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Follow a powerful story where relationships are tested, hidden truths are revealed, and lives change forever. From romantic moments to shocking surprises, this drama keeps you engaged from beginning to end.
Featuring stories about CEO, billionaire lifestyles, family connections, and life-changing decisions, this movie delivers strong emotions and unforgettable scenes.
Watch the full movie and discover what happens in the end.
New full drama movies uploaded regularly. Stay tuned for more captivating and trending stories.
#drama #fullmovie #lovestory #dramatic #billionaire #ceo #family #relationships #movie #story
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00I took my sister's white fox during the bonding rite.
00:03Your power is exceptional.
00:05This fox barely registers on the scale.
00:08Give it to your sister.
00:10In my past life, I chose the powerful white tiger.
00:14When the demon lord came, he left me to die.
00:17I was badly wounded.
00:19I begged him for the last healing elixir.
00:22He gave it to my sister instead.
00:24So this time around, I choose to let them be together.
00:27I was reborn right before the bonding ceremony.
00:31I am the most powerful one in our clan and have the right to choose first.
00:35The creatures gathered from across the land were all exceptional.
00:39But the white tiger stood above the rest.
00:42He wore a collar, never bowing to me, even in chains.
00:47Then my sister Luna came bouncing in, cradling a limp white fox.
00:52Luna had barely started her training.
00:54She could have skipped this ceremony entirely.
00:57Luna hugged the white fox and cried.
01:00Because he was dissatisfied with the fox he'd been assigned.
01:04The white tiger's heart ached for her deeply.
01:07Saying he only wanted to form a pact with Luna, the elder cleared his throat.
01:11Luna, you've barely trained.
01:15Even if the tiger chose you, you wouldn't be able to handle him.
01:18That was when I stood up and said,
01:21Elder, I appreciate your consideration.
01:24I find I'm fonder of this white fox.
01:27The white tiger clearly favors Luna too.
01:30How about we swap instead?
01:31They pulled me aside.
01:33Clara, this tiger is far more powerful than the fox.
01:37My name is Clara Ashvale, one of the four great families of the eastern reaches.
01:42I was ten years old when the demon horde first came.
01:46My parents died holding the line.
01:48I watched it happen.
01:49If the clan elders hadn't arrived when they did,
01:52Luna and I would have died with them.
01:54After that, the elders raised us, taught us cultivation.
01:57For I possess stronger spiritual power,
02:01and them more beloved within the clan.
02:02But the tiger ignored me.
02:04I'd never been rejected before.
02:07Not once in my life.
02:08I threw everything I had at him.
02:10So I took mission.
02:11Hunted rogue demons.
02:13Came back injured almost every time.
02:16The tiger noticed nothing.
02:18He only appeared when I brought out elixirs.
02:21Took what he wanted, and walked away.
02:23I spent 20 years on him.
02:25And eventually, he took human form.
02:28Tall and striking.
02:29Yet he still refuses to speak much to me.
02:32Only coming when he needs something.
02:34I told myself it was normal.
02:36Strong creatures had pride.
02:38He'd come around eventually.
02:39Then one evening, I came home exhausted.
02:42And saw him watching my sister's profile with something like reverence.
02:46I was still reeling when an elder walked past and caught sight of them in the distance.
02:51Clara, when you go out on contracts, stop sending your sister to look after the tiger.
02:57He's clearly more attached to her now.
02:59You need to be careful.
03:02I never ask Luna to look after the tiger.
03:05She comes every time you leave.
03:07Says you asked her to.
03:08Doesn't she have her own bonded creature?
03:10That fox?
03:11It passed away in its second year.
03:13You didn't know?
03:14I hadn't known.
03:15I'd spent 20 years building someone else's happiness.
03:18I began targeting Luna.
03:20I hated her.
03:21That enraged the white tiger.
03:23He colluded with the demon, opened our clan's protective wards from the inside, left me to face the invasion alone.
03:31When I was badly wounded and begged him for the only healing elixir we had left, he gave it to
03:37Luna, who had a scratch.
03:39This time, I want to see how long it will take him to take human form without me.
03:44The elder was unwilling to grant the mighty white tiger to an inexperienced young woman, yet the tiger would only
03:51bow before Luna.
03:52He sighed and ordered the ceremony begin.
03:56The ceremony startled the white fox.
03:58The white fox in my arms fainted the moment the ceremony ended.
04:02Luna completed her bond with the tiger.
04:04You and that little fox really do suit each other, Clara.
04:08Luna, if your sister hadn't yielded to you, how could you have gotten this white tiger?
