Chapter 1: The Waking

Chapter 1: The Waking

I’m sitting in front of a man at a desk, I look around and see that the desk is sitting alone in a spotlight surrounded by darkness. The man is wearing a fine suit, the kind those rich people wear as they walk past me while I beg for change on the street. The kind that the people who were never hungry in their lives wore.

“Hello.” the man said calmly.

“Hi...” I reply.

I have no idea where I am...

“What do you last remember?” the man asked.

“I was sleeping... it was cold, so cold I thought I was going to die...” I reply.

“Well you did I’m afraid...” the man said with a sigh.

“What?” I asked in shock.

“Yes, you are dead I’m afraid. I apologise for all the grievances in your past life, many of the worlds are in a sorry state at the moment. The backlog of reincarnations we have to process is quite significant. We simply don’t have the resources to maintain a suitable quality of life for all the souls under our care.” the man said, looking quite defeated.

“So... what happens now? Do I go to heaven?” I ask, slightly hopeful at the idea.

Finally I won’t have to be so hungry that my stomach feels like just a dull ache in my belly. I won’t have to worry about freezing to death in the winter, getting robbed, getting stabbed...

“Unfortunately the Christians got it wrong my dear boy, there is no heaven. Although I am quite sure you aren’t that familiar with the various religious beliefs of the world seeing as you were... twelve years old when you expired.” the man said as he looked down at a file in his hand.

“Expired? Like food becoming expired?” I ask.

“When you died my dear boy. The Buddhists got it right actually... or at least they were the closest... does the word reincarnation ring any bells?” the man asked.

“Err, it means we get reborn into another... life...” I say as I feel my heart drop. I may have to suffer through all that I went through all over again...

“Well if you are worrying that you’ll end up in your past life’s circumstances don’t worry. Your age at the time of your death, plus the pain and suffering you suffered makes you eligible for one of our compensation packages...” the man said as he reached under his desk and pulled out a thick file.

“So according to this, you are eligible for the highest grade of compensation which entitles you to... keeping your memories if you so desire, a class A1 power level body and a Section B3 three question preference assessment by the assessing executive. That’s me by the way. So yeah... your next life will be pretty good relative to your previous one.” the man said as he read off a page in the file.

“Oh so I can be born rich?” I asked, perking up at those words.

“Well you could technically but that would be taking a worst deal honestly. Your entitlements from this compensation package afford you a higher existence than the kind that would require currency to obtain what you desire.” the man replied.

“Oh... so I won’t be human?” I ask.

“Well you can be but we can offer you something better. In truth not many souls get this package you only got this because your past two lives were terrible. You see if someone lives to between age 10 to 15 and suffers through most of it in three separate lives, only then would you be eligible for this package. Furthermore packages only apply on the third life onwards, so... yeah you got really unlucky three times in a row...” the man said with a sigh.

“Oh...” I reply at a loss of what to say.

“Ok basically, I’ll ask you three question and I will decide what your next life will be. You will be powerful enough to make your life whatever you want within your existence. Plus you can keep your memories if you want. So shall I begin asking the questions?” the man said as he put the file away and pulled out a pen and paper.

“Ok...” I reply hesitantly.

“What is your favorite thing to do?” the man asked.

“Eat.” I replied, thinking of that time a nice woman bought me a slice of pizza.

“Ok... consuming sustenance... what would you say is your strategy when you encounter problems in life?” the man asked.

“Erm well I just try to adjust to the situation and hopefully it doesn’t kill me.” I reply, thinking of all the times I had to think of strange and odd solutions to my problems.

“Ok... adaptive... then what would you say is your greatest strength?” the man asked.

“I don’t like to run from my problems because they always find you eventually, best to solve them as soon as possible... even if sometimes that takes a long time...” I reply.

“Ok... tries to overcome presented crises as much as possible... alright that’s about it. I think I have the perfect fit for you. So do you want to keep your memories?” the man asked.

“Yeah I think so, it would be waste to forget all the lessons I learned.” I reply as I remember all the hard lessons I learned in my past life. I would rather not make those mistakes again...

“Alright, so do you have any final questions before I send you on your way?” the man asked.

“Yeah, what will I be when I reincarnate?” I ask.

“Oh I can’t tell you that, I can assure you your life will be much better than the previous one. The policy prevents me from disclosing details about the specifics of your next life. But I can tell you that you won’t be human.” the man said.

“So I’ll be something better?” I ask.

“Yeah definitely, humans are a class C7 body type creature, you will be a class A1 body type creature. So yes it’s much better.” the man said.

“Ok... I guess I’m ready.” I say as I tense silently praying the reincarnation process won’t hurt.

“Excellent.” the man said.

The moment the man said that word the world went black. I tried to get my bearings but I found I couldn’t move, it feels like I’m curled up in a fetal position. This place felt warm... and wet... oh god... I hope I’m not about to be born...

“What with this egg?” I hear a muffled male voice say.

“No idea, hey Alisa you said this tomb had some good stuff here, why is there only this weird egg?” I hear another male voice ask.

Divine, forgive my transgressions

Deliver me from darkness

Deliver me from darkness

Deliver me from darkness

Deliver me from darkness

Deliver me from darkness

Deliver me from darkness

Deliver me from darkness

Deliver me from darkness

Deliver me from darkness

Deliver me from darkness

She prayed in blind panic, her eyes wide in terror as she looked down at the mangled corpse of the woman I just dined on.

Well this one wasn’t going anywhere, no need to rush...

So I reach out and grab her by the front of her clothes and she screams in blinding terror.

I DON’T WANT TO DIE!

She screams as she sobs. Her words give me pause as it starts to sink in. I just killed these people... I know it’s wrong... yet it doesn’t feel wrong... I know it should feel wrong...

Odd...

Hmmm, I wonder even if I kill her I would still be stuck in this room... she was the one who could read that tablet. I may be able to use her to get out...

So I drag her up and I realize I’m now probably two and half meters tall. I pulled her kicking and screaming all the way back to the tablet and I raised her up. I shove her face towards the tablet.

“What does it say?” I ask.

The woman screams as she covers her ears. I guess she can’t understand me...

I let her go and point at the tablet. Her crying subsided for a moment as she looked at my extended hand and at the tablet. It was then that I noticed my hand was a pale white and it had three fingers each tipped with a large black talon. I look down and see the lower half of my body was like a snake with no legs to speak of. That was also when I noticed I actually had four arms, all with three taloned fingers.

The woman looks back at me tearfully and I point at the tablet again. So she shakily looks down at the tablet and begins to read.

Within this tomb lies our greatest treasure

A child of primordial powers that will one day awaken

For this tomb holds the cradle of a Primordial Devourer

The ultimate apex predator, eater of heroes and gods

One day the child will awaken and feast upon the flesh of lesser creatures

This tomb will seal itself until the day a suitable sacrifice arrives

The woman faltered as she began to sob and her head dropped. I was starting to feel impatient so I reached out and grabbed her by the back of her neck and shoved her head towards the tablet.

As she choked on her sobs she finished reading the tablet.

Once the sacrifice is complete

The seals of this tomb shall open releasing the child to the world

The child will remind the world of the truth that they have tried to so hard to forget

The true nature of life

Eat or be Eaten

Kill or be Killed

Consume, Adapt, Overcome

For this is life’s great imperative

Many will say this child is a living nightmare

But this child is no dream

This child is the waking...