N25, A New Awakening

I was in a pitch-black place, my body wasn’t responding to me and a relentless current dragged me incessantly. Feeling suffocated, I struggled to move, to find something to hold on to, anything solid that could pull me out of the torrent.

After what seemed like an eternity the torrent subsided and I settled into a warm and cozy place. I began to feel my limbs and realized I was curled up inside something that gently wrapped my body.

Relaxed, I fell into a slumber and the next time I woke up I felt like I was floating.

“Ugh!” With a thud, my body hit the ground and the cozy sensation vanished. I was lying on my back, over a cold stone, and my body was drenched in a nasty fluid.

Still a bit confused, I opened my eyes and the first thing I saw was the fleshy red insides of some kind of cocoon. It was hanging right above me and trickles of a viscous and transparent fluid slowly dropped from it. Momentarily fascinated, I watched it as it closed with a placid and steady pace.

Around me, there were dozens of similar sacks hanging from a low ceiling. From time to time one of them quivered as if something inside it had a sudden convulsion. Yes, I was once again in one of those dreadful nurseries.

‘Uh, so I died…’

My thoughts at the moment felt unnaturally calm, but suddenly the memories of the battle came rushing to me and a wave of feeling overwhelmed my mind.

‘They died!’

I remembered what had happened to my followers. Those damned warriors! Bastards! They had killed them all. Us all! My body trembled with rage and impotence. I turned around and got on my knees, then smashed the ground with my fist.

“Urgh!” My hand hurt. I clenched it and a succession of droplets started falling onto the wet floor. They weren’t part of the mucus wrapping me, but my tears.

‘Fucking humans! Fucking ratmen! Fucking village!’

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

Crying, I cursed at every factor that had gotten me involved in that battle. My gang was gone, my powerful form was no more. All the efforts of that whole life had vanished into thin air.

‘I was blind! I should have never been fond of that place! I should have escaped at the first opportunity!’

Now all the choices I had made after being captured by the ratmen seemed foolish. I had lost everything, and for what? The only thing that was left were little tidbits of almost useless information.

For a long while I stayed on the ground grieving my dead subordinates and the loss of my previous body.

Then, after finally calming down I examined myself. Short furry limbs, a long tail, and a snout. Those were some familiar traits that I used to have as a rat. What was new was the pair of hands at the end of my arms. I moved my thumbs and with them touched the rest of my fingers one by one.

‘So I was reborn as a ratman.’

This was the body I wanted to possess for a long time, but now that I had acquired it, I couldn't feel any happiness at the thought of it.

‘Who the hell wants to have such a weak and puny body?’

I was alone in the underground. With this small form, I could consider myself lucky if I was still alive in a few hours. With a sigh, I gathered the resolve to get up. If I kept lingering here I would meet those horrible tentacles.

I needed to leave this place before the nursery considered me an intruder instead of its own spawn. I flexed my legs and with some difficulty straightened my body with the help of my arms.

‘It really feels different.’

How long had it been since I last stood up? I had no way of knowing, but it felt like forever. Using my arms and tail to balance my unsteady body, I took some shaky steps towards a vertical crack that connected the small hollow of the nursery with a larger cave.

As I walked, I began planning my objectives for this life with a somber mood. I had to find a group of ratmen, alone I didn’t stand a chance to protect myself against the predators of the caves. I also needed to avoid the human warriors at all costs. Then, as soon as I was prepared, I would depart to the north, in search of the exit that the chief of the ratmen had mentioned.

‘I won’t stray from my path this time.’

I would find the cause of this undying existence, regain my memories and acquire a human vessel.