---
The world pulsed in soft shades of amber and green as dawn broke over the sleepy edges of the demon realm. Unlike the cold stillness of divinity, this world was warm, alive, chaotic. Sounds of morning rustled through leaves and echoed from the mouths of strange beasts. And deep within the twisting roots of a hollowed tree—a newborn stirred.
He was small. Fluffy. Barely two feet tall. His white fur was interrupted by irregular black spots, and his crimson eyes blinked wide with confused intelligence. He knew nothing of gods. Nothing of betrayal. Yet something within him murmured… as if memory had forgotten to fade.
He was Lawrence now.
And the world had changed.
---
**System Initialization: COMPLETE**
**New Host Identified – Vessel Integrity: 100%**
**Welcome, Lawrence. You are the registered soul-bound of the Merchant-Class Celestial Trade System.**
**Initializing mental integration protocols…**
His body stilled as a foreign warmth rippled through his thoughts. A soft chime echoed in his mind, like a bell ringing through dimensions.
Then—
**System:** (Voice calm, genderless, composed)
"Greetings, user. You are now connected to the Interdimensional Trade Codex. You may refer to me as the System."
Lawrence blinked. The world outside meant little now. Inside—something vast was unfolding.
**Lawrence:** (Groggy, curious)
"Who... what are you?"
**System:**
"I am the tool of the Merchant God. I shall guide you in business, acquisition, dimensional law, and survival."
He frowned.
**Lawrence:**
"Merchant? Like… selling stuff?"
**System:**
"Indeed. Your soul signature matches the Codex of Creation. You are authorized to conduct trade across realms."
A spark of something old ignited. He didn't understand it. But the term 'Codex of Creation'... stirred something deep, buried in starlight and sorrow.
Then it happened.
The world around him blurred. His thoughts condensed. And he found himself standing not in the hollowed-out root, but in a vast mindscape—a swirling mental realm, surrounded by mirrors of himself.
A figure stepped forward. Then another. Then two more.
Each was him—but not.
**Lawire:** (Wings folded, voice soft like wind chimes)
"So... you've finally awakened."
**Jack:** (Leaning on an invisible wall, smirking with sharp red eyes)
"About time. Thought you'd stay brain-dead forever."
**Charlie:** (Yawning, eyes half-lidded)
"I was sleeping. You disturbed me."
**Lana:** (Graceful, teasing, her voice like velvet)
"Mmm, the vessel's cute when confused."
Lawrence stepped back, stunned.
**Lawrence:**
"Who—what are you people?!"
**Jack:** (Grinning)
"We're you. Different slices. Personalities forged by trauma, power, and pain."
**System:** (Interrupting)
"Warning: Full integration with alternate personas is not recommended during infancy of vessel body."
**Lawire:** (Ignoring it)
"We remember what you cannot. We hold fragments of who you were."
Lawrence swallowed hard.
**Charlie:** (Floating lazily)
"Don't worry, bunny boy. We won't bite... yet."
**Lana:** (Smirking)
"Unless you want me to."
---
Their presence vanished. His mind returned to the waking world—his breath short, his chest heavy.
The System returned.
**System:**
"First lesson: To be a merchant is to know value."
Before him materialized a simple wooden box. Inside: three gold coins, a scroll, and a sealed vial.
**System:**
"Barter. Trade. Deceive. Deal. Every realm has a price. Every soul—its worth. Begin."
His paws reached out. His heart pounded.
He didn't know who he was. But he knew this:
He would learn. He would grow.
And someday—he would take everything back.
---