04:13You should be on your knees thanking her.
04:15Oh, she's crying again.
04:17Always with the tears, like she's the one who suffered.
04:20The white tiger wanted to stand up for Luna, yet he possessed no power right after bonding with her.
04:25The elders had built my residence himself, ringed with good cultivation energy.
04:30Luna had once tried to move in.
04:33He'd turned her away, citing my training as the reason.
04:36As soon as we entered the room, I began to observe the white fox.
04:41He looked different from any I had seen before, with a wisp of red fur on his head and an
04:47unusually large tail.
04:48My courtyard had a natural spring, warm with cultivation energy.
04:53I set him in it and watched him wake up instantly, floating on his back, drinking in the warmth.
04:59I laughed.
05:01Aren't you afraid I'll hurt you?
05:03The fox stared at me, then gave his small head a solemn shake.
05:07All right. Rest here and recover.
05:11You're not going anywhere. I can handle you.
05:14The next morning, something woke me wrong.
05:18I opened my eyes and saw a handsome face.
05:21Pale skin, dark lashes.
05:24He was also asleep, arms around me.
05:26He had gotten in without waking me, which meant his power was well above mine.
05:31Who are you? How did you get in here?
05:33I scrambled to the edge of the bed.
05:35He sat up slowly, noticed the clothes he was wearing, and looked faintly amused.
05:40Before I could react, he pulled me into his arms.
05:44He said,
05:45I have a name.
05:46His eyes drifting down to meet mine.
05:49It's Ash.
05:50Like he was about to kiss me any second.
05:53It turned out Ash met the Elder when he was severely injured and was taken back by him.
05:59I stared at him.
06:00Please tell me whoever hurt you isn't coming here looking for revenge.
06:03We're bonded now, Master.
06:05I suggest you train hard and do your best to keep up.
06:08Ash laughed.
06:10He was genuinely useful, as it turned out.
06:13I had a fire affinity.
06:15He complimented it perfectly.
06:17He produced a cultivation manual from somewhere.
06:20Fire techniques.
06:21And good ones.
06:23Two days of work and I could already feel the difference.
06:26Every time Ash practiced cultivation with me, he took off his top.
06:30His fair skin always made me lose focus.
06:34One afternoon, Luna called my name from outside the gate.
06:37I dragged my attention away from Ash and went out.
06:41Luna stepped into the courtyard without waiting and stopped dead when she saw him.
06:46She stared him.
06:48Ash stood, dressed properly in seconds, and settled a robe around my shoulders without being asked.
06:54Who is this?
06:55Luna's gaze didn't move.
06:56You don't recognize him?
06:57The fox.
06:59From the bonding ceremony.
07:00You said yourself we were suited for each other.
07:03I think you were right.
07:04I smiled pleasantly.
07:06What do you want?
07:07We're in the middle of training.
07:12I was hoping we could raise the tiger together.
07:14I can't afford to keep up with his needs on my own.
07:16If we shared the work, what exactly makes this my problem?
07:20You're the one who gave him to me.
07:21You could have kept him.
07:22You chose not to.
07:23That means you owe me.
07:25I owe you nothing.
07:27Yeah.
07:27Half a year and every Elixamar I had is gone.
07:30There's nothing left for my own training.
07:32I'm at the bottom ranks.
07:39No!
07:39You can't!
07:40Little sister, don't mistake me for a fool.
07:43I'm not funding your creature for you.
07:45If you can't afford him, bring it to the elder.
07:48Let someone else take the tiger.
07:50I'm sure he'd prefer a partner who could actually keep pace.
07:53She'd never do that.
07:54Where were we?
07:56Weeks passed.
07:57I broke through to a new cultivation stage.
08:00The great elder dispatched me on an assignment alongside elder Margaret
08:05to handle a demon outbreak in the lowlands.
08:08I handled them all before Margaret to intervene.
08:11On the way back, she suddenly laughed.
08:14Clara, you should hurry home.
08:16Your little fox is waiting for you.
08:19She vanished.
08:21I hadn't finished processing what she'd said
08:23before Ash appeared in front of me.
08:26I reached out and touched his cheek.
08:28What's wrong?
08:32Clara Ashvale,
08:33why are you trying to get rid of me?
08:36Is it something I did?
08:37Or have you found someone new?
08:40What are you talking about?
08:42Your sister came by yesterday.
08:44Said you sent her to look after me.
08:46He started to show teeth.
08:49I flicked his forehead.
08:50He recoiled, then immediately looked betrayed.
08:54You betray me first and then hit me?
08:56I'm going to say this once.
