Aarav stared into the crater, panting. His body, now drained of most of its strength from stepping outside the sect's protective boundary, trembled under the pressure. The golden crystal glowed faintly beneath the collapsed trees, emanating both warmth and dread—like a relic from another world that shouldn't be here.
It pulsed.
Not with light—but with memory.
He stepped forward, knees buckling as each step drained his cultivation. The wind howled through the trees, and the scent of burnt bark filled the air. Every few steps, he coughed violently, the blood in his mouth metallic and hot.
Inside the crystal was a silhouette.
A woman.
Her features were soft, regal. Hair floating around her in strands of cosmic silk, her eyes closed as if dreaming. But there was no doubt about the pressure rolling off her soul. Whoever she had been in life—she had once ruled.
> [Guardian Detected: ???] [Soul Status: Dormant but awakening] [Warning: You are outside your sect range. Body vitality dropping rapidly.]
Aarav's teeth clenched. "I know that! Shut up!"
He knelt beside the crystal, pressing a hand to it.
The moment he touched the surface, it hummed.
Then memories hit him—images not his own: armies kneeling before a golden throne; a crown made of starlight; a man shattered in a burning sky, calling her name...
Aarav screamed.
Blood trickled from his nose.
"Master!"
Meiyu's voice tore through the woods as she dashed into the clearing, followed by Tian Zhu, Bao, and even Elder Goose, flapping frantically behind.
"You IDIOT!" Meiyu yelled, skidding to a stop. "Why would you come out here alone?"
"I had to," Aarav gasped. "She's... important. A Guardian. One we need."
"You're bleeding from your eyes!" Tian Zhu cried.
Bao grunted, hoisting Aarav over his shoulder like a sack of rice. "Back to the sect. Now."
As they pulled away, the golden crystal gave one final pulse—and the woman's eyes opened inside it.
Just for a moment.
But it was enough.
Aarav saw her mouth a single word:
"Agnivesh."
---
Back at Broken Peak, Aarav lay unconscious.
Spiritual roots pulsed under his bed, trying to restore his vitality. Elder Goose paced at his bedside like a furious nurse. Several healing talismans floated in the air around him, shimmering weakly.
Meiyu sat beside him, arms crossed. "He's reckless. Irresponsible. Emotional. And—"
"You love him," whispered Lianhua from the shadows.
Meiyu went red. "Shut up."
Piko pushed his glasses up. "The Guardian aura he absorbed is ancient. His soul is reacting to something… dormant inside him."
"What do you mean?" Meiyu asked.
"I think," Piko said slowly, "that our Sect Master might not be who he thinks he is."
---
Inside his mind, Aarav stood in a realm of gold and silence.
Before him stood the woman.
She wore battle robes of dusklight, a crown woven of fire and ice.
"You are not him," she said.
"No. I'm not Agnivesh," Aarav answered.
She stepped forward, eyes narrowing. "But you carry his soul. Or a sliver of it."
He hesitated. "I don't know who that is. I just know I'm trying to build something. A home. A sect."
She looked around. "Then I will test your home. If it breaks, I leave. If it stands, I serve."
Aarav narrowed his eyes. "Wait. You want to fight my sect?"
She lifted her hand. A golden lotus bloomed mid-air.
"Survive my trial. Or be forgotten like the rest."
---
That Night
The skies cracked.
A golden storm descended on Broken Peak.
Thunder rolled with ancient words. Every disciple shot awake. Lianhua saw spirits dancing over the rooftops. Bao grabbed his club. Tian Zhu hid under a table.
Meiyu sprinted to the training ground—and froze.
Hovering in the sky above the Sect's main courtyard was a woman clad in shimmering robes, eyes glowing.
A Guardian.
The golden crystal had shattered.
She floated like a war goddess, and her voice echoed across the mountain:
"Let your Sect Master rise. I have come to judge his soul."
Aarav stumbled out, bandaged, bleeding, and pale.
"I was sleeping," he groaned. "Do divine women always interrupt REM cycles?"
She raised her hand. The sky split.
And thus began a trial like no other.
Golden energy rained from the heavens. The disciples could not interfere. They were trapped in a stasis dome of time-light, forced to watch as Aarav stood alone.
He stood on a floating platform that rose from the center of the courtyard. The woman raised a spear made of crystallized time.
"Show me your will," she said.
Aarav smirked. "Do sarcastic monologues count as will?"
She attacked.
And Aarav dodged… barely. He had no power here, not with his body still healing. But he remembered how to survive.
He threw dirt. He rolled. He ran.
But the Guardian was fast. Her spear cracked the stone behind him. One graze singed his robes.
"Tell me!" she roared. "Why do you lead this sect?"
"Because I'm good at paperwork!" Aarav yelled, diving behind a collapsed pillar.
She slashed through the pillar.
He rolled.
"Because I want to protect them!" he shouted.
She froze.
"Even though you are weak?" she asked.
"Especially because I am!"
Lightning cracked.
And the Guardian stopped.
Silence fell.
Then she laughed.
A soft, bell-like laugh that made the air shimmer.
"You may yet be worthy," she said. "But your path will be soaked in blood."
She floated down and extended her hand.
"I am Lady Ashvara. I served Agnivesh. Now… I serve you. As your First Guardian."
A golden sigil burned onto Aarav's chest.
His strength returned.
And his Sect… grew.
---
> [Guardian Bonded: Lady Ashvara — Flame of the Final Era] [Sect Area Expanded: 68 meters → 95 meters] [Guardian Skills Unlocked: Flame Ward, Memory Break, Divine Interference] [New Realm Unlocked: Ashen Sanctuary (Guardian Meditation Zone)]
---
Later that night, Meiyu sat by the training fields, watching Lady Ashvara float above the spirit lake.
"She's beautiful," Meiyu whispered.
"She could probably vaporize this entire mountain," Piko added.
Tian Zhu hugged his pouch. "I don't trust her. Beautiful women with ancient powers never bring peace."
Aarav approached, still dizzy.
"She won't hurt us," he said. "But she will change everything."
"Who is Agnivesh?" Meiyu asked.
Aarav looked up at the stars.
"I think... he was me. Once. In another life. A better one."
---
Reader Question: Who do you think Aarav truly was in his past life? What secrets does Lady Ashvara hold—and can she be trusted?
Leave your theories and guesses below. We're just getting started.