Darkness swallowed everything.
Not the kind that cradles you in bed or lulls you to sleep.
This was a breathing darkness.
Heavy. Watching. A suffocating abyss that pulsed with dread. It felt alive—sentient—like it wanted me to suffocate beneath it. Shapes moved through it—slick, serpentine things brushing against my skin like ropes soaked in oil. Some were small. Others felt too large to comprehend.
And somewhere in the black, something clawed.
Scrape. Scratch. Dig.
A shape emerged—lit by a faint, diseased glow. Its head was unmistakable: an eagle's beak twisted into a snarl. But its body was all wrong. Muscular. Equine. Its wings were torn parchment, frayed at the edges, ragged like forgotten scripture eaten by time.
It raked the soil with talons thick as bone, unearthing something small. Twitching.
Alive.
It didn't hesitate.
It tore into it.
I couldn't scream. Couldn't move.
The ground gave way beneath me like wet paper, and I fell.
Down.
Down.
Down.
Before I understood what I had become, the memory of my death punched its way through the fog.
My name? Doesn't matter.
I forgot it. Even if I hadn't, it wouldn't mean anything anymore.
Back then, I was a waste. A perfect disappointment.
My parents had molded me like wet clay into the image they wanted: a politician like they was. A figurehead. A flawless puppet with polished shoes and polished lies.
Private tutors. Fancy dinners. Smiles that cut like razors.
They tailored me for perfection.
Advance studies, Studying abroad.
I wanted none of it.
So I pissed it all away.
I drifted. Drank. Let the disappointment steep in my father's voice every time he looked at me.
Once, he told me I'd never amount to anything.
I made sure he was right.
The last thing I remember?
I was drunk.
Slumped against a cold brick wall, rain soaking my clothes, forehead pressed to crumbling mortar. I was trying to get home—or maybe just anywhere dry.
A scream sliced through the downpour. A woman's voice. Raw and panicked.
Through blurred eyes, I saw the alley: a man had someone pinned. I couldn't see her face—just limbs kicking under his weight. Her cries cracked the silence, edged with pure terror. Steel flashed under the streetlight. A knife.
My feet kept moving. I told myself someone else will help.
No one came.
That's when I saw her face.
Emily.
The bartender.
She never pried when I stumbled in wasted. She'd pour me drinks, sneak me water when she thought I was too far gone. Once, I passed out in her bathroom, curled under the sink like a mutt. She didn't kick me out. Just gave me medicine. Sat with me. Made me feel like I matter. I felt like I was seen for the first time.
She was kind.
And she was going to die.
I pivoted, running toward the alley, voice breaking as I shouted.
"HEY!"
The man's head snapped toward me.
Flash.
BANG.
Buried. Trapped in rot and rock.
My new body felt wrong. Cold. Slick. Limbs moving in strange ways that didn't belong to me.
Panic surged.
Was I… a worm?
No. Worse.
I wasn't human anymore.
A sickly green glow flickered in the void, blinking slowly, like the heartbeat of a dying star.
A screen floated before me.
[SYSTEM INITIALIZED]
Species: Lesser Serpent
Level: 1
HP: 10 / 10 SP: 10 / 10
Unspent Stat Points: 10
Skill Slots: 3 Attunement Slots: 1
Skills Learned: None
Attunement: None
BASE STATS:
STR: 01 DEX: 01 INT: 01 RES: 01
END: 01 VIT: 01 FAI: 01 LUK: 01
Was this a hallucination?
Everything felt too real. The chill in my flesh. The way I slithered instead of walked. The cold taste of earth on my tongue.
A whisper echoed in my skull like static:
"You will be reborn… and given the capacity to evolve. I hope you live up to the power you gain in die in mediocrity."
I used to joke about reincarnation. That I'd come back as something better. Maybe a lion. Maybe a King.
Instead, I was a snake.
With a HUD.
Great.
Three swirling vortexes hovered in front of me. Each one pulsed with light and power—Emerald, Azul, and Crimson.
[CHOOSE YOUR ATTUNEMENT]
⚠️ WARNING: Attunements are binding.
This choice defines your evolution, combat style, and fate.
Each path includes a unique curse. These may:
– Permanently alter stat growth
– Impair visibility, movement, or perception
– Invite hostile creatures
– Mutate body or twist mental state
– Trigger past karma or unknown debts
Some attunements are unstable. Others irreversible.
You have been warned. Choose wisely.
I barely read the warning paying it no mind
▸ Path of the Basilisk
Element: Water & Poison
Traits: Amphibious, venom glands, herbal knowledge
Evolutions:
– Basilisk (100 XP)
– Hydra (1 in 1,000,000)
– Leviathan (1 in 1,000,000,000,000)
Curse – Venomous Soul:
– Healing effects reduced by 30%
– Small creatures react violently or flee
▸ Path of the Drake (My Choice)
Element: Earth & Gravity
Traits: Hardened scales, tremor sense, terrain manipulation
Evolutions:
– Drake (100 XP)
– Dilong (1 in 1,000,000)
– SHEN (1 in 1,000,000,000)
Curse – Cloak of Dread:
– -40% vision
– -10% dexterity
– Emits passive life aura
– Weakens interaction with light-based beings
▸ Path of the Wyvern
Element: Fire & Thunder
Traits: Burst damage, rage amplification
Evolutions:
– Wyvern (100 XP)
– Dragon (1 in 1,000,000,000,000)
Curse – Wrathful Flame:
– Aggro ×2
– Enemies detect you easier
– Karma becomes chaotic
Dragon sounded powerful—but its curse turned the world into a death trap. That's too much work.
