Chapter 1 & 2

Author’s note: I do not know why some boxes glitch and centre alignment doesn’t work. It looks absolutely fine to me in the editor.

This was edited and split in 2 chapters. As I do not know the way to rearrange chapters here on CN, I am forced to club them in this form. I will split them as soon as I learn how to do so.

A peacefully slumbering creature was shocked awake. For peace was now denied to it.

Its abrupt awakening rendered its shocked mind slow. Thus, its comprehension lagged while it groggily gazed into the deep darkness, not unlike the one that had haunted it in its childhood. The old darkness was cold, cramped, and lifeless. It threatened to swallow the creature whole.

‘Where am I?’ The creature didn’t know the answer to that. In fact, it didn’t even remember anything. ‘…just what is happening?’

The creature’s slow mind jolted under the assault of rapidly passing thoughts and suspicion formed within its now awake mind. No sooner had the thought formed than the creature began trembling in disbelief.  ‘Where am I?!’

Its body grew hot while its flesh seemed to become heavy. The endless darkness suffocated it and the lack of space choked it. Its veins puffed while its eyes became bloodshot. ‘Who is doing this to me!? WHY?!’

The creature moved its body. However, its body failed to accomplish the task; it merely squirmed. Its botched attempt to move sent its panicked mind racing and the stifled creature drew parallels where there were none. It saw the confining darkness rush in as if it were preparing to crush the rattled creature with but a thought.

The terrified creature pushed back against the deep darkness. However, it found its body rolled in a fleshy meatball. All the while, the suffocating darkness rushed in. The spooked creature tried to resist but it couldn’t move its limbs. It couldn’t stretch its body. All it could do was make its body squirm.

Amid the cocktail of heightened emotions, an unnerving one took root and the creature trembled. Its body quivered like a dead leaf in the rainstorm and its blood pumped faster. If this emotion could be named, it would be the horror that seeped through the eyes, to the flesh and bone. The mere thought of why it chilled the creature’s very flesh. ‘I couldn’t have been buried alive! No!’

The creature tried to push with its body and even tried to shove. It threw its weight against the walls of its bizarre coffin. And the creature felt it move. The restricting darkness moved not unlike the movement of slime. However, its coffin pushed back with equal fervour to retain its shape. The creature’s heart raced but its quivering stopped. Its determination granted its strength to shove even harder.

It tried to punch the walls with its fists. However, its body failed to accomplish the task as instead of 2 limbs, multiple limbs moved. The baffled creature stopped mid-strike as the strange sensation tickled at the edge of its memories. It tried to remember its last memory. It was …it was …hazy. And confusing. Merely trying to think about the past gave the creature a splitting headache.

It was not the headache that the creature focused on though. Rather, it focused on the lack of response from its arms and legs. Its confused eyes narrowed as it processed the conflicting sensations. I felt not its limbs, yet it sensed multiple limbs protruding from its body; limbs that it should not have.

Its racing heart paced even faster while the creature tried hard to remember. However, all its efforts amounted to searing pain and unfathomable agony. The creature shuddered as its body reacted out of its control. ‘Has someone tampered with my memory?! Where am I?! What is going on?!’

Through the pain and the agony, its memory finally cleared. ‘I died.’

The reason for its demise did not concern it as its mind reeled from the shock. ‘I died.’

A hollowness, unlike nothing it had felt before seeped within it-

‘I died’

-and gradually it’s pounding heart-

‘I died’

-became so incredibly heavy that it seemed to stop beating.

‘I died.’

It had lost its family.

‘I died.’

Its life.

‘I died.’

Its friends.

‘I di-‘

Screeeeeeeeeeeeech!

0.0

Nothing.

Nothing at all.

The exhausted creature tried repeatedly. And finally, it remembered.

Power. Of the very Laws.

Monstrous existences. Beyond the Gods.

And obliteration.

Nature itself had turned against them, ripping their civilization asunder. Even the Five Great Ghosts had abandoned their race. Punished were the men, the women, the old and the children alike. The fate of one and all had been nothing but one.

Death.

The Gods had let their prayers go unheard. They had refused the summons. The death and the devastation had not moved their undying hearts. The ever-present and all-pervading Divine Grace had abandoned them in their moment of greatest need.

