The last thing Kael remembered from his old life was the vending machine.
Not some grand moment of heroism. Not a dramatic accident or a noble sacrifice. Just a vending machine in the break room at work, and his absolutely brilliant decision to shake it when his energy drink got stuck on the coil. The machine had other ideas about their relationship. It fell forward with all the grace of a collapsing building, and Kael—too surprised to even move—had just enough time to think this is the stupidest way to die before everything went dark.
He'd expected oblivion. Maybe hell, given his track record with late rent payments and that one time he'd microwaved fish in the office kitchen. Instead, he woke up in a void that felt like floating in warm water, staring at something that might have been a person once.
The entity was fading—Kael could tell that much even through his disorientation. It looked like someone had taken the concept of "ancient" and given it a face. Wisps of light and shadow curled around a vaguely humanoid form, and when it spoke, the words bypassed his ears entirely and settled directly into his mind.
"A soul untethered. How... unexpected." The voice carried weight, like stones at the bottom of an ocean. "You stand at a threshold, child of Earth. I can offer you two paths: the peaceful rest of the heavens, or a second chance in a world beyond your own."
Kael's thoughts were still scrambled, but one thing crystallized immediately. He'd died crushed by a vending machine at twenty-four years old, having accomplished approximately nothing with his life. Heaven could wait.
"The second one," he said, or tried to say—his voice didn't seem to work here. "Definitely the second one."
The entity seemed pleased, or at least as pleased as a fading divine remnant could be. "Then I grant you gifts for your journey. The first: Divine Restoration, to mend what is broken. The second: Beast Resonance, to walk alongside legends."
Before Kael could ask what any of that meant, the void collapsed inward, and he fell through reality itself.
Consciousness returned in pieces.
First came the smell—rich earth and green growing things, nothing like the recycled air of his office building. Then sound: wind through leaves, distant bird calls, the gentle rustle of a forest very much alive. Finally, sensation: grass beneath his hands, sunlight warm on his face, and a body that felt... different.
Kael sat up slowly, blinking in the dappled light filtering through an enormous canopy overhead. Trees rose around him like cathedral pillars, their trunks wider than cars and bark covered in luminescent moss that pulsed with faint blue light. He looked down at himself and froze.
These weren't his hands. Or rather, they were—he recognized the scar on his left thumb from that cooking incident in college—but they were younger, smoother. He touched his face and found the soft skin of someone who'd never had to shave regularly, the lean angles of youth. His body felt compact, energetic, coiled with a vitality he hadn't experienced since high school.
"Seventeen," he muttered, his voice cracking slightly. "He sent me back to seventeen."
A translucent interface flickered into existence in front of his eyes, nearly making him fall backwards.
[Welcome, Kael Veyrin]
Beast Resonance: Active
Divine Restoration: Ready
Bonded Mythbeasts: 0/???
He waved his hand through it. The interface didn't move, hovering in his vision no matter where he looked, yet somehow not blocking his view of the world. After a moment of concentration, it faded to transparency, lurking at the edge of his perception.
"Okay," Kael said to the empty forest. "Okay. I'm in another world. I have a video game interface. I'm seventeen again. This is fine. This is totally fine."
It wasn't fine—it was insane and impossible—but panicking wouldn't help. He'd asked for this, after all. Standing up, Kael took stock of his situation. He wore simple clothes, a rough-spun tunic and pants that looked medieval but felt comfortable. No shoes, unfortunately, though his feet seemed tougher than he remembered. No supplies, no weapons, no idea where he was.
The smart thing would be to find civilization, figure out the rules of this world, keep his head down. Kael picked a direction at random and started walking.
He'd barely gone ten minutes when he heard it—a sound that raised every hair on the back of his neck. It was a low, pained growl that rumbled through the forest like distant thunder, full of rage and suffering in equal measure.
Every instinct screamed at him to run the other way. Instead, Kael found his feet carrying him toward the sound. Maybe it was curiosity. Maybe it was stupidity. Maybe it was the lingering memory of dying pointlessly and wanting his second chance to mean something.
He pushed through a thick wall of ferns and stopped dead.
The creature before him was magnificent and terrible in equal measure. It stood as tall as a horse at the shoulder, with the basic shape of a great cat but unlike any tiger that had ever stalked Earth. Midnight-black fur rippled across a powerful frame, but it was the crystalline patterns that caught the eye—geometric lines of deep violet that traced across its body like circuit boards, pulsing with faint inner light. Its eyes glowed the same violet, slitted and intelligent, watching Kael with an awareness that was distinctly not animal.
