B
BREAKING NEWS!
"GENIUS LAWYER ACCUSED OF ASSAULT—MULTIPLE CRIMES UNDER NEW INVESTIGATION."
He was arrested and placed in jail for his crimes.
The next day—
A man was dragged through a furious crowd, pushed toward the courthouse as people shouted for justice.
BREAKING NEWS!
"THE SUSPECTED LAWYER HAS BEEN KILLED IN A TRUCK ACCIDENT, POLICE REPORT."
Darkness swallowed everything.
Then—
A man opened his eyes in an unknown realm, a dreamlike space suspended between worlds. Before him stood countless souls, trembling as they were judged by a terrifying, otherworldly being.
A figure known in human history as Yama—the God of Death and Justice.
When his turn finally came, the man froze in fear. Creatures beside him—twisted, demonic beings—shouted for him to be erased from existence.
Yama looked at him, and the entire realm fell silent for a few seconds.
Then the god delivered his judgment.
Everyone expected the usual sentence: complete erasure, a soul wiped out forever. But Yama's decision was different.
"You will be given a chance," the god said. "Reborn in another world… with the memories of your previous life."
The soul of the lawyer—criminal, genius, sinner—began to laugh. A sharp, unsettling laugh that echoed through the void.
After all… a second life was more than he ever deserved.
A baby's eyes slowly opened to a new world.
The first thing he saw was a person leaning over him—human in shape, but with soft rat-like ears and a small twitching nose.
The reincarnated lawyer—once a middle-aged man—looked around in confusion. The strange faces and unfamiliar surroundings only deepened his panic.
And then he began to cry.
Not because he wanted to. Not because his new body forced him to.
But because the memories of his old life struck him all at once—and with them, the first true mistake he had ever made:
He had failed to follow what he was taught. Justice was meant to be fair. Yet he abandoned that path, choosing instead to obey a senior who chased money, and he blindly followed.
That moment had twisted his entire life…and now it echoed painfully in his newborn heart.
Days passed in the small room where he first opened his eyes.
The newborn was finally given a name—Tivver.
The one who bestowed it stood before him: a towering figure unlike anything found in the mortal realms. He resembled a white rat standing upright, yet his frame held the power and symmetry of a seasoned warrior. Thick cords of muscle shifted beneath his snow-white fur, every movement radiating discipline and authority. His crimson eyes gleamed with an ancient, calculating wisdom—more ruler than beast.
He wore ornate ceremonial garments, embroidered with golden patterns that hinted at forgotten clans and buried kingdoms. The fabric draped across his broad chest and powerful shoulders, barely containing the strength beneath. Despite his imposing form, his voice was surprisingly calm as he whispered the newborn's name.
"Tivver… This child shall carry the legacy of our blood."
In that moment, it felt as though destiny itself had bowed toward the infant.
Inside, the man trapped in a baby's body cried—moved by the weight of a new name and a new life laid upon him. But on the outside, the infant only laughed, tiny hands reaching toward the world he was now part of.
In just two months, I began to walk.
By the third month, I could already speak the local language fluently—as if it had always been a part of me.
But every night, I had the same dream.
The first day of my past-life job. The moment everything began to go wrong.I didn't know why I kept seeing it, but I assumed it was my punishment—a reminder of my mistake while I now lived as a grayish-white rat-like child in this new world.
Every day, I tried to deny it.
My mother looked almost human, gentle and warm.But my father was clearly of the rat-kin, tall and imposing.Our home looked run-down, simple, and worn… yet my father always wore grand, ceremonial clothes, like a noble forced to live humbly.
Despite the strange mix of poverty and authority… everyone here was happy.
Another month passed, and slowly—I began to accept my new life.
But soon, everything changed.
One morning, the rat-kin in our home spoke solemnly of an upcoming event—the Ceremony to Judge One's Inner Root for Cultivation.
I had no idea what it meant. Even my mother didn't know. the rat -kin simply smiled, never answering.I wasn't allowed to leave the house.
That night—I tried to sneak out of my small room.
The moment I stepped outside, my entire view of this new life shattered.The streets were filled with rat-kin I had never seen before—thin, desperate, starving. Some clung to scraps of food, and others fought violently for every morsel. A group even challenged a Naga warrior—a serpent-bodied fighter with a gleaming spear. He killed them instantly.
I froze, trembling. The world was far crueler than I had imagined.
Suddenly, someone shoved me hard to the ground. I didn't know who it was, but the intent was clear: hostile.
When I looked up, my father was fighting the assailant with everything he had, claws flashing in the dim light. My mother rushed forward, grabbed me, and pulled me inside.
The Naga warrior only laughed—like a villain amused by suffering. He didn't intervene. He simply enjoyed the scene.
My mother carried me back into our small, broken home—one of only ten or twelve run-down houses scattered along the street, with dry earth and dying trees surrounding us.
For the first time, I understood: this world was far crueler than I could have imagined.