Perhaps, even the Gods had died alongside their worshippers.

Unseen calamities, unheard of catastrophes, and unthinkable cataclysms had descended upon them. Not only had they descended from the heavens, but they had also ascended from deep within the womb of the very earth. They had destroyed everything that had existed. Not a single being had been left alive. Not a single creature had been allowed to exist. It had been a complete and utter annihilation.

It had been… a punishment from the Heavens and the Earth.

‘…but …why?!’ The creature had no answer.

Its disbelieving mind comprehended the revelation and its eyes widened within the dark coffin. Everything that it had known, no longer existed. The people that it had known, the city that it had lived in, the country that it had called its own, the civilization that had been its own… all of it, sundered. Annihilated.

A Heavenly punishment for a crime unknown.

The wrathful creature struggled against its prison. ‘Dead.’ It squirmed, thrashed, and struggled with all its might. ‘Everyone is dead!’ It channelled its rage into achieving freedom. ‘Nothing remained!!’

It had to. ‘Dead!’

It just had to. ‘DESTROYED!!’

‘ANNIHILATED!’

Its ears popped as the rush of cold air hit its flesh. It shivered.

The sudden temperature change shocked the enraged creature out of its thoughts, and it struggled anew. It thrashed hammered and pushed at the opening.

Finally, it broke through. It was free, finally free. Yet, this freedom did not bring any joy to the lonely pair of hollowed eyes. The creature breathed hard as its desolation and anger simmered within. However, the grotesque sight which greeted it rendered its raging emotions impotent.

In front of the creature lay huge spheres, almost the same size as the creature itself. And out of many of them, things crawled out. Green and black and elongated things.

‘Insects…’ The dumbfounded creature thought before it corrected its line of thought. ‘Maggots!’

Its eyes widened and heartbeat quickened as it looked around. ‘Those spheres are eggs! They aren’t coffins! They are eggs!’

Eggs.

Eggs.

And more eggs.

The creature was surrounded by them. Wherever it looked, the sea of eggs stretched. And out of most of them, things crawled out; things that were maggots.

An impossible thought manifested with the creature’s shocked mind. It thought to look down at itself, but its heart resisted. The creature was afraid of what it’d find.

However, before the terrified creature could even do anything, a primal force hit it and consumed its horrified mind. Hunger had arrived to overwhelm its fragile mind. And it forced the creature to eat whatever was beneath its body.

But as the creature lowered its head to eat, it was confronted by its fear. For it saw what it had become. What its body had become. Its flesh was green and black and elongated like all the other things crawling around it.

‘Maggot!’ The creature’s mind supplied as it began to shut down.

The creature which thought that itself a maggot couldn’t think. It couldn’t comprehend. It couldn’t process what had become of it. ‘Filth! Vermin!’

The rage, the desolation, the shock, the disgust, and the plethora of emotions overwhelmed the poor creature’s taxed mind. It could do nothing as its fragile mind went into shock.

0.0

The stupefied maggot’s fragile mind broke out of the stupor to realise that it had devoured whatever it was that had been beneath its body. While in a daze, the starving creature’s baser instincts had taken over. Thus, it had gorged upon its egg, leaving only a few morsels behind.

However, the base instincts were not done with it yet. Much like a simmering pot, the hunger continued to bubble within the famished creature until it overwhelmed the creature’s inundated mind. The nervous creature didn’t resist the corroding acid within its flesh as it bent down to finish the sparse morsels.

Ting.

Ting.

The stupefied creature paused eating and thinking. ‘What is this?’ Its tender body twitched as its exhausted mind tried to process the illusion before its eyes.

In answer to its unspoken thoughts, another blue screen materialised within its vision.

Ting.

Its confused eyes narrowed as a thought sneaked in its week mind. To test its hypothesis the former mortal moved its head side to the side. However, its hypothesis was proved wrong when the screen moved along its vision. ‘This is no ordinary illusion then. Just…what is this?’

However, its newfound flesh reminded the creature of its new vessel though hunger that ceaselessly corroded its belly. Dutifully, the instinct’s meek little slave complied with the implicit order and devoured the tasteless leaf beneath its tiny body.

Meanwhile, it returned its ditzy attention to the screen to focus on the option that disturbed it the most: the option [Unnamed]. No sooner had it focused on the option than the floating blue list changed.

