Deep within a primeval forest, where ancient trees stretched toward the heavens like gnarled fingers and the air pulsed with unseen spiritual energy, lay a hidden cave.
Shadows clung to its damp walls, and the rhythmic drip of water echoed through the darkness.
Within this subterranean sanctuary lived a colony of White Scale Lizards.
Their pearly-white scales possessed an extraordinary property:
they reflected light so perfectly that, in the gloom of the cave, the lizards were nearly invisible.
Only their eerie yellow eyes gave away their presence — twin beacons adapted to the pitch-black depths.
Though low-ranking spiritual beasts, these lizards thrived on a steady diet of insects and small invertebrates.
Among them, however, one lizard was different.
A faint, ethereal light hovered just in front of its eyes, pulsing like a miniature sun. And then, a voice — disembodied yet clear — echoed in its mind:
"Activating Evolution System."
Driven by instinct, the lizard paid little attention to the strange phenomenon.
It spotted a plump beetle scuttling across the cave floor and pounced without hesitation.
"Gained 1 Evolution Point," the voice announced.
Unfazed, the lizard resumed its routine, hunting and feeding as it always had.
Days passed.
The light remained.
So did the voice, speaking only when the lizard fed:
"Gained 2 Evolution Points."
"Gained 1 Evolution Point."
Then, something changed.
One day, driven by a flicker of unfamiliar curiosity, the lizard strayed farther than ever before — all the way to the mouth of the cave.
Sunlight streamed in through the opening, brilliant and blinding.
The moment its eyes met the light, pain lanced through its skull.
Blinded, the lizard stumbled back with a hiss.
"Warning:
Host is experiencing discomfort due to excessive light exposure," the voice chimed, now tinged with urgency.
"Evolution Points can be used to enhance ocular adaptation."
But the lizard, still ruled by instinct, gave no response.
"Initiating automatic adaptation protocol," the system declared.
"3 Evolution Points consumed."
A tingling warmth surged through the lizard's eyes. Slowly, cautiously, it opened them again.
This time, the light didn't hurt.
The world beyond the cave came into focus — a riot of color and movement.
Towering trees with emerald canopies swayed gently in the wind.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled patterns on the forest floor.
Birds chirped.
Insects buzzed.
Life thrived in every direction.
The lizard took a tentative step into the unknown, claws clicking softly on the earth.
It wandered for a while, absorbing the strange new world, until the sudden sound of hurried footsteps snapped its attention downward.
It scurried up a tree and perched among the branches, peering below.
A man — ragged, bloodied, breathing hard — ran through the underbrush.
Behind him came five others, grim-faced and armed, their intent clear.
The chase ended near the base of the tree.
"You're finally tired of running," one of the pursuers sneered.
The cornered man chuckled hoarsely, eyes alight with desperate resolve.
"If you're going to keep chasing me..." he said, raising his fists, "then I'll just have to take you all down!"
He launched himself at them.
Blades clashed.
Fists flew.
The forest echoed with the sounds of combat — grunts, screams, the ring of steel on steel.
Though outnumbered, the lone man fought with the desperation of someone who had nothing left to lose.
One by one, his pursuers fell.
But victory came at a cost.
Breath ragged, body broken, the man dropped to his knees.
He crossed his legs, assuming a meditative posture, and closed his eyes.
A faint glow appeared on his brow.
A forbidden technique: Soul Extraction.
A final gamble.
His soul burst forth, seeking the nearest living vessel — the lizard in the tree.
Inside its mind, alarms blared.
"Warning: Foreign soul detected within host."
"Initiating Soul Cleansing Protocol."
A surge of energy rippled through the lizard's small frame, violently ejecting the intruding soul like a foreign parasite.
The cultivator's essence was cast out, his consciousness unraveling into the void.
But not everything was lost.
Fragments remained.
Memories.
Knowledge.
Experience.
Echoes of emotions and a lifetime of thoughts — now imprinted deep within the lizard's mind like scars burned into stone.
Something had changed.
The lizard blinked.
Once driven purely by instinct, its gaze now held the faintest glimmer of awareness — of thought.
Within its mind, foreign concepts flickered like half-forgotten dreams:
glowing screens, steaming bowls of ramen, anime, cultivation manuals, spiritual roots, and system menus.
A human soul hadn't taken over.
But a human life had left its mark.
And in that moment of strange awakening, the lizard understood.
The pulsing light before its eyes, the ever-present voice, the strange numbers that appeared when it fed — all of it made sense now.
It was the Evolution System.