Morning arrived quietly at the Kiyotaka estate.
The sunlight slipped through the curtains and fell across Nagisa’s bed.
She opened one eye.
Then closed it.
Five seconds later, she opened it again.
The room was still quiet.
Nagisa stretched beneath her blanket, extending her little paws as far as they could go.
Her tail curled around her body.
For a moment, she considered going back to sleep.
Then her stomach growled.
Nagisa opened both eyes.
“…Food.”
She climbed out of bed.
Unlike when she was younger, getting around was no longer a problem.
At four years old, Nagisa could run through the estate almost as quickly as any other cub her age.
Her balance still wasn’t perfect, especially whenever she became too excited, but she had gotten used to her body.
Being a fox was still strange sometimes.
She had paws instead of hands.
Fur instead of skin.
A tail that reacted to her emotions whether she wanted it to or not.
And ears that picked up conversations she probably wasn’t supposed to hear.
But she had stopped thinking about it every morning.
This was simply her body now.
She was Nagisa.
And she had a family waiting downstairs.
Nagisa opened the door and stepped into the hallway.
She immediately heard running.
Fast running.
She sighed.
“Please don’t be Sato.”
A blur passed her.
Nagisa jumped aside.
Sato came running around the corner.
“Move!”
“You move!”
“I’m already moving!”
Sato disappeared down the hallway.
Nagisa stared after her.
“What was that about?”
Another voice came from behind her.
“Hirata is chasing her.”
Nagisa turned.
Ren was walking toward her.
“Why?”
Ren shrugged.
“I don’t know.”
A loud crash came from somewhere downstairs.
Nagisa closed her eyes.
“Of course.”
She started running.
When she reached the main hall, she found Sato hiding behind one of the large pillars.
Hirata was standing in the middle of the room.
“Come out!”
“No!”
“You took my book!”
“You weren’t reading it!”
“It was mine!”
Nagisa walked between them.
“What’s going on?”
Hirata pointed at Sato.
“She stole my book.”
Sato immediately protested.
“I borrowed it.”
“You didn’t ask.”
“I was going to.”
“When?”
“…Eventually.”
Nagisa sighed.
She had been awake for less than ten minutes.
Already, her siblings were fighting over books.
She looked at Sato.
“Give it back.”
Sato’s ears dropped.
“But—”
“Give it back.”
Sato reluctantly handed over the book.
Hirata took it.
“Thank you.”
Sato turned toward Nagisa.
“You always take his side.”
“I didn’t take his side. You took something that wasn’t yours.”
“But—”
Nagisa gave her a look.
Sato stopped.
“…Fine.”
Ren watched the entire exchange.
“Big sister is scary.”
Nagisa turned toward him.
“What did you say?”
“Nothing.”
He walked away.
Nagisa narrowed her eyes.
She was beginning to understand why being the oldest came with so much responsibility.
Apparently, it also came with the responsibility of terrifying her younger siblings.
She could live with that.
After breakfast, Nagisa found herself outside.
The Kiyotaka estate was enormous.
When she had first arrived in this world, everything had seemed impossibly large.
Now she knew the place well enough to explore without getting lost.
There were gardens, training grounds, libraries, small streams, storage buildings, courtyards, and several large halls used by different members of the family.
Beyond the estate were the larger territories controlled by the Kiyotaka clan.
Nagisa had only seen a small portion of them.
Her mother still refused to let the cubs wander too far without an adult.
Nagisa understood why.
The world was peaceful in some places, but peaceful did not mean harmless.
There were beasts.
Dangerous forests.
Rogue cultivators.
Other races. New chapters come out on g.com first.
And countless places she knew almost nothing about.
For now, she was content exploring the safe areas.
Nagisa walked toward a small stream behind the garden.
She sat beside it.
The water flowed gently over the stones.
She watched it for a while.
Then she noticed something.
A tiny ripple moved against the current.
Nagisa leaned closer.
The ripple grew.
A small amount of water rose from the stream.
It hovered for a moment.
Nagisa’s eyes widened.
Then it fell back into the water.
She stared.
“Sato?”
She looked around.
Nobody was there.
Nagisa leaned closer.
“Did you do that?”
Silence.
She frowned.
Maybe it was just the current.
She watched the stream again.
After a few seconds, she noticed the same thing.
A faint shimmer.
Not water.
Something else.
A subtle energy was moving through it.
Nagisa had seen it before.
Elyra.
The energy that existed throughout this world.
She had read about it in her books, but reading about something and actually seeing it were two different things.
Nagisa concentrated.
She couldn’t control Elyra yet.
Not properly.
The adults had explained that children could naturally sense Elyra before their Awakening, but true cultivation required an awakened spiritual root.
That wouldn’t happen until they were nine.
Five more years.
Nagisa sighed.
“Why do I have to wait so long?”
A voice answered from behind her.
“Because you’re four.”
Nagisa jumped.