Ting.

Its toothy mouth twisted downwards while its eyes narrowed. The creature paused its eating to consider. ‘That makes no sense.’ Despite not understanding the significance of information displayed within its vision, one thing caught its eye: the title [Reincarnated]. The creature focused on it and another blue screen popped up.

Ting.

‘Is this about me?’ The numerous stubs emerging from its body squirmed. ‘Is this about my reincarnation?’

Despite the blatant reminder of its death, neither unending grief not incomprehensible sorrow rose within its fragile mind. Instead, all it felt was an odd resignation. If the creature had been of sound mind, it would have not only found it odd but also unnatural.

Indeed, this bizarre reaction was the outcome of the war going on within the ignorant creature. A war that it would remain unaware of in its life and perhaps even beyond in its death. Ignorance was bliss. But more often, it was death.

Unaware of the danger looming over its renewed life, the creature wished to return to the previous screen. The blue screen responded to its thought and dematerialised to reveal its Status. Within the mass of blue glow, the creature focused next on its [Race], [Immortal].

Ting.

The bewildered creature stared at the screen with confused eyes. ‘I am now… an immortal?’ It tried to comprehend the meaning of the words but there was just too much for its overworked mind to understand at once.

The green creature tried to recall if immortals existed in its last life. However, a ringing headache was its only reward. It winced and shivered in pain before it decided to abandon the line of thought to read the description once again.

Its dark eyes paused on the capitalised letters and its stubs squirmed in curiosity. The moment the creature focused on the word, the creature became familiar with the concept of instant regret as a red screen screamed into existence.

TRAAAAAAANG!

‘Heavens above!!’ The shocked creature cursed as it closed its eyes. Its body, meanwhile, followed the set instincts and tucked its head beneath the rest of its flesh.

It took the creature a few moments to recover while its body shivered in fright. It gradually dared to poke its insectoid head out before the reincarnated creature shook its head and straightened itself. ‘I do not want to experience something like that again!’ It had been an experience most unpleasant.

The creature called upon the previous screen and eyed the capital ‘S’ of Spells warily and moved on. It was not going through something like that again willingly. Though now wary, it cautiously decided to explore the rest of the Status and noticed its [Lifespan: 90 days].

Its dark eyes widened. Its blood rushed to its face while its calmness shattered like glass. ‘What the f***!’ It would have shrieked in anger if it had been able to. ‘What the actual f***! What fresh s*** is this!? Wasn’t I an Immortal?! Didn’t I have a lengthy lifespan?! What the f*** is this! Is 90 days a lengthy lifespan!?’

With its body burning with fury, the tiny creature read the description of the Race [Immortal] once again. Its body trembled with impotent rage yet, it had nowhere to unleash it.

Meanwhile, the irony of the situation was lost on the creature. It would have tickled its dark humour in its past life. However, now that it was the one experiencing it, the creature saw not any humour in the situation. Most realized this not but the tragedy of one was the comedy of the other.

The creature deeply breath. ‘Focus. Focus. Focus.’ It reminded itself before squinting on [Name: Unnamed] and just like before, another box popped up.

Ting.

Its face twisted. ‘How can I not even name myself? What sort of absurd rule is that? Why can’t I name myself?’ It made no sense to the little being. But after the irony of being an immortal caterpillar with a lifespan of 90 days, this ridiculous rule did not surprise it.

Thus, with its overwhelming emotions suffocating it, the caterpillar began going through the rest of the words, one after another. However, its simmering emotions erupted when it focused on [MP: -].

Ting.

‘BULL. S***! I call b*******!’ It screamed within its mind as its breathing escalated in frustration. ‘I was a sorceress in my previous life! How can I not have magic?! Magic has nothing to do with anybody’s body! It has everything to do with one’s soul! I was reincarnated, wasn’t I?! It means I have my soul! Give me my magic, you little s***!’

It frantically ranted. It hysterically raved. It desperately raged within the confines of its delicate mind while its body continued to eat. The dissonance of the inside from the outside was lost on the creature as it continued to go through its Status.

Ting.

‘That explained the [Reincarnated] Title. Though, what is this Will of the World?’

Ting.

‘Laws of the Creation?’