08:58I am not reconsidering anything.
09:01And I have no idea why Luna told you that.
09:03What I do know is that I never asked her to come near you.
09:13We ran into a group of younger clan members on the way.
09:16I asked why they'd turned back.
09:19Luna cleared everyone out.
09:22Let's go.
09:25You're going to lecture me about picking fights
09:27and then drag me directly into one?
09:29We found them mid-argument.
09:31Or rather, Luna was arguing.
09:33The tiger couldn't speak.
09:35He'd never broken through to human form.
09:37So he was expressing himself through sheer body language.
09:41And none of it was agreeable.
09:44What is wrong with you?
09:45I didn't force you to come here.
09:47You said this place would help you advance.
09:50I've given you every elixir I have
09:52and you still can't even talk to me.
09:54You want me to go hunting rogue demons?
09:56I just started training.
09:58You'd be sending me to die.
09:59Clara's fox has been in human form for months
10:02and you can't even answer a question.
10:05What exactly are you doing with yourself?
10:07I heard the tiger's version of a response.
10:10A low rumble.
10:12In my past life,
10:14he'd never once spoken to me
10:16with anything resembling patience.
10:18Watching him endure Luna's outburst
10:20without walking away
10:21was a strange thing.
10:25Luna, there you are.
10:28Lyra, what brings you out here?
10:30I patted Asha's arm.
10:32He gave a small, resigned sigh and crouched.
10:35He held me in his arms.
10:36Luna's gaze locked onto him and didn't move.
10:39Nothing specific.
10:41I just wanted to know
10:42why you visited my companion without my permission.
10:45Luna hadn't expected me to know so quickly.
10:47She started backpedaling.
10:49No, you misunderstood.
10:49I was looking for you.
10:53She told me I was supposed to be hers.
10:56That you'd stolen me away.
10:58She was very convincing.
11:00And what did you do?
11:01I removed her from the property.
11:04She's not strong enough to argue back,
11:06so she left fairly quickly.
11:07I stood and faced Luna directly.
11:09If I remember correctly,
11:10you didn't want the fox.
11:11He was badly hurt.
11:13If you'd taken him,
11:14he wouldn't have survived.
11:15That's not true.
11:16I would have cared for him.
11:17The tiger's crest stood fully upright.
11:20You're doing this deliberately.
11:22You're trying to cause trouble
11:24between me and the tiger.
11:26If you try this again,
11:28there will be consequences.
11:30On the way back,
11:31my mood was good.
11:33Ash was quiet, though.
11:34He wouldn't shift and carry me
11:36even when I asked.
11:37When we reached home,
11:38he caught my arm.
11:39You and the tiger.
11:41There's something there.
11:42I didn't hide it.
11:44We have a history.
11:45It ended badly.
11:48Do you want to know?
11:50He turned,
11:51shifted into fox form,
11:52and wrapped his enormous tail around me.
11:55No.
11:56I'm better than that by every measure.
11:59And you promised me
12:00you wouldn't seek out
12:01another bonded creature.
12:02I ran my fingers through the fur
12:04at the back of his ears.
12:06I won't.
12:07I promise.
12:09Sometime later,
12:10Ash decided I wasn't advancing fast enough.
12:13Get up.
12:14I refuse to share energy
12:16with someone who progresses this slowly.
12:18The Great Elder said
12:19I'm the most talented
12:20concultator of my generation.
12:22Unlike my past life,
12:23all the elixirs I earned this time
12:25went into me.
12:27Five years.
12:28I moved from the early stages
12:30into the middle tier
12:31of my cultivation rank.
12:32When I returned to the clan,
12:34the Great Elder was close
12:36to a breakthrough of his own.
12:37The younger members
12:38had grown considerably.
12:40Only one thing hadn't changed.
12:42The tiger still hadn't taken human form.
12:46We expected the tiger
12:47to elevate the entire clan.
12:50Ten years in,
12:51and he's no closer
12:51to breaking through.
12:52We sent an elder
12:53to assess him quietly.
12:55The gap is too large.
12:57Even with assistance,
12:59he can't make the crossing.
13:00Luna had barely enough power
13:02to sustain herself,
13:03let alone a creature
13:05of the tiger's requirements.
13:06But honestly,
13:08his not breaking through
13:09was the best outcome.
13:11I wasn't strong enough
13:12to kill him,
13:13so control
13:14was the only option.
13:16I threw myself
13:17into building up the clan.
13:18I trained with
13:19the younger members daily.
13:21If something went wrong,
13:22I wanted them
13:23to be able
13:24to protect themselves.
