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

Its body twitched randomly for a moment and it let out a groan, before blinking. However, only smothering darkness greeted its bleary eyes, '...uh, what?'

The familiar darkness refused to fade and the creature felt its body tingle. Long buried memories of dark, cramped spaces resurfaced, containing open sneers, unhidden contempt and barely concealed hate.

The creature recognised the darkness; like the one from its childhood, the old darkness was cold and lifeless. It threatened to swallow the creature whole.

'Where am I?' It questioned, trying to reorient itself.

Unfortunately, it didn’t know the answer. Rather, the newly awakened creature didn’t even remember anything.

'…just what is happening?’ Its body chilled and its mind went into overdrive. ‘Where am I?!'

No sooner had the thought formed than the creature trembled in disbelief before anger replaced the other emotion. 'Who is doing this to me!? WHY?!' It mentally screeched at the unknown.

But, no answers were to be had as the endless darkness ceaselessly suffocated it and claustrophobia choked it.

Fight or flight, the only two options to ever exist, bored down on its panicking psyche and its temper flared in sheer terror. The creature utilised the energy from its panicked response, moving its body.

However, its body failed the simple task, merely squirming instead.

In the aftermath of its botched attempt, the confining darkness rushed in, aiming to crush it whole.

'No!' it rebelled with its entire being, pushing hard against the deep darkness and -to its surprise- the creature found its body uncurling, like a snake uncoiling.

The sensation was alien, utterly foreign, but it failed to give the creature pause; for the Flight and Fight response had long taken root.

Quivering like a newborn leaf in the rainstorm, it sought conclusions where there were none. ‘I couldn’t have been buried alive! No!’ Denying its new reality, it threw its weight against the walls of its bizarre coffin.

And the creature felt it move.

The restricting darkness moved, not unlike that of slime before the coffin pushed back and regained its shape. 'This isn't a coffin at all!' it rejoiced, 'I can break through it!'

Latching onto that thought, it punched the walls with all the courage of a drowning man.

'...what?' However, the feedback it received from its body, struck it dumb; for instead of the familiar four limbs, innumerable limbs had moved. It didn't waste time on the ridiculous response, however, before changing its tactic, and shoving with its entire body, 'need to use my body, as always!'

The thought tugged at its memory but ...it was …it was …hazy.

'Ugh...' It winced, the mere act of remembering giving it a splitting headache that intensified with each successive attempt. Thus, it let the finicky feeling go to focus on the response from its numerous limbs. Limbs that it shouldn't have. 'Hands and legs only! Those are all I have. Never had a dick but that doesn't count!'

That thought once again tickled its memory before a searing pain roared through its head, clearing up the fog of forgetfulness.

'I died.'

The reason for its demise was inconsequential, for its reasoning collapsed.

'I died.'

Its body suddenly felt heavy, carrying the weight of the world-

'I died'

-its insides felt hollow, lacking the heart to feel-

'I died'

-its body felt numb, a purposeless, meaningless thing.

'I died.'

For it had lost its Research.

'I died.'

Its purpose in life.

'I died.'

Its sole reason for choosing to exist for just a day more.

'I di-'

Screeeeeeeeeeeeech!

0.0

Monstrous existences. Beyond the Gods. It remembered them now.

Those creatures, no! Not creatures! Never creatures; for flesh hadn't constrained their unfathomable power.

Not beings either! The word was laughably small to contain their existence-

-yes, that!

Existence. Existences were what they were. And they had brought... they had brought nothing but-

-obliteration.

Nature itself had turned against them, ripping the civilization asunder.

The Five Great Ghosts, enslaved. Bounds to the whims of Existences whose power bowed not to the restraints of reality.

The collective consciousness was shattered, and the individuals were condemned.

Punished were the men, the women, and the children alike. The fate of one and all had been nothing but one.

Death.

Even their prayers had gone unheard.

For the Gods had refused the summons, their undying hearts unmoved by the devastation.

Or, perhaps, even the Gods were dead.