‘…Heavens above!!’ The astonishment creature’s breathing hitched. ‘To think that the laws of the Creation could be uncovered in such a simple way! Simply magnificent!’

It was a testament to the creature’s unstable mind that it went through overwhelming emotion, one after another, yet seemed to forget the previous ones when the next one assaulted it.

In the short while since is birth it had experienced grief, panic, joy and now giddiness. Yet, it did not find it strange while its frail mind unravelled. Instead, it remained ignorant and explored its Status to arrive at the most ominous option, [Dharma].

A golden screen materialised in response to its thoughts.

Ting.

Its mouth fell open while its eyes widened to gawk. It understood not a thing. ‘What…utter nonsense is this?’ It tried to grasp the meaning that seemed to be hidden within the golden manifestation. Yet, all it saw was a bunch of spiritual nonsense that was worth less than the time spent on reading it.

The creature ground its teeth as its body trembled.

It was all too much.

The roller coaster of emotions left its fragile mind exhausted. All it wanted to do was stop thinking. It wanted to sleep. It wanted peace.

However, peace was now denied to it.

※

The uncaring march of time waited for none. It waited not for the former sorceress as days turned to nights and nights turned to days, causing weeks to pass.

In these past 2 weeks, the caterpillar had noticed that the moon of its newfound home behaved quite differently than what the former sorceress remembered. The heavenly body daily danced across the sky to hop from one direction to another. As it danced, the brilliant body of light changed colours to paint the world differently every night.

The familiar pale white rays regularly got subsumed by either the azure blue of the clear blue sky or the fresh green of a newly birthed leaf. Nonetheless, its light remained as pale as ever; maybe with the hints of blue or green, but it mattered little within the devouring darkness of the night.

The [Reincarnated] was uneasily awakened by the regular pulses of tautness in its backside. It took a slow moment for the groggy pest to figure out that it had to s***. Considering the number of leaves it repeatedly consumed, it had to s*** a lot.

With that bit of unpleasantness done, it resumed eating. Since there was little else to do, the hungry creature sought hollow joy in its achievements. The first of which was the increase in its Level. The former sorceress had reached Level 15, causing its HP to rise to [HP: 20/20]. The quadrupling of its HP still caused its body to shiver in excitement.

This rapid increase in Level was the effect of its apt names title, [Hungry]. It forced its possessor to not just constantly eat but to ceaselessly devour. At the same time, it also allowed its bearer to gain Experience from eating. Thus, the silver lining was quite bright to the dark cloud of title.

However, the former sorceress could not wait to reach Level 100 and evolve to lose this Vessel only title. It was tired of the insatiable hunger and persistent corrosion of its flesh. Thus, it eagerly awaited its evolution and the change of its Vessel -its current body.

Meanwhile, its Skill [Crawl] -the ability to crawl on one’s body- had reached Level 2. It was its second but lacklustre achievement. However, the giddiness from the Level ups was dissipated slowly, leaving the creature in a good mood.

‘If I continue levelling like this, soon I would evolve.’ With such a rapid speed of levelling from merely eating leaves left the creature hungry for more. Thus, it ate without restraint. Not that the corrosion within its flesh would let it do otherwise.

The tiny creature heard a strange fluttering sound. It paused its constant devouring to look around before its gaze turned towards the azure sky. In an instant, the creature’s eyes widened. Its very blood froze as a sudden chill assaulted its week mind.

The tiny creature had come face to face with its natural predator. The flying intruder was an unknown bird that flew down faster with each passing moment with its dark gaze aimed at the plant that the vermin had been devouring.

The caterpillar’s body trembled as it tore its terrified eyes away from the rapidly approaching death. Its fraying mind raced as it sought to escape. However, no matter how much its speed had increased due to [Crawl]’s new Level, the Skill remained [Crawl]. It couldn’t help the former sorceress escape.

The fright-stricken caterpillar’s breath hitched while its body uncontrollably trembled. Its instincts kicked in to overwhelm the pest with the desire to flee. The former sorceress obeyed like a meek little slave and the caterpillar let go of the leaf to enter free fall.

Air rushed by it and weightlessness captured it for merely a moment before disorientation consumed its mind as it hit the ground with a resounding smack. However, small as it was, it wasn’t hurt much. Thus, the creature shook itself to shake off the shock and the disorientation.