She turned.
Asano stood behind her.
Her father had a calm expression as usual.
Nagisa’s ears lowered.
“How long were you standing there?”
“Long enough.”
“That’s not an answer.”
Asano smiled slightly.
“You were observing the stream.”
Nagisa nodded.
“I saw Elyra.”
Asano walked over and sat beside her.
“You did.”
“Can I control it?”
“Not yet.”
Nagisa’s ears dropped.
“Why?”
“Your body is still developing.”
Asano pointed toward the stream.
“Elyra exists everywhere, but using it properly requires more than simply sensing it.”
Nagisa listened carefully.
“What does it require?”
“Understanding.”
“Understanding?”
“Your body, your spiritual root, your affinity, your technique, and your control all matter.”
Nagisa looked at the water.
“So everyone has Elyra?”
“All living beings possess some connection to it.”
“Even animals?”
“Yes.”
“What about plants?”
“To a lesser degree.”
Nagisa’s eyes brightened.
“So the entire world is connected to Elyra.”
“Essentially.”
Nagisa looked fascinated.
She had spent years studying the world through books.
Now she finally had someone who could answer her questions directly.
“Then why do some people become stronger than others?”
Asano considered the question.
“Talent is one factor. Spiritual roots are another. Affinity matters. Training matters. Intelligence matters. Experience matters.”
He paused.
“And sometimes people simply have opportunities others don’t.”
Nagisa nodded slowly.
That made sense.
Strength wasn’t determined by one thing.
She liked that.
It meant the world wasn’t as simple as finding someone with the biggest amount of power and declaring them the strongest.
There were countless variables.
“Father?”
“Yes?”
“Are you strong?”
Asano looked at her.
“Who told you to ask that?”
Nagisa smiled innocently.
“No one.”
Asano laughed quietly.
“Your mother?”
“No.”
“Your grandfather?”
“No.”
Nagisa looked away.
“…Maybe.”
Asano shook his head.
“Yes. I’m strong.”
“How strong?”
“Strong enough.”
Nagisa frowned.
“Everyone says things like that.”
“Because strength isn’t something you measure by boasting about it.”
Nagisa thought about that.
She liked his answer.
Even if it wasn’t very satisfying.
Suddenly, something splashed into the stream.
Nagisa jumped.
A small frog-like creature emerged from the water.
She stared.
The creature stared back.
Nagisa slowly approached it.
The creature hopped away.
She followed.
It hopped again.
Nagisa followed faster.
Soon she was chasing it through the garden.
“Nagisa.”
She ignored her father.
“Nagisa.”
Still ignoring him.
“Nagisa.”
She stopped.
“…Yes?”
“Don’t chase it into the flower beds.”
Nagisa looked down.
She was already standing in the flowers.
She froze.
Asano sighed.
Nagisa slowly stepped backward.
“Nobody saw that.”
“I did.”
“You’re not allowed to tell Mother.”
“I won’t.”
Nagisa smiled.
“Thank you.”
Asano shook his head.
Later that afternoon, Nagisa found her siblings playing in the courtyard.
Sato was sitting beneath a tree.
Hirata was trying to climb it.
Ren was attempting to pull him down.
Airi was watching them with obvious amusement.
Nagisa approached.
“What are you doing?”
“Nothing,” Airi answered.
Nagisa looked at Hirata.
“That doesn’t look like nothing.”
Hirata reached a branch.
“I can climb higher!”
Ren grabbed his tail.
“No.”
“Let go!”
“You’ll fall.”
“I won’t!”
“You will.”
Nagisa sighed.
She walked over and helped Ren pull Hirata down.
Hirata landed on the grass.
“You ruined it!”
Nagisa stared at him.
“You were about to fall.”
“I wasn’t.”
“You were.”
“I wasn’t!”
Sato laughed.
“You definitely were.”
Hirata looked betrayed.
“Whose side are you on?”
Sato smiled.
“Big sister’s.”
Nagisa smiled.
“Good choice.”
Hirata groaned.
The four siblings continued arguing.
Nagisa watched them.
This was ordinary.
Completely ordinary.
No ancient mysteries.
No powerful gods.
No celestial realms.
No reincarnation.
No strange system.
Just children playing in a courtyard.
And somehow, Nagisa liked it.
She had spent four thousand years surrounded by beings far more powerful than herself.
Now she was learning something different.
How to be a child.
How to have siblings.
How to laugh over stupid things.
How to spend an entire afternoon doing absolutely nothing important.
She sat beneath the tree with the others.
The sunlight warmed her fur.
She closed her eyes.
For once, she wasn’t thinking about becoming stronger.
She wasn’t thinking about the Awakening Ceremony.
She wasn’t thinking about the mysterious dream she had experienced the previous night.
She was simply enjoying another day.
Another day as a cub.
And there would be many more before the day her life truly changed.
Five years remained.
For now, Nagisa had time.