Paws and I made our way towards the stream he mentioned, the faint sound of trickling water growing louder as we walked. My curiosity got the better of me—probably a dangerous habit, but I had questions, and a lot of them. Paws was floating around me, looking as smug as ever, so I figured I might as well ask.

"Hey, Paws," I began, "do you know anything about those people?"

"What people, nya?" Paws replied, his words punctuated with an odd sound.

I forgot my question entirely, caught off guard. "H-Hey… what was that?"

Paws looked at me with his head tilted, as if I'd just asked something ridiculous. "What is what? Nya!"

"That! That thing you keep saying!" I waved my hands in confusion.

He raised an eyebrow, looking as if I was the one acting strange. "What am I doing, nya? Don't make me guess, just say it, nya!"

"Nya!" I repeated, cringing. "Why are you adding that to every sentence? Don't tell me you have a cute complex or something. Ahh, please, it's cringe!"

Paws' face grew red—or at least, it seemed to. I didn't know if cats could blush, but here he was, furious. Without warning, he slapped me again with his little paw. This cat must've watched too many shows where people slap each other, I thought as my head jerked to the side.

I glared, rubbing my cheek. "Hey! What was that for?!"

"For making fun of me, nya!" he pouted, looking miffed.

"See? You're doing it again!" I shot back. "I knew it—you're doing this just to mess with me! You never talked like this before. Admit it, you psycho."

Paws' little paws were clenched as he glared right back at me. "I've always spoken like this, nya. It's not my fault you didn't notice, nya! And now I know, nya… that you're a complete and utter loser, nya!" His angry, adorable expression nearly made me laugh despite myself.

Focus, I reminded myself. This little menace couldn't catch me off guard like that.

I tried to steer the conversation somewhere else, something important. "Fine, fine. How come I can talk to you, but when I try to speak, it just sounds like 'goo goo gaa gaa'? Listen—'goo goo gaa gaa'—see?!"

Paws' eyes lit up, like he was about to deliver a lecture on advanced magic or something. "Let me tell you, nya! I, the magnificent Sir Pawsington, am about to impart my wisdom to you, nya."

"Just get to the point, Paws," I groaned. This was getting unbearable.

Paws smirked, as if he were revealing some great secret. "Well, nya, it's because I'm your system, nya. Only you can see and hear me, nya! To everyone else, you'll look like a crazy baby babbling to himself, nya!" He finished with a self-satisfied nod, as if he'd just solved world hunger.

Wait… what? My eyes widened as the horror set in. So I'm the only one who can see and hear this guy?

I glanced around, making sure no one was watching. Wiping imaginary sweat from my brow, I let out a sigh of relief. Thank the stars.

As we bickered our way through the forest, we finally arrived at the stream. Without a second thought, I darted forward, practically drooling at the sight of clear, fresh water.

"Nooo! Don't go there, nya!" Paws yelled behind me. "Wait, nya!"

Ignoring him, I called back with a smug grin, "Na-ha! I'm gonna drink first, nya!" I mimicked him with a smirk, loving the little jab.

But the victory was short-lived. Ten seconds later, I realized I probably should've listened.

The ground shook beneath me, a massive shadow rising from the water. A set of eyes glinted in the darkness, narrowing down at me. Not again…

Just as I suspected—everything went black as I slipped back into that cozy void again.

I was back in that all-too-familiar void, which by now felt like a second home—a sad, silent reminder of all my recent failures. But this time, something felt… different. The voices didn't speak. They didn't say anything. Almost as if they'd run out of words for how utterly pathetic I'd become. Maybe they were speechless.

Great. I'm making the gods themselves speechless. I sighed in defeat. Next time, I swear I'll tread carefully, nya— I stopped, cringing as the word slipped out of my mind. Damn cat. Even in the void, the "nya" was haunting me, stuck in my brain like an annoying little echo.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Before I could get comfortable in my failure, though, I was yanked back, faster than ever, as if they'd shoved me out of the void, like they couldn't bear to look at me anymore or thought that keeping me there any longer might end in disaster... for me.

I opened my eyes, taking in the scene, and there was Paws, sitting right on top of my head.

"What are you doing?" I said in the most serious tone I could muster.

"What! Me? Nothing! I'm not doing anything, nya!" he said quickly, shuffling back a bit, his fur fluffed up in mock innocence as he floated off my head.

I stood up, dusting myself off and taking in my surroundings. The ground beneath me felt sticky, almost slimy.

I looked down, realizing that the ground beneath me wasn't just sticky—it was wet. Mud, maybe? Where the heck are we? I thought, glancing around at the dim shadows, trying to make sense of this new place.

I tried wiping my hands on… wait. Wait. Everyone just wait a sec... Where is my… diaper? Or underwear? Or whatever I was wearing?

A scream erupted from me suddenly, high-pitched, like someone who'd just seen a cockroach the size of a dinner plate. Paws jerked back, his eyes wide.

"What? What happened? Why are you screaming?" he asked, shock and confusion on his furry little face.

I covered my lower half with my tiny hands, practically trembling and shouted, "Where are my clothes?! My undies! Don't tell me you took them, you sneaky thief! You were sitting on my head, weren't you? You—you underwear-stealing cat!"

I crossed my hands in front, trying to hide myself as best I could, my face burning in embarrassment. In my previous body, maybe I could've brushed this off, but in this tiny form, it was mortifying. And here I was, standing in front of a talking cat who had no respect for boundaries.

Paws threw up his paws, waving them frantically, his eyes wide as if he'd just been accused of some heinous crime. "H-Hey! I didn't take anything, nya! I wouldn't steal your… uh… undies. Why would I do that?!"

Paws looked horrified as he said again. "I didn't steal your dirty clothes, nya! They just melted on their own! I was just trying to help you cover up that lil' ant, nya. And this is the thanks I get? You're being ungrateful, nya!"

I glared at him, my face turning red. "What do you mean 'lil ant'? It's… it's growing, okay? You just need to give it some time! And melted? Melted how? What, am I in lava or something?!"

Paws gave an exaggerated sigh, rolling his eyes as if I were the one being unreasonable. "I'm telling you the truth, nya. Look around and see where we are." He gestured around with one paw. "We're in the belly of a snake that you so happily walked into, nya! I tried to stop you, but noooo—you had to dive right into danger, nya. You really are a—" He stopped, wrinkling his nose and pouting. "I'm not gonna dirty my mouth for an ungrateful nya!"

My heart stopped as I took in what he'd just said. Inside a snake? I looked down at the sticky, slimy ground and immediately regretted it as the realization hit me hard. The pond… it wasn't a pond.

Just then, the entire ground beneath me started to shake, rolling me from side to side as the snake's body shifted. I stumbled and fell, feeling every lurch and rumble as it slithered and twisted. Finally, it stopped moving, leaving me breathless and dizzy as I clung to the wet, slimy floor.

"Is it… is it done?" I managed to gasp, bracing myself as best I could.

Paws just floated there, smirking. "I dunno, nya. Maybe it's just resting. Or maybe it's getting ready to digest you." He tilted his head innocently. "Guess you should've listened to me, nya!"

I groaned, feeling whatever pride I'd had completely dissolve, along with my clothes. The belly of a snake. Of all the places to end up, I was here, soaked, slimy, and full-naked in some giant serpent's stomach, with only a smug talking cat as company.

"Alright," I muttered, pulling myself together. "How do we get out of here?"

Paws crossed his paws smugly. "Well, maybe if you ask nicely…"

I closed my eyes, exhaling through gritted teeth. This is my life now.