It hastily turned back towards the plant, only to find the bird… the creature devouring the rest of its brethren with no mercy. It was gobbling down every caterpillar in the sight. One after another, the caterpillars crawled to escape but disappeared into its beak moments later. The dance of death was naked and grotesque.

The former sorceress momentary lost control of the stubs it called limbs as its mind processed the unrestrained slaughter. ‘Kill or be Killed.’ It remembered the words the blue screen had defined this world as when the caterpillar had summoned it for the expiation of the term ‘Experience’.

It shivered at the memory, which broke it out of its daze. Its breathing hitched as it rapidly turned away from the carnage. It searched safety from the death that danced naked.

Its eyes fell on a pile of dry leaves and the [Reincarnated] unhesitatingly moved towards the shade they offered. However, the former sorceress was a caterpillar with the [Crawl] Skill. The distance covered by the caterpillar with each effort was pathetic.

Caterpillars fell from the plant like rain while those that remained continued to be decimated. The sound of each smack sent the creature’s blood racing while each flutter of wings caused its trembling body to grow hotter.

However, the pathetically slow creature continued to crawl forward. Its unimpeded march allowed it to barely make it to shade before it heard another flutter of wings followed by the muted sounds of the creature landing on the ground.

Its rapid breathing halted while its trembling body froze in utter terror. Dread consumed it only for a moment before its blood raced, and it shoved its head into the soft ground to bite into as much dirt as it could. However, the dry ground resisted its tiny teeth when the soft leaf never had. It forced its jaws close and its muscles protested in agony.

Yet, giving up was not an option as death danced naked behind it.

It pushed through the agony to feel something give in. However, it was not just earth that had given in but also its muscles as the agony became unbearable. Yet, the creature closed its jaws and pulled back to spit the dirt out before it slammed its face again into the dirt.

Ting.

It unceasingly repeated the process as the muted thumps of the bird’s movement announced the caterpillar’s approaching death.

Ting.

Soon the hole was large enough for its tiny body to fill it in and through the pain and hurt, it managed to shove itself in with its mouth down the hole and its backside facing the world.

The former sorceress was exhausted, injured and in terrible agony. But it could not give up yet. It was still vulnerable. It had no way to hide its backside hanging out in the air. It was out of its wits and could not find a way to hide completely.

It felt the muted thumps. However, they were much closer than before.

Thump. Thump.

It felt the dying vibration of the sharp claws and its trembling intensified as fear strengthened its hold on the little vermin. Even its bowels moved in fear. And then it hit the worm. S***. The answer was s***.

So, it shat. Through pain, horror, and agony it excreted. It shat all over its backside. When it was done, it wiggled and squirmed to shake the mounds of insect refuse into spreading out. Some of it even fell further into the hole and stuck to its body.

It would have been unbearably filthy if it had not been the method that was saving its life. The creature knew it was covered in refuse –rolling in it, even- but it could not even begin to care. Its survival depended on that mound of s***.

Thump. Thump.

The bird moved and it felt the distance between them decrease further. Its breadth hitched and its blood raced.

Thump. Thump.

The claws came closer and the caterpillar shut its eyes. It tried to remember if there was anything in its skill list that could help it and the answer jumped right out in its mind. [Venom Creation] allowed it to create venom which did base damage of 5 points per minute for the time equal to the Level of the Skill. Given that the Skill was at Level 1 and the effects of the venom stacked, the creature had no other option but to stack. ‘[Venom Creation]! [Venom Creation]! [Venom Creation]!’

As venom secreted from its pores, the fine hair on its body became wet while its s*** covered skin was moistened. But the creature didn’t stop. It continued to secrete the poison while its thoughts raced. ‘Who decides these shitty rules? Why does the potency of the venom increase only per 10 levels of the Skill? Why not with each Level?! And why in the world the potency of the venom depends upon the resistances obtained by the [Poison Resistance] skill?! What kind of madness is this?!’

It did not know if its strategy would work but with the amount of venom it had secreted, it hoped to take the winged death down with itself if it was eaten. Though that was just a pipe dream and the little caterpillar was exhausted.

It breathed shakily. It had done everything that it could do as a caterpillar, and then some. And if it died despite all its efforts, then it hoped to give the bird nasty indigestion. The tiny being smiled in satisfaction as it made peace with its approaching death.