13:25Ash gave me space for it.
13:27He knew what I was doing.
13:29One evening,
13:30I came home exhausted,
13:31and he was waiting for me.
13:33He picked me up,
13:34threw me over his shoulder,
13:36and started walking.
13:38You look terrible.
13:39I'm taking you
13:40to see something entertaining.
13:42His idea of entertainment
13:43was crouching
13:44at the edge
13:45of the back valley
13:46and listening to
13:47Luna and the tiger
13:48fight.
13:49The tiger couldn't speak,
13:51so the entire argument
13:52was one-sided.
13:54Don't look at me like that.
13:55I didn't force you
13:56to bond with me.
13:57You came to me.
13:59You told me to wait.
14:00You told me once
14:02you took human form
14:03we'd leave together.
14:04You're the one
14:05who picked the fight
14:06with Clara
14:06at the ceremony.
14:11And now what?
14:12You're stuck.
14:13I'm stuck.
14:14And it's all your fault,
14:16you useless.
14:16So they'd known
14:17each other before.
14:19The tiger had come
14:20to Luna deliberately.
14:21He'd made her promises.
14:23But that still didn't explain
14:25why they'd opened the wards.
14:26Why involved
14:28the demon horde at all?
14:29Unless they'd already
14:30been working
14:31with the demons.
14:32The one that killed
14:33my parents.
14:35My parents,
14:36who were also
14:37Luna's parents.
14:38How could she?
14:40I needed to find out.
14:41And when I did,
14:42there would be
14:43a reckoning.
14:44Back at the residence,
14:46I was working through
14:47what I needed to investigate
14:48when a visitor
14:49appeared at the gate.
14:50The tiger.
14:51He was staring at Ash,
14:53who was soaking
14:54in the spring
14:54and determinedly
14:55ignoring him.
14:57What do you want?
14:58Shouldn't you be with Luna?
14:59Ash emerged
15:00from the water
15:01and immediately
15:02positioned himself
15:03between us.
15:04Master,
15:05you promised.
15:07No, no other
15:08bonded creatures.
15:09Don't even talk to him.
15:10I just want to know
15:11why he's here.
15:12That's all.
15:13He's regretting
15:14his choices,
15:15obviously.
15:16He chose a dead end
15:18and he knows it.
15:20I started to look
15:21at the tiger.
15:22The gate was empty.
15:23This life,
15:24I'd kept my distance.
15:26I hadn't interfered
15:27with him.
15:28If the tiger
15:29genuinely wanted
15:30a different bond,
15:31the elders would have
15:32been glad to help.
15:33There was no reason
15:34to come to me
15:35specifically.
15:36Unless the tiger
15:37had also been reborn.
15:39I didn't say
15:40anything to Ash.
15:41I went straight
15:42to the Klan's
15:43protective wards.
15:45Intact.
15:46I breathed.
15:47Then I looked
15:48at the ground
15:48near the barrier edge.
15:50White tiger fur.
15:51A handful of strands.
15:53He'd been here.
15:55He hadn't broken through.
15:57His power
15:57wasn't there yet.
15:58But he knew
15:59what was sealed here.
16:01He knew my parents
16:02had died here.
16:03I'd told him that
16:04myself
16:05in my last life.
16:06I had to watch him.
16:08Carefully.
16:09All the time.
16:11The gossip started
16:12circulating through
16:12the Klan not long after.
16:14Luna and the tiger
16:15were fighting
16:16constantly.
16:17He refused
16:18her commands.
16:19Ignored her
16:20in training sessions.
16:23Made her look
16:24incompetent
16:25in front of
16:26the whole yard.
16:27And every time
16:29I appeared,
16:29he drifted
16:30toward me.
16:31Elder Margaret
16:32found the entire
16:33situation delightful.
16:35Her owl
16:35sat on her shoulder.
16:36You know what
16:36this reminds me of?
16:37Every story
16:38where someone
16:39realizes too late
16:40what they had
16:40freezes the other
16:41person out,
16:42spends the rest
16:43of it chasing
16:43after her.
16:44She said it
16:45directly in front
16:45of Ash.
16:46He moved.
16:47I caught him
16:47before he could
16:48do anything
16:48irreversible.
16:49Margaret clutched
16:50her owl and said,
16:51Oh my!
16:52I could have
16:52a conversation
16:53with Luna.
16:53Offer her
16:53a different creature,
16:54something she can
16:54actually sustain.
16:55Transfer the tiger
16:56formally,
16:57quietly.
16:58Please,
16:59no more.
