Kazuki's POV
The corrupted griffin's jaws were three feet from Sera's face when I made my choice.
I exploded from her bag, my tiny body moving faster than physics should allow. In my old life, I'd been a coward—too scared to stand up to my boss, too afraid to take risks. That version of me died with the truck.
This version protected what mattered.
I slammed into the griffin's eye with every ounce of strength my palm-sized body possessed. My claws—sharper than they should be for a common cub—sank deep. The beast screamed and thrashed, throwing me across the stable yard.
Pain exploded through my ribs as I hit the wall. Through our bond, I felt Sera's terror spike.
Run! I pushed the thought toward her desperately. Take Elena and RUN!
But Sera didn't run. Of course she didn't. She was already on her feet, putting herself between the griffin and me, armed with nothing but a shovel.
"You're not touching my tiger!" she screamed.
The corrupted presence laughed inside my head. "How touching. The worthless girl and her pathetic cub, playing hero. I'll enjoy devouring you both slowly."
The griffin lunged again. I forced my broken body to move, rolling under its talons. As I moved, something impossible happened—I felt energy flowing through the stable yard. Not physical energy, but something else. Magic. The same power that made beasts grow stronger when bonded to tamers.
In my previous life, I'd watched way too many kung fu movies during lonely nights. The meditation techniques, the breathing exercises, the way martial artists talked about chi flowing through the body—I'd always thought it was fantasy.
But this world ran on that fantasy.
What if I could do it too?
The thought hit me as the griffin's tail smashed into Sera's shovel, shattering it. She went flying, her body crumpling near the stable entrance. Elena screamed and finally ran, her guards dragging her away.
I was alone with a C-rank beast that wanted to kill me, and I was maybe five pounds of tiger cub.
The smart move was to run. The safe move was to hide and wait for help.
But Sera was unconscious and bleeding, and that corrupted presence was laughing at her broken body.
No more running. No more being weak.
I planted my tiny paws and closed my eyes. The griffin was charging, but I ignored it. Instead, I focused on that energy I'd felt—the magic that saturated this world. In my mind, I visualized it like the movies showed: flowing streams of power, waiting to be directed.
Breathe in. Draw the energy inside. Breathe out. Push it through the body.
"FOOLISH CUB!" The corrupted voice roared. "You can't learn energy cultivation in SECONDS—"
Silver light erupted around my paws.
The griffin's claws stopped inches from my face. Not because I'd stopped them—because the entire beast froze, its corrupted eyes wide with shock.
"Impossible," the presence whispered. "You're... you're actively cultivating? But you're just a newborn! Beasts shouldn't be able to consciously manipulate energy until they reach adolescent stage!"
I didn't waste time answering. The energy flowing through me felt wild, uncontrolled, but it responded to my human will. I pushed it into my legs and leaped—a twenty-foot jump that should have been impossible for my size.
I landed on the griffin's head. My claws, now wreathed in silver flames, dug into its skull right where that black star-mark corrupted its flesh.
The beast shrieked. The corrupted presence screamed even louder.
"GET OFF! You're burning the connection! STOP!"
I didn't stop. The energy pouring through me hurt—like fire in my veins—but I forced more power into my claws. The black mark started dissolving, wisps of dark smoke rising from the wound.
Then I felt it—the corrupted presence trying to invade MY mind through our contact. Ancient memories that weren't mine flooded through: cities burning, thousands dying, a massive tiger going mad from seeing too many futures where everyone it loved died screaming.
This was what I could become. This was the monster waiting inside every Fusion.
"NO!" I roared—actually roared, the sound way bigger than my tiny body should produce. "I'm not you! I won't become you!"
The silver energy exploded outward, throwing me off the griffin. The corrupted mark shattered completely. The griffin collapsed, unconscious but alive, its eyes returning to normal.
I hit the ground hard. My body felt like it was tearing apart from the inside. That energy I'd used—I'd pulled way too much, way too fast. Blood trickled from my nose and ears.
Through fading vision, I saw Sera stirring. She'd see me soon. She'd know I saved her.
That thought made the pain worth it.
Then I heard footsteps. Multiple sets, running toward us. Through the stable entrance came guards wearing black armor marked with that same twisted star symbol—the Shadow Court's mark.
"There!" one shouted, pointing at me. "The Fusion cub! Grab it before—"
But I couldn't hear the rest. Darkness was pulling me under. My body had burned through all its energy and more. I was shutting down.
The last thing I felt before consciousness faded was Sera's arms wrapping around me, her voice cracking: "Kazuki! No, please, wake up! Don't leave me!"
And deeper, darker—the corrupted Fusion's voice echoing from far away:
"Interesting. You rejected my memories, little seventh. That means you're stronger-willed than I expected. Good. When I finally claim your body, I'll have an even better vessel than I hoped. See you soon... brother."
Then nothing.
When I woke up, everything had changed.