Darkness.
It stretched in all directions, a sea without end and beginning. It was silent, it was skyless, it was earthless below him. Just a floating sense of self—faint, flickering, barely aware. Somewhere deep inside, something pulsed softly… like a sleeping heart waiting to wake.
Then it came.
[System Booting...]
[Initializing Host Soul... Complete.]
[Welcome, Ren Ichikawa. You have been reincarnated.]
[Current Form: Dragon Egg – Stage: Dormant]
[Race: Primordial Dragon (Mythic-Class)]
[Location: Whispering Vale Forest – Ancient Cavern]
Ren's mind buzzed with confusion.
"Egg...? Reincarnated?" the thought echoed in the black void of his consciousness.
Fragments of his old life drifted back like ashes on the wind—his brother's laugh, the distant smile of his mother, the warmth of his father's hand, the stillness after the accident, and finally... that cold hospital bed.
Now, he was something new. Something ancient.
[Species: Primordial Dragon – feared even by Ancient Dragons.]
[Status: Dormant. Egg Phase.]
[Passive Skill Unlocked: [Primordial Aura]]
[Effect: Instantly eliminates any being under Level 30 within a 10-meter radius.]
[Warning: Nearby low-level monster activity detected. Activating aura…]
A silent shockwave rippled out from within him.
Ren couldn't feel it, but he sensed it—the vibrating of the air, the trembling of the cave.
Outside his shell, shrieks resounded as beasts attacked the egg, drawn by the heat, the vigor—its possibility of life. But they never reached it. Each one dropped, lifeless, before their claws could scrape the shell.
[Three monsters eliminated. Hatching Progress +2%... +3%... +4%... Current: 43%.]
Still too early. The shell did not crack.
Trapped in the egg, Ren was alive… but not yet born.
Time passed in fragments—empty, quiet.
He didn't know how long he remained in silence. Hours, days, maybe longer. Time inside the egg was a strange thing. Sometimes, his thoughts drifted peacefully. Other times, pain returned, dragging him back to the cold that had once claimed his life.
But then, one day, new vibrations rippled through the cave floor. Softer than the beasts. Steady. Walking. Speaking.
Two voices, clear and warm, drifted through the chamber.
[Scanning…]
[Two life forms detected. Aura not hostile.]
[Suppression of [Primordial Aura] recommended to avoid unintended kills.]
[→ Suppressing Aura… Done.]
[Name: Lily | Age: 26 | Race: Foxy (Beastkin) – Noble Branch Line]
[Name: Kael | Age: 28 | Race: Foxy (Beastkin) – Commoner]
[Status: Peaceful.]
[Profession: Healer / Forager]
[Affiliation: Whispering Vale Settlement – Protected by Royal Academy.]
[Foxy – a beast race with low combat ability. Skilled in herbology and medicine. Known for peaceful nature. Protected due to usefulness in alchemy and barrier magic.]
Ren's mind stirred.
These weren't monsters. Their voices were calm, careful… familiar, somehow.
"I really thought the Red-Glow Mint would be here," the female voice sighed, weary but gentle. "I was sure."
"It's not your fault, Lily," replied the man, calm and patient. "That grove was cleared weeks ago. The eastern plains are too dry this season."
"We have to keep trying, Kael," she whispered. "Riku barely woke up today. If we can't find the right herbs…"
"I know," he said softly. "But you need to rest too."
Their steps echoed as they entered deeper into the cave, away from the forest mist and the failed hopes of the day.
Ren listened, unmoving, barely daring to think.
Riku…? Was that a child?
"I didn't want to stop here," Lily murmured. "This cave always gave me a strange feeling."
"Just for a while," Kael replied. "We'll be gone before the forest sleeps."
A pause.
Then a soft gasp. "Kael… what is that?"
They stepped closer.
"It's… an egg?" Kael knelt beside it, hand hovering just above the black shell. "Massive. I've never seen anything like this."
Lily crouched beside him. "Is it… warm?"
Ren felt her fingers brush the surface. Her touch was tentative, inquiring—much as her own, when she would take his temperature as he lay feigning sleep.
"It's alive," Lily said with wonder. "Kael, do you feel it?"
"Yeah." He frowned, cautious. "But no magical surge. No hostility. It's like… it's sleeping."
"I want to keep it."
Kael looked at her, startled. "What?"
"I'm serious," Lily said, smiling just a little. "It's alone. Abandoned. It's… like us."
He hesitated. "You think we can just adopt a random magic egg in the woods?"
She placed her hand on the shell again. "We adopted each other, didn't we?"
Kael exhaled, defeated but fond. "You're impossible."
"And you love me for it."
He chuckled under his breath.
Ren's heart stirred—if it could be called a heart.
Their voices. Their warmth. The way they leaned into each other, supporting without question…
It reminded him of home.
His mother—always laughing, even when tired. His father—quiet, but strong. His little brother—cursed, in his own way, with loneliness and fear after their parents died.
"They're like… my family," Ren thought. "They don't know me. They don't know what I am. But… they're still kind."
A soft warmth bloomed inside him, brighter than the killing aura he had wielded just days before.
[New Emotional Parameter Detected: [Heart Echo]]
[Status: Locked. Progress to unlock: 7%]
Lily leaned her head gently against Kael's shoulder.
"I think this egg might be a blessing," she whispered.
Kael didn't respond, but his hand moved slowly, wrapping around hers.
Inside the shell, Ren closed his eyes—not to sleep, but to remember.
He wasn't just a monster. He wasn't just a weapon. He still had something left—feelings, memories, the quiet hope for connection.
Perhaps… being reborn didn't mean starting over as something else.
Maybe it meant rediscovering what he'd lost.