16:59No, I'm not
17:00touching the Klan
17:00council over this.
17:01Besides,
17:02I have Ash.
17:03That's enough.
17:03Margaret looked
17:04genuinely mournful.
17:05A bonded creature
17:06in open conflict
17:06with its partner
17:07is a problem
17:07for all of us.
17:08And Luna hasn't
17:09advanced in 10 years.
17:10The elders have been
17:11discussing a field
17:12assignment,
17:13practical training
17:13away from the Klan
17:14for a year or two.
17:15I understood
17:16what she wasn't saying.
17:17They'd given up
17:18on the tiger
17:19as a resource.
17:20Ash's presence
17:21had changed
17:21the calculations.
17:22What we accomplished
17:23together had raised
17:24the bar considerably.
17:26If Luna left
17:26with the tiger,
17:27I had time.
17:30Time to reinforce
17:31the wars.
17:35In the Klan hall,
17:37Luna cried.
17:38She accused me.
17:39You killed him.
17:39Then, in front of
17:40every elder,
17:41she made her counteroffer.
17:43If Clara wants
17:43the tiger so badly,
17:44she can have him.
17:44I won't fight her.
17:46But if she takes him,
17:47she gives me Ash.
17:48A mixed Lindage fox
17:49for a pureblood tiger.
17:51Honestly,
17:51Clara comes out ahead.
17:52The great elder
17:53shut it down
17:54before anyone
17:55else could speak.
17:56Who?
17:57Luna.
17:57Focus on your own creature
17:59and stop coming up
17:59with ideas like that.
18:00I heard this from Ash,
18:02who had apparently
18:02been listening
18:03from outside the hall.
18:04While the elders
18:05dealt with Luna,
18:06I was in the creature
18:07registry with the keeper,
18:08looking into a disappearance.
18:10Three creatures
18:10had vanished overnight.
18:12Two small rabbits,
18:13a young deer.
18:14The keeper
18:14was beside himself.
18:15I checked the seals
18:16myself before I left.
18:18Any disturbance at all,
18:19and I'd have felt it.
18:21There was nothing.
18:21Not a demon.
18:22No trace of that
18:23kind of energy.
18:24I looked around.
18:25The registry
18:26was carved
18:26into the cliffside,
18:27warded stone
18:28on all sides.
18:29The only way
18:30in or out
18:31used the clan seal.
18:32To remove
18:33three creatures cleanly,
18:34whoever did it
18:35knew this place
18:36intimately,
18:37or had always
18:38been inside.
18:39Go to the big fox.
18:40You don't agree.
18:40Big brother fox
18:41is perfectly safe.
18:42Can creatures
18:42turn on each other?
18:43They have consciousness.
18:44They would never
18:44do something so barbaric.
18:45Don't listen to her.
18:46She was just being strange.
18:47People do terrible things
18:49when they want to advance.
18:51Creatures aren't different.
18:53There's a method.
18:54Old and dark.
18:56Not talked about.
18:57Where one creature
18:58absorbs the power of another.
19:01Want to know how it works?
19:02The fastest shortcut
19:03was this.
19:04Take the core
19:05of another creature.
19:06Consume it.
19:07The higher the cultivation
19:08of the creature
19:08you took from,
19:09the greater the game.
19:10Ash had nearly been killed
19:11by exactly this method
19:13years ago
19:14before we met.
19:15Once it works,
19:18it will come back
19:19for more.
19:20We staked out
19:21the registry that night.
19:22Nothing.
19:23Quiet all the way
19:24to dawn.
19:24I reassured the keeper.
19:26Don't worry.
19:29And headed out
19:30and immediately ran
19:31into a young clan member
19:32sprinting toward me.
19:33Guardian!
19:34Something happened
19:35at the residences.
19:35What's wrong?
19:37Ash!
19:39Ash shifted form
19:40and moved.
19:42When we landed,
19:43I knew from the sound.
19:45One of the younger students,
19:46a girl who'd bonded
19:48at her first ceremony,
19:49was sitting on the ground
19:50in her courtyard
19:51holding what remained
19:52of her rabbit.
19:54Elder Margaret
19:54was already there.
19:56She caught my eye
19:57and gave a small,
19:58grim nod.
20:00Your guess was right.
20:01The core was taken.
20:03Clean, precise,
20:03one strike.
20:04She didn't feel it happen.
20:06The bond broke
20:06and that's when she knew.
20:10Without thinking,
20:11I turned and looked
20:12for the tiger.
20:13He was standing near
20:14the edge of the crowd,
20:15perfectly still.
20:17Don't stare.
