NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1: **Chapter 1: The Awakening**
**Chapter 1: The Awakening**
The morning sun painted the village of Windspire in hues of gold, its rays filtering through the dense canopy of ancient trees that bordered the settlement. Ten-year-old Kai stood at the edge of the village square, his hands trembling as he clutched the worn leather pouch at his side. Inside it was a single copper coin—a token his mother had pressed into his palm before dawn, her voice trembling with hope. *"For luck,"* she'd said.
Today was the Awakening Ceremony.
Every child in the realm faced this pivotal moment at the age of ten. It was the day they would either bind themselves to a mystical beast or be deemed unfit to walk the path of a Tamer. Success meant awakening a latent talent, a gift tied to one's soul. Failure meant a life of mundane labor, forever barred from the soaring heights of power.
Kai's throat tightened as he watched the other children line up before Elder Vorn, the village's silver-haired overseer. Each placed their hands on the Awakening Crystal—a jagged, glowing monolith said to resonate with the soul's potential. One by one, they summoned their first beasts.
Lian, the blacksmith's son, grinned as a juvenile Flame Lynx materialized at his feet, its fur crackling with embers. The crowd murmured in awe. Lian's talent flared to life moments later: **Pyrokinetic Control**. A rare gift, one that would make him a formidable Tamer.
Mei, the herbalist's daughter, coaxed forth a Mosswood Sprite—a tiny, leaf-winged creature that hummed with earthy magic. Her talent, **Nature's Whisper**, allowed her to commune with plants. Common, but practical.
Then came the failures. Two children stumbled back from the crystal, their hands unmarked by the telltale glow of a contract. They wept silently as their families ushered them away, faces etched with shame.
Kai's turn came.
His boots scuffed against the cobblestones as he approached the crystal. Elder Vorn's piercing gaze softened. "Breathe, child," he said. "The crystal sees your heart, not your fears."
Kai nodded, though his pulse roared in his ears. He pressed his palm to the stone.
Cold. Then heat. A searing light engulfed his vision—
---
**"Open your eyes."**
The voice was neither male nor female, but ancient, reverberating through Kai's bones. He stood in a void, stars swirling beneath his feet. Before him loomed a colossal tree, its branches stretching into infinity. Each leaf glimmered with the silhouette of a beast: dragons, phoenixes, serpents with scales like liquid night.
**"Choose,"** the voice commanded.
Kai reached instinctively for a leaf bearing the image of a storm-wreathed wolf—a creature of legend. But as his fingers brushed it, the vision shattered.
*No.*
A new scene flooded his mind: a small, scruffy sparrow perched on a rock. Its feathers were dull gray, one wing slightly crooked. Beneath it, lines of glowing text unfurled like a scroll:
**[Species: Rock Sparrow (Common)]
[Potential Evolution Paths:
1. Skyfeather Roc (Mythic) – Requirements: Stormheart Crystal (1), Essence of Gale (3), Phoenix Down (1).
2. Obsidian Crow (Epic) – Requirements: Shadowroot (2), Moonlit Silver (5).
…
7. Azure Songbird (Rare) – Requirements: Dawn Dew (10)]**
Kai's breath hitched. The words shimmered, shifting as he focused. Details flooded his mind—locations of materials, methods to refine them, even the risks of each evolution.
The vision vanished.
He was back in the square, his palm burning. The crystal's light dimmed, and the crowd erupted in… laughter?
A tiny, bedraggled sparrow pecked at his shoe.
"Kai of Windspire," Elder Vorn announced, his voice strained. "Beast contracted: Rock Sparrow. Talent awakened…" He paused, squinting at the faint silver rune glowing on Kai's wrist. "**Beast Insight**."
The villagers exchanged pitying glances. A Rock Sparrow? The weakest of common familiars? And Beast Insight—a talent so vague it was nearly useless. Previous Tamers with it had become scholars at best, cataloging creatures others actually tamed.
Lian smirked. "Guess you'll be shoveling stable dung after all, Kai."
But Kai barely heard him. His heart raced as he stared at the sparrow. To others, it was a joke. To him, it was a key.
The text flashed again in his mind, visible only to him:
**[Rock Sparrow → Skyfeather Roc (Mythic)].**
A Mythic beast. One of the apex predators of the skies, said to rival even the elder dragons. All he needed were the materials.
"Thank you," Kai whispered to the sparrow. It chirped, tilting its head, and something in its black eyes gleamed—a spark of intelligence, of *promise*.
---
That night, Kai slipped into the village archives, a crumbling tower of scrolls and dust. By candlelight, he cross-referenced the materials from his vision.
Stormheart Crystals were mined in the Tempest Peaks, a realm shrouded in lethal thunderstorms. Phoenix Down? Only found in the ashes of a phoenix's rebirth—a near-impossible treasure.
"Doesn't matter," he muttered, tracing a map with his finger. "I'll find them all."
The sparrow—now perched on his shoulder—nibbled his ear.
"Don't worry," Kai said, grinning. "They'll see. Everyone will see."
Somewhere, far beyond Windspire, a leviathan stirred in the depths. A phoenix preened its fiery feathers. And the forest's oldest tree spirit opened one glowing eye, sensing a shift in the threads of fate.
---
**End of Chapter 1**
**Author's Note:** Kai's journey begins with the humblest of creatures, but his ability to see evolution paths changes everything. What seems weak holds unimaginable potential—if one knows how to unlock it. Stay tuned as Kai defies expectations, gathers rare materials, and faces beasts and Tamers who'd sooner crush him than acknowledge his rise. The question isn't whether he'll tame his destiny… but what he'll become along the way.