(A/N. DON'T SKIP! This is really important, so please read this part. You see, I was originally planning not to remake the whole story from scratch; however, I've realized just how much of the story I would like to change over the past couple of days of re-reading everything. So I'd like your opinion, so to speak: should I rewrite the story from the very beginning or not? If you think I should, type 1 in the comment section; if you think I shouldn't, type 2.
Of course I didn't want to ask you all to vote without giving you an idea of what a rewrite could look like, so I remade Chapter 1 of Volume 1 for you to read. This is also my Christmas present to all of you who have been waiting patiently for me to return. So yeah, Merry Christmas to you all.)
_ _ _V1 Chapter 1 Rebirth Remake_ _ _
Pain... hunger... emptiness... they were all things that had defined my whole life, things that I couldn't escape from, no matter how much I wanted to. Most people in a similar situation would question how they ended up like this; most would wonder what they could have done differently. Me? I didn't need to question it at all, not even slightly.
In the end, I knew exactly how I ended up like this; my life had been a downward spiral from the moment I was born. So as I sat there, malnourished and clearly starving to death, I felt nothing, nothing but a desire for it all to end. I did wish things had gone differently, though.
"I just... why did everything have to be this way..." I muttered to myself, but it wasn't a question; I knew why, to some extent anyway.
(It's my fault... it's always been my fault...) I could only think as I lay against the cold, hard ground. (Things might... they might have been different if...)
"No... it's not like it matters. None of it matters anymore..." I sighed, the slight motion of my lips causing me pain, but I just couldn't summon the will to care anymore.
It wasn't hard to tell that my life was reaching its end; it was easy to tell even for me. My breath was becoming shallower, my vision growing dark. I was too weak to move anymore, far too weak to even do anything but lie there as I waited for the inevitable.
(If things had been different... if things had been better... maybe... maybe I could have actually formed connections with people... maybe I could have even...) I thought to myself, not at all expecting any kind of response or answer, but… but actually I got one.
[Request has been confirmed, the skill Bonded has been successfully acquired.]
"Oh great... now I'm hearing voices... I guess that's fine... at least I won't feel a little less lonely now..." I chuckled weakly, completely unperturbed by the pain that shot through me in response to the action.
[Affirmative, the skill "Minds Echo" has been acquired.] The voice sounded mechanical, emotionless even, yet clearly female. [Additional skill "Isolation Resistance" has been acquired.]
"Y-you know... I... I never believed in an afterlife or anything like that..." I muttered, mumbling to myself as my body grew numb and distant.
"Who knows... if reincarnation is a thing I might have another chance..." Breathing was becoming harder and harder; my chest took longer to rise and fall with every passing second. "Although... it... it might be fun to be reborn as... as a monster or something... something beautiful like a Phoenix... or maybe something more scary..."
[Analysing... request confirmed, searching for suitable race... race found... Abyssal Phoenix has been selected.]
[All species skills have been added, listing: Abyss Gate; Abyssal Flame; Flame Eater; Flame Control; Transformation; Darkness Manipulation; Regeneration; Heat Immunity; Cold Resistance; Flame Body; Undying Soul.]
[Continuing, because you are the first true naturally born creature of the Abyss, the unique skill "Eyes Of The Abyss" has been acquired.]
(Haha... I'm just thankful... thankful that my life isn't flashing before my eyes... it wasn't a very good one after all...) I sighed, relieved; I'd rather not remember it all in my final moments.
For a moment, I just lay there listening to the sound of my own breathing as I stared up at the ceiling. "God... I'm so hungry... I don't even remember the last time I ate something..."
[Affirmative, the skill "Hunger Resistance" has been acquired.]
"Honestly... honestly I'd eat anything at this point... I'm just so hungry..." I groaned; the aching in my stomach had almost become too familiar at this point. "It's... it's like there's a void in me... God... it hurts so much..."
[The skill "Ravenous" has been acquired.]
[Continuing, the skill "Ravenous" will evolve into the unique skill "Everlasting Hunger."]
