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## **Chapter 1: The Awakening of the Lion**
A sharp pain jolted through his skull.
His eyes snapped open.
The room was small, dimly lit by sunlight sneaking in through a cracked window. The air smelled faintly of rust and cheap detergent. He sat up on the hard bed, heart racing, breaths shallow. His head throbbed as fragmented memories poured into his mind like a broken dam flooding a valley.
> "Where... am I?" he muttered hoarsely.
And then it hit him.
He wasn't himself anymore.
He had died—of that he was sure. But now, he was in the body of a boy named **Sam**.
> "I've... transmigrated?"
It wasn't just the body. His soul had merged with Sam's, giving him access to every painful, disappointing memory the boy had lived through. And with those memories came something even more terrifying:
This world was chaos.
Ten years ago, Earth had been invaded.
Alien creatures—mutated hybrids of humans and beasts—descended from the sky with brutal force. They were called **Demi-Beasts**, possessing power, savagery, and advanced technology far beyond human comprehension. Cities fell. Nations crumbled.
And then, *they* appeared.
The **Beast Soul Warriors**—humans who awakened mysterious souls of ancient or modern beasts—stepped up in humanity's darkest hour. Wielding supernatural powers, they fought back, pushing the alien scourge out of human civilization. Their arrival changed the world forever.
Now, humanity was thriving again. Stronger. But not peaceful.
Power ruled everything.
Beast Soul holders—especially those with rare or high-ranked souls—stood above the rest. They became heroes, rulers, soldiers, and warlords.
Sam clenched his fists, now trembling.
> "What kind of world did I get reborn into?" he whispered, standing in front of a dusty mirror. The reflection showed a pale, skinny boy with tired eyes, dark hair sticking out in uneven tufts.
Through the lingering memories of this body, he learned more.
Every human had the potential to awaken a **Beast Soul**, usually during adolescence. The beast soul determined one's future—its rank and type shaping your destiny.
The classifications were clear:
* **Low Rank Souls** – Common animals, birds, or insects. Weak abilities. Limited potential.
* **Middle Rank Souls** – Mostly dinosaurs and ancient beasts. Stronger skills, some destructive power.
* **High Rank Souls** – Rare or mutated beasts with unique skills. Extremely rare and respected.
* **Primordial Souls** – Legendary category. Almost mythical. No confirmed case exists in the modern world.
Only a handful of humans possessed even high-rank souls. The majority struggled with low-rank ones... like Sam.
> "I awakened a lion," he recalled bitterly.
It sounded majestic on the surface, but in reality, it was among the **weakest low-rank souls**. It had neither the poisonous tricks of insect souls nor the speed of cheetahs, nor the crushing strength of rhinos or elephants. A lion without a kingdom.
He was mocked. Rejected. Laughed at by his peers. Even the other low-soul holders looked down on him.
And now, he was alone.
His parents were dead—killed in the Demi-Beast raid years ago. He had no siblings. No friends. Just another orphan surviving off government welfare in a shelter, scraping by with school credits and rations.
> "Two years... and I've done nothing but rot."
He looked at his calloused hands.
> "I was trash in my old world. Am I fated to be trash here too?"
Just as he was drowning in those thoughts, a **sharp knock** broke the silence.
**Knock. Knock. Knock.**
He turned sharply. Nobody ever visited him.
He approached the door cautiously and opened it.
A soldier stood on the other side. Dressed in full combat uniform, tall and composed, the man gave a curt nod and handed him a sealed black envelope.
> "Sam. You've been accepted."
Sam blinked. "Accepted? For what?"
The soldier's voice was clipped and professional. "Your application to the **Indian Military Beast Training Academy**. You'll report in three days. Transportation will arrive at 0800 sharp at the shelter gate."
He stared in disbelief. Then, as the soldier turned and walked away, it hit him.
> "Right... the original Sam applied months ago."
The memories returned in waves. He had hoped the academy would give him a basic military job—maybe become a sergeant after graduation, or secure a small post in a border town. It was a desperate attempt to escape poverty, to find structure.
Not glory. Not power. Just survival.
Sam held the envelope tightly.
It wasn't a prestigious academy. Not like the elite Beast Academies where high-rank soul holders trained to become superstars or generals. This was a government-run combat training center for **low-soul holders**. A place where people went to earn their bread—and maybe survive a few battles.
> "So this is my beginning?" he muttered, looking out the window at the glowing, metallic skyline. Beast-shaped drones patrolled the air. Towering mechs glowed in military hangars in the distance.
It wasn't glamorous. It wasn't grand.
But it was *something*.
A new chance. A new life. A new war.
And he wasn't going to let it go to waste.
> "Lion Soul... we're not strong. Not yet. But if this world wants to treat us like trash... then I'll show them how trash fights back."
His eyes gleamed for the first time in years.
And deep within his soul, in a space between memory and mystery, the lion stirred.
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**End of Chapter 1**