When I regained consciousness… Wait, wasn't I dead? Did they actually manage to save us? That's… incredible. But why can't I see anything? Maybe I'm in a coma, I thought. I'd read somewhere that many people claim to hear and feel things even when unconscious.
Well, everything's fine then… except for one small detail: I was still unconscious. I couldn't feel my body either. Well, I could feel it, but not in the usual way. It was as if, instead of being a person, I was a shapeless drop of water, constantly flowing. At the same time, I felt like a flame, ever-changing and always moving.
The strange thing was that I didn't feel any weight, nor did I feel hot or cold. It was like floating in a void. I won't say the sensation was unpleasant, but not knowing when I would wake up was bothersome.
Just then, I heard a pair of voices. I thought they might be doctors, so I didn't do anything… Well, you know, it's not like I could do anything. I just stayed there, listening to them talk.
"Oh, great… Here comes another one. We're on a roll. Either no one shows up for ages, or suddenly, they all decide to come at once. Splendid."
That sounded pretty sarcastic. Do doctors usually make comments like that?
"Relax, only a couple came before him. It's not that big of a deal. Besides, this is our job, you can't complain."
Well, at least one of them seemed a bit more rational and professional.
"Yeah, yeah… I know, but I'm hungry. Can't we just get this over with? Plus, I'm tired; usually, we don't do anything, and now this is way too much work for one day."
… Someone definitely needs to fire this guy. What's his deal?
"Did you seriously just say that? I know this is more than we usually do, but that's because no one ever comes here. The supremes are always swamped with work, what would you do if you were in one of their positions?"
Exactly! Tell him off, doc! Wait, supremes? What's a supreme?
Something tells me I'm not in a hospital… Is it… possible? Am I in the process of reincarnation?
If I'd had legs, I would've jumped up in excitement. This is insane!
Trying to contain my emotions, I kept listening to their conversation. This would mark the beginning of my new life. Or so I thought. At that exact moment, as the rational voice was still scolding the other, I felt as if someone had grabbed my entire being and started kneading it.
"...You should be grateful for the position you have. You possess the power and necessary skills, but even so, your attitude is irreverent toward your superiors, and you're lazy. Start doing your job properly and let's prepare him to be sent to…"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. But you don't need to worry about that anymore. I've solved two problems at once. While you were ranting, I grabbed his soul, prepared it, and all that. It should be ready to be sent any second now; and I did it without you even asking. Doesn't that fix the issue of my 'laziness'?"
"What did you d…?!"
That was the last thing I heard before a blinding flash of light overwhelmed me, a strange sensation, considering I was just a soul and shouldn't have retinas. But I guess in a fantasy world, some things don't make sense.
Then, just a second before the process began (or so I assumed based on how my shapeless soul started moving more wildly), I felt a rise in temperature. I know it doesn't make sense, but that's what I felt. At the same time, I heard a heavenly voice. It was the most beautiful sound I'd ever heard, almost like a divine melody resonating in my nonexistent ears.
"Once again, those two can't do their jobs properly. It's unbelievable… With so few tasks, and yet they still manage to mess them up."
The previous voices were quite pleasant too, but in my confusion, I hadn't noticed until now. The earlier voices were gender-neutral, leaving me unsure what to imagine about them. But with this one, there was no doubt, it was feminine, and the most captivating, enchanting voice I'd ever heard.
A second later, I felt what I can only describe as a warm, angelic embrace.
"I'm so sorry, but I can't alter the course of your soul. That idiot sent you off randomly, and I have no idea what body you'll reincarnate into or where. The only thing I can do is give you this and pray that you survive as long as possible."
Not only did she have a delightful voice, but her personality matched perfectly. Could there be a better guide for reincarnation? Unlike those two from earlier. I genuinely felt sorry for the rational one, having to put up with the other guy for… however long they'd been together.
"Goodbye, friend. Good luck on your journey. I'll check in on your path when I have time."
She was simply wonderful.
***
Just what felt like a moment after my last enchanting encounter, I suddenly began to notice my new body.
Here it comes, the moment I've been waiting for, the variable that will decide everything!
…
After a few seconds of stillness, a strange sensation swept over my body. Was I not being born? Or had I already been born? That's what I wondered, as the only part of myself I could feel was my torso, which seemed to have stretched quite a bit. Something made me pretty nervous, I didn't have limbs! No way… Was I born without arms or legs? That's impossible, right? I couldn't be that unlucky.
