In my first life, I chose the Wolfman. My cousin chose the Fox. The Wolf fell for my cousin. To help her win the Grand Tournament, he stood by and watched as I was torn to shreds by other beasts. In my second life, I learned my lesson. I chose the Fox. Turns out, the Fox also loved my cousin. I died. Again. This is my third life. I’m done with this garbage. Just as I was hesitating on who to pick... A fluffy paw slapped onto my hand. "Enough already! I feel bad for you. Pick me!" "I’ve watched you die twice now, you idiot!" 1 In my first life, during the Spirit Bonding Ceremony, I picked the muscular Wolfman. But he thought I wasn't pretty enough and simped hard for my cousin, Lyla. During the Grand Tournament, just so I wouldn't block Lyla's path to victory, he literally sacrificed me, watching coldly as I was ripped apart by rival beasts. Rewind. Second life. Since the Wolf was a bust, I picked the Fox that Lyla had chosen originally. I wanted the loyalty the Fox had shown her. We formed a blood pact. He was loyal, alright. Loyal to Lyla. To break his bond with me and be with her, he severed one of his own tails and killed me with his own claws. As I bled out, I asked him why he didn't just reject me at the start. He looked at me with dead eyes. "I just needed someone to get me out of the Beast Pit. Lyla said she was going to pick me, but you beat her to it. If not for you, I’d be hers." I died with my eyes wide open, fueled by pure rage. But then, I woke up. Again. Third time's the charm, right? This time, I’m staying the hell away from any beast associated with Lyla. I paced back and forth among the caged spirits, unable to decide. My father, the High Lord of our clan, looked at me. "Arya, do you not see one you like?" "I think the Wolf and the Fox are excellent choices. The Wolf is a powerhouse; bonding with him would skyrocket your cultivation. And that Fox? He already has eight tails. If he grows a ninth, he becomes a God Beast. Either one secures your future." I listened to my dad and shook my head so hard I nearly gave myself whiplash. I tried both. They are strong. So strong that my deaths were spectacular and very, very painful. Seeing my hesitation, Dad sighed. "If you don't choose now, you have to wait three years." Three years is an eternity for a Spirit cultivator. It’s the difference between being a prodigy and a nobody. Dad always said that since I’m his only child, the position of Clan Leader is mine. But in this world, might makes right. Even with nepotism, I need the power to back it up. The Wolf and the Fox were headhunted by Dad specifically for me. The rest of the beasts in the pit looked... mid. That’s why I picked the elites in my past lives. I sighed. I can’t repeat history. I have to find a diamond in the rough. I walked a lap, about to settle for a Roc (giant bird) in the corner. My hand reached out, but a furry white paw smacked it down. "Enough, Arya! Pick me!" "I’ve been dragged through time with you for two lifetimes! My heart literally hurts watching you be this stupid!" A voice exploded in my brain. I looked down, startled. A tiny kitten, white with strange markings, was staring at me with big, wet eyes. "What? You think I’m worse than those two traitors? Pick. Me. I refuse to reboot this timeline again!" I looked around. Nobody else heard him. I sliced my palm without hesitation. Blood dripped onto his forehead. Runes lit up the floor, binding our souls. Usually, when a Spirit bonds with a human, they instantly gain a humanoid form. But my cat... stayed a cat. He leaped onto my shoulder with an arrogant huff. "What are you looking at? I haven't recovered my power yet. Obviously, I can't transform." Dad looked at the kitten, then at me. Disappointment washed over his face, but the deed was done. Just like the past two lives, after I picked, it was Lyla’s turn. Lyla was my orphan cousin, raised in our house. My parents treated her like gold. Whatever I had, she had. She was gorgeous. The moment she stepped up, I instinctively looked at my cat. He seemed to read my mind and snorted. "Please. The Great Me has no interest in that basic pick-me girl. Only those two morons would fall for her." "In the last two lives, she played them like fiddles, and they gladly died for her." He paused, then ground his teeth. "I don't know what cursed luck I have to be dragged back in time by you twice. Every time I was about to ascend to Godhood, boom, back to level one!" I gasped. "You... you aren't going to kill me for revenge, are you?" Then I realized—if I die, he probably resets again. So he has to protect me. I grinned. He glared at me with emerald eyes. "Hmph. I wouldn't lower myself to kill you." Then he looked at Lyla with pure malice. "You skipped the Wolf and the Fox. Who do you think she'll pick?" I was curious too. In the past, she took my leftovers. She always acted like I stole her destiny. This time, the buffet is open. Lyla stood before the cages. The Wolf and the Fox looked at her with puppy-dog eyes. She was talented and beautiful. Being picked by her was a jackpot. But a human can only bond one beast for life. The Wolf looked fierce. The Fox looked seductive. Lyla hesitated for only a second before pointing at the Fox. "I choose you." Just as she raised her hand to cut her palm, the Wolf grabbed the hem of her dress through the bars. "Miss, please pick me. I am strong. I can protect you. I can make you the strongest." I watched him beg, remembering my first life. He never looked at me with that much emotion. Even when I was dying for Lyla's sake, he just said, "I never wanted you. Your death sets me free." Rage bubbled up, but a lazy voice echoed in my head. "Trash. You really were blind in your first life. He isn't worth one of my claws." 