Lyra woke to silence.
Not the absence of noise—no, this silence felt alive. It pulsed in her ears, in her chest, like the world was holding its breath.
She opened her eyes slowly.
Overhead, enormous silver trees loomed, their branches
twisting toward a sky colored in soft violet and fading blue. The air shimmered with glowing dust that drifted like snow, and the grass beneath her hands glowed faintly, as if kissed by stars.
She sat up. Her fingers brushed strange moss—soft, glowing with faint silver threads—and her breath caught.
This wasn't Earth.
Her backpack was gone. Her boots were damp. The air smelled like mint and wild honey.
She pressed a hand to her chest, heartbeat rapid but steady.
Then—
A sound.
Chime.
A delicate tone rang in her mind like wind through crystal glass.
> 🌿 [Eden Core Activated]
Welcome, Soulbound Host: Lyra Hale
🌱 Core Status: Rootling
Hidden Survival System: 1% Unlocked
Scanning Vital Field...
Lyra gasped. "Wh-what the hell…?"
A glowing interface floated before her, transparent and soft green, like mist and light woven together. She reached out instinctively, and it pulsed in response.
> [Condition: Anomaly Detected – Host Displaced From
Original Realm]
🛑 Beast Realm Identified:
Vireath
Primary Objective: Survive & Conceal
> 🧺 Starter Pack Granted
🎒 Inventory Unlocked
🏡 Inner Space: Activated
(Tier 0 - Garden Size)
> ⚠️ Nearby Entity Detected
Life Form: Lupinus - Alpha Tier
Lyra's breath caught.
The leaves behind her rustled.
Slowly, very slowly, she turned her head.
And there—just ten feet away, half-shadowed in the trees—stood a wolf.
But not just any wolf.
He was massive—at least twice the size of a normal one, with a coat of snow-white fur streaked in pale gray and silver. His eyes glowed faintly blue, like twin moons caught in dusk.
And he was watching her.
Her voice died in her throat.
The creature stepped forward, and as it moved, its form shifted. Its body elongated, muscles rippling beneath fur that faded into smooth skin. Tall, lean, powerfully built. His snout shortened, his ears twitched, and standing before her was no longer a beast—but a man.
A beastman.
Naked from the waist up, his skin bore faint, luminous markings like carved runes across his collarbone. Pale white hair framed his sharp face, and those moonlit eyes—wolf and wild and too human—pinned her where
she sat.
"…You don't smell right," he said, voice low and rough like gravel soaked in rain.
Lyra flinched. Her mind screamed Run, but her legs wouldn't move.
He stalked closer, and the air around him pulsed with power. Cold. Scented like pine and stone and winter.
His eyes narrowed.
"You're not from any clan I know."
He sniffed again, and his lips curled into the faintest snarl.
"No beast scent. No bloodline. You're either very stupid… or very dangerous."
Lyra's lips trembled. "I-I'm just… I'm not dangerous. I swear—"
> 💡 [System Tip: Lying
Recommended. Revealing your origin will result in immediate termination by
territorial alpha.]
"I'm…" she forced herself to speak, voice shaking. "From the… Hidden Valley Tribe. I was gathering herbs and got… lost."
He stared at her for a long moment. Tension stretched the air.
Then—
Growl.
He lunged forward.
Lyra screamed—but instead of claws or teeth, he grabbed her arm and sniffed her wrist sharply. His nose twitched.
"…Your scent's masked. But faint."
He studied her, head tilting slightly.
"You don't smell like prey."
Her eyes welled with tears, but she held them back. "Please don't hurt me."
The beastman stared at her. Then looked at the trembling wildflowers beside her.
One of them had bloomed in the shape of a spiral—a rare mark of life magic.
"You're strange," he said finally. "But not a threat."
He let her go. "Not yet."
Lyra sank to the ground, hands trembling.
> ✅ Bond Recognition Triggered:
Name: Lykos
Class: Moon Wolf Alpha
Status: Cautiously Curious
Affinity: 1%
He turned his back to her.
"Get up. This forest isn't safe. The others will smell you soon."
"…Why are you helping me?"
He didn't look back.
"I don't know yet," he muttered. "Maybe because something about you… feels like a dream I forgot."
---
🌙 End of Chapter One