The rain fell like shattered glass.
Cold. Relentless. Endless.
A young man stood alone in a narrow alley, soaked to the bone. His breathing was uneven, chest rising and falling as unfamiliar memories flooded his mind.
Not his.
Not… his world.
Towering holographic billboards flickered above the city skyline. Giant beasts roared in projected advertisements, their glowing eyes staring down like gods.
This was not Earth.
"…Beast Tamers…" he muttered under his breath.
Fragments of memory surged again—this body's past.
Weak. Useless. Mocked.
Failed three times to contract a beast.
A disgrace.
He clenched his fist slowly.
"No… not anymore."
A sharp pain exploded in his head.
—BOOM—
The world froze.
Sound vanished.
Rain stopped mid-air.
Darkness swallowed everything.
Then—
Light.
A massive, ancient book appeared before him, floating in the void. Its surface was black as abyss, veins of neon blue energy pulsing across it like a heartbeat.
It opened.
Pages turned on their own.
Symbols he had never seen… yet somehow understood.
A voice echoed—not heard, but felt.
[Abyss Codex Activated]
His pupils shrank.
"System…?"
[Scanning Host…]
[Soul Stability: Abnormal]
[Compatibility: Absolute]
The pages burned with light.
Images flashed—
Monsters devouring stars.
Worlds collapsing.
Beasts fusing into something… beyond definition.
His breathing stopped.
"…What the hell is this?"
[Function Unlocked: Evolution Insight]
[Function Unlocked: Fragment Absorption]
The book slammed shut.
The void shattered.
—CRACK—
Reality returned.
Rain fell again.
The alley reappeared.
But something had changed.
His vision… was different.
Alive.
Sharp.
Hungry.
A faint glow pulsed in his eyes.
Footsteps approached.
"Oi! Trash! Still hiding here?"
Three youths stepped into the alley, laughing.
Academy uniforms.
One of them tossed something forward.
A small, dull-colored egg rolled across the wet ground… stopping at his feet.
"This is what suits you," the leader sneered. "A defective beast egg."
Laughter echoed.
"Even if it hatches, it'll probably die."
The young man slowly bent down… picking up the egg.
Cold.
Cracked.
Almost lifeless.
Then—
Something flickered.
A faint, distorted pulse.
His eyes widened slightly.
The world shifted.
Lines. Data. Information.
A glowing interface appeared over the egg.
[Unknown Entity Detected]
[Status: Dormant]
[Potential Evolution Paths: ???]
His heartbeat quickened.
"…Unknown?"
The system pulsed again.
[Warning: Irregular Existence]
The cracks on the egg glowed faintly.
A soft… unnatural rhythm.
Not weak.
Not dead.
Something else.
Something wrong.
A slow smile formed on his lips.
"…Perfect."
Behind him, the bullies were still laughing.
They didn't see it.
They didn't understand.
But he did.
This… wasn't a defective egg.
It was—
A glitch.
And glitches…
Break the rules.