Unseen calamities, unimaginable catastrophes, and unthinkable cataclysms had descended upon them. Not only had they descended from the heavens, but also ascended from deep within the womb of the very earth.

Nothing was spared. Not a single being was left alive. Not a single creature was allowed to exist. It was complete and utter annihilation.

It was… a punishment, from beyond the divine.

‘Why?! Why was it all ended?!’ Screaming in anguish, it failed to comprehend its memories. 'Why were we punished?!'

Gone was the sum of its life. The research into the very nature of mana. '...Could it be? Not it could not...'

-but they had been warned against it.

... look not where the answers rest,

...gaze away.

...lest the End come and Eternals manifest,

...stay away.

The Merchant of Malice had arrived. He had addressed the world. It remembered.

The callus Merchant had prophesized annihilation if the research succeeded. '...but the research was never completed.'

The creature was sure of it. Its position may have been middling, but it knew this much.

'No, their research could not be the reason. It could not be the reason.' It denied the preposterous reasoning. It just couldn't be true.

It had been a Heavenly punishment for a crime unknown. It was sure of it.

But the dead were still dead, and its research was lost.

The suffocated creature struggled against its prison. Everything, '...lost.'

It squirmed, thrashed, and struggled with all its might. All its suffering, '...meaningless.'

The proof of its existence '...erased.'

It pushed against the confines, channelling its rage.

It had to. ‘Lost!'

I couldn't rest. ‘Erased!!'

It had to do something. ‘ANNIHILATED!’

The abrupt rush of cold shocked the enraged creature out of its rage, but not its madness and it struggled anew. It thrashed and hammered at the opening before, finally, breaking through.

It was free, finally free.

Yet, this freedom didn't bring joy to the lone creature, as the grotesque sight that greeted its emergence rendered its raging emotions impotent.

Gigantic spheres, matching the size of the creature itself, lay before its eyes. Gelatinous and green, they squirmed as if something unknown struggled within.

The mystery didn't remain for long, as it soon saw the things that burst through the spheres. Green and black and elongated things.

'Worms...' the dumbfounded creature thought before it corrected its line of thought in horror. ‘Maggots!'

Its body trembled as a new thought took root. 'Those aren't spheres! Ghosts help me, they are eggs!'

Eggs.

Eggs.

And more eggs.

The creature was surrounded by them. Wherever it looked, the sea of eggs stretched, out of which maggots crawled out.

'It can't be...' An impossible thought manifested within the creature’s shocked mind, egging it to look down at itself.

But it didn't dare to, afraid of what it'd find.

However, before the horror-struck creature could act, a primal force hit it, consuming its horrified mind.

Hunger was here. And it made its presence known.

The primal urge unnaturally overwhelmed the creature's fragile mind, forcing it to eat whatever existed beneath its body.

However, as the creature's head was lowered its head to eat, it was confronted by what it had dreaded.

It finally faced what it had become. What its body had become.

The creature's 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, 'I... I became a maggot...' The creature couldn't believe it. Its fragile mind couldn't comprehend. Its frail sense of self 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 fraying mind went into shock.

0.0

As the hunger abated a smidgen, the stupefied maggot’s fragile mind broke free of its mindless devouring to realise that it had practically inhaled its broken egg, leaving only a few gelatinous morsels behind.

However, the baser instincts were not done with it yet.

Much like a simmering pot, the unnatural hunger began to bubble once again.

It rendered the creature so utterly famished that its hunger consumed the creature’s fraying mind.

The nervous creature, however, had learnt its lesson and didn’t resist the corroding acid within its flesh. With an uncontrolled twitch of its body, the creature bent down to finish the sparse morsels.

Ting.

[You have consumed The Gift.]

Ting.

[You have levelled up! Level up bonus of +1 HP granted.]

‘The Five Great Ghosts! What is this?’ The stupefied creature stopped eating and cursed, trying to process the illusion before its eyes.

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

Ting.

Status [Unnamed] [Skills] [Spells] [Dharma]

Its confused eyes narrowed as a thought sneaked into its weak mind. And to test its hypothesis, the creature moved its head from side to side.

