Fray opened his eyes slowly, his body feeling damp with his own blood. His eyes were almost bloodshot as he weakly pushed himself up on his elbows and slowly sat down.
The cold floor pressed against his skin, and the metallic smell of blood filled his nose.
What's happening…? He died, right?
His hands moved to his chest and then to his side, trembling slightly, only to find that both stab wounds were completely healed. There is not even a scar.
Was that even possible?
"I told ya, no women and sleep early, didn't I?"
Fray jumped out of his skin as he heard a voice behind him. He slipped on the pool of blood and fell back again, then quickly rolled across the floor, putting distance between himself and the voice before scrambling up into a sitting position.
It was the landlord.
The old man was sitting calmly on a chair, his back hunched as always, looking at Fray with those sharp, aged eyes.
The flickering ceiling light cast deep shadows across his wrinkled face.
"Kids these days…" he muttered irritably.
Fray grabbed his head with one hand, breathing heavily as he stared at the man. He clearly remembered what Ellie Fenrir had done to him. There was no way…no way at all that he should be alive.
"Confused, are we?" the old man said, his voice trembling from age but steady in meaning. "Yer beast saved ya. Such a rare one."
As he spoke, his gaze shifted to Fray's shadow, stretched unnaturally across the floor by the flickering ceiling light.
"My beast? Wait… what's going on?" Fray asked as he tried to put everything together. His thoughts were scattered as his head still felt heavy.
His eyes glanced down at his own shadow, but he didn't feel even the slightest stir from his beast.
"A beast residing in a tamer's shadow… truly rare," the old man said as he finally stood up, joints creaking softly. "But kid, that beast is not complete."
Fray tilted his head and looked at the old man. He already knew that much.
His beast wasn't complete, just a fragmented one, something that usually didn't even count as a beast at all, more like a soul fragment, or a leftover existence that failed to fully awaken.
"But ya can complete it," the old man continued, walking toward the door. "Find its missing parts and put them together. A path filled with uncertainty and hardship… but it will be worth it."
Fray stood there, completely dumbfounded. "Huh?"
"There must be a reason that beast chose you," the old man said without turning back.
"Who are you? I mean… you-ah…" Fray's voice trailed off as he struggled to find the right words. Everything about this felt strange, yet the old man acted as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
"None of your business," the old man replied, already stepping out of the house. "Just fix the damn house before you begin!"
And with that, he disappeared down the stairs, his presence fading as if he was never there at all.
"Wait… begin what?" Fray asked, but the man had already left.
The silence returned. Fray's eyes slowly landed on an envelope lying on a table near the door. But before he could move, his body stiffened.
He stood there frozen as his gaze dropped to the pool of blood beneath him. His hand moved again to his chest, pressing over his heart.
"Ellie…" he muttered softly.
The image of her face flashed in his mind, how easily she had killed him, how cold her eyes were.
To be honest, she was the only family member who had ever felt even a little close to him. The one person Fray least expected to betray him.
Why the heck would she come in the middle of the night just to kill him?
How the heck did she even find out where he lived?
And why… why would she kill him?
Fray had too many questions and not a single answer right now.
Slowly, his gaze flickered back to his shadow. This time, he felt it even though it was faint. His beast stirred within it.
His F-rank scrapper.
A rare one, huh? Too much for just being a F-rank.
In truth, Fray didn't know how to process the situation at all. His chest felt tight as his thoughts were tangled. For a moment, he shook his head lightly, as if trying to push away everything that had happened, just for a while.
Then, slowly, he reached out and picked up the envelope.
His fingers paused for a second before he opened it.
Beast Hunter ID.
Fray deadpanned as he pulled it out.
It was an ID card issued to Beast Hunters, also known as Combat Tamers, the ones who fought against rampaging beasts and secured the world. At least, that was what it used to mean.
Now, in the present age, it was much more of a business. They were divided into guilds and organizations, fighting over licenses and competing to claim beast-spawning territories. Glory, money, and influence, it was all tangled together.
But only tamers higher than D-rank could join the Combat Hunters.
So how the heck did that old man even get him an ID?
Fray frowned as he looked down at the card again.
