The first rays of dawn spilled across the flower-draped hill, painting every petal in molten gold. The air smelled of dew, earth, and effort. Days of training sweat, rabbit fur, and stubborn determination soaked into the soil. The creatures of the hill had changed; even the worms seemed disciplined now, wriggling in orderly ranks beneath the roots.
But this morning felt different.
The ground itself seemed to hold its breath. The usual whisper of wind through the grass was gone, replaced by a low hum like the heartbeat of the world waiting for something to happen.
At the summit, the rooster stood tall, feathers bristling with invisible energy. The dew around his claws quivered and rose in tiny spheres of light. A faint halo gathered at the edge of his comb, and for an instant, even the dawn seemed to pause and look at him.
Then he crowed.
"KUUUU-KA-KIEAAAA-KUUUU!"
The cry tore through the silence like thunder. It rolled across the valley, scattering petals and waking every creature from burrow and nest. Rabbits immediately resumed their push-ups, chickens hopped up and down, snakes dragged stones, and lizards climbed the hill with weights strapped to their backs, following the black lizard.
Light answered the call, a surge bursting from his body in radiant waves.
For a moment, he and the rising sun blazed together, as if two suns were ascending the same sky. Golden feathers mirrored the heavens; brilliance and birdlight merged until no creature could tell which glow came from the horizon and which from their boss.
Rabbits froze mid-push-up, eyes wide. Chickens bowed their heads instinctively. Even the black lizard paused mid-climb, its scales glowing with molten light as it blinked in awe.
For one perfect breath, the hill shone as if the world itself were holding its applause. Then the radiance faded, leaving only the scent of warmth and stillness behind.
The rooster tilted his head, blinking. "Huh?"
He felt… different. Heavy, solid, alive in a way he hadn't before. Something hummed around him, an invisible current. He realized he could finally sense the so-called life energy.
The light that had surrounded him slowly sank back into his feathers. The second sun vanished, leaving only one in the sky. His plumage glowed red again, but deeper now, richer and more majestic. Steam rose faintly from his wings, and when he flexed them, the air itself trembled.
"Whew… that was something," he muttered, glancing down at himself. His feathers shimmered like living gemstones. "I have grown larger and did I just turn into some glowing chicken? What exactly happened?"
The hill remained silent, until a faint pulse echoed inside his mind. His status panel flickered into existence before his eyes.
[Congratulations. Talent "The Path" has awakened.]
[Recognition: Will of the World acknowledges your existence.]
[Assisting Unit initialized. Greetings, nameless Rooster Boss.]
[Soul: E+ → D-]
[Tier: Late-Stage Common Creature]
[Path Manifested: "Path of the Feathered Crown"]
He froze. "...Am I seeing things?"
[Negative. Connection established.]
He jumped, flapping wildly, nearly toppling into the pond. "It talks back now?!"
[Affirmative. Recognition elevates connection.]
He stared at his talons, heart hammering. The golden light faded, but its echo lingered in the grass, in every heartbeat around him.
He flexed his wings, strength coursing deeper than before. "So… this is what awakening feels like."
Curious, he took a clearer glance at his status panel.
Name: None
Title: Rooster Boss
Race: Chicken
Tier: Late-Stage Common Creature
Body: E+
Mind: E
Soul: D-
Talent: The Path
Path: Path of the Feathered Crown
Equipment: None
Bloodline: None
The status panel shimmered softly.
He tilted his head. "So, you can talk now right?"
[Affirmative. Guidance mode active.]
"That's good! So tell me what exactly are this talent and path of mine?"
[Talent: The Path]
[Description: Reveals the roads your desires may take. Your wish is my command.]
"So basically," he said slowly, "I think about something… and you show me how to get it?"
[Affirmative.]
He puffed his chest. "Alright, show me the biggest, fattest worms in the valley!"
At that moment, his mind buzzed as glowing threads stretched outward, pointing toward the south burrow cluster beneath the old stone.
"…Wait, seriously?"
A faint shimmer flickered southward.
"Ha! I'll never go hungry again!" he squawked, then grinned. "Awesome."
Still grinning, he asked, "Then what about my Path?"
[Path: Feathered Crown]
[Description: You have united, protected, and led those weaker than you toward strength and harmony. Your achievement has been seen by the Will of the World, forming this Path.]
"Feathered Crown, huh?" he said with a grin. "Sounds fancy. Fits me perfectly."
[Note: Overconfidence is common among newly awakened beings. Caution recommended.]
"Hey! I'm not overconfident! Just confident!" he grumbled, stomping his feet. "So what can I do with this Path?"
Then, from where his claws touched the earth, a ring of pale gold spread outward, rippling through the grass in widening waves.
The air shimmered faintly again, not with blinding brilliance this time, but with a quiet pulse, steady as a heartbeat. Flowers swayed toward him in silent acknowledgment; the pond rippled, reflecting his ruby plumage in soft waves of gold.
Every creature it touched felt a calm, gentle tingle, as though brushed by sunlight beneath water. Rabbits twitched, then pushed up with sudden vigor. The lizard blinked in confusion, feeling its body thrum with power, muscles knitting faster, growth hastened by unseen hands. Even the snakes lifted their heads in reverent stillness, their coiling movements sharpening as the stones they dragged grew lighter somehow easier to move.
"Wait, what happened?" he muttered in shock.