Thump. Thump.

The bird came closer and the [Reincarnated] held its breath.

Thump. Thump.

It felt the bird standing right over its mound of s***. The bird paused over the hole and the tiny creature’s heart stopped. Would the bird look past the s*** and poison and move on? It hoped it would. It prayed it would.

Thump. Thump.

The bird passed it over, yet it held its breath.

It did not move.

It could not move.

It dared not move.

At that moment, it heard a flutter of wings as the bird flew away.

The former sorceress remained hidden in its s***, disbelieving that it had survived. A shaky breath escaped it and it smiled a watery smile. It had survived. It was alive! It laughed and failed, for its body could not laugh.

‘I survived! I am alive!’ It tried to laugh again and gasped. It gasped again as it’s heart finally slowed down and the pain that it had been ignoring finally caught up to it.

It breathed deeply and searched for a specific Skill, hoping it would do what it wanted it to do. It checked its HP, which was at [HP: 11/20] and activated the Skill [Molting], which shed its skin to produce a new one.

No sooner had it finished activating the skill, than the creature’s HP was reduced by 10 points, leaving it with only a single point in its life force. [HP: 1/20]

‘Oh, shi-‘

-X-

Within a desolate desert, inside a dilapidated shop, on a simple chair, a youth seemingly slept.

The bleak desert, the dilapidated shop and the seemingly sleeping youth were no simple things, however. For this scorching desert existed in a distant place so far that there existed transcendental barriers to separate it from the others. Sweltering heat called the desert home and parching desiccation ran amok.

Massive dunes marred the land like numerous scars. These were the scars that moved. The scorching winds bent the dunes to their will to make them crawl, drowning the world in the sea of sand. Yet, it was not the Death that ruled here but life.

Venomous insects and poisonous plants littered the landscape like stars on a new moon night. They hunted and they killed. In turn, they got hunted and killed. They fought for food. They fought for water. They fought for territory. It was a place where life ruled but the Death never lagged far behind.

Nevertheless, none of the warring creatures dared to venture to the epicentre of the desert. Neither the predatory cacti nor the venomous insects dared to go there. Such was the condensation of the essence within the epicentre that even the dunes refused to tread inside.

The dilapidated shop existed in such a place.

However, even calling the shop dilapidated was a mercy that was needless. The thing was a decrepit assembly of time-ravaged walls, decayed wooden frames and a collapsed roof. A corroded door hung onto its frame, waiting for a gust of wind to turn it to dust. But the gust dared not touch this place. Even the most ferocious of winds tamed themselves within the presence of the shop

Within this shop, what was sold and what was bought was unknown, for there existed no merchandise within this shop. Rows upon rows of empty shelves exuded a silent hollowness that threatened to seep within the bones. While the manifold layers of dust shrouded the shelves, proclaiming their death.

Beneath those bare shelves, the floor was littered with yellow dust mounds, though their makers were long gone. Meanwhile, what remained of the collapsed roof harboured cobwebs whose residents had long since disappeared. The only thing that remained was the dark stains that plagued the floor.

The stain littered the floor like the mushrooms in a rain forest. With a colour of dark brown and a crusty texture, they radiated suffocation and hopelessness from the wooden floor. Their silent screams spoke of haunted stories and bone-chilling terror.

The youth sat here, on a simple chair and behind a simple desk, on a floor that exuded unspeakable horror.

The youth, barely 17 to 18 years of mortal age, had a figure that was slim but tall while his skin was the colour of aged wood. Yet, his face that was plain and forgettable, for his features were ordinary. A veil of black hair, dark as the heart of the cruellest mortal, hid a pair of simple brown eyes that were closed as if the youth were sleeping.

In contrast to his features, his clothes were something else entirely. If his features were made to be forgotten, then his clothes meant to do exactly the opposite, for he was dressed in 2 pieces of unstitched fabrics.

Despite his ordinary features and unordinary clothes, the sleeping youth oozed out an unnatural sensation. The youth was still, way too still. Not a single strand of his hair moved with the wind. Not a single corner of his clothes rustled to make any movement. Not even the youth’s chest moved to signal his breathing.

Yet even a speck of single dust was found not on his person.