Third Person’s POV

The Gods and Goddesses, along with the Primordial Deities, gathered around Evergreen to complete the final rites. There, Evergreen was to ascend as the God of Illusion, known to be one of the most powerful gods in the heavens.

[System: Welcoming the 8 Gods and Goddesses with the 8 Primordial Deities]

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Goddess of Light and Judgment— Solvarya 

God of War and Honor—Valkrion 

Goddess of Life and Harvest — Eirenya 

God of Shadows and Vengeance— Noctavar 

Goddess of Wisdom and Magic— Auremelia 

God of Storms and Wrath— Thundarak 

Goddess of Time and Fate — Selaria 

God of Death and the Underworld** — Dravanos

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Primordial of Void and Nothingness — Abyx 

Primordial of Timeflow and Stagnation — Chronael 

Primordial of Chaos and Possibility — Nytheryz 

Primordial of Existence and Light — Solmera 

Primordial of Matter and Decay — Thremor 

Primordial of Breath and Boundlessness — Zephyrox 

Primordial of Balance and Dissonance — Eclith 

Primordial of Dreams and Consciousness — Yureth

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[Gods, Goddesses, and Primordial Deities, please proceed to the rites.]

After the formal welcoming, the rites began.

The elders spoke:

Sub luna fracta, figuram meam abnego— 

Corpus est pulvis, nomen est umbra.

Veritatem ligantem repudio, mendacium liberans amplector.

Realitas est velum—ego sum laceratio quae somnium revelat.

Resonant umbrae, falsa fiant integra, 

Per voluntatem meam, illusio fit divina. 

Clausis oculis, omnia video. Apertis oculis, nihil video.

Ex silentio, dico Ultimam Mendacium:

Nihil est reale, nisi ego."

Evergreen's body suddenly rose and floated.

Then the elders asked him, “Evergreen, do you accept the fate of becoming a god?”

Evergreen didn’t answer right away—instead, he thought deeply before responding.

After a few seconds of silence, Evergreen answered with a question: 

“If being a god is such a huge responsibility for someone like me, then what are the things I can and can’t do? And why is it that now, even as gods, you still haven’t done anything for the world of mortals?”

The elders answered, “Become a god, and you shall know the answer.”

But after Evergreen’s statement, the elders suddenly halted the ritual.

“Why should I choose to become a god if you won’t even give me an answer?” Evergreen said, as his body slowly returned to the ground.

One of the gods stood up, his voice laced with fury.

“I knew it. This person has no right to become a god like us,” declared Noctavar.

“Why would I choose godhood if, right now, my power can already be compared to yours?” Evergreen asked the elders with a straight, unreadable expression.

The gods grew more enraged at Evergreen’s words. Almost all of them couldn’t believe what he had just said. One of the gods stood up again.

“Is that how someone who has yet to reach our level is supposed to act? We are the gods,” said the God of Light.

“Then if I can defeat one of you, I want you to answer my question—only then will I accept the fate of becoming the God of Illusion,” Evergreen challenged.

One of the gods responded, “You really think a mere mortal like you can defeat a god?”

“I wouldn’t challenge you if I couldn’t,” Evergreen replied confidently.

The gods were now truly furious at Evergreen’s audacity.

“Someone like you deserves death!” the gods shouted in unison.

“You have no right to treat gods like us this way!” added the Primordial of Light.

Then, Abyx, the Primordial of Void and Nothingness, spoke:

“My fellow primordial deities, and you gods among us—do you agree to let me be the one to fight this mortal and prove that we are not so easily challenged?”

The elders responded, “You have our blessing—may the white prevail, and not the black.”

The battle began. The gods and primordial deities watched in silence. In the end, they could not believe what they had just witnessed:

Evergreen had nearly killed Abyx, the embodiment of Void and Nothingness.

“Have I proven that we are not just mere mortals?!” Evergreen shouted, smiling, his poker face still directed at the stunned gods and primordial deities.

[System: Rules are RULES. Gods, Goddesses, and Primordial Deities, grant Evergreen his WISH.]

Once again, the elders began the ritual for Evergreen. All his wounds healed, and this time, all of his questions were finally answered.

In the end—Evergreen refused to become a god.

Evergreen's Pov.

The last thing I remember was finishing a task assigned by my boss and taking a final service call from a family who needed help fixing their broken Wi-Fi.

When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw were two unfamiliar things—I couldn’t even tell what they were—and then suddenly...

[System: Please choose (Yes) if you want to gain knowledge of this world.]

I was startled by a voice echoing in my head. I had no idea where it was coming from, and I found myself in a dark space. I wasn’t sure if anyone else could hear it. After thinking it through, I chose (Yes)—and in an instant, everything changed.

[System: Thank you for your choice. 

Here’s your profile. 

Name: Evergreen 

Age: 5 years old 

Origin: Fox 

Level: 12 

Skill: Shape Shift Tail

Complete Transformation– You can transform into any creature or object you desire. 

Mimicry – Copy the appearance and abilities of others for a limited time. 

Elemental Mimicry – Temporarily gain the elemental abilities of any creature you observe.

In short, you were reincarnated into this world after dying in your past life.

Cause of Death: Overwork.

You died from long hours of work at a company in the Philippines called Concentrix.

You are now a fox at Level 12 with a single tail: the Shape Shifting Tail, which has three abilities.

To level up, you need to train, kill magical beasts, and absorb their magic stones.

As your level increases, you’ll grow more tails and gain more skills until you become a full-fledged nine-tailed fox.

In this world, people have their own unique powers and abilities. To level up, everyone must defeat magical beasts and train. 

There are also gods, goddesses, and divine beings here. They’re known as the 16 Rays, the guardians of this world.