(Now... now I feel... feel like you're mocking me...) I huffed internally, although it didn't have any edge to it.
"Well whatever... it's not like I'm unused to it..."
Things had finally reached their end, so to speak; my vision had darkened to almost complete blackness now. I couldn't feel my body at this point; in fact, even the pain and the feeling of starvation had all grown quiet.
"If I could... if I could just have one wish granted... it would be... be to… to just... just once know what it... feels... like to..." Those were my last thoughts before everything drifted away.
[Affirmative, final wish has been granted. Analysing... selecting suitable candidates... candidates found...]
[Proceeding with optimal location selection... searching... location found.]
[Beginning reincarnation.]
_ _ _ _ _3rd Person Pov_ _ _ _ _
Elsewhere, within a world filled with magic, mysteries and terrifying beasts, there was a village, still in its infancy but destined to grow into something much grander. It didn't even have a name yet; however, it was already an anomaly that had caught the attention of several key individuals.
Its placement alone was enough to cause confusion: it sat in an immense forest that partially split the continent in half, a forest filled with swarms of dangerous creatures and monsters. And yet, despite the danger, the village showed no fear or distress; they were happy, content even, as they carved out roads and mapped areas for homes, shops, and other amenities.
Watching all of this from a hilltop not far away was the individual who had accidentally stumbled into making this little mess so to speak. They had long, blue hair that reached down their back and eyes the colour of shimmering amber. Their facial features were both feminine and masculine but leaned more toward the feminine side, making it difficult to tell their gender.
Most of what they wore was made of animal fur, with some leather and silk mixed in as well. They wore a white jumper underneath a short dark-blue top, along with dark-blue pants under a similarly coloured skirt attached to their waist via a brown leather belt. Additionally, the skirt and top had white fluff around the edges; they also had brown silk strips wrapped around their arms that looked like bandages, and shoes the same colour as those strips.
This person's name was Rimuru Tempest, a very overpowered slime. "It looks like things are coming along well now that Kaijin and the three dwarf brothers have started teaching their trades." He mused to myself.
"Don't you think so as well?" He asked as he enjoyed the view of the slowly developing town below.
The response he got was a rather enthusiastic one. "Indeed, Master! Everything is coming along splendidly."
Rimuru smiled at that as he glanced back at the large canine he was currently resting against. The creature in question had mostly bluish-gray fur with a jagged mane of white around its neck; additionally, it not only had a dark-blue patch of fur on its head that resembled a star, but it also had a horn growing out from the centre of said star.
"I wonder what it will look like when it's all done," Rimuru hummed thoughtfully.
"I'm sure that it'll be amazing," he chuckled before his pleasure and calm expression became something far more somber. "I just wish that Shizu could have been here to see it when it's all done though..."
"Master?" the wolf barked, sounding concerned.
"It's nothing, Ranga," Rimuru said, smiling once more as he shook those rather depressing thoughts away. "Anyway, do you think we should make some kind of large stable or doghouse for you and the other Tempest wolves? So you don't have to keep sleeping outside all the time?"
"We wolves were born to live in the wild, Master; however, I suppose it would be nice to have someplace to sleep when it rai-" The wolf, now identified as Ranga, suddenly stopped talking as he raised his head and sniffed the air curiously.
"What's up?" Rimuru asked, tilting his head.
"Something just appeared. I can smell it," Ranga responded, his ears twitching slightly in confusion. "It smells... strange..."
"Oh?"
_ _ _ _ _Pov Change_ _ _ _ _
Darkness... endless churning darkness. For a long, long moment I was completely weightless as I hovered in place. I couldn't feel anything, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't move; I wasn't even truly aware in the traditional sense of the word, it was as if I had completely merged into this endless void. How long was I like that? I don't know, but it didn't last, no, it didn't last at all, because soon I felt my sense of self returning.