20:18It's him.
20:19You sure?
20:20I've seen this method
20:21used before.
20:21His signature reads the same.
20:23I went to the great elder
20:24and told him everything.
20:25Don't move yet.
20:26You need proof.
20:27Catch him in the act.
20:28Behind him,
20:29his courtyard had descended
20:31into complete chaos,
20:32all of them trying
20:33to interrogate Ash
20:35about his parents' bloodlines.
20:37I keep them close.
20:38Your firehound
20:40just destroyed the garden path.
20:41You could clean it up
20:43for your elder.
20:44No.
20:45Still,
20:46with subtle pressure,
20:47I got the senior elders
20:49watching the tiger
20:50more carefully.
20:51Weeks passed.
20:52No more disappearances.
20:54But two weeks later,
20:56the girl who had lost
20:57her rabbit
20:58still hadn't recovered.
20:59She stopped coming
21:01to training.
21:02Ate less.
21:03Barely spoke.
21:04The other students
21:05let it drift into rumor
21:06and then into story.
21:08Ashes sat with me
21:09every day.
21:10Then,
21:11one night,
21:12something moved
21:13past my window.
21:14Floating on the water's surface
21:16was a single white tiger feather.
21:18I reached through the bond
21:19and found him.
21:20I arrived at the ward boundary
21:22and walked straight
21:24into a shockwave.
21:25Ash and the tiger
21:26were already fighting.
21:28No preamble.
21:29Fully committed.
21:30He moved through the trees
21:32in pale clothing,
21:33fast and fluid,
21:35redirecting Ash's attacks
21:36with the ease of someone
21:37who'd been preparing
21:38for exactly this fight.
21:40Near the ward boundary,
21:41Luna sat perfectly still.
21:43When I got close enough
21:44to see her clearly,
21:46my stomach dropped.
21:47Luna was dead.
21:49I hadn't even processed it
21:50before the sky began to darken.
21:52The ward closed.
21:54Harm your bonded partner
21:55and the consequence
21:56falls from the sky.
21:58You ran this exact plan
22:00in another life.
22:01You used everyone here
22:02as scaffolding
22:03and then kicked it out
22:04and now this life
22:05you had the chance
22:05to choose differently
22:06and instead you took her core.
22:08The sky is watching.
22:10It ends today.
22:12Almost.
22:13One more step.
22:15He was breaking
22:16the ward seal behind his back.
22:18The creatures sealed
22:19in the valley
22:20felt the loosening.
22:21Thunder gathered
22:22directly above him.
22:23The great elder arrived
22:25in a flash of light
22:26from the peak.
22:27Clara!
22:27Hold the creatures back.
22:29I'll reseal from outside.
22:30Clara!
22:31You can't stop this.
22:33Come die with me!
22:35I'll do better by you this time!
22:37In my past life,
22:38I had died in this exact valley.
22:41Alone.
22:42Then a hand closed
22:43on my shoulder.
22:44It is Ash.
22:45You want to take her down
22:47with you?
22:48You'd have to go through me first.
22:51You're nobody!
22:52This time,
22:52I wasn't alone.
22:54In my past life,
22:55I'd never had a real partner.
22:56Just me and whatever
22:57I could manage alone.
22:59Now I understood the difference.
23:00Ash pushed forward
23:01and I covered him.
23:02He never checked over his shoulder.
23:04I never asked him to slow down.
23:06A hundred exchanges
23:06and the tiger's composure
23:08was cracking.
23:09He couldn't find a way
23:10past Ash.
23:11He couldn't land a hit on me.
23:12He broke.
23:13This isn't right.
23:14You're supposed to die.
23:16We're supposed to go back together.
23:19Goodbye.
23:20I raised one hand
23:21and pointed at the sky.
23:22The lightning came down
23:23like a cock
23:24dropped from the sky itself.
23:28He would not be coming back.
23:30The tiger was gone.
23:32He would not be coming back.
23:35The tiger was dealt with.
23:37The harder problem remained.
23:39The creatures sealed in the valley
23:41were old and powerful.
23:43They couldn't be killed cleanly.
23:45Only re-contained.
23:47And the oldest among them,
23:49the one they called
23:50the Abyss Serpent,
23:51had been dormant for a century.
23:54Sealed originally
23:55by the previous great elder
23:56who had given his life to do it.
23:59Ash had been leaning against a tree.
24:02Expression of someone
24:03waiting for his reward.
24:04When he went still,
24:06he stared into the dark
24:07between the trees.
24:09What's in there?
24:12The Abyss Serpent.
24:14Wait here.
