Chapter : Rebirth in the Darkness
Rebirth in the Darkness
The cold was suffocating. He could feel it seep into his bones, the darkness of the night closing in around him. The sharp crack of a gunshot had echoed through the alley just moments ago, the pain of the bullet tearing through his chest. He had barely reacted, only enough to push the woman behind him, trying to shield her from the madness.
"Run!" he had told her, his last words before the darkness consumed him.
But now… it was quiet. Too quiet.
He tried to open his eyes, but the world didn't make sense. It wasn't the same. The sharp, cold air, the smell of blood, the sounds of distant traffic—none of it was there.
Instead, the silence was overwhelming. His body felt… wrong. The familiar human form was gone. No hands. No feet. No chest rising with each desperate breath. Instead, there was something else. Something different.
What… is this?
He blinked rapidly, his eyes adjusting to the world around him. The faint light of the moon filtered through towering trees above, their branches swaying with the wind. He was on the ground, but his body… it was wrong. He was no longer human.
He lifted his head, shaking it. His vision was sharper now. The world looked different. Bigger. And… his paws?
Paws?
He looked down at his body. Covered in dark, coarse fur. A tail. The snout of a wolf. But there was something more. He could feel it in his muscles, the way his body moved—more than just a wolf, but a wolfman.
What the hell?
He had been a man in his past life. A regular guy, working a normal job, until that night when he had tried to save her. That bullet had been the end of him, or so he thought. Now, he was… this.
Am I dead?
The pain from the bullet was gone, but it was replaced with confusion. What was going on? He was supposed to be dead. And yet, here he was. In some strange, unfamiliar forest. Reborn.
His heart thudded—alive.
He instinctively pushed himself up, his new limbs unsteady beneath him. His movements felt alien, but there was a strange power in his new form. His claws dug into the earth as he steadied himself. His new body wasn't human, but it was strong. He could feel it. His muscles were powerful, and there was a sense of wildness coursing through his veins.
I need to survive. The thought struck him suddenly, as if it were a command. A primal instinct, something that felt more real than the memories of his past life.
There were no answers here, just the undeniable truth that he was now a wolfman—and he had to survive.
As he took his first steps, testing his balance, the ground beneath him seemed to shift. The forest was vast, the trees looming above like giants. The air was thick with the smell of damp earth and distant creatures. The world had a feeling of wildness to it—untamed, raw, and full of danger.
His ears perked. A new scent filled the air—sharp, familiar, but foreign. Something was watching him. Something close.
Before he could react, a window appeared in front of his eyes. It flickered with information, almost as if it had been waiting for him to notice.
Status Screen
• Name: Ryu Kuroshi
• Species: Wolfman
• Level: 1
• Strength: 15
• Agility: 18
• Endurance: 12
• Intelligence: 8
• Skill: Basic Hunting
• Unique Skill: Beast Assimilation – Absorb the traits of any animal you consume, gaining their abilities and attributes for a limited time.
Ryu stared at the screen, confused. What is this?
There was no time to dwell on it. He didn't have the luxury of understanding what was happening. He had been given a new body, a new chance, and now he had to survive. He could feel something stirring within him—something more than the basic instincts of a wolf. A power. A strength. A purpose.
His head swam with the realization: this world was different. There were no rules here—only survival. And whatever had brought him here wasn't going to let him waste his second chance. He was meant to do something. Something bigger.
A growl rumbled from deep within his chest. It wasn't his voice, but it was familiar. The instincts of a wolf. But there was more to it—more power.
The air shifted again, and suddenly, a new scent hit him. The creature that had been watching him was close now, emerging from the shadows. Another wolfman, but this one was larger—its eyes glowing faintly in the darkness. It was an alpha.
The wolfman growled low, his stance defensive, as if testing Ryu. It was clear that this was a challenge. But the feeling inside Ryu didn't waver.
This is my world now.
He stepped forward, bristling with the newfound confidence that came with his instincts—and whatever power he now possessed. The two wolfmen stared at each other in the silence, both sizing the other up. This wasn't a fight for dominance yet. But it would be. One way or another.
A distant howl echoed through the forest, a call that shook him from his thoughts. The fight was coming.
He narrowed his eyes.
He had been reborn as a wolfman in a world that seemed endless and full of danger. But more importantly, he had been given a name—Ryu Kuroshi. He would claim this world. He would name it. He would make his mark. Because one thing was certain: Survival wasn't just a need. It was his new purpose.
End of Chapter 1