The lizard hadn't moved.
It was still frozen mid-pounce, one claw raised, its wide yellow eyes locked on mine like I had stolen its lunch. Except now, it was glowing. Faint green lines pulsed under its scaly skin, lighting up its veins like moss-fed roots. I couldn't move. I couldn't look away.
Then the voice returned.
[Welcome, Host. The Life System has been successfully bonded.]
My mouth hung open. I stared at the glowing monster in front of me, trying to process what I was hearing. Or… thinking? It wasn't exactly a voice. More like a message delivered straight into my skull.
[Congratulations. You have awakened your Life Affinity.]
[Skill Acquired: Pulse Sense – You can now perceive the life energy of living beings.]
[Skill Acquired: Vital Thread – Establish basic energy links with flora or fauna.]
[Survival Tip #1: Screaming less improves survival rate.]
"I wasn't screaming," I muttered.
The lizard let out a low growl. The glow faded slightly, and the pulsing slowed. Whatever frozen state it was in, it wasn't going to last forever.
I staggered to my feet. My legs felt like wet noodles. My hand was still glowing faintly, the same green shimmer I saw in the lizard.
"What did I do?" I asked aloud, even though I knew the forest wasn't going to answer.
The System didn't say anything else. Apparently, it was done talking for now.
I took a step back. The lizard's eyes twitched.
Another step.
Its claws flexed.
"Okay," I whispered, raising my hands. "No sudden moves. You're still big. You're still sharp. And I'm still not ready to die."
Then something strange happened.
I felt… something. Not fear. Not instinct. Something deeper. A connection. Like a thin thread of warmth stretched between me and the lizard, humming with tension. I could feel its heartbeat. Fast. Unsteady. Confused. It wasn't just angry. It was in pain.
I didn't know how I knew that. I just did.
I held up my hand, palm open. I didn't know why. Maybe it was stupid. Maybe I had already gone crazy.
But the glow from my hand pulsed softly.
The lizard blinked. Its growl lowered.
And then… it turned and limped back into the woods.
I stood there for a full minute after it disappeared, waiting for it to change its mind and come back to finish the job. But it didn't.
I slowly backed into the hut, shut the broken door behind me, and collapsed onto the dirt floor.
My hands trembled. My heart was still racing. But I was alive.
And I had a System.
I stared at my fingers, watching the glow fade. Then I looked around the hut, as if seeing it for the first time. It was still awful—one wall was completely rotted through, and the roof had more holes than wood—but right now, it felt like a palace.
Because I wasn't dead.
And because something inside me had finally awakened.
I lay there in silence, listening to the wind whisper through the broken beams. Then the System pinged again.
[Life Energy Detected: 2 meters. Flora – low-grade medicinal vine.]
A line of green text hovered in my vision, pointing toward the far corner of the hut. I turned my head.
A vine was growing through a crack in the floorboards, coiled around the leg of a broken chair. I'd seen it earlier but thought nothing of it.
Now, it glowed faintly, like it was answering some invisible call.
I crawled toward it, reached out, and touched one of the leaves.
Another ping.
[Vital Thread Established.]
Suddenly, I felt warmth rush up my arm. Not painful. Not overwhelming. Just… alive. Like a heartbeat syncing with mine.
I yanked my hand back.
The glow faded.
I sat there, staring at the vine.
"That… was weird."
But it wasn't bad.
It didn't hurt me. If anything, it made me feel more awake than I had in days.
I reached out again, slower this time. My fingers brushed the leaf.
[Vital Thread Strengthening.]
The warmth returned. This time, I didn't pull away.
I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. The scent of earth, the feel of mana in the air, the rhythm of the forest beyond the walls… I could feel it all.
This wasn't fire or lightning or wind.
This was something else.
Something deeper.
Something ancient.
I stood up slowly. My legs were steadier now. My body still ached from the journey, but something inside me had shifted.
I wasn't powerless anymore.
Not entirely.
I opened the door and looked out into the forest. The trees loomed tall and silent. The lizard was long gone, but its tracks were still in the dirt. Deep claw marks. Crushed leaves.
And one faint green glow still hovered in the air like a distant echo.
I stepped outside, letting the breeze hit my face.
The wind didn't hate me.
The trees didn't judge me.
The System—whatever it was—had chosen me.
Not because of my bloodline. Not because of some ceremony.
But because I had survived.
I turned back toward the hut.
There was a broken chair, half a loaf of bread, and a patchy roof that wouldn't last another storm.
It wasn't much.
But it was a start.