A gifted contract mage, Leyla, spent her past life collecting ninety-nine sacred cores to help her contracted beast, the Sacred Whale Neil, take human form—only to have Neil pierce her heart and push her into the Bloodtide Trench the moment he transformed. Reborn on the day of the contract ceremony, Leyla abandons the Sacred Whale and chooses a dying little spirit snake instead. Neil, now in human form, teams up with her sister Evelyn to humiliate her, but the little snake turns out to be Poseidon, the Sea Emperor. As past betrayals and old wounds resurface, Neil kneels in regret—too late. Only Poseidon stands by her side. This time, Leyla will never waste herself on the unworthy again, and finally learns to live for herself.