At first I panicked. I thought I had miraculously survived, that I was being forced back into that living nightmare, but something was different. Slowly I opened my eyes. I was somewhere I hadn't expected, someplace I'd never seen before.
Gone was the filthy house I had known all my life; gone were the ever-present smells of decay and alcohol. It was all gone, and in its place? Well, I was currently lying on a pretty comfy bed in what appeared to be a partially wooden tent of some kind. It had white fabric for walls and a black curtain for a door.
And it wasn't just my environment that had changed, not at all. In fact, the first thing I noticed was the pain, or rather the lack of it. The hunger, the starvation, the agony of my body slowly eating itself out of desperation, it was all gone.
"Where...?" I asked myself, glancing around with what was probably a rather confused expression. "Where am I?"
(This isn't a hospital, unless it's some kind of emergency tent.) I thought to myself, but a more important question soon crossed my mind.
(Why do I... why do I feel so normal? I feel better, like I haven't felt in... well... ever.)
"A-and my hands..." I muttered, shaking ever so slightly as I looked over my arms, my hands, and whatever parts of my body I could currently see. "My body, it's... it's healed? How?"
I checked myself over and over, trailing my hands over the skin that should have been mangled and damaged, but it wasn't. It wasn't some kind of hallucination either; the damage, the scars, it was all truly gone. In fact, my body looked healthy even from what I could tell, which made no sense since, to my knowledge, I had been nothing but skin and bones a couple of seconds ago.
"There are no scars, not a single one," I breathed, still unable to believe what I was seeing.
"A-and these clothes..." I paused as I looked over the new attire I was now wearing. "They're really comfortable."
(Wait... I wasn't... I wasn't wearing these before...) I thought as my face slowly started to warm up and I tried not to think about the implications of that.
"Also, why does it feel like... there's... something..." I trailed off as I glanced backward, my eyes widening in shock as I saw what exactly it was I had been feeling.
There, attached to my back, was something that made my body and mind freeze up: wings. They were shaped like a raven's and were mostly a deep midnight black with streaks of glimmering golden feathers mixed in here and there.
For a moment I just sat there motionless, completely stunned into silence. They were... they were beautiful. Hesitantly I reached out and touched them, my fingers brushing against them as my breath hitched. I could feel them. I flexed my back and they moved, they really moved; they were actually a part of my body.
"They feel real... too real..."
(This can't be a hallucination... right?) I muttered internally. I could no longer understand if this was reality or not. (Is this the afterlife?)
"Still..." I breathed as I enjoyed the feeling of my fingers running through the feathers. "They're really soft." I was so transfixed, in fact, that I didn't even notice the footsteps until the fabric covering the exit was pulled away.
"Oh! You're awake." A female voice echoed out, causing me to stiffen instinctively.
"Did I startle you? I'm sorry, I was just coming to check on you."
"There's no need to be scared, I won't hurt yo-" she tried to say reassuringly, but her voice suddenly stopped when we made eye contact.
The first thing to pop into my head when I saw her was... (Green?)
Standing before me was a woman. I couldn't tell her age, but that wasn't important right now, she was green. It wasn't paint or anything; her skin was literally green. I'm not saying that she was ugly or something, in fact she was actually quite cute all things considered, but that wasn't the point.
She wore an outfit that mostly consisted of a coat made of some kind of animal fur with a silk brown dress underneath. She also had somewhat greyish-purple hair and rather stunning brown eyes. Overall she was rather pretty, but that didn't take away from my confusion.
(Why does she suddenly look so scared?) I thought in confusion, tilting my head slightly as I continued looking at her.
"Errm... are you okay?" I said, although the words came out rather awkwardly and somewhat mumbled.
"I... I... w-what are..." She stuttered, looking paler than she had a moment ago, then turned and bolted back the way she had come.
And just like that I was left alone again. For a second I just stared at where she had been with a puzzled look on my face. (She ran away? Why?)
"I was expecting her to shout at me or something; that's how this usually goes..." I sighed, speaking out loud to no one in particular.
"Also, why was she green?"