[Path of the Feathered Crown passive effect activated.]
[Effect: Creatures under your protection gain accelerated development and morale within your territory.]
The rooster blinked at the glowing message. "Wait… I can make everyone stronger just by standing here?"
[Affirmative. The crown uplifts its flock.]
He puffed his chest, feathers gleaming. "Heh… I am awesome," he said with a proud smile. "So… is there anything else?"
[Negative. What abilities you manifest depend on your future actions.]
[Note: You can use your Talent to see specific conditions for new abilities.]
Slightly disappointed but still excited, he nodded proudly until he noticed two new sections glowing faintly.
"Hold on," he muttered. "Those last two weren't there before." He tapped the panel with his wings. "Oi, System! What's Equipment and Bloodline supposed to mean?"
[Equipment: Extensions of existence, artifacts, relics, or external aids resonating with your Soul and Mind]
[Bloodline: Internal heritage, the natural resonance of your being and ancestry, determining potential and affinity.]
"So basically… stuff I wear and stuff I'm born with?"
[Affirmative.]
He squinted. "Then how do I get those?"
[Equipment forms naturally from high concentrations of life energy or crafted]
[Bloodline can be developed through evolution.]
"Hmm." He rubbed his beak thoughtfully. "So if I evolve again, I'll have some fancy bloodline too?"
[Current possibility: 13%.]
He frowned. "Thirteen? Why is it so low?"
[Conditions for bloodline awakening vary by creature. Your actions affect its strength and awakening rate.]
[Note: You can use your Talent to view specific conditions for manifestation.]
Seeing this, the rooster chuckled in delight. "This talent's kinda overpowered." he thought to himself gleefully.
He closed the status panel with a satisfied hum and looked down from the hill. His gaze softened as he watched his territory, chickens hopping in rhythm, rabbits training hard, the lizard hauling logs, snakes dragging stones. With his Path he could feel every heartbeat under his protection.
…
A while ago...
From her place beside the pond, Shivaya abruptly opened her eyes. The light still shimmered across the water, gold and scarlet.
She stood and froze as she looked at the rooster glowing like a second sun.
At the hill's crest, he no longer looked like a mere common creature. He stood tall, every feather glinting like fire-forged metal. Even the world seemed to notice him.
Her heart clenched. "This…" she whispered in despair. "Is he going through an awakening? And to manifest such a strong phenomenon… his talent must not be weak either"
Her claws dug into the dirt as she summoned her status panel.
Name: Shivaya
Title: Boss Rooster's Most Beloved Hen
Race: Chicken
Tier: Middle Stage Common Creature
Body: F+
Mind: E+ (Limited by body)
Soul: E+
Talent: Yet to awaken (95%)
Path: None
Bloodline: None
Her wings trembled. "Just one more day and I could have awakened," she whispered. "Why did he have to awaken now?"
For a moment, bitterness warred with despair.
As the glow dimmed, she saw him talking to himself, a sure sign of a newly awakened creature she had seen before. Then the air shifted again as he stomped the ground. The pond rippled as a golden wave spread from the rooster, enveloping her. She felt herself growing stronger faster, even her life-energy absorption was accelerating.
"What is this?" she muttered. "Is this his talent?... Or did he manifest his Path already?"
She hoped it was the latter. Domain-type paths weren't too powerful early on, she could still catch up, especially with the boost his Path gave.
But before she could rejoice, a sudden voice echoed through the heavens.
"My Children, the Otherworlders are descending. The laws of this realm are being rewritten."
The divine voice rolled through her mind. Luminous veins of light briefly flared across the sky before fading. Something had changed in the world.
The rooster looked around wildly. "Wha- already?! Damn it, I just awakened and they're coming right away?! I need to gather everyone up" He paced the ground as the sky split open, a black void filled with white stars descending toward the novice village nearby.
But Shivaya wasn't looking up. Her eyes were fixed on the ground, her mind blank from the revelation.
"Otherworlders?" she whispered. Those were the beings mentioned in the ancient myth-tablets of her age, legends of an era before the world was whole. In her time, they were history's history, their descendants shaping the modern Age of Myths.
That meant…
Her chest tightened. "No… that can't be."
The Otherworlders had descended tens of thousands of years before her rebirth, before her parents' ancestors even existed.
"This…" she whispered. "This is the Age of Epics."
The truth slammed into her like divine lightning. Thousands of years before her birth. Before the Phoenix Clan. Before her vengeance.
Her legs gave out, and she sank into the flowers. The scent was too sweet, too alive, almost cruel.
"This can't be," she breathed. "I fell backward to an age where even my bloodline doesn't exist."
A hollow laugh escaped, soft, bitter, trembling. "Then what's the point of my rebirth?"
The hill hummed again as the rooster raised his head proudly and crowed once more, his voice splitting the sky like sunlight. He stood radiant, oblivious of internal turmoil his hen was experiencing.
She didn't look at him. Her gaze fell to the pond, to the reflection of an ordinary hen staring back.
"What's there left to live for then?" she whispered. "Revenge? Their ancestors haven't even been born yet. Grow stronger? For what… all my friends, parents, enemies…"
"Maybe I should just die… wait for them."
Somewhere deep within, her heart quietly cracked apart. The conviction that once carried her through humiliation and rebirth, is gone.
What was there left to live for?