Idalia blinked. The strange runes were flickering before her eyes again.

  Blinking, buzzing, frozen like a cluster of glowbugs trapped in glass.

  | [O p e n] Status |

  It hovered there like a scent she could almost touch. She squinted, ears twitching. How could she make it work? Make it respond to her? She wasn't sure why, but her instinct said it would!

  She needed to think. If she focused hard enough… maybe it would respond.

  Alpha Pawail always said to poke first, then bite. Or was it bite, then poke? Either way, she pawed at the air.

  Focus. Focus harder! Her tail lashed, her claws dug into the dirt, her mind curling around the strange sensation. The symbols didn't move. It didn't change. Heat built in her chest.

  "Grr… it's supposed to do something!" she growled, stamping a paw. Her instincts screamed, but her mind still felt like it was floating outside her head. She shut her eyes, concentrated, whispered the foreign words aloud: "Open… Status…"

  Nothing. Instead, a faint hum tingled in her head, like the sound of lava flowing far away. And then the word blinked, almost… mocking.

  | [O p e n] Status |

  She jumped back, shaking her head. Why wouldn't it work? Frustration clawed at her chest. Something deep inside whispered that if she tried harder, if she understood it differently… maybe it would yield.

  And then, almost like a voice echoing her own, something sly and patient murmured: "Not yet… little cub. But soon, you'll see."

  She swiped at the air, as if to scatter the sound. It reminded her of that smug fox. Not now. Her curiosity prowled elsewhere. She turned her focus back to the runes, determined to unlock their meaning. They felt like Alpha Pawail's crystal… cold, intrusive, full of secrets.

  | [O p e n] Status |

  The glowing marks wavered, teasing her. She pawed at them again and again, her heart pounding, her brain itching. Finally she sank to the ground, breathing hard, ears flat.

  It's… too much. My head hurts. But… it's there. Why won't it behave?

  Even if she couldn't open it yet, she knew the symbols weren't lying. She would figure them out. She just had to.

  Once more, defiant, Idalia pawed at the runes again, her claws scraping the air. She whispered, squinted, tilted her head. Anything to make it respond.

  "Open… Status?" she muttered.

  Nothing. The shapes blinked again, unmoved, shimmering like it was amused. Laughing at her misery. She growled.

  It was pointless.

  Idalia huffed and rolled onto her back, staring up at the smoky sky. She longed for her pride, the warmth of her friends Pyra and Pyrokit, the rumbling comfort of Mama. Were they safe? But the Carnotaurs were… She bristled at the thought. Of course they were. Mama always made sure. Alpha Pawail too. Her clan was strong.

  A gentler thought brushed her mind. She liked her name. Idalia. It was hers. Mama and Papa had given it to her. The "status" belonged to her too, didn't it?

  It was mine. It belonged to me.

  Wait.

  "Open… my… Status?" she whispered, pressing the word my with all her will. Her ears twitched, and a strange warmth bloomed in her chest. It felt like the word had noticed her, really noticed her, for the first time.

  The glowing scratches quivered. A soft beep echoed in her head, like a heartbeat that wasn't hers.

  | [Open] Idalia's Status |

  This time, the word acknowledged her. Slowly, impossibly, the space in front of her mind unfolded. Symbols and lines spiraled into place, forming a crystalline structure. Four lines that connected into a… box! The, uh, screen reflected her, almost like it was speaking in her own voice.

  But sharper, cleaner, and stranger.

  ???

  Name: Idalia

  Given Name: Idalia [Kit]

  Species: Liorex [Kitten]

  Grade: [Rare]

  Evolution Stage: [Fledgling] (F)

  Power Particles: [500] Units

  Attributes: [Deino], [Spatial], [Atomic]

  ???

  "Huh?" Her ears flicked. That's me. It knows me. The words weren't hers, but they sounded like her voice trying to sound older and smarter.

  [Knowledge Core [E]: 3 → 6%]

  Her head buzzed, aching. The lines wriggled, pricking her thoughts like tiny pins. She pawed at the glowing marks as if she could make them explain themselves. To her surprise, they almost did. She squinted.

  Deino? Spatial? Atomic? Each one throbbed, heavy with meaning she couldn't catch.

  "Stop poking me!" she growled, shaking her head as if the words were burrs caught in her fur.

  Then more lines spilled down, as if the crystal wanted to show her everything at once.

  She glared at the top line. "Mana? Like meat in my belly? No… it says decent." She pawed her chest, then her throat. Warm breath. Firelight under skin. The more she thought, the more her temples pinched.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  She snapped her jaws at the display. "Don't tell me I'm confused! I'm fine!" But her twitching tail betrayed her. Then there were more beneath the lying descriptions.

  Her eyes widened. Numbers. I know numbers. But how?! She mouthed each one slowly.

  "Nine. Eight. Eleven…" The sense of it tickled, almost satisfying, like learning to pounce a new way.

  [Knowledge Core [E]: 6 → 9%]

  She ignored the knowledge core-thing again, something else delighted her. "Wait—firepower?!" She puffed a small, squeaky roar. No fire came out, only hot breath. Her whiskers drooped.

  "Lies."

  Her ears pricked. Distribute? Like meat? She pawed at the air. The words shifted faintly, then snapped back. She tried harder, squinting until her nose wrinkled. Nothing. The [5] remained stubbornly still.

  "Hey! Mine!" she yelped, stamping a paw. The display of the flat, shiny surface shifted.

  Her eyes brightened. "Bite!" She snapped her jaws, pleased the word matched something real. Her tail swished, proud.

  But Portal Breath? Portal Roar? She tilted her head. "What's the difference?" Yet… deep inside, she felt something stir when she thought about roaring again.

  Her fur bristled. Rage. The word echoed too loud, too familiar.

  "Mama says rage makes you blind…" she whispered, but the chart declared it like a prize.

  She shook her head, dizzy, pawing at the air again.

  "…It is play," she muttered, chest heaving. "But it cheats."

  She keen her eyes on the floating chart, tail twitching. Curious.

  The number [5] gleamed at her like a smug dare again.

  "You think I can't touch you?" she growled. She crouched low, like she was stalking prey. Her whiskers quivered as she pounced at the thought itself, willing one of the little lights to move.

  For a few blinks, nothing. Then—

  [Confirm: Distribute 1 Pure Particle to STR?]

  The words rang bright and sharp in her head. Her fur puffed. "Yes! STR! Strength!"

  [Confirmed]

  The world tilted. Her muscles thrummed, paws buzzing like they'd been filled with fire and river-stones all at once. She yelped, stumbling forward.

  "Too much—! Guh!"

  Her claws sank deep grooves into the dirt. Her breath came fast, wild. Then slowly, the rush settled, leaving a hot strength in her shoulders.

  | STR (Strength): 9 → 10 |

  Her ears perked. The number had changed.

  A slow grin spread across her muzzle. "I won! Ha! See? I can play too!"

  But the chart wasn't done.

  [Warning: Excessive distribution may destabilize early-stage vessels]

  Idalia blinked. "…Vessels?" She pawed her chest. "I'm not a lava river."

  Then the runes on the strange flat surface rippled like a pool. It startled her when it shifted, adding more wormy scratches. Lots of scratches.

  Idalia stared at the runes, her thoughts darted back and forth. E-Rank? Like the others? She let out a huff of frustration. "And Common? That's not special! I'm not just 'common'—I'm rare! Show me more!"

  [Displaying Further Possible Evolutions]