Aurora's expression didn't change, but her mind sharpened instantly as the cold, mechanical voice echoed inside her head.
She blinked in confusion, but before she could have made sense of what was happening, the world around her disappeared.
There was no visible transition. No warning.
One moment, she was in a dark, damp cave with a very dangerous man she had every reason to be wary of. And the next, she found herself standing on a glowing white platform suspended in what appeared to be an endless abyss.
She didn't move, didn't panic, didn't even frown. Instead, she let her gaze sweep the surroundings with quiet precision.
Endless darkness stretched in all directions, swallowing light itself. The platform beneath her feet emitted a soft glow and it was the only thing separating her from the void.
There was no wind there, no sound, no exists either.
"…Interesting," she murmured.
"Of course it is!"
Her head turned at the sudden voice and a small... thing... appeared in front of her. It was round, fluffy, and white. And it was floating in mid air.
She stared at it for a moment before she asked, "What are you?"
The fluffball puffed up, as if offended and then declared proudly, "I am your system!"
Aurora was silent for a full three seconds. Then-
"…No."
The fluffball froze before repeating, "No?"
Aurora folded her arms, her expression calm and utterly unimpressed. "No," she said flatly. "Try again."
"I-what do you mean try again?!" the fluffball sputtered. "I am your system! The Survival System! Your guide, your support, your-"
"Hallucination," she cut in.
Silence took over as the little thing stared at her in disbelief for a moment, and then it shouted right at her face. "I am not a hallucination!"
Aurora tilted her head slightly as she said, "Prove it."
The fluffball choked. "…What?"
"Proof," she said simply. "You claim to be real. Provide evidence."
The fluffball hovered there, visibly vibrating. "You were literally just teleported into a separate dimension!"
"Or I'm dead," Aurora replied calmly. "Or dreaming. Or experiencing neural misfires during brain failure."
"…You are not supposed to react like this," the fluffball muttered.
Aurora ignored that. "Start from the beginning," she said. "What are you. Where am I. And why."
The fluffball deflated slightly and muttered, "…Fine."
It floated closer, as if trying to appear more authoritative.
"I am the Survival System Navi," it introduced itself. "I am now bound to you as your guide and assistant. You have been granted a second chance at life under my supervision."
Aurora's eyes narrowed slightly. "Granted," she echoed.
"Yes!" the system brightened. "Without me, you would be dead. Completely gone. I brought your soul here and placed you into a compatible body."
Aurora was quiet for a moment before she spoke, "I want a new one."
"…What?"
"A new body," she said, keeping her tone as calm as if she was asking for a glass of water. "This one is inefficient."
The system stared at her, completely dumbfounded. "…I beg your pardon?"
Aurora gestured downward and started pointing out everything that she found unacceptable in this new body of hers.
"Mobility severely compromised. Stamina low. Cardiovascular condition - unacceptable. Muscle distribution - non-functional. This body is a liability."
She paused for a quick second before adding, "I'll take a replacement."
The fluffball twitched.
"…No."
Aurora blinked. "No?"
"No!" the system snapped. "This is the only available body that matched the timing and location requirements! Do you think I have a warehouse of spare bodies lying around?!"
Aurora considered that before muttering, "…Disappointing."
"I am not a body shop!"
She ignored the outburst and offered a second option - "Then fix it."
"…Excuse me?"
"Optimize it. Improve it. Remove excess mass."
"I don't do weight loss programs!" the system screeched.
Aurora fell silent again, watching it for a moment before she spoke, "…So you are useless."
"I AM NOT USELESS!"
The void trembled faintly with the volume of its protest.
Aurora let out a slow breath, getting tired already. "Then explain your function."
The system froze. Then, as if remembering something important, it straightened - well, as much as a floating fluffball could straighten.
"…Right."
Its tone shifted, becoming more formal.
"The world you are currently in has deviated from its intended development path."
Aurora said nothing, but her attention sharpened.
"This is a Beastworld," the system continued. "A world where males possess the ability to shift into powerful beasts, while females do not. Over time, due to environmental and biological imbalances, the female population has been declining."
Aurora's expression darkened slightly but she kept quiet.
"The issue is not just population decline," the system went on. "The entire world has stagnated. Civilization has failed to progress beyond a primitive state. Technology, medicine, social structures - this world knows none of it."
Aurora folded her arms again and asked, "And this is my problem because…?"
"Because," the system said, its voice suddenly sharp, "you are now responsible for fixing it."
Aurora stared at it.
"…No."
The system blinked.
"No?"
"No," Aurora repeated. "I don't recall agreeing to that."
"You don't have a choice!"
Aurora's gaze turned cold as she said, "I always have a choice."
The system hesitated just for a second before it spoke slowly, "If you refuse, you will be erased."
The words hung in the void. They sounded simple... and final.
Aurora didn't react immediately. She let those words settle before she repeated, "Erased."
"Completely," the system confirmed. "You will get no chance to reincarnate, no afterlife, and no second chances. You will cease to exist."
Silence stretched between them as Aurora asked herself if she was actually ready to die for real this time. Moments later, she let out a soft exhale and said, "Your negotiation skills are pretty aggressive."
"I am not negotiating!"
"Of course you are," she said calmly. "You are presenting an ultimatum with incentives."
The system opened its mouth, then closed it before speaking a moment later, "Fine. Yes. It's an ultimatum."
Aurora nodded once and asked it to continue.
The system seemed slightly thrown off by how smoothly she accepted that.
"…If you complete your mission - guide this world toward proper development, stabilize its population, and correct its trajectory - you will be rewarded."
Aurora's eyes flickered.
"Define reward."