Pain.
That was the first sensation.
Not sharp, but wrong—as though his very existence was being rewritten. Bones compressed, nerves twisted, and his heartbeat… slowed. Thumped once. Then again. And then… something alien took over. His breath was gone. His limbs were gone.
Elias Hart opened his eyes.
But they weren't human eyes anymore.
He was staring up at a forest canopy that pulsed with power. Ancient trees stood like sentinels, their bark thick with moss and soul energy. Everything shimmered—alive in ways he couldn't understand.
He tried to speak but instead hissed.
He looked down and froze.
His body was long, coiled, and covered in metallic scales. Silver, reflective, with a strange fluid sheen that shimmered like mercury under moonlight. His forked tongue flicked instinctively.
> This… isn't Earth. And I'm not human anymore.
Panic surged through him, but he fought it back. He was no stranger to fantasy—he had read enough novels and played enough RPGs to know the signs. He'd been reborn. Reincarnated.
But not as a genius. Not as a noble. Not even as a soul master.
No—he was a beast.
---
A Whisper in the Mind
Suddenly, a pulse echoed inside his consciousness—like a gong struck in another dimension.
> [Mercury Serpent – Soul Beast – Age: 1 Day]
[Innate Ability Unlocked: Mercury Venom]
[Origin Trait Unlocked: Wheel of Fate (Sealed)]
Lines of glowing script burned into his mind like a system message—but deeper, ancient.
> "Wheel… of Fate?"
He focused. A faint image appeared in his mind's eye: a silver wheel divided into twelve glowing runes, each one slowly rotating in orbit.
He instinctively tried to touch it—
> [Wheel of Fate – Rank 1: Unstable]
[Passive: Probability Drift – Small chance to influence surrounding events]
[Active Spin – Available in emergencies (1 use/day). Side effects… unpredictable.]
Unpredictable? What was this, a gacha system?
But even as he questioned it, he felt it—luck, or fate, subtly tugging at the world around him. A falling rock missed his body by inches. A hungry spirit rabbit wandered too close and was immediately stunned by the venom leaking from his breath. He fed without lifting a fang.
The world was already bending around him.
---
A Beast Among Beasts
The first few days were a nightmare of instinct. He had no hands, no tools, no shelter—just fangs and poison. The Star Dou Forest was no place for mercy. Strong soul beasts ruled the trees and rivers. Weaker ones were devoured or enslaved.
Elias learned to adapt. He learned to camouflage, to strike from shadows, to use his mercury venom not just to kill—but to corrupt. His venom slowed muscle movement, clouded spiritual signals, even disrupted the flow of soul power in prey.
He called it Spirit Rot.
He tested the Wheel only once. Wounded after a close fight with a Fire-Tailed Scorpion, he mentally screamed for help and spun the Wheel of Fate.
The wheel turned slowly… painfully…
> [Result: Flux Surge]
A burst of energy exploded within him. His cells repaired, his venom glands overcharged, and for ten glorious seconds, he was stronger than anything in the clearing.
He slaughtered the scorpion.
But the backlash came fast. His vision blurred. His heartbeat slowed to a crawl. He had to hide underground for a full day to recover.
> Note to self, he thought bitterly, the Wheel is not a toy.
---
First Evolution
On the seventh day, it came.
He felt it as a hunger—a pull toward something greater. His scales grew denser, more reflective. His venom changed texture, becoming quicksilver-like in consistency. A metallic sheen coated his body.
> [You have consumed enough spiritual energy to evolve.]
[Name Change: Mercury Snake → Silver-Scaled Mercury Viper]
[Age: 7 days | Spirit Beast Grade: 900 years (Artificially accelerated)]
[Wheel of Fate Upgrade: Tier 2 Unstable – More powerful effects now available.]
He felt power bloom in him.
He wasn't just surviving anymore.
He was evolving.
---
The Choice of Beasts
That night, beneath twin moons, Elias slithered to a quiet cliff overlooking a river that shimmered like crystal. He looked at his reflection for the first time. A creature both beautiful and terrifying stared back—liquid silver scales, violet-slit eyes, and a body that moved like silk through grass.
But inside… he was still Elias Hart. A man. A thinker. A questioner.
> Can a soul beast rise above fate?
The Wheel pulsed once in answer.
And far in the distance, something stirred. A pressure in the air. A disturbance in the soul realm.
Faint... but approaching.
Humans were coming.
And the world was about to notice him.