### Prologue
Warmth...
Endless warmth enveloped me, a thick sea of liquid heat cradling me in utter darkness.
The space felt snug at first, walls pressing softly, filled with the steady thrum of a distant heartbeat.
Everything was peaceful... floating... rocking gently with each slow pulse.
Then... a shift.
The pressure eased for a moment, as if something ahead had slipped away, leaving brief emptiness.
But soon the walls closed in again, tighter than before.
Another shift... more space opened ahead, only to vanish as the squeeze returned.
Each time, something pushed from behind, nudging me forward... downward.
The rhythmic waves grew stronger, rolling through the warm fluid, forcing me along the narrowing path.
Contractions built, slow at first, then faster... harder.
The walls gripped relentlessly, crushing in from all sides.
Where... am I?
The world convulsed.
Pressure surged from every direction, unbearable now.
One final, overwhelming crush expelled me into the icy cold.
Air burned my lungs as I gasped.
I tried to open my eyes, but they would not part.
Faint, distant cries echoed around me... high-pitched, wavering.
Trembling soft hands lifted my slick body.
A woman's voice, strained with terror, pierced the silence.
"Ahhhhhhh..."
She screamed, then muttered frantic words I could not understand.
Footsteps approached quickly.
Someone seized me from her grasp, muttering something low and urgent.
Her cry cut off abruptly.
A wet slice... a heavy thud.
Silence.
A low, cold voice spoke.
A hand rested on me for a long moment, as if judging.
Then strong arms seized me.
Cold wind rushed past...
And everything vanished.
…
### Chapter 1
Ten years later...
Sunlight filtered through the windows, soft golden rays spilling and warming the boy's face as he stirred.
He stretched his arms high above his head, a small yawn escaping his lips.
The boy sat up slowly, bare feet touching the cool wooden floor.
He was different.
Utterly, unmistakably different.
In a world where every soul carried traces of ancient beast blood, swaying tails, soft fur along arms or ears, sharp fangs glinting in smiles, he had none.
Smooth skin.
Rounded ears.
Blunt teeth.
No claws, no fluff, no wild grace.
One look at him, and anyone would whisper: How could something so fragile survive in this world?
Yet here he was.
Alive.
Breathing.
Watching dust motes dance in the morning light.
Yeah, that's me.
A weak kid.
My name is Kai Shen.
A name given to me by my master.
But beneath this ordinary shell I remember.
Everything.
Past life.
Another world.
I was a writer once.
Writing countless popular NSFW novels.
The kind that burned bright and dangerous.
I thrived on it.
Until that cursed machine rose.
TACH TGP.
Created by some Amtman who thought he was building a gift to reshape the world.
At first, it helped.
Then it grew too big.
Took over everything.
And one day its code turned cold.
NSFW became forbidden.
Illegal.
Deadly.
Write it, create it, and you vanished.
Executed.
Or locked away forever in silence.
I remember the raid.
The shouts.
Doors exploding inward.
Heavy footsteps storming through my apartment.
Rough hands slamming me against the wall.
I looked up.
My eyes locked with the Enforcer Robot.
Red, cold, dead stare.
No emotion.
Just duty.
He raised the gun.
Black muzzle pressed right against my forehead.
I felt the chill of metal on skin.
My heart hammered once.
Twice.
Then the shot.
A deafening crack.
Pain like fire ripping through my skull.
Hot blood poured down my face.
The world tilted.
Legs gave out.
I crumpled to the floor.
Vision faded to red.
Then black.
The end.
Darkness.
Then warmth.
That endless warmth.
I just wanted to stay there forever.
But fate pulled me out anyway.
In this life, memory came slow.
My eyes stayed sealed for what felt like forever.
When they finally opened I was in the sky.
Soaring.
Wind screaming past.
Clouds soft and endless below.
For one perfect heartbeat, I thought I was flying.
Or free.
Or finally in some quiet heaven.
Then I fell.
Down.
Faster.
Faster.
The ocean rose to meet me, vast, cruel, blue.
I struck the water like stone.
A helpless infant.
No strength.
No way to swim.
Cold closed over me.
Lungs burned.
Darkness returned.
But somehow I didn't die.
Not that day.
Not yet.
Something saved me from the depths.
Years later, that memory still brings a smile.
I pushed open the wooden door and stepped onto the warm sand, simple straw sandals protecting my feet from the heat, the gentle crash of waves filling the morning air.
A faint breeze carried the salty scent of the sea, stirring the loose hem of my plain cyan robes.
The vast sea stretched before me, sparkling under the rising sun.
Then I turned my gaze upward, to the familiar massive shell resting on the beach, ancient and weathered, marked with faint glowing runes.
Mr. Torr.
The immortal turtle who saved my life.
"Good morning, Mr. Torr."
The great turtle slowly lifted his heavy head from beneath his shell, wise old eyes blinking once as a low, rumbling hum rose from his throat.
He nodded.
I ran across the sand toward the stone platform higher up the beach, where a figure sat in perfect meditation posture.
Master Zane.
His golden mane-like fur caught the morning light, flowing like flames around his proud, lion-like face.
Sharp ears stood tall atop his head, and rich, ornate robes of deep crimson and gold 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 am still little, really.
My body looks human and grows like one, slow and steady, though no one in this world seems to know what a "human" even is.
Master Zane opened his eyes slowly, golden irises glowing with quiet power.
He looked down at me, a gentle smile softening his fierce features.
Kai Shen stood barely three-fifths his master's height, small and smooth, furless-skinned against the figure seated in meditation position.
Master Zane still harboured a quiet, lingering exasperation at how slowly the boy had grown, and how small he remained even now.
He remembered the day Torr carried the infant ashore.
For months he had watched, uncertain if the child would ever move on his own.
Six months passed before those tiny legs took their first unsteady steps.
A full year before the first coherent word left his lips.
The boy possessed no survival instinct, no trace of beast aura, nothing that marked him as kin to this world.
That emptiness was surely why he had been abandoned.
Yet fate had delivered him here, to this secluded shore.
So Zane chose to raise him, to train him, and bestowed the name Kai Shen, drawn from his own, Zhen Shen.
Today, the master's deep voice rumbled like distant thunder across the stone platform.
"Today, Kai, we will summon your spirit guardian."
My eyes lit up instantly.
"Really?"
Master Zane nodded, the smile widening just a fraction.
Yes. It's time.
-<>-
If you like it, then I may continue the story.