BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
A hand slammed down on the alarm clock, silencing its shrill cry. Heterochromatic eyes—one glowing red, the other pale white—snapped open in an instant.
Amari Elian groaned as he sat up, rubbing the crust from his eyes.
7:05 AM.
He blinked at the glowing digits.
"Twenty-five more minutes 'til class starts…"
A beat of stillness.
Then—
"Oh shit!!"
He launched out of bed like a man possessed, bare-chested, black shorts rustling as he scrambled across the cold floor that bit at his feet. His hair stuck out in every direction like a storm had passed through his scalp overnight.
Behind him, a muffled groan echoed beneath the blankets.
"Ugh… what's with all the noise…?"
The voice was unmistakably feminine, drowsy and irritated.
Buried under a pile of pillows was a young woman with a wild cascade of crimson-red hair spilling around her. One teal-blue eye peeked open and squinted at the light, only to close again with a grumble.
"Myri!" Amari shouted as he scrambled through his closet, already tugging on his uniform. "Get dressed—it's the first day! We're gonna be late!"
Myri sat up slowly, blinking like a cat that'd been roused too early from a nap.
"Oh yeah…" she mumbled, yawning. "Faithbound starts today, doesn't it?" Her voice sharpened as realization hit. "You can't be late!"
CRACK!
A sonic boom detonated within the room as Myri vanished from the bed in a red blur.
She reappeared at the foot of the bed, striking a pose with one leg forward and a beaming smile plastered on her face. She wore the female academy uniform perfectly: a crisp black dress shirt with silver trim, a short silver skirt, black thigh-high socks, and polished shoes that somehow survived her explosive entrance.
"All ready, Master Mari!" she chirped, throwing him a dramatic thumbs-up.
From the bathroom, his voice came flat and unimpressed.
"Myri…"
"Yes, Master?" she leaned in, cupping her ear like she hadn't just shattered the sound barrier.
"…Did you destroy the room again?"
She puffed out her cheeks and smiled innocently.
"Me? Destroy? Never."
CLANG.
The bed collapsed behind her, giving out a final, pitiful groan as it crashed through the already-damaged floorboards.
A long sigh echoed from the bathroom.
"…We'll fix it later."
"Sorry, Master!" she giggled, hands behind her back like a child caught sneaking cookies.
Amari emerged a few moments later, straightening his collar as he checked himself in the mirror.
'Not bad for the Credent Tier.' he thought.
The black dress shirt with silver accents fit snugly. The matching black dress pants and shoes gave him a clean look, even if he hated wearing formal anything.
Still, today wasn't about comfort.
Today was about survival.
He ran his fingers through his short, two-toned hair—jet black with a streak of snowy white cutting through the fringe.
It had taken time to adjust to this whole new self.
But now? It was just… him.
Because here's the thing:
Amari Elian wasn't from this world.
Not this place. Not this dimension.
He was from Earth.
Living a pretty average life…
Until the day everything shattered.
The day he was killed—for being a "lame."
Yeah. That's exactly what his ex called him…
Right before she stabbed him in the chest with a machete that would've made Jason Voorhees jealous.
He'd walked in on her with his best friend—someone he'd known since kindergarten.
"You weren't giving her enough attention.." the guy had said.
Hah Cold. Real cold shit.
Amari could still laugh about it now.
Mostly.
He gave himself a day to mourn the betrayal.
Then?
He got over it.
Because he would've been damned if he spent his time here depressed over a 304 and this new world?
It was everything a fantasy nerd could've ever wanted—and he'd been dropped right in the middle of it with a second chance.
Here's a short rundown:
They called them the Thresholds of Judgment.
Twisted, glowing gates that tore open across the land without warning.
And if they weren't sealed in time?
Demons, corrupted beasts, and eldritch horrors came spilling out like a Biblical plague. Cities fell. Nations burned.
Game over.
The only people capable of entering and sealing them?
Judicators—those blessed with Faith.
A divine power that awakened during a special ceremony held once a year for all eligible citizens.
Each person only got one chance.
You'd stand inside a grand cathedral, place your hand on the Heart of Radiance, and pray to the stars the system didn't brand you as a "nonexistent piece of shit" in front of your entire region.
Guess who blacked out before they even finished saying his name?
Yeah. This guy.
Amari came to not in a hospital…
But inside a Threshold.
No instructions. No weapons. No training.
Just him… and something very angry trying to vaporize him.
A six-foot-tall pistol mantis shrimp demon, its claws humming with enough kinetic force to break vibranium.
Probably an exaggeration..probably
Anyways it was staring him down like he owed it rent and was late.
And then—everything changed.
The creature's monstrous shell glitched. Cracked.
Like shattered code peeling away from a broken screen.
And beneath it… stood a girl.
Red hair. Teal-blue eyes. Legs that didn't quit.
And a grin that screamed: chaotic waifu energy.
"You're not running?" she asked, tilting her head with curiosity.
"Why would I?" Amari replied, blinking once. "You're kinda cute for a shrimp."
She laughed. Then had an expression on her face like those people from the movie 'Smile.'
Then tried to decapitate him.
Somehow, he didn't die.
Instead, something inside him ignited.
The system triggered.
The world bent.
And his Faith erupted.
SSS-Rank: Fundamental Force.
The fusion of gravity, electromagnetism, and strong nuclear force.
Only gravity was unlocked—but it was more than enough.
He moved without thinking—warped the air, twisted the ground, and survived her blows.
Then?
He bonded with her.
The system called it a Beast Pact.
His Faith reached out. Pulled back the corruption.
And she—Myri—was revealed in full.
To everyone else, she was still a monster.
A Class-A crustacean of doom.
To him?
She was his first companion.
His psycho protector.
His mantis-girl chaos queen.
And here's the kicker?
Only Amari can see beasts like this.
Any beast he bonds with appears to him not as a monster…
…but as the divine girl they used to be—before corruption twisted them.
Why?
No idea.
But it all started the moment he awakened Fundamental Force—and now?
Now he was heading into Faithbound Academy…
With a girl no one else could understand.
And a power that might just break the world.
"Come on, Myri." Amari said with a glance, adjusting the strap of his bag as he stepped toward the door.
WHOOSH.
A blur of red, and she was suddenly beside him, saluting with playful flair.
"Reporting for duty, Commander Mari!" she grinned.
He rolled his eyes, but there was a half-smirk tugging at his lips.
She didn't miss it.
Her expression softened just slightly as she reached out, placing a hand gently on his chest. Her touch lingered, warm and grounding.
"Nervous?" she asked, eyes searching his face.
Amari glanced down at her hand, then back up at her. Crimson hair. Teal-blue eyes. That barely-contained chaos energy vibrating beneath the surface. Always touching. Always close.
She'd been like that since the moment they bonded. Always there.
He let her be.
After all, he wasn't one of those oblivious, "I-don't-know-what-flirting-is" anime protagonists with the emotional awareness of a potato.
He was eighteen. A straight man. And she was sexy.
It didn't take a genius.
Still—
"Nah," he said, exhaling calmly. "Just curious. And a tad bit excited."
Her smile widened.
"Then no use in waiting."
"My—"
CRACK.
A sonic boom shattered the morning air as the two of them vanished in a blur of light and sound.
The room stood still in their wake.
Half the bed lay in a crater. Feathers drifted like snow. The alarm clock blinked blankly, still cracked from earlier.
The only sound?
The soft creak of the floorboards collapsing further under the pressure Myri had left behind.