1.1.10-Egotistic birds of an irritating feather
4/1/5/4353 M.A.C - Unidentified Forest - Late Afternoon
Now what? If I go along with the tropes, this pure white expanse can only mean one thing. Isn't this a bit late though? I've already been isekai'd for a day.
Emi was sure she had been asleep and dreaming until a moment ago. Had she awoken in the apartment she shared with Ben and Megan, she might have begun questioning the reality of the last day's events, but this was the last confirmation she needed.
If I'd been dreaming all along, then this is a step too far. I would have gone to sleep during a dream, only to have a dream within a dream. This is worse than Inception...If I take me being isekai'd at face value though, what should come next is...
"Emi Emerson! I once again congratulate you for your good taste in choosing me as your sponsor. You should have regained the memories of your first life by now, but your first meeting with my glorious self will sadly never be restored. Worry not little one, for this tragedy has a silver lining. You, my dear, get the rare pleasure of making my acquaintance not once, but twice. Let us now have a moment of silence, so that you may have the time you need to process my greatness and compose yourself."
A man in a shining golden robe embroidered with intricate multi-color designs had appeared in front of Emi. She guessed he was a man from the timber of his voice, but his flawless porcelain-like skin, the number of decorative ornaments in his long silky hair, and the gracefulness of his slim figure made the word "beautiful" a more appropriate descriptor than "handsome".
"Are you a god? You sure look pretty but we're all good, you can keep going."
The man did not react to her words and just stood there waiting, a serene smile on his face. After a minute passed without the man appearing to react, Emi attempted a different line of questioning.
"So...are you here to give me a cheat skill or something? Do I get to Pic-"
The man standing in front of Emi interrupted her mid-question, as if he hadn't heard her, and resumed his monologue.
"I am sorry but that is as much time as I can afford to gift you with to admire my beauty, since this message has to remain short. I'll have to give you an abridged version of the less interesting information."
Uhhh...Sure...So this is just a message. Is this guy right in the head? Let's see what he has to say.
"I am Sundar The Beautiful. I was once a Blessed, like you, but I reached the final threshold and ascended over two thousand years ago. Your first world is a dying shard of the original world, but luckily for you, your soul has been brought over into the Growing World. It wasn't exactly compatible, so I replaced a small portion of your soul with a sliver of mine. I then used more of my soul to build around the nugget I took from you to create a new soul. It was quite depleting but nothing a few centuries won't fix. To make the boring stuff short, there was an earthquake, a gas pipe in the building you were in exploded, and most of the people in the vicinity died. I have checked into it and yes, the two friends you asked me about also made the trip."
Ben and Megan were also isekai'd!? I shouldn't be happy that they died, but if it means I get to be with them again, I won't complain. Also, not everything that doesn't pertain to you is "boring stuff". Give me the over-a-minute of info you skipped to let me admire you!
"I haven't got long left for the last few tidbits. When this message is over, you will have a Choice to make, but as a Blessed you will get a second Choice based on your previous life. If one day you reach the last threshold, you will leave your body behind and join the Ascendants in the celestial realms. I've left a few other messages but you will only see them as you pass further thresholds. For now, just do your best to survive and grow. Now for the last thing, I will incarnate the second soul into a beautiful bird, in a large forest to the North-West of where you will be born. I'll leave them a similar message, telling them to do their best to survive and to seek you out if they need help. If you work on your perception, you should be able to feel the link that connects the two of you. That's all we have time for, I hope you enjoy the land of Ashrama that I helped settle. I will be taking a nap for a few years, to help my recovery, but I will be keeping an eye on you once I wake up. I won't be able to interact but I will hear any prayers you wish to send my way, as long as you speak them out loud. Toodles."
...Toodles!?
"Wait! You messed up! I'm the one you put in the owl!"
"Nearly forgot! If you want to find your friends, your father should lead you to at least one of them."
Emi was about to start hurling a series of expletives at the man who had called himself Sundar, but he and the white expanse started fading away before she had the chance. The white expanse was replaced by a darkness so thick that Emi couldn't tell if it went for inches or miles.
Damn, I can't even see my hands...Wait a second, I don't have those anymore. Still, now that I think about it, it's not only that I can't see myself, I can't feel myself either. It's like I'm floating in a warm fluid and I can't tell where my body ends and where it starts.
Emi then realized that she hadn't been breathing, but she didn't feel as if she was suffocating. Before Emi could further investigate her state, a series of blurry images of varying shapes and sizes appeared out of the darkness.
