Deep underground, an eerie green light pulsed through a hidden chamber.
A man stepped inside — his face long and narrow like a jackal's, small round glasses were perched on his snout. Strangely, the glasses suited him, giving him a disturbingly intelligent look. A sly grin stretched across his face, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth.
"How is the testing progressing?" he asked, in a smooth voice.
Across the chamber, another shapeshifter was working— absorbed in gathering data as he looked up briefly before returning to his work. The underground lab was nothing like the lively, nature-covered city above. While the surface world was full of greenery, massive trees and brawny warriors, this place was completely different — only the rare shapeshifters who possessed terrifying intellect were allowed to come here.
Glass tubes lined the room, each one filled with a bubbling green fluid that cast ghostly reflections on the walls.
In the far left corner lay a gruesome heap of stripped bones — failed subjects.
On the opposite side, several human men were still trapped behind reinforced barriers.
At the beginning, there had been ninety-seven of them.
Now… only sixteen remained.
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300 years ago
With the awakened rising to power, the world fractured into four mighty dominions. Not all awakened have the same vision for the world. Some wanted to create their own "kingdoms" while others see themselves as gods. These internal conflicts among the awakened derived a lot of tension between them. These clashing ambitions led to shaping the lands into the four great forces known today.
1. The Shapeshifters' Domain
The realm was full of wilderness—untamed, primal, and alive. Dense forests stretch endlessly, mountains cut through the clouds, vast plains. Nature ruled here, the air always carries the scent of earth, rain, and raw life. Shapeshifters live in harmony with this wild world, blending seamlessly with their surroundings. Their society is built on strength, dominance and instinct. A true Alpha ruled the whole domain known as The Chakravarti Samrat a title for a ruler known as "king of all lands" , while lesser territories are controlled by powerful shapeshifters who have earned their place through combat. Clans were based on their animal forms wolf packs, lion prides, eagle tribes, even dragonid clan was there.Shapeshifters follow a ruthless law: survival of the fittest. Their transformations are seen as sacred gifts of nature. Rituals involve calling upon ancient totems and animal spirits.
2. The Vampires' Rule
The vampire realm is eternally shrouded in darkness, a veil surrounded the whole area not letting a single ray of light inside. Castles and cathedral's were formed everywhere, ancient ruins, decaying yet hauntingly beautiful cities were formed everywhere , the whole realm gave a majestic feeling, as snow covered the ground spreading endlessly. Their hierarchy is built on mastery over death itself. Necromancers, liches, and ancient blood sorcerers hold the highest positions. A council of Original Vampires, the first of their kind governs the realm. Below them are younger vampires still struggling to master their hunger and abilities, followed by undead servants and ghouls. Vampires worship the ideals of immortality and eternal power. They believe they have transcended mortality and stand above all other races. The older they grow, the stronger they become.
3. The Witches' Realm
A land of chaos and unstable magic. Arcane towers crack with unpredictable energy, forests glow with strange bioluminescent plants, and shimmering anomalies distort reality, twisted landscapes and bizarre chimeric beasts roam freely. There is no true government, they were led by twelve tower leaders, who held the most powers. Witch society is without laws and rules, filled with trickery and wandering mad scientists and genius witches who push the boundaries of magic. Alliances form based on interests and obsessions, not loyalty. Dueling, experimentation and betrayal are a common occurrence. For witches, magic is the ultimate freedom. Morality is irrelevant—only the results matter. Many explore magic for healing or knowledge, while others dive into forbidden arts—chimera creation, life manipulation. They are the most unpredictable of all the four forces.
4. The Fairies' Realm
A breathtaking realm bathed in gold and silver light. Floating islands drift gracefully, rivers glow like liquid crystal and cities shine with divine brilliance. Lush forests, clear skies, and perfect harmony. Fairies maintain the most structured hierarchy among the four realms. Their society resembles a holy empire led by a single person who they deem the Son Of God, wielder of godlike power, below him were four archangels and the four archangels had four factions containing The Four Popes
16 Patriarchs
64 Cardinals
400 Arch-Bishops
1000 Bishops
Followed by priests, clergy and holy battalions
Their influence is vast and highly organized, allowing them to act with unified purpose.
Fairies strive for purity, justice and divine balance. They believe their power is a sacred gift, and they see themselves as protectors of order. This often brings them into conflict with races they deem "corrupt," especially witches and vampires. Yet even among fairies, temptation exists—many are drawn toward forbidden power, rising darkness hidden beneath their holy radiance.
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Although shapeshifters were relatively simple to deal with individually, it wasn't their toughness or their battle spirit that made them dangerous — it was their overwhelming numbers. Their species reproduced faster than humans and their young ones matured at nearly twice the rate, so no kingdom wanted unnecessary conflict with them. However, around seventy years ago, an unexpected crisis emerged. A large percentage of shapeshifter infants began being born with severe deformities. Some children inherited the genetic traits of two different animal forms simultaneously, causing internal biological conflict inside their bodies. Their bodies struggled to maintain stability as different gene competed for dominance making the body extremely fragile . Under even minor pressure — their structure and organs would begin to collapse due to incompatible morphogenic pathways.
Scientists who studied them later described the condition as a genetic cascade disorder, where unstable mutant DNA kept rewriting itself, unable to settle into a single form. While a few extremely powerful mutants were born, the majority were tragically defective. Worse, the problem didn't end there. As the mutations spread across generations, their animal instincts intensified. Many young shapeshifters began behaving like feral, demonic beasts — losing rationality and started attacking their own kin, entering uncontrollable berserk states. These incidents became so frequent that entire clans had to isolate themselves just to survive from their own children.
With the rise of deformities and unstable mutant births, the shapeshifters were slowly losing the only true advantage that had kept their species dominant for centuries — their numbers. Their population was collapsing from within and desperation began to take root among their leaders. The elders believed that human genetics might hold the key to stabilizing their failing bloodline. Secret searches were conducted for surviving human settlements, but for decades nothing was found. The crisis remained hidden from the outside world.
But a few days ago, everything changed.
A prince of the Wolf Clan discovered a remote village — a human settlement of over four hundred people. For the first time in generations, they had a real opportunity. The moment the news reached the Chakravarti Samrat, he immediately ordered a council of the most intelligent shapeshifter to begin preparations for large-scale experimentation.
Their plan had two branches:
Plan A: Restore the Bloodline
The young human children, around eighty in number, were considered the most valuable subjects. The belief was that the more hardship a child endured, the stronger and more stable their genetic imprint would become. So the children were forced to fight inside the battle arena — they had to fight among themselves until only twenty survivors remained. Those survivors would become the foundation for stabilizing future generations, either through controlled experiments or forced breeding.
Plan B: Create Artificial Shapeshifters
The older youths were subjected to brutal experimentation. The objective was to unlock the dormant genes humans if they react with the shapeshifter genes and their bodies have battle spirit. If successful, ordinary humans could be converted into full-fledged shapeshifters, giving the clans a new population source to replace their dying one and now it was Vayu's fathers turn to get inside the test tube liquid, he was being dragged towards the tube, his eyes were filled with dread as he remembered his wife and son for the last time.