Hidden Beast

"This is a world where spiritual contracts determine one's destiny. When mortals awaken the power of beast spirits deep within their souls, they can forge spiritual contracts and summon spirit beasts to fight. A contracted beast's rank, from a humble sparrow-like common spirit to a mythical phoenix reborn in flames, is etched directly into its master's social standing and destiny. The strong are like divine dragons high in the clouds, looking down on all living things; the weak crawl like ants, doomed never to rise."

Aston's awakening test result was like a humiliating brand burned into his forehead: "Manifest Rank: Spiritless." In the eyes of contract holders, he was nothing but a castoff of fate, branded a failure by society. Yet fate loves to lay its plans in secret: he concealed a secret powerful enough to overturn the world. A never-before-seen "Hidden Rank" beast spirit lay dormant within him. To avoid the greedy eyes of those who coveted this unknown power and wanted to devour him alive, he wove himself a cocoon of lies, imprisoning his true spirit in the shadows.

Now Aston races through the shadows of his escape. Behind him, hunters howl like a pack of wolves; ahead lies the unknown, an abyss of fate. He knows this flight is not just about evading those hunting him with prying eyes. It is also a reckoning with his own destiny. He must tear away the veil shrouding his parents' disappearance and expose the truth about the awakening that power has rewritten. The Hidden Rank beast spirit in his bloodline is roaring with soul-shaking force as the truth draws near. This struggle against fate is far more sinister and unpredictable than any life-or-death trial in an awakening ceremony, because what is at stake is not life or death, but the very rules of the world.