2 The voice in my head continued, "Ungrateful little scum. Once you level up, we'll just kill them." My cat, Bastian, sounded utterly disgusted. Meanwhile, the Wolf was still simping hard. "That Fox is just a pretty face! I have raw power!" The Fox gave Lyla a teary-eyed look. "Miss, do you really want that ugly thing? If I grow nine tails, I can defy the heavens. I'm not weaker than a dog." This was the first time the two beasts fought for her openly. All the clan sisters were watching. Lyla stood there, looking conflicted and innocent. She sighed. "You're both so strong... I don't know what to do." She suddenly looked at me. "Cousin Arya, who do you think I should pick?" All eyes turned to me. If I hadn't lived through this twice, I'd think she was just asking for advice. But I knew better. She was setting me up. I smiled. "It's a lifetime bond, Lyla. I couldn't possibly decide for you. Follow your heart." Lyla paused, then pointed at the Fox again. "I choose you." She looked at the Wolf apologetically. "I'm sorry. You're great, but... someone else will pick you." The Wolf's eyes went dead. He was quickly snatched up by another clan sister. Once bonded, spirits need time to synchronize before taking human form. Lyla walked over to me with her new Fox. "That kitten is cute, Cousin. If you hadn't taken him, I might have been tempted." Bastian rolled his eyes so hard I thought they'd get stuck. I smirked. In previous lives, she said the same thing, and my beast immediately fell in love with her. "Careful," I said dryly. "Saying that might make your Fox sad." Lyla's face stiffened. She hugged the Fox tight. "I'm just being nice, Cousin. My choice is the best, obviously." We all went into seclusion to bond with our beasts. Bastian transformed in seven days. A humanoid form, though he kept the ears and attitude. My dad is the Clan Leader, making me the heir apparent. But I have to prove my strength in the Grand Tournament. That’s where I died the first time. The Wolf let me die so Lyla could win. The opponent cheated, I was stabbed through the chest, and my dad was cornered by Lyla saying, "Accidents happen in the arena, Uncle. You have to be fair." Dad couldn't save me without losing his position. I died in his arms. Second life? The Fox killed me before we even got to the tournament. This time? Bastian looked at me like I was a hopeless project. "Your deaths were your own fault. You were weak. Fear stems from a lack of firepower." He crossed his arms. "This life, you rely on no one but yourself. I will train you until you don't need a beast to fight." 3 I agreed. I asked my father for permission to enter the Abyss, our clan's most dangerous training ground. Dad was pleased. "Good girl. Ambition is good." Bastian and I entered the Abyss. It started okay. Then it got hellish. Every day, Bastian would disappear and return leading a horde of high-level monsters straight to me. "Run or fight, Arya!" he’d yell from a tree, eating a fruit. "Suffering builds character!" "Why aren't you fighting?!" I screamed, dodging a fireball. "I have a delicate stomach! Doctor says I can't eat bitterness (suffer)!" he yelled back. "Besides, we share a power pool. You level up, I level up. Efficiency!" I spent a year in there. Most people last a month. At first, I ran. I couldn't sleep. Then, Bastian forced me to fight. I got beaten black and blue. He showed no mercy. "In my eyes, there are no genders, only the strong and the dead." I got beat up for months. Eventually, my skin got thicker, or I got stronger. I started hitting back. By the time we left, the monsters in the Abyss threw us a farewell party. They were practically gifting me dead prey to get me to leave. Dad was waiting at the exit. He sighed in relief seeing me alive. Lyla popped out from behind him. "Cousin, you've been in there so long. You must be super strong now." I smiled. "I'm okay." Her Fox had taken human form—a handsome, feminine man. He sneered at me. "Don't worry, Lyla. I'll protect you. I'm not useless like some beasts." We went home. I saw the Wolf standing in the distance, waiting. He belonged to another clan sister now, but he was staring at Lyla. Lyla lowered her eyes. "I should go talk to him. He's been obsessed since I rejected him." She sounded so burdened. The Fox growled, "You're too kind, Lyla. Let me chase him off." "No, I'll handle it." I stood there with Bastian. He crossed his arms. "Hmph. Green tea bitch." I looked at him, surprised he knew the slang. Three days later, big news rocked the clan. The Wolf killed his bonded human. The clan sister was dead. The Wolf was rogue and on the run. Lyla clutched her chest when she heard. "How terrifying. I'm so glad I didn't pick him." I looked at her, smiling coldly. "Yeah. Good thing I didn't pick him either. Or I'd have missed out on Bastian." 4 Lyla glanced at Bastian, then looked away. I knew something was up. In my first life, I died. In this life, the girl who picked the Wolf died. Lyla was the common denominator. She must have said something to the Wolf to make him snap. As the Clan Leader's daughter, it was my job to hunt the rogue Wolf. I knew exactly where he was hiding. In my first life, he told me about his secret den—a place he considered safe. He never took me there, but I remembered the location. We found him quickly. He was half-dead from the backlash of breaking the bond. We dragged him back. The uncle whose daughter was killed was screaming for blood. "Skin him alive! He killed my child!" "Leader, we must make an example of him! Or the other beasts will rebel!" Lyla looked at the dying Wolf. "He looks so pitiful right now." The uncle snapped his head toward her. "Pitiful?! What about my daughter?! If it were you who died, would you call him pitiful?!" Lyla teared up and bit her lip. The Wolf was skinned alive. He died in agony. Lyla covered her mouth, eyes full of fear. Her Fox shielded her. The Wolf is gone. Next up: Lyla and the Fox.
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