Beastiary Theory Of Evolution (Scientific Evolution/Survival)

In this world, there is a thing called the Great Beastiary. It is not a book or a place. It is a force that writes everyone's value into their skin. Every creature is born with a crest somewhere on their body.  The color tells your rank. And if your crest is cracked or brown or barely there, the Beastiary has decided you are not important. You exist to die so that someone else's story can move forward. Creatures are born, creatures are ranked, and they are told what they are worth. The ones at the bottom get sold or worked or even... thrown away. Lemony Xaphan Pamon has a brown, cracked crest, a Faulty Crest. He belongs to a species called Pale-Mantle Manul, which is a fancy way of saying a small cat with too much fur. His parents traded him for a box of lemons when he was a baby.  That is where his name comes from.  He has been a slave for seventeen years.  Things that slaves do, like scrub floors, carry things, and obviously, being unable to talk back because there is no point. I am a lemon, he thinks sometimes. Squeezed until there is nothing left but the rind. One night he sees something he should not.  Two figures arguing in the dark outside the Pamon mansion. One is the master's son and the other is a stranger. The next morning the son is dead and Lemony is the only one awake late enough to blame. The master does not hesitate.  Ten years of scrubbing his floors and carrying his things and Lemony is handed over to the national force. They do not put him in a cell.  They put him in a portal. Inside them are ancient creatures that cannot be killed.  The continent does not try anymore.  Instead they feed the portals these criminals, debtors, the unwanted, or even anyone innocent with a low enough rank.  They toss them in so the beasts have something to eat. Lemony stands at the edge of the portal. The air smells like snow and old blood. This is it, he thinks. This is what they meant when they said I was nothing. He steps through. This is the true nature of The Bestiary Theory of Evolution. A life must be offered so that another might transcend. It is a cycle of sacrifice where a creature is given up just so that it can finally evolve into something more. What to Expect: • A mentally unstable but reliable main character. • An animal-only world with cool character designs. • A world that assigns everyone's value. • Evolution!  • Visiting different realms with ancient beasts. • Creative fight scenes with creative abilities. • No harem. • Politically Focused Worldbuilding  One chapter a day. Discord: mr.friesman TikTok: mr.friesman