He remembered. It had been over ten years since he felt this same power. It was the fateful day he witnessed the insane battle between a mysterious Ensouled and an army of summoners. It was the day he met Yaoyao, the beginning of everything.

“This…” He muttered, unsure of what to say.

He had so many questions and countless thoughts. But mostly, he was relieved by the sense of familiarity.

The mark on her chest glowed for a little while longer and then went away. Darkness surrounded them but he could feel her faint breaths, tinged with traces of excitement. He was the same, he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

“Do you know what this is?” Katherine asked.

“No.”

“This,” She rubbed the spot above her heart, “Is the mark of the Ice Saint. Do you know about the Ice Saint?”

He started to shake his head but quickly put the pieces together, “Is this Ice Saint the same as the Ice Tiger King, one of the Eight Saints of the New World?”

This was something he had researched a great deal in his spare time, the matter of Yaoyao’s origin. He eventually found a reference to the Eight Saints of the New World. These were eight wild Ensouled that had no other equal. It was rumored that they ruled vast swaths of the New World. Their power could rival entire nations. Among them was the Ice Tiger King, a massive winged tiger with the ability to create snowstorms at will. It was mostly likely what he had seen that day.

Novice rank, adept rank, expert rank, noble rank, royal rank, and finally, saint rank; these were the ranks of soul cultivation known to humanity. The saint rank was the highest, with the Eight Saints of the New World standing at the very peak. They could bend countless souls to their will. When one appeared, the whole world trembled.

“Yes.” She replied with a smile, “Very good.”

“But why do you call it the Ice Saint?” He asked.

She didn’t reply immediately. She instead took his hand and led them to their perch up in the trees. It was getting late so he didn’t complain. With Marble and Blue standing guard, the pair sat down again on a wide branch and faced each other.

“Here comes the crux of my story. Will you still accept me after I tell you?”

“Since this is related to Yaoao, I will listen with an open mind.”

She sighed softly, “Fine, the Ice Saint, there is no easy way to say this… but since the mark has shown itself to you, I suppose it doesn’t matter. The saint’s mark is special, it will only reveal itself to people who are worthy enough to see it. You are not one of the saint’s people but you were Yaoyao’s summoner. That makes you qualified.”

She gently clasped his hand with both of hers. She held it as if was something precious. When she looked back up at him, her eyes were filled with emotion and vulnerability. “Zachary… I am a member of what you and other people call the beast cults.”

She paused and waited for his reaction.

He blinked a few times but stayed still. Meanwhile, a surging feeling of fright began in the pit of his stomach and quickly spread through his body. His instinct and past training told him to run, to do anything but sit there dumbly. However, he held it all back with great difficulty.

“Okay.” He replied, staying neutral.

She nodded in appreciation, seemingly understanding his struggle, “Beast cults have countless factions and they do not follow the same Ensouled. I follow the Ice Saint and have from a young age. I suppose that my story also starts there but unlike you, I did not always have a happy childhood…”

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Katherine Holt’s story started with loving parents and a large family. They bred cats and sold them as pets or summons. Since cats were the most popular type of Ensouled in the republic, it allowed them to live a comfortable life, one that she remembered to be filled with joy and endless cats.

That all ended when she was seven, during the Hundred Days War. Many of the republic’s largest cities were attacked and there were heavy civilian casualties. She lost her parents, her siblings, and her happiness. In the aftermath, she struggled at the overcrowded orphanage, with harsh relatives, and then on the streets where she had to fend for herself and compete against hordes of other war orphans.

As a result, she fell in with some unsavory groups and eventually with people who were worshippers of the Ice Saint. She was persuaded to their cause and took the mark of the saint soon after as a symbol of her allegiance. The beast cult fed her and trained her as a summoner. And when she was ready, she joined the republic military on behalf of the saint to carry out secret missions in the future.

Years passed. She slowly rose through the enlisted ranks and took part in a few campaigns. She was involved with raising and training cat-type Ensouled that were used by the military. Due to her nature, cats loved her, even those of other summoners. She established herself as someone with a unique talent for cat summons.

She did a few small missions for the cult throughout her time in the military. It was mostly small matters such as passing information on a regular basis. However, six months ago, she received a priority mission, one that came directly from the Ice Saint. It was to rescue Yaoyao who had been forcefully taken by the republic. Due to her military posting, she was the best candidate and most likely to gain information on where Yaoyao might be.

Katherine accepted the mission without hesitation. Although she was a low-ranking member of the cult, she already knew about Zachary and Yaoyao. It was widely known to all members within the republic, that an offspring of the saint became the summon of an ordinary human.

It was a huge matter when it first happened. The higher-ups wanted to immediately take back Yaoyao and kill the outsiders involved. However, the Ice Saint passed down word that he would let the matter develop. He wanted to see how strong Yaoyao could become with a human summoner and without any other assistance.

With this, Zachary Zhang and his Yaoyao became famous within the cult of the Ice Saint. They were constantly monitored and their progress tracked. Therefore, when that incident happened, the cult knew about it the same day. The Ice Saint had allowed Yaoyao to stay with Zachary. But he could never allow the republic to possess her.

“What happened to Yaoyao?” Zachary asked, suddenly interrupting her. His words were filled with desperation and his hand gripped hers tightly, “Did you find her? Is she okay?”

It was his one regret.

He didn’t regret killing those people. He didn’t even regret the mistake of trusting that person. He had already accepted that. But Yaoyao was different. She was his first, his soul summon. They were supposed to be partners for life.

Katherine replied softly, “I’m sorry. I don’t know because I failed my mission. I was able to find out her location. She was transferred from the military to the Yoon-Cromwell Corporation, one of their research labs, for study and observation. I was on my way there, hiding in one of their supply trains. But I underestimated their security measures and was discovered.”

Zachary let go of her hand and slumped over in disappointment. Her story made sense. She was imprisoned as a traitor to the republic because she was one. She knew about Yaoyao because she was a member of the cult of the Ice Saint.

“Wait,” He said after some thought, “What about Marble, you never explained where she came from. And don’t say that you picked her up in the jungle.”

“Aiya, why are you so smart? Hehe. Of course, I didn’t. Marble was given to me for the mission. She is a yin-yang cat, a special species from the Ice Saint’s domain. She is tied to the saint’s mark and can reside within it. The mark cannot be detected by ordinary means so she was able to follow me to this place. That’s all. I promise that I am not hiding any more secrets”

He sighed in defeat, “Alright, alright. I believe you. So, what now? What do we do?”

She laughed and with a deft movement of her legs and hands, pushed herself forward so that she landed sideways on his lap. Ignoring his stunned expression, she hugged him tightly.

“What else is there to do?” She said softly, “We are just two people trying to survive in this wild land.”

She looked up and landed a soft kiss on his chin, “You need me. And because of Yaoyao, I will follow you. What do you say?”

Their eyes met and silent emotions passed between them. Her pretty face was illuminated by the stars. She reminded him of the past, beautiful memories as well as painful ones. She also represented the future, an uncertain one at that. Yaoyao, the republic, beast cults, and the Yoon-Cromwell Corporation; they were too far away. Right now, he only had her, only her and a rag-tag lineup of summons to face the New World.

He leaned down, his gaze drifting toward her lips, and gave her his answer.