It's been five years since I awakened the memories of my past life.
You would think that would make things easier. It didn't.
This world is cruel.
From the moment you are born, you are forced to grow. First you learn to walk. Then to speak. Then to survive.
Weakness is not forgiven here.
Fall behind once, and the world will trample you without hesitation.
And me?
I am just a human. A real one. Maybe the only one.
Every other race has something. Fur. Scales. Claws. Horns. Something that marks them as predators or beasts.
Then there is my body. Smooth. Bare. No claws. No fangs. No natural weapons.
Nothing.
My growth was normal too. Painfully normal. No special power. No cheat. No miracle.
As for my so-called parents, I do not remember them.
Maybe I was abandoned for being different. Or for being weak.
It does not matter anymore.
Because someone else found me.
My master took me in. Raised me. Gave me a place in this world.
And that place… this place… is where my days begin.
…
I pushed open the wooden door and stepped onto the warm sand. Straw sandals shielded my feet as the morning waves whispered in the distance.
A faint breeze carried the salty scent of the sea, stirring the loose hem of my plain cyan robes. The vast ocean stretched endlessly before me, sparkling under the rising sun.
My gaze shifted to the massive shell resting on the beach.
Ancient. Weathered. Faintly glowing runes were carved across its surface.
Mr. Torr.
The immortal turtle.
"Good morning, Mr. Torr."
The great turtle slowly lifted his heavy head from beneath his shell. Wise, ancient eyes blinked once as a deep, rumbling hum rose from his throat. He acknowledged the greeting with a slow nod.
I smiled and ran across the sand toward the stone platform higher up the beach, where a figure sat in perfect meditation.
Master Zane.
Golden mane-like fur caught the morning light, flowing like fire around his proud, lion-like face. Sharp ears stood tall atop his head, and rich crimson and gold robes draped his powerful frame.
I stopped a few steps away and bowed deeply.
"Master, I'm ready. What must I do today?"
He had been training me since I was little.
I still am little, really.
My body grew like a human's, slow and steady, even though no one in this world seemed to know what a human was.
Master Zane opened his eyes slowly. Golden irises glowed with quiet power as he looked down at me, a gentle smile softening his fierce features.
I barely reached three-fifths of his height, small and smooth-skinned compared to him.
To Zane, the difference was always glaring.
He felt a quiet frustration at how slowly the child grew, and how small he remained even now.
Zane remembered the day Torr carried the infant ashore.
For months, he watched in silence, unsure if the child would ever move on his own. Six months passed before the first unsteady steps. A full year before the first clear word.
There was no survival instinct.
No beast aura.
No bloodline.
Nothing that marked the child as belonging to this world.
That emptiness was likely why the child had been abandoned.
Yet fate brought him to this secluded shore.
So Zane chose to raise him.
To train him.
And he gave him a name, Kai Shen, drawn from his own name, Zhen Shen.
Today, the master's deep voice rumbled across the stone platform.
"Today, Kai, we will summon your spirit guardian."
My eyes lit up instantly.
"Really?"
Master Zane nodded, his smile widening just a fraction.
"Yes. It's time."
Master Zane rose from the stone platform with fluid grace, his robes whispering softly against the ground.
Without a word, he began walking along a narrow path of weathered stones that led deeper into the secluded cove.
I hurried after him, straw sandals slapping quietly against the warm rock.
The path ended at a wide, circular platform carved directly into the cliff face, overlooking the endless sea.
Ancient runes ringed the edge, etched deep into the stone and faintly pulsing with pale blue light.
In the center, a complex magic circle spread out like a blooming flower.
Concentric rings of symbols, lines, and glyphs overlapped one another, seeming to shift and breathe when stared at too long.
Master Zane stopped at the edge of the circle and turned to me.
"Sit in the center."
His voice was calm, but his golden eyes held a rare seriousness.
"I must warn you, Kai. This ritual carries risk."
"The Spirit Realm is no illusion. It is as real as this world, and far more dangerous."
"Unknown places. Unknown beings."
"If you encounter something you cannot handle, retreat instantly."
"Die there, and you will die here too."
"No second chances."
"And even if you succeed, the spirit guardian you bond with may not obey you as those born naturally with one do."
"This spirit will possess its own consciousness. It will act as it wills."
Master Zane's gentle smile faded completely.
"Are you sure you truly want to do this, Kai?"
I nodded slowly.
In this world, almost everyone is born already bound to a spirit guardian.
You see, a guardian usually reflects the bloodline or species of its host.
The Veyra awaken Illusia spirits, beings skilled in illusions, mirages, and shadow.
The Rakar bond with Furyclaw spirits, guardians built for raw strength, speed, and brutal close combat.
The Solvar, like Master Zane, summon Buddhalion spirits, majestic beings that radiate overwhelming presence and unbreakable will.
A spirit guardian always appears more primal than its host. Larger. Wilder. Closer to its ancient roots.
It is the foundation of cultivation. The core that allows qi or magic to take shape and grow.
But I was born empty.
No guardian.
No innate connection.
Without one, I could never truly step onto the path of cultivation or magic.
For the rare few born without a guardian, there is only one path.
To send the soul into the Spirit Realm while still mortal and unawakened.
Only those with no cultivation or magic at all can cross that boundary.
I stepped onto the edge of the platform and slipped off my simple sandals, setting them neatly aside.
Then I stepped forward.
The bare stone felt cool beneath my feet.
I walked to the center and sat cross-legged, hands resting on my knees, back straight, just as Master had taught me.
I closed my eyes.
Darkness filled my vision as I slowed my breathing.
Master Zane raised one hand.
Golden light gathered in his palm, bright and pure. Threads of energy wove together like living silk.
He spoke in an ancient tongue, his voice low and resonant.
The magic circle answered instantly.
Runes flared to life.
Light surged upward in shimmering pillars, enclosing me completely.
Golden threads flowed from Master's hand, wrapping around my body. Gentle at first. Then tighter.
A strange sensation followed.
Pressure built behind my eyes.
The world blurred.
My body grew heavy… then suddenly weightless.
It felt as if I were being pulled inward and outward at the same time, dragged through a tunnel of rushing wind and starlight, every sense stretched thin.
Sound faded.
Light twisted.
And then,
nothing.