It was also dying.
Deep gashes tore across the creature's flank, revealing muscle and bone beneath matted fur. Blood—darker than it should be, with an iridescent sheen—pooled beneath it. One leg bent at an unnatural angle. The violet glow of its crystalline patterns flickered weakly, like dying embers.
Those intelligent eyes locked onto Kael, and he felt something touch his mind—not words, but pure meaning. Pain. Desperation. A question: threat or mercy?
Kael's interface flared to life unbidden.
[Mythbeast Detected: Psychic Type]
Status: Critical - Multiple severe injuries
Bond Potential: High
Divine Restoration: Available
His hands moved before his brain caught up. Kael approached slowly, hands raised, projecting every ounce of calm he didn't feel. The psychic creature, according to his interface, watched him come. It could probably kill him with its last strength if it wanted to. Instead, it just watched.
Kael knelt beside the massive beast, close enough to feel the heat radiating from its body. Up close, he could see its chest heaving with labored breaths, see the intelligence and pain warring in those glowing eyes.
"I can help," he said softly, not knowing if it could understand. "If you'll let me."
The creature's eyes narrowed, studying him with an intensity that felt like being weighed on cosmic scales. Then, deliberately, it lowered its head in what could only be acceptance.
Kael placed both hands on the creature's bloodied flank. The moment he made contact, something ignited in his chest—a warmth that spread down his arms and into his palms. Golden-white light poured from his hands like liquid sunlight, and the creature gasped, its whole body going rigid.
The wounds began to close. Flesh knitted itself back together with supernatural speed, blood drying and flaking away as new fur grew to replace what was torn. The broken leg straightened with an audible crack that made Kael wince. The violet crystalline patterns across its body blazed bright, pulsing in time with his heartbeat.
In thirty seconds, it was done. As the light faded, information flickered at the edge of Kael's vision.
[Divine Restoration used]
[Cooldown: 60 minutes]
[Can be used on mythbeasts or self]
An hour between uses. That was manageable, though it meant he'd need to be strategic about when to heal. The creature that had been moments from death now stood whole and healthy, power radiating from every line of its body. It stared at Kael with something that looked like awe.
Then he felt it—a gentle, non-intrusive weight settling in the back of his mind, like a warm presence acknowledging his existence. It wasn't uncomfortable, just... there. Present. Real.
The interface exploded with information.
[Beast Resonance Activated]
Mythbeast Tamed: Psychic type (Unnamed)
Bond Established: 1/???
Ability Acquired: Psychic Pulse
- Project telekinetic force or read surface thoughts
Trait Gained: Telekinesis
- Psychic strength is greatly enhanced
Optimal Growth Path: Available
The change was immediate and overwhelming. Kael's mind seemed to expand, his awareness sharpening until he could feel the life of the forest around him—not just see or hear it, but sense it on a level that defied explanation. The Psychic cat's thoughts brushed against his own, not words but impressions: gratitude, curiosity, recognition.
On instinct, Kael reached out with his mind toward a fallen branch nearby. It trembled, then lifted smoothly into the air, rotating slowly as he willed it to move. The sensation was intoxicating—like learning he'd had a phantom limb his entire life and only now could feel it.
The Psychic cat made a sound, something between a purr and a rumble, its tail swishing. Through their connection, Kael felt approval, even satisfaction.
"You need a name," he said, his voice shaking slightly. The creature tilted its head, crystalline patterns brightening. "How about... Vera?"
The name settled over her like a mantle. Vera—because somehow Kael knew she was female now—stepped forward and pressed her massive head against his chest, nearly knocking him over. Her thoughts radiated warmth and acceptance.
Kael wrapped his arms around her neck, feeling the thrum of power beneath her fur, the steady presence in his mind that told him he was no longer alone. He'd been in this world for less than an hour, and already everything had changed.
A memory surfaced—the divine entity's final words before sending him here. Beast Resonance, to walk alongside legends.
He pulled back to look at Vera in her glowing eyes, a grin spreading across his face despite the absolute insanity of his situation.
"Alright then," Kael said. "Let's figure out this world together."
Vera's answering rumble sounded almost like laughter. In the back of his mind, he felt her agreement, solid as stone.
His second life had truly begun.