CHAPTER 8 — The Shape of My Soul
The night was a strange thing—quiet, but not empty. The forest breathed. Magic threaded through the frost, drifting in lazy spirals that shimmered beneath the moonlight. Even the silence seemed alive, humming faintly like a distant song.
I sat at the base of the ancient tree, staring at the Evolution Node.
It pulsed.
Slow at first—gentle, rhythmic—but growing sharper with every hour. Garron had gone silent, leaning against the tree beside me in his human form, arms crossed over his broad chest, eyes half-lidded.
He wasn't asleep. Just watching.
Waiting.
I swallowed hard and looked down at my small rabbit body. My paws curled into the snow.
"How do I even decide what I wanna look like…?" I muttered under my breath.
Garron's ear twitched.
"Do not force the decision," he murmured. "Evolution is not a disguise you put on. It is a reflection of your spirit."
"Right, but…" I hesitated. "I don't think my spirit knows what it's doing either."
Garron huffed a soft laugh.
"Then perhaps consider who you wish to become."
Who I wished to become.
The question pressed down on me, heavier than any wolf or snowfall. I'd never asked myself that in my past life. I never got the chance to.
What did I want?
To live? Freedom? Just a body I understood? No I had something here, a chance to live—not just exist.
Not like my last life. This time I won't just be someone's dog. In this life I'll do what I want. I'll get strong enough that I'll be able to live how I want and do as I please. Yes. I was done suppressing myself, and stopping myself from acting.
From now on I'll do what I want, not what someone else tells me to do. I'll live my own life.... But for that I need to be strong enough to survive, and evolving would help a lot.
My thoughts drifted to hand, or paws in this case. To walking. To speaking without squeaks. To not running from predators every five minutes.
A form like my old human one made sense. A late teenage male. I wasn't interested in the specifics, I wasn't even sure if I thought that 'please have a super handsome face' would help or affect the process... but I still thought it anyway.
I closed my eyes.
Not my exact past self—that body held too much of who I used to be. But something familiar. Something young, healthy, capable. Something that could belong in this world.... and yeah maybe it would be nice enough to look at that I might finally get a girlfriend in this life.
I shook my head, focusing myself to stay on track and not let my thoughts wander.
I remembered the feeling of fingers brushing over tools at work. The weight of legs walking. I imagined a boy around my old age—eighteen, maybe younger—with a lean, athletic build, not bulky but toned.
I held the image tight in my mind, letting its shape settle and breathe.
Garron opened one eye.
"You've decided," he said softly.
"Yeah," I whispered. "I… think I know what I want."
The Evolution Node pulsed again—louder this time, like a heartbeat shaking the air.
Garron straightened. "Stand ready, Kyree, the Evolution Seed is almost ready."
Stand? I could barely wobble. That last pulse seemed to warp the air. The gravity around the Tre now felt heavier. As if the world was watching what was going to happen next.
But somehow my little rabbit body pushed upright. My heart hammered.
The Node brightened—
And the world shifted.
A low hum vibrated through the tree roots. The earth trembled, gently at first, then harder. Lines of light spread from beneath the snow, forming cracks of what seemed like pure mana, that crawled toward the base of the tree.
Then—
FWOOM.
A blinding pulse of white shot upward, swallowing the clearing.
I squeaked in terror.
Garron's calm voice echoed in my mind, "Do not resist it."
As if I had a choice.
The light condensed, shrinking inward until it coalesced into a single object floating before me: A sphere.
It was smooth. In fact it looked perfect. the sphere was colorless yet glowing with every color all at once. The air seemed to bend around it—like reality was trying to avoid touching something too pure for it.
The Evolution Seed.
It pulsed once.
And my instincts exploded.
Take it .Eat it. Consume. Evolve.
I didn't think— my instincts guiding me to act before I could realize what I was doing, I launched forward, paws reaching.
The moment I touched it—
BOOM.
Light detonated outward, blasting through me.
And suddenly—
There was no forest.
No snow around me. No night sky above me.
There was only white.
Endless, infinite white. No matter what direction. I found myself floating in nothing but a white world.
I looked around and tried to move only to realize that I couldn't feel my body, so I looked down and saw I had no body. I wasn't standing or floating. I simply… existed. Like a whisper without a mouth.
Is this my soul?
I honestly didn't know what was happening. Garron didn't mention any of this. Before I could panic about my situation—
Something tugged at me.
Not physically—No this was something deeper. Something that felt like… the very essence of the soul.
A shape began forming around me. A silhouette it was small. A four-legged creature with fur. I recognized it instantly. My rabbit body!
It was pulling me back into it.
No! This was where my will needs to form a human body.
I knew that if I sat back and did nothing I would still evolve, but I wouldn't have a humanoid form. So I pushed.
I pushed back—hard. Not physically, with my will. The silhouette trembled, flickering like unstable glass. Then it shattered in a burst of white light.
A voice boomed, not Garron's, not mine—just existence itself:
CHOOSE.
The white light surrounding me began forming tiny particles—dust-like motes of mana that gathered around the silhouette, trying to rebuild my rabbit form piece by piece.
I clenched my will.
Not a rabbit.
The motes froze midair.
I imagined fingers again—five of them on each hand. Arms, legs, my spine, my heartbeat. I thought and tried to remember the feeling of being human.
The light around me twisted. Sharp yet formless, lout yet without sound. Then began reshaping.
the form got longer, taller. the light straightened and four legs became two legs and two arms. The bipedal form kept growing forming hands, fingers, and eyes.
A humanoid outline formed, glowing faintly.
But it was incomplete.
