Beast Sovereign: Rebirth Of The Star Age

Chapter 2 — The Light That Shouldn’t Exist

The steady rhythm of machines filled the room, a mechanical heartbeat, alien yet oddly comforting.

Rian sat in silence long after Doctor Selene had gone, his thoughts drifting between two lives that didn’t quite belong to each other.

He turned his gaze toward the panoramic glass wall beside him.

Beyond it, the city unfolded like a dream painted in neon. Silver towers rose into the clouds, their sides streaked with liquid light. Airships drifted through the mist, leaving trails that shimmered like shooting stars. I’m starting to think I’m in a world of wonders.

Beneath the beauty, though, he could feel something deeper,nthe hum beneath the surface, the pulse of spirit energy flowing through every wire and circuit.

It wasn’t just technology. It was life, refined and repurposed. I think there’s more to this world than meets the eye.

He pressed his palm to the glass. The surface vibrated faintly, like it recognized him.

“Spirit energy,” he murmured. “Condensed, refined… and controlled by humans.”

His voice carried both awe and sorrow.

In his time, such a thing had been forbidden. Spirit energy was sacred, the breath of creation, the essence of beasts and stars alike.

Now, it was being harvested, caged, and called progress. I think they’ve turned the divine into machinery.

He clenched his jaw. “How far have we fallen?”

The orb beside him flickered back to life. “Ren, your vitals are rising. Would you like to initiate a relaxation program?”

“Show me where I am instead,” he said.

A holographic map projected above the orb. It displayed a floating city, massive platforms linked by luminous bridges, suspended over an ocean of glowing mist. At the center stood a towering spire that reached beyond the clouds: the Nexus Core.

“Location: AstraTech District, Orbital City of Halcyon. You are currently within the Nexus Medical Complex.”

“Nexus…” he repeated softly. The word pulsed through him like an echo. He didn’t know why, but it stirred something ancient inside him, a memory of chains forged from starlight and pain. That name is important.

Before he could dwell on it, the door slid open again.

A young woman entered, her steps hesitant but filled with urgency. Her shoulder-length brown hair shimmered faintly, streaked with silver strands that caught the room’s light. Her eyes, deep blue, patterned with circuitry, widened the moment she saw him awake.

“Ren?”

Her voice trembled between disbelief and relief.

He froze. Memories not his own flickered again: laughter in narrow hallways, shared meals, rain tapping on glass, a promise whispered before exams.

Her name surfaced unbidden. “Mira.”

She rushed to his side, tears bright in her eyes. “You’re awake! I thought, everyone thought you wouldn’t make it.”

She reached for his hand. Instinct made him pull back. I’m hurting her.

Her joy faltered, replaced by confusion. “Ren… what’s wrong?”

He opened his mouth, but the words tangled inside him. The emotions swirling within weren’t his, yet they burned too vividly to deny. This body remembered her, even if he didn’t.

“I just need… time,” he said softly.

Mira bit her lip, then nodded. “Of course. The accident must’ve shaken you. The Academy’s still investigating what happened, the reactor surge nearly erased your neural link. It’s a miracle you’re alive at all.”

“Reactor surge?” he echoed.

She hesitated. “You really don’t remember, do you?”

He shook his head slowly.

Mira sighed and pulled out a small tablet, projecting a holographic replay. I need to see this.

A vast arena came to life above the screen, rows of students in uniforms lined with glowing sigils, each commanding spectral beasts shaped from pure energy.

“This is Nexus Academy,” she said quietly. “The government trains Linkers here, people who merge their consciousness with spirit constructs. The day it happened, your beast core overloaded.”

On the display, he saw himself, Ren, standing in the center of the arena, summoning a wolf-shaped spirit. The construct shimmered violently before exploding in a burst of starlight.

The blast consumed everything. Students screamed. The platform shattered.

And at the center, Ren’s body fell motionless. I think I caused this.

Rian’s heart thudded painfully. The wolf’s shape lingered in his mind, its eyes, its glow, its presence. He knew that form.

“That beast,” he whispered. “Where did it come from?”

Mira blinked. “Your construct? You designed it yourself, remember? You said it came to you in a dream, a wolf made of stars.”

A chill ran down his spine. That wasn’t Ren’s creation. That was him. A fragment of his ancient essence that had bled through the barrier between worlds.

The accident… it wasn’t an accident at all. His soul had answered a call it didn’t understand. I’m connected to this world in a way I can’t explain.

“It’s fine,” he said quietly. “Were the others hurt badly?”

“Mostly shock and minor injuries. You were the only one who didn’t wake up.”

He nodded faintly. “Then that’s all that matters.”

Mira studied him, brow furrowing. “You’ve changed,” she said softly. “Your eyes, they used to be gray. Now they’re gold.”

He turned away. “Maybe the recalibration did something.”

Her smile wavered, but she didn’t press further. “Rest for now, Ren. I’ll come back tomorrow. The Academy will probably call you for debriefing.”

When she left, the silence that followed felt heavier than before. I need to find out who I really am.

He sat still, thoughts spiraling. The truth was undeniable now, he hadn’t simply reincarnated. His soul had fused with Ren’s, drawn into this world by resonance through the boy’s beast-link experiment.

It wasn’t chance. It was something deeper. Fate, or punishment.

Either way, he was here. I’m here for a reason.

The orb’s gentle hum returned. “Ren, incoming transmission from the Nexus Network. Do you wish to receive?”

He frowned. “From who?”

“Unregistered signal. Origin unknown. Encryption pattern matches no existing data.”

He hesitated. “Accept it.”

The air shimmered before him. Lines of light twisted together, forming the silhouette of a woman made of starlight and static. Her voice, faint but unmistakable, pierced straight into his soul.

“Rian…”

His breath caught. That voice, soft, warm, and eternal.

“Lyra?” he whispered.

The figure flickered violently. “You should not have awakened. The chains have shifted. The stars are not what they were.”

“Where are you?” he demanded.

Her outline trembled, breaking apart into fragments. “They’ve bound the constellations into code. The Nexus Core, it feeds on what we once were. You must”

The signal cut out.

“Unauthorized spiritual transmission detected,” the orb warned. “Security protocols engaged.”

“Cancel it!” he snapped.

“Denied. System override in progress.”

The walls glowed crimson as geometric symbols locked across the ceiling, a containment field.

Rian closed his eyes and reached inward, toward the faint shard of his old power still beating within him. It responded, fragile but alive.

He whispered a single command in the tongue of the Star Beasts.

A pulse rippled through the room. Lights flickered. The grid shorted out, plunging everything into darkness.

When the emergency lights returned, the orb had fallen silent.

Static lingered in the air, the trace of Lyra’s echo.

He pressed his palm against the cold wall. “You’re still out there… somewhere inside their network.”

He exhaled, steadying his heart. This new world, where soul and machine intertwined, where divinity had been rewritten into data, was a labyrinth built upon what his kind once guarded.

He would learn its rules.

He would find the Nexus Core.

And he would uncover who had stolen the stars. I have a mission now.

Outside, the first dawn of Halcyon broke across the horizon. The rising sun glowed pale silver, filtered through towers of glass and mist.

To everyone else, it was just another morning.

To Rian, it was the first sunrise in two thousand years.

He whispered to the light, his golden eyes reflecting the new world before him.

“This time, I won’t just watch the stars fall.”

His voice grew colder, steadier.

“I’ll make them remember who they belonged to.”

And this time… I’ll fight.