The morning sun cut through the cracks in the alley walls, casting streaks of light across the rubble-strewn ground. Ruby crouched on the edge of the barrel, her hands trembling as the adrenaline from the previous night's vision slowly ebbed.
Her pulse still raced, echoing the pull of the strange portal she had glimpsed. She knew it wasn't just a reflection of her imagination—something in her blood, in her very bones, told her it was real.
The animals—silver, emerald, and gold-furred—watched silently from the shadows. They hadn't left her side, and Ruby could feel their scrutiny weighing on her. They were waiting. Testing her still.
She took a deep breath, grounding herself. She needed to practice, to understand what she could do. Survival in the slums had taught her clever tricks—hiding, running, scavenging—but this world, this magic, was something new. And she needed it.
Ruby knelt on the ground and focused. Her mind cleared, as if shedding the weight of hunger and fear. The subtle tingle in her chest—the mana—stretched along her veins like flowing water. She reached out with her senses, trying to brush against the currents of magic around the animals.
A spark flickered, and a tiny wisp of golden light drifted from her fingertips. Ruby gasped, stumbling back slightly. The silver creature chirped, tilting its head in curiosity. The emerald one stepped closer cautiously, sniffing the air around her. Ruby's heart swelled. She wasn't alone in this.
"Okay," she whispered,
"let's try this."
She focused again, willing the mana to flow more deliberately. Her body shimmered faintly, a heat rising beneath her skin, and she felt herself stretching, shifting, twisting. Her arms lengthened slightly, then shrank; her body felt light, pliable, as though she could mold it like clay.
A low hiss escaped her lips. The silver creature leapt onto the barrel beside her, whiskers brushing her shoulder. Its tiny aura pulsed against hers, and Ruby felt a jolt—an echo of the old shapeshifters' power that had whispered through her vision.
Her pulse raced. I can do this. I can learn it.
For hours, she experimented. First, small shifts: a longer finger here, a subtle adjustment to her height, tilting her face into animal-like angles. Each time, she felt the creatures' attention sharpen. They weren't just observers—they were teachers, guardians, reminding her that every movement, every thought, carried weight.
Ruby closed her eyes and imagined herself as one of the birds she had once seen perched on the rooftops. In her mind, she stretched her wings, felt the wind, the lightness of feathered limbs. When she opened her eyes, her arms were no longer human. They were small, delicate wings, shimmering faintly with mana. Her heart skipped.
The animals chirped and hissed in approval, a harmony of sounds that made the alley feel alive. Ruby laughed softly. She was playing, yes—but each experiment was practice, a test of her potential.
A sudden rustle startled her. The portal she had seen flickered at the edge of her vision, faint, almost hesitant.
Ruby froze, realizing something crucial: she couldn't ignore it. The pull was growing stronger, whispering to her, tugging at her very soul. And yet, she had work to do. She couldn't step through unprepared.
Her hands shook as she focused on mana again. This time, she tried something more daring—projecting her aura outward, sensing the threads that connected her to the creatures around her.
The alley seemed to hum with energy as tiny wisps of magic danced along her fingertips. The silver creature chirped excitedly, brushing against her cheek, and Ruby felt a spark of connection unlike anything she had experienced before.
Hours passed in a blur. Sunlight shifted, and the slums around her grew hotter. Ruby had changed forms countless times—rat, cat, bird, even a shadow that melded into the walls. Each transformation tested her limits, and each success left her more confident, more daring.
But it wasn't enough. She knew that when she stepped into the otome world, danger awaited. The system that controlled Angelica was powerful, far beyond anything she had faced.
She would need every trick, every ounce of magic, every connection she could muster.
The animals stirred, their auras glowing brighter, almost impatient. Ruby's chest tightened. She understood their message: practice was over. The pull of destiny—the pull of the portal—was not to be delayed.
She rose to her feet, the heat of mana coursing through her body. Her arms shimmered with a faint, golden glow. The creatures circled her, tails swishing, wings fluttering, eyes glowing with anticipation.
Ruby exhaled, determination settling deep in her chest.
"Alright,"
she said softly, but with steel in her voice.
"Let's see this world."
A shimmer of light bloomed in the corner of the alley. The portal quivered, responding to her presence. Her heart leapt. This was it—the first real step beyond her alley, beyond the slums, into a world she had only dreamed of.
Ruby glanced at the animals one last time. They nodded—or perhaps she imagined it—but she felt their approval. She wasn't alone. She had allies. She had power. And most importantly, she had purpose.
Her hand hovered over the shimmering light. Her stomach twisted with fear, but her heart surged with courage.
She was no longer just a frail orphan. She was the last shapeshifter, and the world she loved, the world she had only known in dreams, awaited her.
Taking a deep breath, Ruby stepped forward.
The alley dissolved around her.
The world she knew—and the world that needed her—opened like a flower under the morning sun.