14Multiple resource nodes within range
45:16Defensible perimeter with natural geographic support on three sides
45:20We built steel and stone for the outer wall
45:24Formation arrays adapted from techniques we found across our travels
45:27Running along every section
45:29Armories
45:30A cultivation training area
45:32A medical facility
45:33Storage warehouses with rotation schedules
45:36A residential district laid out for actual human habitation
45:39Not just survival stacking
45:41The system we ran
45:43You contributed
45:44You received
45:45Roles were assigned based on skill and inclination
45:48Resources were distributed based on what you did with your time
45:51The ratio was transparent and applied to everyone equally
45:54Including us
45:56We formed a dedicated hunting team
45:57And a dedicated exploration team
45:59The hunters ran operations against the mutant populations in our range
46:03Bringing back cores and raw materials
46:05The explorers ranged out to ruins, dead city blocks, and resource points
46:10Returning with supplies and occasionally something significant
46:13As the base grew, so did its reach
46:16The name spread outward through whatever communication network still existed in the apocalypse
46:21Survivor channels, word of mouth, other bases making contact
46:25People arrived in groups, sometimes in large groups
46:29We took the ones worth taking and built the capacity to house and integrate them
46:33The base became something that people talked about in terms of whether it was real
46:38A place in the ice apocalypse where the structure didn't collapse under pressure
46:42Where you ate if you contributed
46:44Where the walls held
46:46Victoria dropped off the map entirely after leaving our house space
46:50Some accounts said she hadn't survived the weeks that followed
46:53Others said she'd found another faction to attach herself to
46:56And was someone else's problem
46:58Neither version concerned us particularly
47:00Whatever happened to her happened somewhere that wasn't our business anymore
47:05I stood on the wall one evening, looking down over the base
47:08The light was wrong for the apocalypse, too warm
47:11Coming from the fires and the lanterns and the lit windows of the residential block
47:16People were moving in the streets, talking, working
47:19A few were laughing, which still felt strange every time I heard it out here
47:25Leo pressed its flank against my leg
47:28It had grown into something that came up past my waist now
47:31And its fur in the firelight looked less white than the litmus
47:35The way fresh snow looks in the dark
47:37The bear stood a few meters down the wall, watching the same scene
47:41Ears relaxed, posture easy
47:44In my past life, I had lost everything
47:47I had survived the early apocalypse alone
47:49Holding on to a bear I loved
47:51And even that had been taken from me before the end
47:54This time, I had come back with the memory of all of it
47:58Every mistake
47:59Every moment I had been too slow or too trusting or too unprepared
48:04I had used all of it
48:05And what I had now, I had built from it
48:08There was Leo, who had crashed into my life by biting my hand and never really let go
48:12Who was absurd and dramatic and thin-skinned about everything
48:16And completely, unflinchingly there when it mattered
48:19There was the bear, who had recognized me across a classroom in another life
48:23And blinked twice to tell me it remembered
48:26And had then spent the next months doing what it always did
48:29Watching my back without being asked
48:31There was a base full of people who were alive because we had gotten to them in time
48:35Or because we'd built something worth surviving inside
48:38The ice apocalypse was still out there
48:41The cold hadn't broken
48:42The mutants kept evolving
48:44There were still ruins we hadn't opened
48:46And threats we hadn't identified
48:48And territory we hadn't mapped
48:50But I had stopped counting the days until things got better
48:53And started measuring what we were building
48:55The world was still frozen
48:57We were still standing in it
48:59And we were going to keep standing
49:00So there was a nice cutler
49:01To avoid being眉nding
49:01That flow was still needed
49:02That flow is now
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