That’s all the system can tell you for now.]

Huh? I don’t understand what’s happening. So... I died from overwork and got reincarnated as a fox? What are magical beasts? Who are these gods and goddesses? I’m so confused.

[System: You’re classified as a Magical Beast. But you’re special—you’ll be able to transform into a human soon.]

"And the Gods?"

[System: System are not allowed to reveal a powerful being.]

I was shocked again by the voice. Now I was certain I was the only one who could hear it.

But what should I do now?

[System: Eat a magic stone to level up first.]

"And where exactly am I supposed to get one?" 

No reply. I gave up asking even though I was curious.

“Child, thank goodness you’re awake. Don’t ever do something like that again,” a gentle female voice said as she hugged me tightly.

She was a fox just like me—maybe my mother, sister, or cousin?

“Don’t go outside for now, son. You’re a target of the Veil Unicorns,” a male voice added.

Veil Unicorns?

[System: Report. A Veil Unicorn is a magical beast with blindfold-like barriers over its eyes. If the veil is removed, it can shoot a powerful laser that turns its target into cloth—cloth they eat.]

Wait... What?

[System: The Veil Unicorn King is targeting you. 

Profile: 

Name: Garaga 

Age: 10,000 years 

Level: 600 

Magic Stone: Legendary

If you consume his magic stone, you’ll gain two more tails and transform. His stone is powerful enough to destroy an entire village.]

What the hell? I just got reincarnated and I’m already being hunted?

The two foxes—definitely my parents—kept close to me, guarding me while I lay in a room glowing with light-crystal walls. I felt trapped, but I knew they were only trying to protect me.

As I was resting, I heard shouting outside. Soon my parents came in and spoke to me.

“Evergreen, no matter what happens, live. Be strong,” my mother said, crying as she hugged me.

I didn’t recognize them, but what they were doing for me made me feel pain and sorrow. I didn’t want to lose them.

“Take care of this weapon. I’m sorry, son, but this is all I can pass on to you,” my father said as he handed me a large object wrapped in cloth. “Don’t worry. We’ll be back,” he added as they embraced me tightly one last time.

I didn’t know what to feel, but it hurt. I couldn’t hold back the tears as they left. It felt like my heart was breaking.

Then—everything went black.

[System: Evolution succeeded! 

Name: Evergreen 

Age: 5 

Origin: Three-Tailed Fox 

Level: 32

New Tail: Elemental Tail 

Skills:

Flame Manipulation – Control fire and summon fiery storms. 

-Tidal Mastery – Control water and summon waves. 

Earthquake Generation – Control the earth and raise armies from the ground.

New Tail: Time Tail 

Skills:

Time Freeze – Stop time for one minute. 

Time Rewind – Reverse small events to fix mistakes or heal. 

Accelerated Growth – Speed up natural growth or decay.**

You also received a skill from the Goddess of Illusion. 

Golden Scythe skill unlocked: Illusion Scratch. 

Soul Scratch – No physical damage, but after three hits, the target’s soul shatters and they die.]

When I woke up, the lifeless bodies of my parents lay before me.

I didn’t feel anything at first—but tears began to fall. I screamed. I was overwhelmed by sadness and rage.

[System: Do you wish to inherit the emotions and memories of this body’s original owner? If yes, please select (Yes).]

I had no right to refuse. I was only borrowing this body. This was never meant to be my life. If it weren’t for me, maybe Evergreen could have saved his parents.

I didn’t hesitate. I chose (Yes).

I let Evergreen take full control of his body for a moment—to mourn, to grieve.

Watching him cry broke me. I couldn’t help but cry too. I felt guilty for what happened to him. I didn’t deserve this second life.

In my past life, something similar happened. A thief killed both my parents. I was too young to do anything but cry. No one helped me. Not even my own relatives. So I had to help myself.

“Please, take care of this body,” Evergreen’s last words echoed before his soul vanished with a smile.

[System: Knowledge successfully transferred.]

I cried. He even gave me all his knowledge.

From that moment on, I vowed to grow stronger and rely only on myself.

Thanks to Evergreen’s knowledge, I knew what to do. First, I buried our parents—*my* parents now—with earth magic.

As I was thinking, Earth Magic? when did I have an Earth magic?

Wait… Earth magic? When did I get that? I thought I only had Shape Shifting powers?

“System, what happened?” I asked silently.

[System: Report! While you were unconscious, your parents fed you the Veil Unicorn King’s magic stone. You evolved. That’s why you feel different.]

“Did Evergreen know?”

[System: Yes. His soul was still present when you evolved.]

So I evolved without even knowing. I even received a divine gift. A new tail and six new skills. Thankfully, Evergreen was there to witness it all.

Still… I miss him.

I traveled alone for seven years after that. I slowly grew used to this world. I memorized every shortcut and secret path.

Three years ago, I defeated a powerful man—a cruel, handsome human. I copied his appearance and memories using my mimicry ability. I’ve used his face ever since to live as a human. I only avoided his evil deeds.

No one recognized me, probably because I looked younger than he did when I defeated him. I was just eight at the time.

Since then, I haven’t evolved. I haven’t consumed any magic stones or fought magical beasts.

I avoid fighting. I know when I’m outmatched.

That man was the only one I killed because he tried to kill me first.

[System: Now that you’re 12, you’re eligible to enter a school for training.]

Good idea—but I don’t know any schools in this world.

“What schools are there?” I asked through thought-communication.

[System: Astral Academy. You’ll find it just past your workplace. Head straight, then turn left. You’ll see the gates of Astral Academy.]

Perfect. I’ll go there tomorrow to enroll.

I want to evolve. I want to witness the full potential of this body.