The city at midnight was shrouded in a thin layer of cold mist. Neon lights blurred into soft halos in the damp air, and the streets were quiet, with only a handful of cars passing by, their headlights streaking faintly through the fog.
Elias Thorne walked wearily along the sidewalk. After working overtime until the early hours, his entire body ached, and his eyes felt heavy. All he wanted was to return to his small, quiet apartment and take a warm shower. To him, this should have been just another ordinary night.
But as he passed the street corner, an invisible force suddenly surged from the small plaza nearby.
It was gentle yet irresistible, like an unseen hand tugging him firmly toward the center of the square.
Elias's heart jolted, but he could not break free.
By the time he regained his senses, he was standing in the middle of the plaza—and he was not alone.
Six others were already there. They had come from different directions, dressed in various clothes, all wearing looks of confusion and unease. Clearly, they had all been forcibly pulled here by the same strange power.
Seven strangers, gathered by a single force.
Elias soon realized that it was not only his body that had been drawn in.
A strange tremor spread from deep within his bones, as if something long dormant in his blood had slowly opened its eyes.
His senses sharpened instantly. The wind, the distant rumble of cars, footsteps of passersby, even the faint hum of a convenience store freezer—all of it became piercingly clear. A primal, wild intuition was awakening inside him.
The first person Elias noticed was a woman in a tailored suit. She stood straight, her gaze unnervingly sharp. Even in this bizarre situation, she remained calm and composed, as if she was quickly assessing everything around her.
Elias suspected that her perception far exceeded anyone else's here.
The large man beside her was far more restless, pacing back and forth with heavy breathing, clearly unsettled by the strangeness of the moment.
Just as everyone stood bewildered and flustered, an ancient, deep, emotionless voice resounded directly inside each of their minds.
[High-resonance beast souls assembled.]
[Awakening, commence.]
In an instant, a vision flashed through Elias's consciousness—a white wolf, fur like moonlight, eyes lone and ferocious. Silver light glowed at his fingertips, his teeth throbbed slightly, and sharp claws quietly emerged.
The power of a beast had awakened within him.
He forced himself to stay calm and observed the changes around him.
Behind the suited woman, a faint outline of wings took shape; her aura was light and cutting.
In the corner, a young girl's ears tapered, her body growing lighter and more agile.
The large, sturdy man, Marcus, swelled rapidly, his muscles bulging, his clothes straining to the breaking point.
At that moment, the suited woman gently closed her eyes, as if tracing invisible currents in the air.
Her avian beast soul granted her an innate, wide-range situational awareness. She could clearly detect countless faint beast soul fluctuations scattered throughout the city—chaotic, distant, and out of sync.
Only the seven of them shared nearly identical frequencies, which was why they had been drawn together.
She opened her eyes, her tone steady and certain.
"A wave of energy swept across the entire city. We are by no means the only ones awakening.
We seven were simply brought here because our frequencies are the closest."
Elias's heart stirred.
Though he lacked her wide-range perception, he too could sense that they were not the only ones.
He glanced toward the street, where pedestrians continued on their way, completely unaware of the transformation unfolding before them.
Until Marcus could no longer contain the raging power within him.
A painful, savage roar tore through the silence of the night.
"Roar——!"
His monstrous, half-bear form was fully exposed under the streetlights.
Pedestrians froze, then erupted in screams.
"Monster!"
"Call the police!"
The crowd scattered in terror. Phones flashed as people fled or trembled while filming. The peaceful street corner descended into chaos.
Elias tensed up, sensing danger earlier than anyone else.
An extremely violent, bloodthirsty, inhuman aura closed in from the dark alleys surrounding the plaza.
He snapped his head around, his expression changing sharply.
"What… are those things?" Marcus growled, also sensing the threat.
The suited woman's gaze darkened, her voice cold and crisp.
"They are awakened, just like us.
They simply failed to hold onto their sanity and were completely devoured by their beast instincts."
In the next moment, those twisted shadows—covered in matted fur, fangs bared, eyes glowing with malice—moved as one.
They lunged straight toward the group in the plaza.