I tried to move, but it felt like my entire being was trapped in a gelatinous mass, something completely uncontrollable. My mind was already starting to panic, but before succumbing to despair, I tried to find something to give me a clue.
After a few seconds, I realized I still couldn't see anything. Great! Just great! The cherry on top! So, I tried to open my eyes, or at least I thought I did. The result was a tiny slit, as if my eyelids were heavier than usual. But… wait, what the heck? Were they open or not? This is unbelievable… On top of everything, was I blind? When I meet that 'supreme', I'm going to have a few words for him.
Man, this place is tight... Wait a second, where am I? How did I not realize it earlier? I'm inside an egg. An egg! The problem is that this only leads to one obvious conclusion: I'm not human. Because, as far as I know, humans don't hatch from eggs, right?
Wonderful, fantastic. This leaves only one likely candidate based on my body's design… and honestly, I don't know how to feel about it.
There's a high chance I'm a snake.
---
Fabulous! Fantastic! This is really starting off on the right foot… if I had feet, of course.
After what I estimated to be a few minutes, though, honestly, I had no way to measure time, I started questioning why I'd been so eager to reincarnate into another world. That's when I decided to try and get out of the egg.
I started brainstorming as hard as I could, trying to think of any possible way to break free. Finally, I came to a conclusion: well… I'd just use my head to get out. Unexpected, right? Come on, dear reader, you could've thought of that sooner. I suppose this is how the rest of the snakes do it, right?
Sorry if I offended you, dear reader. I didn't mean to insult your intelligence, but there wasn't much to think about. I just said I thought about it so I could make the joke about using my head… Though, on second thought, it's not that funny. I guess I'll delete these paragraphs later.
Anyway, back to the point. I tried giving the shell a good few headbutts… or at least, I thought that's what I was doing. It turns out this body was harder to control than I'd expected. I mean, I only have a head and a torso, nothing else. The problem was that no matter how much I tried, I couldn't hit hard enough to even crack the shell.
This… seemed like a serious problem. Was my fate really to stay trapped in this egg until someone or something broke it from the outside? No, I couldn't accept that. I had to get out and live this second life as if it were my last.
With that determination, I kept slamming against the shell with all the strength this strange body allowed me. After several intense seconds, I noticed something curious: little by little, I was starting to gain some… skill? Yeah, I guess you could call it that. I was getting used to this body, not completely, but enough to make each blow slightly more powerful than the last.
After what felt like an eternity of constant banging, I started feeling dizzy. What the heck was this egg made of? Just when I was about to stop and take a break, something caught my attention: a tiny crack. Barely noticeable, but it was there. That small achievement was enough to restore all my strength.
With an intense look in my eyes, almost as if I wanted to break the egg just by staring at it, I focused on the crack. Moving as best as I could in this clumsy body, limited by the cramped space, I carefully repositioned myself. I used one of the walls of the egg as support and, gathering all my strength, launched myself straight at the crack, hoping that this time it would finally give way.
For the first time in… hours? I tasted freedom. Though, of course, that was after a splitting headache and running into a little problem.
"Finally, freed-Woahhh!!"
What kind of sick joke was this? After reincarnating as a snake and spending what felt like an eternity headbutting my way out of my shell, I finally escape, and the first thing this world greets me with is a deadly cliff.
Seriously, I think the gods in this place aren't exactly fans of mine.
The only reason I didn't curse my luck right then and there was that, at least, I didn't fall off the cliff. Although, to be honest, it was a close call, mere millimeters. I was so close it nearly gave me a heart attack.
Thinking back to a certain recent event, only one question lingered in my mind at that moment, and surely you've thought of it too, dear reader: what are the chances that the world I found myself in was the one from my dream?
Now then, there's only one answer, and given the number of clichés that have happened so far, that answer is quite obvious. There's a 97% chance that the world from my dream and this one are the same.
What? Were you expecting me to say there was a 100% chance? Realistically, it's pretty much that, but something inside me wanted to reject the idea. I mean, how generic is my story going to be?
---
Well, I'll end the chapter here. If you're enjoying it, I guess you can check out the next one. By the way, should I keep adding these little comments at the end of the chapters? Maybe I'll just include information about this world instead of random commentary. Anyway, take care, dear reader.