I never thought my last day alive would start with instant noodles. But that was the truth.
THe boiling water steamed my glasses as I stared blankly at the cheap paper cup. My apartment was small, too small, and the only sound was the electric fan rattling every few seconds. It was a normal morning. A boring morning. A moning where nothing special seemed like it would ever happen.
If someone asked me back then, "Ryo, how will you die?" I would probably say something dramatic. Like saving a kid or taking a bullet, or dying in an explosion in a heroic way.
But no.
I died because of a vending machine. It started when the noodles tasted weird. Too salty. Too soggy. I frowned and tossed the cup into the trash. "Great, Breakfast ruined."
I checked my wallet. Empty, no bills, just a single sad coin.
"Fine, fine. Ill just buy bread."
I walked down my apartment stairs and went outside. The sun was bright, the street was quiet, and there wasn't a single sign from the universe that today was my expiration date. I walked to the nearby vending machine, the old rusty one beside the convenience store.
I pressed the button.
Nothing came out. I pressed again, still nothing.
"Seriously?"
I hit the side lightly. Then a little harder, still nothing. I crouched down to peek inside, because sometimes the bread gets stuck. Maybe, just maybe, I could see what's blocking it.
That's when the machine made a sound.
Clunk.
"Oh? Finally-"
CLUNK.
The whole machine shook. "Wait, wait, WAIT-" and then gravity betrayed me. The vending machine fell forward, faster than my brain could process. I didn't even get to scream properly.
CRASH.
A heavy pain crushed my chest, my ribs snapping like dry sticks. My lungs squeezed out the last bit of air. My vision blurred, my ears rang, and warm blood trickled from the corner of my mouth.
"M-my death..."
"Is this lame...?"
Not heroic,
Not dramatic,
Not even unique.
Just a stupid accident. Funny, in a dark way, My thoughts faded as darkness swallowed everything.
Darkness.
It felt endless.
Cold.
Soft.
Heavy.
I had no body. No sound. No breath.
Was this death? Was this where people waited before reincarnation? Or was this simply nothing?
I floated in that darkness for what felt like hours... Or maybe seconds. Time did not exist here.
Then-
Thump.
A heartbeat.
Not my human heartbeat. Something smaller. Something lighter. Something too fast.
Thump-thump-thump!
The darkness cracked like glass. Light poured in.
"W-what..?"
My vision opened to a dim, bluish cave. Strange glowing moss covered the walls. Pools of shimmering water dotted the ground, reflecting light like tiny stars. I tried to breath deeply, but I couldn't
My chest didn't expand.
Panic rushed in. I tried to move my arm. Instead, something thin and soft fluttered. Not an arm. Not a hand.
A wing.
"Huh?"
I tried again. Another flutter.
A cold realization crawled down my spine. I forced myself to look down, noticing how light my body felt. I wobbled forward, nearly falling face, first into a glowing puddle. When I saw my reflection.
I froze.
Large round eyes.
Fuzzy little body.
Two glowing wings with pale blue patterns.
A pair of soft antennae twitching above my head.
"I-is that a moth?!" My voice came out as a tiny, squeaky vibration only I could hear.
Then the horror hit me.
"That's ME?! I reincarnated as a moth?! Why?!"
Of all things.
A moth.
A small, crunchy, weak, useless moth.
I stared at my reflection again, hoping I was wrong.
Nope. Still a moth.
"System? Status? Someone explain?!"
The cave responded with silence. I sighted or tried to. I couldn't produce normal human sounds anymore.
"This sucks.. this really sucks"
Then-
A soft ding echoed inside my head.
Like a bell.
A notification.
Suddenly, glowing text appeared in the air in front of me, as clear as floating hologram.
[SYSTEM-INITIALIZATION]
>Reincarcated Being Detected
>Species: Lunar moth(Stage 1)
>Origin: Tower of Night - Undercity Maze
Unique skill unsealed:
[Eclipse Gluttony]
-Consume mana, matter or life force
-Absorb fragments of skills
-Evolve through accumulated essence
Basic skills gained:
-Flutter step (lvl.1): Move lightly through the air.
-Mana sense (lvl.1): detect mana around you.
-Night Vision (lvl.1): clear sight in dark places.
[Warning you are at the lowest rank of life in solaris. Survival probablity: 3%]
The glowing panel faded slowly.
I stared, confused and amazed.
"A system... I actually got a system, as a moth." My panic calmed a little. Very little. But still something.
At least I wasn't helpless.
At least I had a cheat
At least I wasn't just some random bug waiting to be stepped on.
The "Tower of Night". I didn't know the name, but it sounded ominous. Undercity Maze? Probably where I was now.
And "Lunar moth?" Never heard of it.
But the important thing was, "Eclipse Gluttony, sounds powerful." The name alone felt dangerous.
I wiggled my tiny legs. They were thin but surprisingly flexible. My wings felt soft, like silk, and every flap produced a gentle breeze. I tried hovering, slowly, carefully.
Flutter... Flutter... Wobble.
I face, planted into the glowing moss wall.
"Argh-this is harder than it looks."
Flutter.. flutter...
This time I floated a little.
Not high.
Not far.
But it was still flying.
"Okay, okay. I can do this."
I practiced for a few minutes until I could hover properly.
Flying felt weird, different from walking, but strangely freeing too. But then reality returned.
I was tiny.
I was weak.
And I was in a dark cave that smelled like danger,.
Glowing puddles, strange plants, echoing tunnels. Something didn't feel safe.
As I slowly flew forward, pieces of information appeared in my mind. I didn't know how I knew them, maybe the system implanted them, but they told me one thing:
This world wasn't peaceful.
To be continued...