When Han Yuna opened her eyes, she was no longer in the white lab where the pulse of quantum nodes and experimental lasers had filled her ears. The sterile scent of antiseptic was gone. In its place lingered the odor of damp concrete, rusted metal, and recycled air.
Above her was a cracked plaster ceiling. To her left, a flickering holo-calendar displayed a failed sync alert. The distant hum of hovercrafts occasionally stirred the heavy air outside the window shutters. None of this was familiar — and yet all of it felt deeply… lived in.
The memories came next. Not her own, but fused with hers. Han Yuna. Age nineteen. Born into a once-respected family now buried in disgrace. Their father vanished, his company swallowed by greedy relatives. Their home threatened. Debts pressing in like wolves. Her mother, Luo Lan, held everything together with strength born of necessity. Han Yuna was the eldest child — protective, intelligent, fiercely loyal. Younger siblings: Han Sen, headstrong and quietly determined, and Han Yan, bright as starlight and far too young to carry the weight of their world.
It should have felt foreign. But it didn't.
She took a slow breath, adjusting to the strange stillness in her body. It was lean, lightly muscled but underfed. The fingertips bore calluses. A faint ache lingered at her shoulders. This body had endured. And now it was hers.
The door creaked open. A boy peeked in, black hair messy, expression filled with concern that didn't know how to hide.
"Sis?" he asked cautiously. "You feeling okay?"
"I'm fine," Yuna replied, her voice soft, unfamiliar yet natural. "Did Mom cook?"
"Sort of. Synth starch with some real pepper flakes. It's a… big treat."
Yuna raised a brow. "Still sounds awful."
The boy smiled sheepishly. "You're not wrong."
She sat up slowly. Her thoughts were in perfect order, even if her surroundings weren't. Across her mind flashed quantum equations, genetic chain patterns, and — impossibly — information about this strange world: teleportation zones, something called the God's Sanctuary, gene points, beast souls.
There was no mistake. This wasn't just rebirth.
It was a second chance.
In the next room, Luo Lan sewed a cloak under a low solar lamp. Her posture was elegant, but her hands moved like a soldier — precise, silent, unshaking. When her eyes met Yuna's, they held the warmth of a mother and the keen insight of a woman who'd been through war.
"You're awake. Good. Don't scare us like that again."
"I won't." Yuna's voice was calm, but her mind was already racing.
Han Yan bounded into the room next, her voice rising with excitement. "Sis! I finally cracked the simulation puzzle! My mental strength index increased!"
Yuna smiled and tousled her little sister's hair. "Well done. At this rate, I'll have to keep up just to stay ahead of you."
On the old shelf near the window stood the last framed photo of them all together — their father, Luo Cheng, standing proud with one arm around Luo Lan, his children flanking him with smiles too wide for the world they'd grow up in.
It wasn't just about genes. This was about reclaiming everything they'd lost.
That night, while the lights dimmed and the building's power saver mode engaged, Han Sen sat beside her, hands fidgeting slightly in his lap.
"I passed the evaluation," he said. "I can enter the First God's Sanctuary."
Yuna turned her head. "Already?"
He nodded. "I need to do something. We can't keep living like this. Uncle Heng said he'd take the apartment next month if we don't pay off the interest."
Their mother's voice came from the corner. "It's dangerous, Sen."
"I'm not afraid."
"I'll go too," Yuna said.
Han Sen blinked. "What?"
"I qualify by age. I just… never applied. But I will now."
He looked at her, shocked. "You've never even trained."
"I've learned faster than anyone before." She smiled faintly. "And I'm not letting you walk into danger alone."
Luo Lan gave her a long, unreadable look. "You changed, Yuna."
Yuna didn't flinch. "Maybe I remembered what mattered most."
The decision was made.
The transport facility was clinical and humming with energy. Rows of pods lined the chamber, each one a conduit into another dimension. A technician gave them a bored safety rundown, warning of nausea, disorientation, and possible muscle spasms.
Han Sen and Yuna stood side by side as the countdown began.
"Don't do anything dumb," Yuna said.
Han Sen smirked. "You mean like jumping headfirst into death?"
She rolled her eyes. "Exactly."
The world blurred.
Then it shattered.
Yuna felt her entire existence pulled through a tunnel of twisting light and gravity. It compressed, then exploded outward. When her vision cleared, she stood on alien soil.
The sky above was not blue, but a deep violet, scattered with unfamiliar stars and two low suns on the horizon. The ground beneath her feet was a mix of cracked red stone and thick blue grass. Strange screeches echoed in the distance.
Others appeared nearby, some vomiting, others gasping or cursing. They had all entered the First God's Sanctuary.
Yuna kept her breath steady. Every instinct — even the ones she hadn't earned in this life — told her to observe first. Her skin tingled. The air here was rich in unknown particles, saturated with an energy she could almost taste.
Han Sen landed beside her moments later, stumbling to one knee. "This… feels weird."
"It's not Earth anymore," she replied, helping him up. "Be careful. Everything here's trying to kill you."
A group of armed hunters approached, led by a man with a cold stare and a massive axe on his back. "Rookies! You're lucky we're short on hands today. You're coming with us on a patrol. Grab a weapon and follow orders. You fall behind, we leave you."
No one argued. Yuna took a crude blade from the pile and inspected it. Carbonized bone. Weighed wrong. Terrible balance. She would need to craft her own — soon.
They marched through strange terrain until they found their target — a horned lizard the size of a cow, grazing alone. The leader raised a hand to halt them.
But Han Sen had already dashed forward.
"Sen!" Yuna hissed — too late.
His blade nicked the creature's side. It roared in fury, thrashing and charging toward the group. Chaos erupted. One of the rookies tripped and barely dodged a fatal goring.
The leader moved in, snarling, and ended the beast with a swing of his beast soul axe. The creature slumped to the ground, twitching.
"You reckless brat!" the leader barked. "You almost got us all killed!"
Han Sen lowered his blade, face pale. "I thought—"
"You didn't think," the man spat. "You acted like a damn amateur."
Yuna stepped forward, eyes hard. "Where were your instructions before the attack? Don't blame him for what you didn't prevent."
The leader's glare shifted to her. "You two — out. I don't babysit fools."
No one defended them. That was how the Sanctuary worked. The strong thrived. The weak were discarded.
They were on their own now.
Their days became harsh. No guides, no allies. They relied on instinct, caution, and each other. They trapped a small lizard creature after hours of careful tracking. Cooked its meat over a fire of dried moss and stone.
> [Ordinary Gene +1]
The voice echoed in Yuna's mind. The meat was sour, metallic, but as it slid down her throat, warmth spread through her veins. Her muscles responded instantly.
This world rewarded risk — and hunger.
On the third night, they discovered something strange. A wounded black beetle, nearly dead, its carapace split. As Yuna examined it, her hand brushed a pulsing crystal lodged beneath the shell.
The world shifted.
A rush of information flooded her brain — genetic patterns, energy streams, code rearrangement.
> [Unknown Genetic Interaction Detected]
[Ability Unlocked: Gene Synthesis Lv.1]
Yuna's breath hitched.
Something inside her had awakened.
This wasn't just about survival anymore.
This was evolution.
And she was going to master it.