Name: Fray Raven
Rank: C
Beast Type: Combat
Beast Affinity: Shadow
Beast Species: UNKNOWN
Fray stared at it, completely deadpanned.
This was… a straight-up lie.
"What the hell is wrong with that old man?" he muttered. "How did he even make this?"
Then-
PING!
Fray almost fell on his butt as a blue, transparent dialogue box suddenly appeared in front of him, floating in midair like something straight out of a game system.
+=================+
[Anomaly Evolution System — Activating]
[User Status]
Name: Fray Fenrir
Race: Human
Condition: Unstable
Life Force: 27%
Soul Integrity: Damaged
Anima Core Status: Uncompleted (12%)
Contracts: 1
Anomalies: 1
+=================+
Fray froze, staring at the glowing text, his mouth slightly open.
"Wha-what in the world?" he exclaimed as he stared at it.
He barely remembered hearing that mechanical voice before, back when he was lying on the floor, drowning in blood. But he never expected something like this to appear in front of him.
He waved his hand through the box. The blue screen flickered and glitched slightly, but it didn't disappear.
Am I hallucinating?
He rubbed his eyes hard and looked again. The screen was still there, hovering calmly in the air. And the faint stir of his beast within his shadow told him the truth.
Whatever this was… it was real.
"Contracts…" he mumbled, his eyes slowly scanning down the list.
+==========================+
[Bonded Beast]
Name: Unknown
Type: Shadow
Grade: F
State: Dormant
Evaluation: Defective
+==========================+
[Exclusive Skill]
Name: Alive When Dead
Type: Passive (Anomaly)
Effect:
→ Prevents the true death of the contractor
Cost:
→ Life Force
→ Soul Integrity
Restriction:
→ Cannot be manually activated
+==========================+
"Dormant…" Fray muttered under his breath.
Dormant was a term used for beasts that could not manifest physically or actively use their skills. Beasts that existed, yet didn't, failed awakenings, and incomplete existences.
And his skill… [Alive When Dead].
So that was what saved his life.
His fingers slowly curled as the realization sank in. Is that what the old man meant… when he said his beast saved him?
Fray leaned back slightly, exhaling through his nose. His heart still beat in his chest.
A F-rank, defective beast.
Yet somehow… it dragged him back from death.
Fray glanced down at his shadow again, his expression unreadable.
"…What the hell are you?"
Fray still felt like all of this was just a dream he was having after his death.
Could these things really be real? He had never received anything good ever since he was born. So it was hard to trust that he suddenly got a cheat-like skill, well, not really a cheat, since it was literally draining his life force.
Fray already knew that if his life force dropped to zero, soul erosion would occur. And once that happened, he would be gone forever, experiencing true death with no coming back.
Then, another system box appeared.
Fray went completely still.
+==========================+
[EVOLUTION NOTIFICATION]
[Condition Fulfilled]
Event: User Death
Emotion: Betrayal Detected
Shadow Density: High
[Fragment Recovered]
→ 'Unknown' Beast Fragment (1)
[Evolution Progress Updated]
14% → 21%
_____________________________________________________
[SYSTEM]
[Anomaly Identified - Beast]
True Name: Sealed
Title: Shadow Sovereign (Fragmented)
Attribute: Death / Shadow / Soul
Rank Potential: Unknown (EX)
Evolution Progress: 21%
Fragments Recovered: 1 / 7
+==========================+
"…What the fuck," Fray said in a completely deadpanned tone as he stared at the screen.
…
Then he suddenly grabbed his own hair and yanked it hard. "EX grade?! Are you kidding me?!"
This had to be a dream.
EX was a rank even higher than S-rank, the highest rank this world officially had. His eyes snapped toward his shadow, breathing unevenly.
So whatever this beast was… it had EX-grade potential.
And it would reach that rank once all those fragments were completed.
Fray's thoughts raced.
If fragments were recovered through his death… then that meant he just had to die a few more times, right?
Six more times, to be exact.
And it has to be dark, painful deaths.
But he would resurrect anyway.
Fray's eyes literally began to twinkle at the terrifying realization, excitement mixing with madness before he could stop it.
Then-
+==========================+
[Warning]
[Primary Objective - Complete Your Anima Core First!]
+==========================+