Darkness. Silence. And… something wet?
Not exactly the holy light or angelic choir I expected.
It felt like I was submerged in warm jelly. Or trapped inside a really clingy slime with trust issues.
I couldn't move. I couldn't see. I couldn't even tell if I had a face anymore.
> "Wait... do I even have a body right now?"
As if the universe was on cue, a voice echoed inside my skull.
Flat. Robotic. Emotionless.
Like Google Translate after pulling an all-nighter.
> [Soul condition: stable.]
[Existence fragment successfully bound to biological vessel.]
[Adaptation process commencing…]
> "Biological vessel? Whose body did I just hijack?!"
Then... sensation.
Something sticky wrapped around me. A membrane? Cocoon?
I was squishy. Slimy. And absolutely not humanoid.
> "This is isekai, right? Where's my overpowered body? My glowing sword of destiny?! Why do I feel like a... glowing worm?"
I tried to move.
All I managed was a pathetic wiggle, like a newborn slug having an existential crisis.
> [Species: Aether Larva (Unknown Variant)]
[Status: Newly Hatched]
[Cognitive Function: 62% Active]
[Primary Ability Activated: Adaptive Consumption]
Suddenly—hunger.
Blinding, all-consuming hunger.
The kind that makes you want to bite the air just to see if it tastes like anything.
> "Okay. I accept my fate as a bottom-tier creature. But seriously, can someone hand me a snack before I start chewing my own goo?"
Then I felt them.
Others. Around me. Slippery, soft bodies wriggling weakly—probably other larva.
And my instincts whispered one word:
Eat.
> [Organic targets detected.]
[Beginning consumption process…]
No hesitation. I slithered toward one of the smaller ones.
It didn't even fight back.
I latched onto it. Its body melted into mine like butter on a stove.
Disgusting? Absolutely.
Satisfying? Worryingly, yes.
> [Consumption complete. Biomass absorbed.]
[Minor increase in muscle tissue and outer membrane.]
> "Oh great. I'm a baby monster with built-in blender mode."
And so, I kept going.
---
Three. Four. Five larva devoured.
Each meal sharpened my senses. Strengthened my body.
Even my thoughts became clearer. More... me.
> [New Ability Acquired: Minor Acid Secretion]
[New Ability Acquired: Vibratory Sensory Node]
[Level Up: Lv. 1 → Lv. 2]
> "Hah. Level up by eating your siblings. This world's moral system is definitely broken."
Now I could feel subtle vibrations.
I was in some kind of pulsating organic cavern—walls made of glowing membrane, ceiling dripping with mucus.
The whole place felt alive. Breathing.
Most of the other larva were gone. Devoured. Dead. Or maybe evolved?
Whatever the case, something stirred inside me.
A pull. A nudge.
An instinct.
> [Migration Instinct Triggered.]
[Seeking external energy source…]
Ahead, I sensed light. Faint, purplish. Filtering in through a crack in the cavern wall.
I wriggled toward it.
And when I finally emerged...
---
"What the... Are those two moons? And why are they purple?!"
The sky looked like a psychedelic fever dream.
Two moons—one large, one small—glowed in unnatural hues.
The ground was covered in bioluminescent moss and twisted trees.
Freaky mushrooms pulsed faintly like dying glow sticks.
And somewhere in the distance…
something roared.
> "Okay. First impressions: this world is definitely on something."
But despite everything—the sky, the noise, the smell of fermented alien garbage—
I didn't feel fear.
Just one thought:
> "Finally... I'm out."
> "Time to live. Or at least, try not to die again."
---