Ronan Fortes suddenly became aware of his own existence.
Awakening from a state as hazy as the dawn of time, he wandered leisurely through the dense forest, following an instinct that led him to a shallow pit filled with water. It was from the reflection in the water that he first "caught a glimpse" of his own appearance.
A blob, black and indistinct, with no clear boundaries, like a tangible object but also resembling a strange cloud of mist in the forest.
The strange entity attempted to blink, and the reflection in the water trembled slightly.
The "mist" spread out a little, then quickly retracted. Like a human reacting in shock, the strange entity hovered stiffly in midair for a long moment before slowly lowering itself.
The black "mist" approached the water's surface, swirling left and right in circles.
Ronan slowly realized something… he didn't have eyes?!
No eyes? …Is that even possible?
His sluggish mind began to churn. Ronan asked himself, how could he realize he had no eyes without them? The thought seemed contradictory, but in truth, it wasn't. It was precisely because he had "seen" his own reflection in the water that his sense of self became more concrete. Before that, his consciousness had been drifting in a fog through the forest for many days.
But was the lack of eyes really the most shocking thing?
In his mind, Ronan rubbed his forehead. No, no, no. The thing that was more shocking than the absence of eyes was something more profound that he had observed just now.
His appearance was no longer human. Yes, human… so what the hell was he now?!
Ronan forced himself to calm down. "Calm, calm!" he chanted internally. The black mist drifted away from the puddle, slowly rising into the nearby forest canopy.
Finally, Ronan "settled" on a tree trunk and began to sort through his thoughts.
Had he "come back to life"?
Yes, just a minute ago, he grasped something from the chaos. Once he realized he had once been "human," the memories quickly followed. He should have been dead—died from overworking—after receiving a message that his bonus had been deposited. Overcome with excitement, he had stood up to shout, and the next thing he knew, his brain felt like it was on fire. Ronan suspected what had exploded at that moment was actually his brain, and then darkness consumed him. Before his vision completely faded, the last thing he saw was probably his own nosebleed gushing down.
Nosebleed… The mist shifted on the tree trunk, and Ronan felt numb. It wasn't just that he didn't have eyes—he didn't have a nose, ears, or a mouth either.
He was just a vague black mass, an unidentified entity without even facial features.
So, what was going on now?
With so many questions swirling in his mind, Ronan's thoughts became noticeably clearer and faster. In his previous life, aside from working overtime, his only hobbies were reading novels and comics. So it didn't take him long to form a theory.
Reincarnation.
There was no better explanation. Although his consciousness had been in a fog for the past few days, based on what he was observing now… in the world he had lived in before, there was no way that two hundred-meter-tall trees could be flailing their branches and fighting each other.
Fighting…
That's right. Upon closer observation, Ronan confirmed that about ten meters away, two giant trees, whose trunks seemed to grow from the same root, were really swinging their branches at each other in a brawl… Even though their roots remained firmly in the ground, their branches and leaves kept falling from their canopies as they clashed.
It was absurd—no other word for it!
Forcing himself to look away, Ronan wanted to shake his head. But what was even more absurd was his own situation. When others reincarnated, if they didn't reincarnate as royalty or nobility, at least they still reincarnated as humans. But here he was, reincarnated as… well, an unidentified blob.
The "mist" hanging on the tree trunk resembled melted cotton candy, drooping and sagging under the weight of his sorrow.
The two massive trees nearby seemed to have stopped their "battle," stretching their branches in opposite directions, as if disgusted with each other.
Ronan didn't wallow in despair for long and soon began comforting himself. At least he was still alive. After all, no one knows if there really is an afterlife before they die. The idea of consciousness ending forever was far more terrifying. Now… instead of lamenting his new existence, he might as well cherish it.
First things first—start by observing his surroundings.
The "mist" floated up from the tree trunk, and Ronan glanced at the large tree he had been resting on. It didn't seem different from ordinary trees, aside from its massive size. But then again, all the trees here were enormous, quite unlike the ones on Earth in his previous life.
Ronan slowly shifted his attention, focusing on the area ahead. Just moments ago, a "great battle" had taken place there.
With that thought, the "mist" drifted toward the two strange trees. As he approached, the two trees, which had just calmed down, began trembling as if being ravaged by a cold winter wind, shedding their leaves.
Ronan was a bit bewildered. He had been hesitant, afraid of being attacked by the strange trees if he got too close. But to his surprise, as soon as he neared, the two large trees, which had previously stretched their branches away from each other, now quickly huddled together, their leaves rustling as they tried to move away from him.
"..." Was it an illusion?
Ronan floated a little closer... and the canopies of the two trees leaned further to the right.
He moved a little closer.
The trees intertwined their branches, slanting even more in that direction.
Ronan felt speechless. He tested by floating a bit to the right.
A creaking sound came from the trunks. The two trees tilted so far to the side that Ronan wouldn't have been surprised if they snapped under the strain.