Rein's consciousness floated in a void of chaos.
"Why…" He faintly heard his own murmurs—regret lingering from the final moments of his past life.
In the darkness, memories cut through him like blades. The deafening roar of the Ultimate Beast filled his ears. Flames consumed the earth as his team fell one by one. In the distance, the villain Dakar stood, a mocking smile playing on his lips.
"Failures are destined to fail," Dakar's icy voice hammered into Rein, suffocating him.
In that moment, the light of annihilation engulfed him completely.
Rein's eyes snapped open as he gasped for breath, his chest heaving. He reached for his body, running his hands over his unscathed skin. He froze.
He glanced around, taking in his surroundings. Everything was both unfamiliar and familiar: a wide square, dozens of students gathered in the center, each standing before a beast, ready to form a contract.
"This is… the trial grounds? I've returned to ten years ago?"
Memories from his previous life surged into his mind, and his heartbeat quickened. He remembered it clearly—this was the turning point of his life. This was the day he first formed a contract with the Shadow Wolf.
Rein's gaze instinctively searched the area until it landed on a beast at the center of the square.
It was a Shadow Wolf, its body shrouded in a faint black mist. Its piercing blue eyes were cold and sharp, as if they could pierce one's very soul. Even though it had not yet fully grown, its aura caused the other students' contract beasts to tremble slightly.
"You've finally appeared…" Rein murmured softly. He knew this Shadow Wolf would become the most important companion of his life, but the memories of his past failure filled him with a complex mix of emotions.
He took a deep breath and stepped toward the Shadow Wolf. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, he raised his hand, revealing a silver contract mark glowing in his palm.
"Begin," the head examiner's voice echoed from nearby.
The Shadow Wolf locked its gaze on him, its eyes filled with scrutiny. Rein felt a powerful resistance—something completely different from the Shadow Wolf he had known in his previous life.
"Surrender your soul, offer your blood oath," the examiner declared. "Complete the contract."
Following the instructions, Rein brought the contract mark closer to the Shadow Wolf's forehead. However, instead of submitting, the wolf let out a low growl, and the black mist around it exploded outward.
The surrounding students recoiled in fear. "The Shadow Wolf rejected him?" someone whispered.
Rein's heart sank. "Why?" he wondered silently. In his past life, the Shadow Wolf had been aloof, but it had never shown such intense defiance.
The Shadow Wolf slowly rose, its blue eyes fixed on Rein, brimming with disdain and hostility.
"I don't need a master." Rein heard the wolf's voice—a sound that resonated directly in his soul.
He clenched his fist, feeling the power of the contract mark in his palm waver. If the contract failed, he would be expelled from the trial grounds, and his future would be irrevocably altered.
Rein quickly steadied himself, memories of his past life flashing through his mind. He knew that trying to force the Shadow Wolf would only shatter the contract completely, and he had only one chance.
"You can resist, but if I fail, you'll be exiled too," Rein said, his voice low and steady. "Do you want to become a wanderer, hunted by other Tamers?"
The Shadow Wolf froze for a moment, its gaze becoming more complicated.
Rein seized the moment and continued, "I won't bind you, but I need your power. This is a transaction, not a command."
The black mist around the Shadow Wolf slightly receded, but its gaze remained cold. "A transaction? Then prove you're worthy."
Rein understood that this wasn't true acceptance but a grudging cooperation. The Shadow Wolf didn't trust him, but it was willing to comply, for now.
The contract mark finally imprinted itself on the Shadow Wolf's forehead, and the black mist gradually subsided.
The trial grounds fell silent as the examiner declared the contract a success. But Rein's heart remained unsettled. He felt the Shadow Wolf's soul ripple, accompanied by a mocking voice.
"Your blood oath is nothing more than a tool to bind me."
Rein's gaze darkened. He knew this was only the beginning.