Ben sat in his bed watching his phone ring, the ringing was deafening, Be felt the weight of what was behind this call, Ben closed his eyes and let it go to voicemail. Ben heard Grayson's voice "hey, I need to cancel the lesson today...some stuff came up and it needs my attention, I'll do extra cram work before our next appointment". The voicemail ended and Ben sighed before lying back down, he lifted his hand and looked at his Miraculous, it shined in the sunlight that snaked its way into his room "I'm lost, my powers are out of wack, I go into frenzies, it's like I'm fighting my own Miraculous and I'm not sure what's gonna happen next" suddenly a voice came from his balcony "really?" Ben shot up to see Adrien "oh...it' you" Ben said before slumping back onto his bed "yeesh, for someone concerned about the future you're more than content with wasting the present" Ben scoffed "I'm just tired" Adrien stood there "yeah, being a Hero isn't all it's cracked up to be, I think I developed arthritis by the time I was 25" Adrien laughed but Ben didn't reciprocate the same kind of energy. Adrien sighed and walked over to Ben's desk and put something on it "this might help with your problem" Ben sat up and Adrien was gone, Ben walked over to his desk to see a scroll Adrien left. Ben picked up the scroll and opened it, it was a map and a location written on it along with a message that said "Cleansing Pool" below the message was an arrow that pointed to the top of a mountain.

Ben typed in the coordinates into his search browser to see that it was in China, Ben let out a sigh of frustration "how am I supposed to get to China?" Ben looked at his desk again to see a Miracle Box "convenient" Ben picked up the box and opened it to see a pair of sunglasses "huh, snazzy" Ben put them on and a Kwami popped out "oh hellooooo, I am Kaalki, a pleasure to meet you" Ben responded "oh hi, I'm Ben and I guess I'm renting you for today" Kaalki scowled "oh please, renting sounds like such a peasant thing to do, you have acquired me for a short period" Ben scratched his head "I guess, what do I have to say?" Kaalki responded "just say Kaalki, Full Gallop" Ben nodded and he was about to say it but then he nearly screamed "Nadia and Arnold, I need to help them today so I can't-" just then he got a text from Nadia

Hey Ben, Arnold and I can't film today, his parents are making him attend a quantum theory class, anyway I'm really sorry about this

Ben sighed "I really don't have an excuse this time, do I?" Ben got dressed and packed his backpack "Kaalki, Full Gallop" Ben transformed and pulled out a horseshoe "Voyage" a portal opened up and he stepped through arriving in a small village, he looked around to make sure no one noticed him "Kaalki, Dismount" he transformed back and began to walk around the village, there were mostly rice farmers and fishermen, he also noticed there were no children, or adults, just the elderly "what is this place?" Ben pulled out the map and opened it the village is on the map, and now I need to head East, and there I'll find a bridge" Ben looked ahead to see the bridge at the end of town. Ben quickened his pace but noticed little by little the villagers were beginning to follow him, Ben made it to the bridge and turned around to confront what seemed like the whole village "this isn't good" Ben whispered, a man stepped out of the crowd and pointed at Ben's Miraculous "you...have a Miraculous" he said with Ben stuttering "y-yes" the old man lowered his head "the last one to come here did not fair so well, the path to the Cleansing Pool is difficult" Ben responded "well, that's why I have this" he pointed at his Miraculous. The old man shook his head "you cannot transform once you've crossed the bridge entrance" Ben looked at the entrance to the bridge "really?" Ben whispered, Ben's mind began to fill with doubt, the Miraculous was what kept him safe, what kept him alive. Ben shook his head and looked at the old man "what happens if I do try to transform?" The man responded "then they take you" Ben felt a chill down his spine as the man continued "they pull you down into the earth and they don't let go, they keep you there until you are one with the dirt, your Miraculous will be the only thing left" the man reached into his pocket and threw down three Miraculous "I get the point" Ben said before swallowing his fear and facing the bridge.

Ben stepped past the gate and stepped onto the bridge, with one inhale and exhale he began walking across the bridge, the bridge looked practically new, the wood was sturdy and the white and red paint that adorned it was fresh and glossy, what caught Ben's attention was the long thin piece of wood that ran straight down the middle of the bridge seemingly from end to end. Ben continued walking but stopped when he noticed a Rat sitting in the middle of the bridge "huh, not what I expected" the Rat looked at him and spoke "aaaahhh, so another has come seeking the pool" Ben felt his whole world collapse "a talking Rat, I was woefully unprepared for today" the Rat continued "well, things are going to get more interesting from here on out, I am the Guardian of the Bridge, in order to cross, you must get past me" Ben leaned back "I should say this will be easy but I'm sensing a catch" the Rat shrugged no catch, just keep on that line" Ben looked down "okay, easy enough" Ben began to follow the line and the Rat began to back up "very good, you're a natural, oh but I'm afraid I'm a bit of a fibber" Ben looked at the rodent and whimpered "oh boy" the Rat then snickered and jumped high into the air, so high that Ben couldn't even see it. The Rat then landed at the end of the bridge hitting it and causing almost all of the bridge to collapse aside from the long thin piece of wood in the middle.

Ben began to lose balance from the shock, his foot slipped but he caught himself on the plank before falling, the Rat began to taunt "I wouldn't hang there if I were you, the people who live in the river can be unfriendly" Ben looked down to see human faces about to surface from the wate. Ben immediately climbed back up and stood on the wooden piece "whoa" he said to himself as he tried to find his balance "okay...I got this" Ben began to walk along the piece keeping his arms outstretched to keep him balanced. The Rat nodded "you're doing great...but this is fairly boring, how about we make this more interesting" the Rat stomped the ground and a pebble shot out from the ground, the Rat flicked the pebble with its tail and hit Ben right in the forehead, Ben stumbled back but kept his balance. Ben pressed on and the Rat smirked before launching another pebble, Ben saw it coming and caught it in midair, the Rat clapped its hands "impressive, but how about we kick it up a notch" the Rat slapped the ground with it's tail and multiple pebble flew up, it began to barrage pebbles at Ben, Ben managed to catch a few before one struck him in the knuckle causing him to turn and fall, he caught himself on the wood and and looked down to see the ghostly inhabitants of the river grabbing at him, Ben immediately got to picking himself up, he looked between his legs to see the Rat launch another pebble at him, Ben jumped up to avoid the pebble and grabbed onto the wood only to swing underneath it barely avoiding the grasping hands.

Ben swung all the way back to rightside up and began to move faster toward the Rat who hastened the barrage of rocks, Ben began catching the small rocks and pebbles throwing them aside by the handful, his focus was solely on the end of the bridge and the Rat. The Rat became frustrated and axe kicked the ground causing a massive rock to shoot up from the ground, the Rat was about to strike it but its tail was grabbed by Ben who had made it all the way across. "I guess I passed" Ben said before lifting the Rat into the air, the Rat began to struggle "alright alright, you may pass" Ben put the Rat down and it brushed itself off "I warn you though, your next challenge will blindside you" the Rat then scurried off into the brush and left Ben standing there perplexed. Ben looked to his left to see a winding road leading up the mountain, Ben steeled himself and headed up the road ready for whatever came next.