Basilisk was clever, but that seems like too much responsibilities.
I needed strength. I needed defense.
Earth. Gravity. I selected the Path of the Drake.
[ATTUNEMENT GRANTED: EARTH / GRAVITY]
Bonuses Gained:
– Minor Earth Resistance
– Tremor Sense
– Burrowing Efficiency
Curse Applied – Cloak of Dread: Note this evolve with mind.
– Vision reduced by 40%
– Dexterity impaired
Darkness deepened across my vision like a film. Shapes blurred and staggered. My steps grew heavy.
If anything attacked now, I was done.
[SELECT THREE SKILLS]
Skill: | Cost | Description
-------------------------------------------
Earth Spear | 2 SP | Launch a spike of rock at a target
Stalag-Might | 3 SP | Summon 1–3 stone spikes from the ground
Gravity Slap | 4 SP | Slam target with heavy gravity for 3 sec
I took all three without hesitation.
SP Remaining: 1
My stat points needed distributing, so I followed my gut.
+5 Luck – maybe it'll save my cursed ass
+3 Vitality – help me tank something
+2 Endurance – for stamina
[STATUS – LEVEL 1]
HP: 20 / 20 SP: 10 / 10
Attunement: Earth / Gravity
Curse: Cloak of Dread
SKILLS:
– Earth Spear
– Stalag-Might
– Gravity Slap
STATS:
STR: 01 DEX: 01 INT: 01 RES: 01
END: 03 VIT: 04 FAI: 01 LUK: 06
As I adjusted to my new body, a scent hit me—moist air, wet stone, and algae.
The pond appeared just beyond a rock bend, still and shimmering like glass. Fat frogs sat on warm stones, their throats bulging as they croaked in rhythm.
I was starving.
I dove in, my body cutting through the water with unnatural grace. Beneath the surface, movement shimmered—fish, lazy and unaware.
I lunged. Fangs sank into flesh.
[NEW SKILLS UNLOCKED]
– Beginner Diver: Can stay submerged for up to 20 minutes
– Beginner Hunter: Higher chance to catch small prey
I chewed through the fish and rose to the surface.
Without warning, dozens of frog tongues lashed out—whipping toward me like barbed cords.
I didn't see them. My cursed vision fucked me.
I dove back under as instinct took over.
One frog followed.
Big mistake.
Gravity Slap.
The frog was crushed against the pond bed.
Stalag-Might.
Three jagged spikes impaled it. One pierced clean through its throat.
The water filled with blood—and something stirred.
As I went to finish it off something ominous brought chills down my serpent body.
A shadow blitzed through the murk.
A pitbull-sized piranha shredded the dead frog in half.
Another turned toward me and sank its teeth into my side.
[CRITICAL HIT – HP: 20 → 10]
Pain shot through me like fire.
My tail whipped, and I launched upward.
Above, five tongues cracked through the air, snapping toward me mid-leap.
In a desperate move, I cast Gravity Slap on myself, yanking my body downward.
WHAM.
HP: 10 → 6
The attack missed.
Dazed, I twisted and dragged myself to shore, still bleeding, SP drained, vision hazy.
Frogs leapt after me—dozens.
I called the last of my strength.
Stalag-Might.
Two frogs were impaled midair.
SP: 0. No energy. More coming.
From the shadows, two serpents emerged.
One shimmered blue. The other burned red.
Mist poured from the blue one, freezing the frogs where they stood.
The red one hissed and unleashed fire.
Frogs fried. Screaming. Gone.
[LEVEL UP: 2 → 3]
+4 Stat Points
+1 Skill Slot
I backed away, ready to flee.
The blue serpent gently coiled around me. Her touch didn't hurt. It healed me.
[NEW SKILL UNLOCKED: Healing Touch – Level 2]
"You alright?" she asked softly.
I stared. "You're like me?"
She smiled. "Yeah. Reborn."
Her shimmering scales glowed beneath the cave light.
"What path did you take?"
"Basilisk," she said. "Poison. Healing. It helps."
I let out a shaky breath. "I went for defense. Figured I'd need to be sturdy. Turns out, this place is hell."
"You survived." She gave me a half-smile. "Defense means nothing without a good plan."
Her words felt like warmth in my chest.
She looked at me more seriously. "Want to stick together? It's dangerous out here and us reborn must stick work together."
I nodded. "Yeah. I don't want to die again."
HP: 26 / 26 SP: 10 / 10
Attunement: Earth / Gravity (Drake)
Curse: Cloak of Dread
SKILLS:
– Earth Spear
– Stalag-Might
– Gravity Slap
– Earth Defense
PASSIVES:
– Beginner Diver
– Beginner Hunter
STATS:
STR: 01 DEX: 01 INT: 01 RES: 01
END: 05 VIT: 06 FAI: 01 LUK: 07
Behind us, the cave rumbled—stone shifting like it was breathing.
We not on earth anymore.
But I wasn't alone either.
And somehow, I survived.
That wasn't the end.
It was just the beginning.
(Inner thoughts)
…Oh shit—I forgot to raise my SP.
I'm gonna die if I keep making dumb choices without thinking.
I need to raise my SP to a good level maybe I could make a wall with Stalag-Might. But what will I do behind the wall.
I need to find a way to get arms and legs so I have more options than slithering away.