The ground cried out in protest as the scorching sun beat down on the poor earth. It was a particularly hot afternoon, and everyone was rushing to stay out of the heat as best as they could. Only one individual didn't seem to mind it as he trekked back from work to his home. Adam was his name, and he could only sigh as his thoughts were focused on matters other than the heat.
Nothing in his life was exciting. He couldn't find it in any career path while in college, and doing extreme sports, while providing a momentary fill, only left him hallow in the end. After trying a multitude of activities, he came to rely on video games to pass the time. He enjoyed the virtual world that allowed him to pretend that he was someone else.
'Ahh, what I would give to just live in those worlds.' He thought to himself absentmindedly.
On the opposite side of the road to him, a truck came into view. It seemed unassuming at first, but if one were to closely inspect it, they would notice that the driver was a cause for alarm. He looked completely exhausted, and if one were to ask him what happened, he would've told you that he had not slept for 2 days while trying to deliver a late package for his employer. At this moment all the exhaustion finally mounted on his body and a brief lapse in attention caused him to drift off while on the wheel.
Adam's absentmindedness was cut short as the loud noise of multiple car horns blared into his ears. Looking to his left at the sound of the horns, his vision was filled with the front of a white truck, only a few feet from his position. His mind short-circuited for a moment, and he could only utter a single word:
"Huh?"
The truck mercilessly slammed into his body and pushed through the brick wall of a building right behind him, sandwiching his poor body between a multi-ton truck and cemented bricks. Having been crushed to a pulp, it was hard to even recognize Adam's body as human. It was an unfortunate accident that had ended the life of a young man.
It was unknown how much time had passed after he had blacked out, but Adam slowly came to his senses and his first thought was 'warm'. It was completely unlike what he had been feeling while walking down the street: rather than a blistering heat that scorched the body, this was a comfortable warmth similar to the feeling of a baby in the womb.
As his senses continually began to wake up he finally opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was red. Adam couldn't understand what was in front of him at first. As his eyes adjusted, he could make out that it was a red and yellow pool of slime-like matter that bubbled and popped all around him, and finally his brain was able to piece it together.
'This is...lava?!' He suddenly realized in bewilderment.
He floundered about for a second but found that he has no limbs to move about. Looking down he found that there was only a small fire that inhabited the area where his body should have been. Not only that but he was also a tiny fraction of his original size, about the length and width of a man's finger.
His confusion only mounted at the continual input of unrealistic information and, in the end, all he could do was lay in the comforting lava. It was an instinctual reaction that was new to him, as if his body was telling him the lava would protect him from all his troubles and confusion.
Settling down after some time, he reflected on his situation in a calmer manner and finally remembered what had happened to him.
'That's right, I was walking back home after finishing work and got hit by that truck, and then everything went black. I... probably died, considering the amount of speed that truck came at me with' as he thought to himself, organizing his thoughts.
'Yet I'm alive again, except I have a completely different body. So, does that mean I've been reincarnated? What's this thing I've been reincarnated as though, I've never seen it before in my life. It's like a small living flame.'
Adam could only theorize so much with the limited information that he had. He righted himself in the lava and floated to the top to gaze at his surroundings. Looking around, what had seemed like an endless sea at first now had an enclosing circle of rock a couple of meters away. Looking up, he could see the night sky and realized that he was currently in a volcano. Adam was worried for a second that he might be stuck in this volcano, but after continuous searching, he was able to identify a hole to the north of the volcano.
He started to move towards that hole when, about half-way there, he noticed some slight movement in the lava beside him. Not a moment later a large worm-like being emerged from the lava for a brief moment before diving back in. It must have been at least 10 meters long and its skin looked to be a similar material as that of the volcano walls. It had a gaping maw that was large enough to swallow a human head.
'There were other things in this lava besides me?! I need to get out of here fast!' Adam thought to himself.
He was now only 3 meters away from the edge of the lava, but the worm was nearing his position rapidly. Adam continued to move through the lava and was only a meter away from the rock side when the worm caught up to him. It dove into the lava and Adam could feel its mouth coming from right under him. Adam desperately tried to reach the cliff, but it seemed to be to no avail, he was just too slow.
'I just need a little push and I'll be out of the lava, but is there even anything this tiny body can do to get out?'
Death had already taken him once and now he was about to be swallowed up again just a few minutes into his new life. It was such a cruel joke that only the Devil himself could have thought that up.
Just as it seemed like the end had arrived, a sudden surge of energy took hold of Adam's body as it reacted instinctively to the attack of a predator. With the sound a small bang, Adam's body sped 3 meters out of the lava and into the air, landing on the solid ground just as the worm emerged from his previous position, swallowing only the empty hot air.
Adam was initially worried that the worm would follow him onto land, but those worries were appeased as he saw the worm merely wade around the lava next to his position, being able to do nothing but look at him with envy.
It was a lucky break for Adam, who found that as a result of having used this sudden burst of energy, his body was now incapacitated for a few moments. If the worm had not been restricted to just the lava, then he would have been swallowed up without any further trouble.
Adam made a rough estimate that it took about 10 seconds for his body to recover from the energy loss and got up, feeling tired and sluggish. He floated towards the hole in the wall, but not before looking back one final time at the worm, who was still wading around in the same area.
Although the worm had no eyes, it seemed like their gazes met. Adam felt an instinctual sense of hatred and grief rose within him at the thought of the worm who had forced him out of his own birthplace.
'I'll be back, worm. I'll gain strength, enough that I'm 10- no 100 times as strong as I am right now. And when I do... I'll roast your insides and eat you up. This home is mine, and I'll reclaim it someday.'
With that resolution affirmed in his mind, Adam turned away and floated into the hole. Unbeknownst to him, this would be the start of a journey where even something as seemingly impossible as his revenge would only be a steppingstone on his rise to immeasurable power.