CHAPTER 1: Monke

Chewing a flower petal. Hmmmm. Delicious!! I wish this flower bloomed all year round. His greedy little self was filling himself up with the sweet delicacy of this flower that only blooms once a year. Its nectar was to die for.

Their tribe ventured to this riverside every year just for this flower, and so do other creatures of this forest. Thankfully their tribe was strong enough to be able to drive off the critters that got ahead of them.

He thought to himself. With their leader, the strongest of their tribe, they would be able to take on anything!

With a smile, he munched on another flower. With a glimpse of the water.

Huh.

He stopped chewing. He looked down. Staring at his reflection on the river, Emmett inspected himself. Black hair all over his facial features and every inch of his body. From the top of his head all the way down to his feet.

What the fuuuuuuuuuck!?!?

Rolling around on the ground. With disappointment on his soul. Why’d I have to be a monkey????

He knew his body would be different, but he didn’t think he’d turn into a monkey. He looked at his surroundings, he was by a river along with twenty or so other monkeys.

“OOH OOH HAA!!”

Emmett looked at the direction of the howl. It was a monkey twice the size of the other monkeys. It turned around and walked into the forest, and the other monkeys followed suit.

It’s the leader.

With the orange sky, the monkeys disappeared into the dark forest. It was time.

So what was Emmett to do in this situation? He had just retrieved his memories from before he came into this world jumbled along with the memories of when he was reborn as a monkey.

He lived as a monkey for probably around five years now. He knew he felt different from the other monkeys when his consciousness started to form. He grit his sharp fangs. Why couldn’t I have been born human??

He wouldn’t be able to enjoy himself in this new world. Forget traveling around the world and being a hero, he would just be thrown into a zoo if they saw a monkey running around in a city. Or worse yet, be dissected and tested on if they saw a monkey that acted like a human. The thought itself scared him.

He was enthralled at the idea of being reborn when it was brought up. He thought it was a dream when he was passing away. Now he’s realized God really did exist. Well, multiple Gods perhaps.

He took another bite of a flower. It tasted good. He recalled an expanse of white light surrounding him. There stood a dark being in front of him.

“…So an afterlife did exist huh.”

With a straight face, the dark figure responded, “No. There is no afterlife.”

“Then where are we and who are you? There’s no way I’d have survived that attack earlier. Half my stomach was blown away!”

“No, you did not survive that attack. I’ve been watching you, waiting for you to finally come undone from your mortal vessel.”

“Are you God?”

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“No. I’m just an observer. To put it in your terms, there is indeed a ‘God,’ but she doesn’t have control over me. For I am Death, and even ‘Gods’ die sooner or later. They are not far from my reach.”

In disbelief, Emmett was shocked at the fact that Gods did exist. Yet, he was even more disappointed that they allowed him to live such a life. And with the news that there’s no afterlife? What was the point of it all then?

Born an orphan of war, he was subjected to a terrible start in life. There was nobody in his life to support him. Except for one person. “So what did you want from me?”

“I have two options for you.” He opened his left hand. “First is to be devoured by me, your very being will then be cleansed and come back to the cycle of reincarnation back into your world.”

Emmett swallowed a slump in his throat. The thought of ceasing to exist wasn’t very pleasant.

“Or second option,” he opened his right hand. “Be reincarnated, with your memories intact, into another world. Into an upcoming ‘God’s’ world. A ‘God’ you’re familiar with. His name, Ulbricht.”

Ulbricht!? Emmett has not heard of that name in a long time. “He’s alive??”

He was the one of the few people that supported Emmett when he was still alive. He disappeared all of a sudden back when they were still in college. Yes, back before monsters started appearing in his world. The day that blinding light engulfed the city. Ulbricht was a God?

The only friend Emmett’s made in his life. A God? Who would've guessed?

Ulbricht was there when Emmett was at his lowest in his life. “What’s the catch?” Emmett asked cautiously from this dark being.

“This is a request of the ‘God’ you were under, a friend of mine. You’re just a byproduct of it.”

This eased Emmett’s mind. To be able to see a friend again. Or be cleansed of his very being.

Even if this was a dream, there would be no downside at all. The answer was clear.

A glint of determination in his eyes, “If I get the chance to be there for him like he was there for me, then I’ll be reborn a thousand times if I have to.”

“I see. I, Kamat, as the Observer of Death, shall transfer over your soul to his domain. You will have to lose your current body to be reborn anew.” Kamat waved his hand to his side, a black portal opened.

WIth no hesitation, Emmett walked through the portal.

AWOOOO! A howl came from the other side of the river. Snapped back to reality, it sounded like wolves. Emmett hurried into the dark forest. Following the rest of his tribe.

Trying to find Ulbricht wasn’t going to happen with the current situation at hand. Emmett was in the middle of nowhere, and worst yet he was a monkey. What was he to do if he did meet his friend again? Ulbricht would not be able to understand what oooh oooh haaa!~ meant.

It was already night when they ventured back “home,” if you could even call it a “home.” It was just another part of the forest.

Their tribe preferred to sleep on the branches of trees, it was where they were safest at. And what luck would have it? Their leader hit a stroke of luck finding their current base. Deep into the dark forest was home to hundreds of gigantic trees with branches able to hold their whole tribe. And at the center of it lies a tree a hundred times bigger than the rest. It was taller than the tallest skyscraper back in Emmett’s city.

Their tribe arrived home, to their favorite tree. The largest tree at the center. Though they might have the tallest tree all for themselves, they lie in sleep at its lower branches. There was no point in going higher when the largest tree’s lowest branch was higher than the rest of the trees in the area.

The climb up only took a moment. Though it was obvious, being a monkey helped quite a lot for Emmett. Following his tribe up was not a problem at all. Filled with strength, he was able to pull himself up even with one hand.

Up high on the branches, Emmett looked around for a spot to sleep on. The tribe huddled together in sleep. Except for one.

Emmett looked at the end of the branch they were on. Their leader looked upon the horizon.

Searching…

Emmett creeped next to him.

It was already night when they got back. Looking up, the moon was truly beautiful in this world. No matter how many times Emmett looked up at it, it was twice the size of the one back home. Its blue light illuminated the land. I wonder if Ulbricht likes to watch such beauty as well.

Glancing at his leader’s face, a deep scar across his right eye. It was his sign of being the strongest among their tribe. Given to him by a pack of wolves. Surrounded alone and yet he was able to drive them off. He was their tribe’s great protector.

Looking down on the land, Emmett was trying to figure out what his leader was trying to search for.

The leader turned to Emmett, and patted his head. With a huff, the Leader looked behind unto the rest of the tribe, asleep. Signifying–telling Emmett to go rest.

Emmett bowed in respect, and turned back. He was getting tired either way, it was time for some well-deserved rest.