I focused harder. I imagined what it felt like to stand as a human again. I closed my eyes as the light brightened and intensified.
Under the light my form started to turn from light to solid matter. Silver hair slowly grew out from my head, as pointed fae-like ears sprouted from my head— but I also felt a secondary set of ear forming on the top of my hear, and they were rabbit ears, too. My skin felt smooth, pale skin with no imperfections, or fur covering my body.
I felt the urge to take a deep breath realized that I hadn't breathed since I appeared in this world. I felt my chest move with the inhale of air, a strong chest and slim waist. I felt my legs grow a bit longer as I finally formed a human like body.
Slowly I opened my eyes that were now like a moonlit pool.
The motes of white mana still swarmed me, finishing the last few changes.
Something snapped—
FLASH.
And then—
I was bonded momentarily by the flash of light, and before I even opened my eyes I felt cold. A chilly breeze blew by and brushed against my bear skin.
I opened my eyes in shock at the sensation flooding my senses and saw, the dark night sky, and the forest around me still covered in snow.
The forest had crashed back into existence, with moonlight spilling over the clearing—
And I was standing naked in the snow.
Except I wasn't a rabbit anymore.
I gasped—and this time it wasn't a squeak.
My hand flew to my face.
A hand.
I held it out before me looking at the long fingers, and pale skin. It was smooth and warm.
I scrambled upright—way too fast—and nearly fell because wow, balance was different when you had two legs. I looked down—
Holy shit.
Lean muscles rippled along my abdomen, six faintly defined lines of toned structure. It wasn't a set of washboard abs, but there was foundation. If I trained I bet within a year I would have the body of a supermodel. My hips were tapered in. My skin looked almost luminous in the moonlight, smooth and free of any hair, it was almost glowing.
Also my little buddy down there seemed to have gown, I couldn't tell by how much but I was freely hanging at 6 inches. I smiled faintly thinking that I might actually get a girlfriend and be able to use it in this life.
I didn't want to sound to narcissistic, but my body was… flawless. Beautiful, even. Ethereal.
My hair—longer now, brushing my shoulders—shimmered a silver-white. And atop my head I felt them, two long rabbit ears. I could move them just like before, wiggling them and bending them.
I raised my hand to the side of my head and felt two smaller, pointed ears. They felt like the ears of an elf. Before I could continue thinking about my appeared I hear a sound.
A low whistle cut through the cold night.
I turned—and nearly tripped again.
Garron stood at the edge of the clearing, arms crossed, wearing the expression of a man witnessing a miracle and desperately trying not to swear.
"Well, well…" he rumbled. "Look at you."
Heat crawled up my neck. Seeing a old man look at me naked was embarrassing.
"I—I can explain—"
"No need," he laughed. "Evolution reflects the soul. And yours, it seems… is a pretty boy."
"I—HEY—!" I yelled, blushed. I tired to cover myself up, but so much skin was left plain to see.
Garron chuckled even harder.
"Truly, you look like a fae noble wandered out of a moonbeam. Those eyes alone could charm half the kingdom."
I covered my face with both hands.
Oh god. Oh god. I was naked. Talking. In front of a giant bear-man. I couldn't explain the feeling. What is my life!
"Uh… clothes?" I squeaked.
Garron wiped a tear from laughing and reached behind him, pulling out a folded robe made of thick woven fabric.
"You'll freeze your new tail off if you don't wear something."
"I don't even have a tail," I muttered, grabbing the robe anyway. that was something I looked for when examining my new body.
I didn't have a tail. In fact I didn't think I had hair or fur on my body, it felt just too smooth.
I slipped into it awkwardly— my arms through sleeves, pulling it closed around my waist. It hung loosely down to my knees.
Once I was decently covered, Garron stepped closer, studying me with a soft, almost proud expression.
"So," he said, "what now?"
I looked toward the forest, robe billowing slightly in the cold wind.
"I… I don't know," I said quietly. "I just came here cuz I felt a pull to the seed. I guess my goal should be to find my people. Or whatever counts as 'my people' now." I wasn't sure what to do, but living with other snow hares, or evolved forms would be nice.
Garron nodded slowly.
"A reasonable choice. The Harewyn Clan, is the royal family of the Snowhare race. They have an estate that sits within the capital of Winterreach, about two days' travel southeast of here."
Two days.
My heart thudded.
Travel. Civilization. People.
A life.
"Will you… show me the direction?" I asked, strangely shy all of a sudden.
Garron's smile softened into something almost fatherly.
"Of course."
He pointed with a broad hand toward the distant mountains.
"Follow the valley path until the trees thin. You will find the Frostroad—an old trade route. Take it east. Winterreach rises like an ice crown on the horizon. You cannot miss it."
My throat tightened.
"Thank you… for everything."
Garron stepped away for a moment, disappearing behind a tree, then returned with a small leather satchel. He handed it to me.
Inside were dried meats, a small loaf of thick bread, a handful of berries, and a sealed letter.
"This is for your journey," he said. "I wrote a letter of introduction to the Harewyn family, that old man is a friend, so he should be able help you settle in the city."
I blinked rapidly, warmth blooming in my chest.
"…I'll come back," I said. "As soon as I can. I'll tell you… everything I see." I didn't know how else to replay this kind person. He helped me so much, I would defiantly come back here one day to repay the favor.
Garron's laugh was low and fond.
"I look forward to it, Kyree of the Snowhares."
I tightened the strap of the satchel, took a breath of cold night air—
And stepped into the forest.
For the first time in either of my lives—
I walked forward by my own choice.
My own will.
My own shape.
And the world waited.