Contrary to its expectations, its hypothesis was proved wrong when the screen moved along with its vision.

‘This is no ordinary illusion then.' The creature concluded. 'Just…what is this? The Five Ghosts help me.'

However, its new body soon drew the creature's attention to the hunger corroding its belly. And dutifully, the meek little slave complied with the implicit order, devouring 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.

Name: Unnamed

Race: Immortal

Species: Insect

Vessel: Caterpillar

Level: 2

HP: 7/7 MP: -

HPR: 1/Day MPR: -

Lifespan: 90 days

Titles

[Hungry], [Reincarnated]

Its toothy mouth twisted downwards as the creature stopped eating to consider. 'That makes no sense.'

Despite not understanding the significance of the 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.

[Title [Reincarnated] allows memories and experiences of a single previous birth to be transferred to the new body.]

'Is this about me?' The numerous stubs emerging from its body squirmed. Surprised, the creature looked down at its new limbs. 'Right, a caterpillar. Not a maggot. Thank the Ghosts.'

Shaking itself, the caterpillar's eyes found the blue box once again. ‘Is this about my reincarnation?’

Peculiarly, despite the blatant reminder of its death, neither grief nor sorrow rose within its fragile mind. Instead, all it felt was an odd resignation.

If the reincarnated caterpillar 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 the caterpillar would remain unaware of for its entire life, and perhaps even in its death.

Ignorance was bliss. But more often, it was death.

Unaware of the danger looming over its renewed life, the green caterpillar wished to return to the previous screen and the blue screen responded to its thought, dematerialising to reveal its Status.

Within the mass of blue glow, the creature focused next on its [Race], [Immortal].

Ting.

[[Immortals] are lifeforms that are born with lengthy lifespans and the ability to increase it further. They are Creatures that are not bound by their Vessels and the concept of civilization. It denies access to Attributes and Spells.]

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. '...what?'

The green creature tried to recall if immortals existed in the previous life. However, a ringing headache was the only answer.

It winced and shivered in pain before it decided to abandon the line of thought to read the description once again.

'...why are these words emphasised?' Its beady eyes paused on the capitalised letters and its stubs squirmed in curiosity. Surprised once again, it glanced down at the new limbs before focusing on the task at hand.

The moment the caterpillar focused on the word, the creature became familiar with the concept of instant regret as a red screen screamed into existence with a blaring loud alarm.

TRAAAAAAANG!

‘The Great Ghosts help me!!' 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.

[Attributes are blocked for Immortals. Access Denied.]

It took the caterpillar a few moments to recover while its body shivered in fright before it dared to poke its insectoid head out.

The [Reincarnated] shook its head and straightened itself. ‘I do not want to experience something like that again.’ It had been an experience most unpleasant.

The [Immortal] called upon the previous screen and eyed the capital ‘S’ of Spells warily before moving 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 black and green body trembled as its calm shattered like glass. ‘What the fuck!’ It would have shrieked in anger if it had been able to. ‘What the actual fuck! What fresh shit is this!? Aren't I an Immortal?! Didn’t I have a lengthy lifespan?! What the fuck is this? Is 90 days a lengthy lifespan!?’

With its body burning with fury, the tiny caterpillar read the description of the Race [Immortal] once again. Its body trembled with impotent rage and 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 caterpillar didn't see any humour in the situation.

Most didn't realize it, but the tragedy of one was the comedy for the other.

The [Reincarnated] breathed deeply. 'Focus. Focus. Focus.' It reminded itself before squinting on [Name: Unnamed] and just like before, another box popped up.

Ting.

[Names can be bestowed either by the sire or the master. You are an unnamed creature.]

Its green insectoid face twisted with fury.

'Why can I not even name myself? What sort of absurd rule is that!?' It made no sense to the little creature. But after the irony of being an [Immortal] caterpillar with a lifespan of 90 days, this ridiculous rule did not surprise it.

