The drainage tunnel spat Sunny out into a river.
He hit the water hard. Cold. Fast-moving. The current pulled him under. His lungs burned.
The Void Wing's body tightened around him. Its wings flapped. Pulling him up. Breaking the surface.
Sunny gasped for air. Coughed. Sputtered.
The river carried him downstream. Away from the city.
After ten minutes, the current slowed. Sunny grabbed onto a rock and pulled himself to shore. The Void Wing released him and floated nearby, wings glowing softly in the darkness.
He collapsed on the muddy bank. Every muscle ached. His back still bled where the Blood Bat had clawed him. His mana was nearly empty. But he was alive.
Sunny laid there for a moment, staring at the sky.
Then he sat up.
He couldn't rest. Not yet. The soldiers would search the river eventually. They'd find him if he stayed.
"Return."
The Void Wing dissolved into mist and retreated to his arm. The mark glowed faintly. Blue and black mixed together.
Sunny stood and looked around. Trees. Forest. He'd been swept outside the city walls. Into the Wilderness.
Dangerous. But also an opportunity.
He started walking. Following the river upstream. Back toward the city, but not too close. He needed to circle around. Find a different gate. A different way in.
After an hour of walking, he reached higher ground. A hill overlooking the valley. And there it was.
Krane City.
Massive stone walls. Towers reaching into the sky. Lights glowing from thousands of windows. In the center, the royal palace stood tall. Even from here, he could see its golden spires. But that wasn't what caught his attention.
Beyond the city. In the distance. Floating in the air. Ships.
Not boats. Not airships like in fantasy stories.
Actual spacecraft. Sleek. Metallic. Glowing with energy. They hovered above massive platforms built outside the city. Launch pads. Docking stations.
Sunny's memories from his past life stirred. He'd read about this. Heard rumors.
Eternia wasn't just one world. It was part of a larger universe. Thousands of planets. Millions of cultivators and warriors and Beast Tamers. All connected through the Star Gates.
In his past life, he'd lived on Earth. A world of technology and dungeons and system users.
But there were other worlds. Magic worlds. Cultivation worlds. Taming worlds.
Eternia was a taming world. People bonded with Beasts. Fought wars. Climbed ranks.
And those ships? They traveled between worlds. Carrying goods. Carrying people.
He also remembered something else. The Ascension Zones. Special places where people could cultivate. Train. Break through their limits. These zones existed on every major world. Places where the laws of reality were thinner. Where power came easier.
On Earth, they were called dungeons. Here, they were called Taming Grounds and Ascension Zones.
Different names. Same concept. Power.
Sunny clenched his fists. In his past life, he'd been trapped at level fifty. Unable to break through. Betrayed before he could ascend.
But here? Here he had the Fusion System. But first, he needed to survive. And to survive, he needed to blend in.
Right now, he was a wanted criminal. The assassin who killed the king. Every guard in the kingdom was searching for him.
He needed a new identity. A cover. A reason to exist that wouldn't draw suspicion. And he had one.
The Tamer Academy.
Every sixteen-year-old in the kingdom could apply. It was where young Tamers learned the basics. How to bond with Beasts. How to fight. How to survive.
If he enrolled, he'd have a legitimate identity. A reason to be in the city. Protection from random searches. The authorities were looking for an assassin. Not a student.
But there was a problem. His Beast.
The Void Wing was dark-type. Shadow element. Rare. Suspicious.
If anyone saw it, they'd connect him to the assassination immediately. He needed to change his appearance. Change his Beast's appearance. Become someone else entirely.
Sunny checked his status.
[STATUS]
NAME: Sunny Vale
AGE: 16
LEVEL: 2
STRENGTH: 6
AGILITY: 7
INTELLIGENCE: 15
VITALITY: 6
MANA: 23
TAMER RANK: BRONZE
BEASTS TAMED: 1
Tamer Rank: Bronze.
He knew the ranking system from his memories. Every Tamer was ranked based on their strongest Beast's level.
[TAMER RANKS]
BRONZE RANK: Beast Level 1-10
SILVER RANK: Beast Level 11-25
GOLD RANK: Beast Level 26-50
PLATINUM RANK: Beast Level 51-75
DIAMOND RANK: Beast Level 76-99
MASTER RANK: Beast Level 100+
GRANDMASTER RANK: Beast Level 150+
LEGEND RANK: Beast Level 200+
His Void Wing was level seven. That made him Bronze Rank. The lowest tier. Perfect for a student.
Most academy applicants were Bronze Rank. Some were Silver if they came from wealthy families with access to better Beasts.
He could blend in. Play the part of a weak, aspiring Tamer. No one would suspect him.
But he still needed to change his appearance. His clothes were torn and bloody. His face was covered in dirt and grime. Sunny made his way down the hill. Toward a small village he'd spotted near the forest edge. Smoke rose from chimneys. Farms surrounded it.
He approached carefully. Avoiding the main road. Sticking to the shadows.
There. A clothesline behind one of the houses. Shirts and pants drying in the night air. Sunny moved quickly. Grabbed a simple brown tunic and black pants.
He changed behind a barn. Threw his old clothes into a bush. The new outfit fit well enough. A bit loose, but acceptable.
Next, his face. He found a water trough and washed. Scrubbing away the dirt and blood. His reflection stared back at him. Young. Sharp eyes. Short black hair.
Different from his past life. That version of him had been older. Scarred. Hardened by years of betrayal. This version was clean. Fresh. Innocent-looking.
Sunny dried his face and headed toward the main road. The village was stirring. Early morning. Farmers heading to their fields. Merchants preparing their stalls.
He walked past them. No one looked twice. Good.
He followed the road toward Krane City. By noon, he'd reached the eastern gate. Different from the western gate where the soldiers had been searching.
Guards stood at the entrance. Checking people. Asking questions. Sunny waited in line. His heart pounded.
When his turn came, a guard looked him over.
"Name?"
"Kai Storm." Sunny used a random name.
"Purpose?"
"Tamer Academy. I'm here for the entrance exam."
The guard checked a list.
"Age?"
"Sixteen."
"Tamer Rank?"
"Bronze."
The guard nodded. "You got papers?"
"Lost them in a Beast attack on the road." Sunny kept his voice steady. "But you can verify at the academy. They have records of all applicants."
The guard hesitated. Then waved him through. "Go to the registration office in the plaza. They'll sort you out. Next!"
Just like that. He was in.
Sunny walked through the gate. Into the city. His city now.
The streets were busy. People everywhere. Merchants. Tamers with their Beasts walking beside them. Children playing. No one paid him any attention. Just another Bronze Rank kid trying to make something of himself.
He allowed himself a small smile. The soldiers were still searching the sewers. Still hunting for the assassin.
But the assassin was dead. In his place was Kai Storm. Academy student. Bronze Rank Tamer. Nobody special.
Sunny walked toward the plaza. Toward the registration office.
He'd enroll in the academy. Learn everything they had to teach. Gain access to resources. Information. Opportunities.
And he'd fuse. Again and again. Until his Beast was unstoppable.
Until he was unstoppable.
The people who framed him for the king's murder would pay. The real assassin would be found. Justice would come.