Arc's first awareness in this new world came with a strange sensation—a cold, heavy pressure along what felt like his torso. He blinked (or thought he did), adjusting to the dim light, and despite the lack of obvious illumination, he could see colors and shapes clearly. As his vision sharpened, he realized he wasn't standing but sprawled across a rough, stone floor.
"Why can't I feel my handsss?" he thought frantically. "Or my legsss… What's happening?" Panic began to set in. Not even a day in this new world, and he was already crippled? Absurd!
Attempting to drag his body along the ground, he was shocked to find it surprisingly effective. Still distressed, he resorted to his go-to strategy when things went south: Calling Aria for help.
"ARIA! ARIA, ARE YOU HERE? SOME BASTARDS HAVE TAKEN MY LIMBSSS, HELP!" His thoughts formed into words, but what escaped his mouth was nothing but hisses. Any hope of resolving his confusion started to crumble. Fortunately, the heavens were not without Mercy today.
"For goodness' sake, will you stop yelling? My head is killing me!" groaned a familiar voice, harshly punctuating each word. Awoken by his shouts, Aria began to move, attempting to rub her temples—but realized something strange about her arms as well. After a moment's pause she chalked it down to some sequela and proceeded to walk toward the source of the noise.
"Who are you?!" Arc replied sharply, instinctively coiling his body.
"Did getting reborn fry your brain?" Aria shot back, irritation flaring. First, he screamed for help, and now he was acting as though he didn't recognize her.
"Aria… Isss that really you?" he asked warily, scrutinizing the figure before him. With beady eyes, wicked talons, and a sharp beak, the creature towering over him looked like a monster straight out of a nightmare.
"Who else would it be besides me you idiot, were you not the one who kept screaming my name, and now you're asking stupid questions?" she replied curtly.
"Wait, where are you?" Aria looked around, baffled. "I can hear you, but I can't see you. Not to mention the lighting in here is terrible. We should go outside." She started walking toward the cave's entrance, only to stop when Arc's voice called after her.
" Wait waittt! I… can't move properly. Could you, uh, drag me with you?" Arc hesitated, still skeptical about the creature's identity.
"Fine, but my arms don't feel normal either so you'll have to settle for a leg," Aria replied, lowering one of her legs toward the sound of his voice.
"To the right… No, the left," Arc instructed, dodging her sharp talons. "This isn't working—can you just grab me with your mouth or something?"
Annoyed, Aria lowered her leg close to him. "Just hold on, and let's get moving."
Swallowing his pride, Arc lunged forward, wrapping himself around her leg. "Why does your arm feel so… slimy?" she asked, a note of disgust creeping into her voice.
"Honestly, I'm not sure what part of me that is," Arc muttered. "Let's just get outside and figure this out."
After a few minutes of uncomfortable trudging, Aria's strange "escort" reached the cave's entrance, where they were both struck by the glaring light of the morning suns.
"Ah… Give me a minute to adjust," Arc hissed as he unwound himself from her leg.
"I can see seeing just fine… and, um," Aria hesitated, pity mingling with surprise. "I think I know why you can't feel your limbs."
"What's wrong with me?" he asked cautiously.
She sighed. "You were reborn as a snake."
"…Pardon?"
"A Snake."
"Who?"
"...You."
"A. Snake." Aria repeated slowly, unsure if he'd grasped the reality of his situation.
Arc felt his world tilt as he processed the news. "Me… A snake?" His voice dripped with disbelief, which quickly turned into a dramatic groan of despair. But before he could spiral further, a cluck—a distinctly avian cluck—escaped Aria's mouth, and her eyes went wide with sudden horror.
She connected the dots. "Oh… Oh no. My hands cannot reach my head, I have talons, I'm barely towering over a snake... and I just clucked. Oh god, I am a chicken." She sank down, paralyzed by the realization.
The pit of despair Arc had just been sinking into disappeared as he processed her misfortune. His hisses turned gleeful. "Well, well, well. From geniusss to bird brain. How the mighty have fallen."
Aria shot him a murderous glare. "At least I have legs, you earthworm."
With no immediate comeback, Arc settled for irritated hisses, trying to ignore the fact that, moments ago, he had been pleading for help from this… giant chicken.
Trying to move past their tragic revelations, Arc asked, "So, what now? Are we stuck like this forever?"
Aria shook her head. "If what I'm assuming was the source of my headaches is correct, we may have a way out," she said, staring ahead at something Arc couldn't see.
"What are you looking at?" he asked suspiciously, beginning to wonder if the "chicken brain" was already affecting her.
Unfazed, Aria continued staring at what appeared to be an empty space in front of her, and then, with a slight smirk, she focused again, but this time on him.
After focusing on him, a page had manifested before her:
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[Arc]
Species: Serpent
Race: Grass Snake
Class: Lesser Creature
Age: 3
Rank: Unranked
Level: 3/100
Size: Small
Stats: [Required Information Is Lacking.]
Titles: Reborn Soul, World Traveler, Privilege Of The Weak
Skills:None
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While the window before her didn't offer much information, when she focused on certain elements in it, they were magnified and provided more information. The one that gave her hope was the the title [Privilege Of The Weak].
Title Skill: Privilege of the Weak
Type: Passive, Evolutionary Skill
Title Requirement: Lesser Creature
Trigger Condition: Survival to 100 years of age.
Description:
This ancient blessing is bestowed upon those considered "weak" in the natural order, typically regular animals or lesser creatures. In ancient legends, animals that survive for a century are believed to transcend their original form and gain new powers, evolving into beings of significant strength and intelligence.
Effect:
When a creature with this skill reaches the age of 100, they develop a demon core and commence evolution, transforming from a mundane animal into a true "Monster." This transformation grants them a significant increase in intelligence, physical attributes, and often an affinity for magic or supernatural abilities suited to their species and experiences. A single level is gained upon the passing of each year.
Now if Arc was in possession of this skill, it only stood to reason to that she too would also be in possession of it, given the fact that she's also a mundane animal, a Chicken.
Although not entirely sure how they'd even make it to a 100 years of age, faint hope was better than no hope, for now they just needed to focus on survival.