What's that? They don't appear to be moving. They might be dangerous, but where could I run away anyway? Might as well see what you are.
As Emi focused her attention on the first image, she felt as if a small packet of information had just been opened in her head.
Oooooh! That must be the Choice Sundar talked about. So these are like a class or an evolution path. This first one is not a good fit though.
The first image she inspected did not inspire Emi at all.
[Phantom Owl] seems to be the equivalent of a stealth assassin build. So basically just making me a better owl...However, the information held some nuggets. It would seem I am something called a lyre owl, and that on top of the voice ability I already figured out, my tail has some strange ability to completely negate the sounds I make while flying. Let's move on to the next one though, becoming a more efficient owl is not my idea of fun.
As Emi started focusing on the next image, she noticed that the one representing [Phantom Owl] had faded away.
[Rapid Raptor] huh? Focus on flight speed and my natural weapons? Again, this is just another way to make me into a more efficient owl. I want something that will bridge the gap between what I was and what I am.
I want hands again goddammit!
Emi hadn't taken the time to count the images, but that last thought made the vast majority of them fade out of existence. Only five options remained, but rather than bringing Emi down, the revelation that there were five different options for her to regain her upper limbs made her elated.
Yes! I can haz arms! What's the first option? [Shifting Owl]? Oooh, shapeshifting could work. Ah shit, conservation of mass seems to be a thing. I'm really large for my weight, being an owl, so If I try to shift into a human, I'll be toddler-sized...There seems to be possibilities for partial transformations but even if I try to go halfway I'd still end up a lot smaller than I already am. I won't reject it just yet but I hope something better comes along.
Emi focused her attention on the next image but the name and the first sentence made Emi recoil in disgust.
[Carrion Animator]... No way in hell am I becoming some sort of necromantic parasite hell-bird that inhabits corpses. NEXT!
[Garud Owl]...who comes up with these names, the others were fairly dry so why is this one a pun? A giant muscular owl that can carry heavy things long distances? So kind of a mix between a hippogryph and a roc? Maybe Meg would go for this but...It has arms that end in talons, not quite opposable thumbs, but probably the next best thing. Considering the wingspan I have at my current weight, how huge would I need to grow to fly with a heavy load? Badass but I won't be able to go into buildings anymore...Short of a large cave I'll be able to say goodbye to shelter.
After Dismissing the two previous options, Emi was left with [Shifting Owl] and two other options that she was yet to inspect. Her mood was getting less enthusiastic as she thought she might have to settle for the shifter option. She decided to quickly move on to the next images. After seeing the name of this option, she had to take a moment to settle herself.
Ok so I learned Brihonian was a thing, but this...[Fukuro Tengu] is just a karasu tengu with the "crow" bit replaced by "owl"! Seems to be the fully feathered kind with a beak and no giant nose though. So, still mainly bird but with more human-like proportions, and arms with actual hands. This might actually be better than [shifting owl] though. It seems to focus on wind-controlling abilities to allow it to fly while having a body nearly as dense as that of a human.
The image representing [Shifting Owl] faded away as Emi turned her attention to the last option.
The tengu option sounds pretty good, so no problem even if the last one isn't great. Now, let's see...Oh no...It's another pun-based name...Although...
Emi looked over the last option for a few minutes. her mind was in turmoil as she tried to reach a decision. This last option seemed close to perfect, but between the pun and the fact [Fukurou Tengu] was also fairly close to her best-case scenario, Emi couldn't quite make her mind up.
[Harp Owl]...Social and emotion-type powers would match with me more than air-based ones. It can morph between two forms. One an owl, the other something akin to a Harpy. The Harpy form seems to start off pretty similar to the tengu but will grow more human-like. Only one issue, it seems I would keep my hollow bones and low weight in harpy form. Even if I can eventually look really similar to a human, I won't be very strong or sturdy. By the looks of this, I'll probably weigh 70 to 80 pounds at most while in harpy form, and at least 15 of those pounds will be in the wings. I'm going to be quite frail if I pick that option.
As long as I get out of this forest alive and find Meg and Ben, I won't really care about combat potential as much...[Karasu Tengu] seems to be the best option if you look at my immediate circumstances, but [Harp Owl] should be a better fit in the long run...Guess I'll rely on my new monkey friends for protection.
As soon as her decision was made, Emi returned to the deep sleep from which she had been interrupted.
***
Why am I all sticky?