'Just because my name had long lost all relevance, doesn't mean I had as well,' it harumphed. 'I am a Sorceress; a researcher of magic unknown. And nothing will ever change that.'

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.

[Mana Points is the maximum mana available to cast magic spells. Your species doesn't allow usage of Mana.]

‘BULL. SHIT! I call bullshit!' It screamed within its mind as its breathing escalated in frustration. 'I am a sorceress! 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 shit!'

It frantically ranted. It hysterically raved.

It couldn't believe the contradiction before its beady eyes. As it had reincarnated, then it had to have its magic. For magic came from the soul. It knew so because of its research.

The crime that the Merchant of Malice had warned the world about.

The caterpillar desperately raged within the confines of its delicate mind. Meanwhile, its body continued to eat the leaf below. The dissonance of its thoughts, from its reality, was lost on the [Reincarnated] Sorceress.

'Right, maybe it's because I am just a larva at the moment; a newborn essentially.' It tried to reason instead. 'The larval phase is the development stage, isn't it? That has to be the cause. It has to. When I fully evolve, I should get my magic back. I would be an adult then, yes. This makes sense.'

'Does that mean that I would have to wait till then?' It thought, its numerous stubs squirming in displeasure. 'Never mind that. One way or another, I'll have my magic back. No matter the cost.' Shaking its head at the thought, the [Reincarnated] Sorceress continued to go through the rest of its Status.

Ting.

[Title is a label awarded by the Laws to the living beings, for performing specific tasks or meeting certain specifications.]

Laws of the Creation? The caterpillar gaped. ‘…The Ghosts help me!! To think that the Laws of the Creation could be uncovered in such a simple way! Simply magnificent!’

It was a testament to the [Immortal] caterpillar's unstable mind that it went through overwhelming emotions, one after another, yet seemed to forget the previous ones when the next one assaulted it.

In the short while since its birth, it had experienced grief, panic, joy and now bubbly giddiness.

Yet, it didn't find the progression strange. Instead, [Reincarnated] Sorceress remained ignorant and merely explored its Status to arrive at the most ominous option, [Dharma].

A golden screen materialised in response to its thoughts.

Ting.

[Since there is life, death exists now. Since there is now death, life exists. Within the singularity of this infinity, lies the endless chaos of half-truths. Truth and Untruth, both extend through this singularity. Within the moment between singularity to infinity and infinity to singularity, hides the meaning of Dharma.] [Dharma: Thrive.]

Its mouth fell open while its beady eyes gawked.

‘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 worth less than the time spent reading it.

The [Reincarnated] Sorceress ground its teeth and 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.

※

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, none of them could be described as simple, however.

Since 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 parched, dry winds 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, making them crawl while drowning the world in the sea of sand.

Venomous insects and poisonous plants littered the landscape like stars on a new moon night. They hunted and 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 death never lagged far behind.

Nevertheless, none of the warring creatures dared to venture to the epicentre of the desert.

For the dilapidated shop existed there.

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 gusts dared not touch this place. Even the most ferocious of winds tamed themselves in the presence of this shop

Within this shop, what was sold and what was bought was unknown, for there existed no merchandise within.

Rows upon rows of empty shelves exuded a silent hollowness that threatened to draw the onlookers into the depths of the unknown. While the manifold layers of dust shrouded the shelves, proclaiming their death.

Beneath those bare shelves, the floor was littered with stains, like mushrooms in a rainforest. With a colour of dark brown and a crusty texture, they radiated suffocation and hopelessness. Their silent screams spoke of haunted stories and bone-chilling terror.

The youth sat there, 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 was plain and forgettable, his features 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; 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. He 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, not even a speck of single dust was found on his person.

-X-

Name: Unnamed

Race: Immortal

Species: Insect

Vessel: Caterpillar

Level: 2

HP: 7/7 MP: -

HPR: 1 HP/Day MPR: -

Lifespan: 90 days

Titles

[Hungry] [Reincarnated]

Skills

[Crawl Lv.2] [Moulting Lv.1] [Poison Resistance Lv.5] [Venom Creation Lv.1]