24:15I need to go in.
24:17Something shifted in his expression.
24:19Something I hadn't seen
24:20from him before.
24:21He started moving.
24:23I caught his hand.
24:24It's not safe.
24:26I know.
24:28Clara!
24:28He tried carefully
24:30to explain the situation to me.
24:32In my past life,
24:32I died in this valley.
24:35I watched the tiger take Luna
24:36and leave.
24:37I was alone when it happened.
24:39I'm not leaving you behind.
24:41We went in together.
24:43Behind us...
24:44Who just walked
24:45into the sealed valley?
24:46Elder, that's your student.
24:48My student is extraordinary.
24:51The valley was wrong
24:52the moment we crossed the boundary.
24:54Eyes in the dark.
24:55Dozens of them.
24:56They didn't move.
24:57Some instinct in them
24:59recognized Ash.
25:00He'd shifted to his true form.
25:02Large enough now
25:03that I rode at the back of his neck.
25:04I asked him before.
25:06What are you looking for?
25:07The Abyss Serpent.
25:09Tell me why.
25:10My mother is in there.
25:11I had always assumed Ash
25:13was the product
25:13of some unusual crossing
25:15of bloodlines.
25:16He'd never corrected me.
25:18Now I found out.
25:19He did have fox blood.
25:21But his mother
25:21was the Abyss Serpent.
25:23One of the creatures
25:24from the oldest records.
25:26Vast in form.
25:27Ancient in power.
25:28Her cultivation
25:29predating the current era
25:31by centuries.
25:32She hadn't always been this.
25:34200 years ago
25:35someone had used
25:36the dark method
25:37on the creature she'd loved.
25:39Consumed his core.
25:40She hadn't recovered.
25:41I reached up
25:42and put my hand
25:43against the side of Ash's head.
25:45I had nothing to say.
25:46The creatures around us
25:47began to shift.
25:49They wanted us gone.
25:50They wanted the energy
25:52this moment was generating.
25:54Ash set me down
25:55and stood at my back
25:56facing outward
25:57in human form.
25:58If we can't hold them
26:00I'm putting you
26:01through the exit.
26:02When that happens
26:02run.
26:03Don't look back.
26:06If what the tiger
26:07claimed was true
26:08that dying here
26:09just leads to another life
26:11that's not the worst outcome.
26:14You told me
26:15you'd make me happy.
26:16I held you to that.
26:18So if you don't want
26:19to watch these things
26:20reach me
26:22keep them away
26:23all the way through.
26:26The creatures came.
26:27We fought.
26:28I covered him
26:29and he moved forward.
26:30One after another.
26:32The valley
26:33full of the sounds of it.
26:35My power was trying
26:36to surge
26:37on the edge
26:37of a breakthrough.
26:38Each breakthrough
26:39brought a heavenly trial.
26:41A surge of lightning.
26:43The test between
26:44one level
26:44and the next.
26:46Ash felt it
26:47through the bond.
26:47He threw aside
26:48an attack
26:49from something
26:50in the dark
26:50and said
26:51through clenched teeth
26:52My fault.
26:54I came too fast.
26:56Everything stopped.
26:57The creatures
26:58pressing in
26:58from all sides
26:59simply vanished.
27:01One moment
27:02then nothing.
27:03I pointed at the pair
27:05of enormous red eyes
27:06in the fog
27:07ahead of us.
27:08Is that her?
27:09The old clan records
27:10described the Abyss Serpent
27:11as having a human face
27:13and the body
27:14of something ancient.
27:16Her face still held
27:17human proportions.
27:18I couldn't move.
27:20I had cultivated
27:21my entire life.
27:22I had survived
27:23two lifetimes
27:24and an impossible valley.
27:26She didn't close her jaws.
27:29Ash stepped between us.
27:30The massive jaws
27:31stopped in the air.
27:33Mother.
27:35Don't hurt her.
27:37She pulled back.
27:38The ground shook with it.
27:40She was breathing fast,
27:42clearly in pain.
27:43Her focus fractured.
27:45Ash moved closer.
27:46He barely came to her chin
27:48and she flinched
27:49like he was
27:50the dangerous one.
27:51It's me.
27:53Little Ash.
27:55Her voice was human
27:56and enormous
27:57at the same time.
27:59Little Ash.
28:01The red in her eyes
28:02began to clear.
28:03Gold underneath.
28:05It didn't hold.
28:06The red came surging back.
28:08Little Ash!
28:10Kill me!
28:11She pushed her core
28:13outside her own body.
28:14Held it toward him.
28:16Ash caught it.
28:17His hands couldn't crush it.
28:19I can't.
28:21The core drifted
28:22from his hands
28:23and came to rest
28:24in front of me.
28:25She looked at me.
28:26Good child.
28:28You do it.
28:29I held it
28:30and didn't know
28:31what to do.
28:32Ash's hand
28:33came over mine
28:34and my power
28:35broke loose.
28:36Breakthrough.
28:37Now!
28:38I looked at Ash
28:39through the chaos of it.
28:41Tears.
28:41I had never seen
28:43that from him before.
28:46He looked at
28:47the abyss serpent.
28:55Goodbye, mother.
28:57The core broke
28:58in my hands.
28:59She let out
29:00a long,
29:01released sound.
29:04Now I can sleep.
29:06Thunder gathered above us.
29:08Wide.
29:08Far wider
29:09than a single person's
29:10trial should produce.
29:11It blanketed
29:12the entire valley.
29:13I was still reeling.
29:14Is this normal
29:14for a breakthrough?
29:15This seems excessive.
29:18It looks like
29:19it wants to kill you
29:20specifically.
29:23I think I'm
29:24in serious trouble.
29:25He took my hand
29:26and stepped in front of me.
29:27I brought you in here.
29:28Whatever happens,
29:29I'm getting you out.
29:31The thunder dropped.
29:32I reached for my power
29:34and pushed against it.
29:35And then I understood.
29:37The trial wasn't
29:38aimed at me.
29:41When the abyss serpent's
29:42core shattered,
29:43her energy
29:44hadn't simply vanished.
29:45A reservoir
29:46of ancient power,
29:48centuries in the making,
29:49now hung in the air
29:50like a second sky.
29:52My breakthrough trial,
29:53which should have
29:54been overwhelming,
29:55was nothing against it.
29:57The creatures
29:57lurking at the edges
29:58came forward,
29:59drawn to the loose energy,
30:01waiting for me to fail
30:02so they could claim it.
30:03Instead,
30:04the trial landed
30:05on them.
30:06The clouds cleared.
30:07The valley went quiet.
30:08Dawnlight found its way
30:10through the canopy.
30:13We walked out.
30:15The chaos inside
30:16had given the great elder
30:17and the others
30:18the time they needed.
30:19Within the month,
30:20the seals were fully restored,
30:23stronger than they'd ever been.
30:25She told the story
30:26to every cultivation family
30:27within traveling distance.
30:29Listen to this.
30:30Goes into the sealed valley
30:31alone with her bonded creature.
30:34Comes out having broken
30:35through two stages.
30:37Clara,
30:38watching you become
30:39who you are,
30:39your elder can rest easy.
30:41My own trial is coming.
30:43The elders and I have agreed.
30:44You are the right person
30:45to lead this clan
30:46after I am gone.
30:47Once I have passed through,
30:49the role is yours.
30:50You've been looking for a reason
30:51to step back for years.
30:52He pretended not to hear.
30:54He reached for Ash's hand.
30:56And you.
30:56I am formally naming you
30:58Keeper of the Clan Wards.
31:00The protection of this clan
31:02is in your hands.
31:03Cultivators from across the region
31:05sent offerings to the clan
31:06in the months that followed.
31:08One came with a mirror.
31:10A memory viewer.
31:11One that could show the user
31:13a moment from a previous life.
31:15I looked.
31:16It showed me what happened
31:18after I died.
31:19In the life before this one.
31:21When I had been killed
31:23in the valley,
31:24the Abyss Serpent woke.
31:26She tore through the seals.
31:28She came out.
31:29And something in her
31:30pulled her straight
31:31to the creature burial ground
31:33at the edge of the clan grounds.
31:35She dug.
31:36One massive claw.
31:38Careful despite everything.
31:40She pulled out
31:41a small set of fox bones.
31:43After that,
31:45she stopped holding back.
31:46She went through the clan grounds
31:48like fire through dry wood.
31:50Three days.
31:51This time,
31:52there was nothing left.
31:54The great elder.
31:56The elders.
31:57Every member of the clan.
31:59None of them survived.
32:01The tiger and Luna
32:02had been running.
32:03A blast caught them.
32:05The tiger threw Luna
32:07toward the Abyss Serpent.
32:08It wasn't enough for him.
32:10She tracked him and moved.
32:11The mirror settled from my hands.
32:14Ash.
32:15Somewhere behind me.
32:16I've warmed this three times.
32:18What are you doing over there?
32:19The warm smell of mulled wine.
32:21I smiled at him
32:23and pulled him into a hug.