[Felix's POV]
Waking up felt weird.
Every part of me felt like it moved differently, like my brain didn't operate my limbs normally.
That makes sense. I wasn't human anymore.
But I didn't open my eyes; I was in denial.
You would think that during my time in the egg, I would be prepared for this, but I was in the dark (literally and figuratively) and was otherwise occupied with thoughts of sleep and daydreaming about the future fantasies of my life.
Usually, those other reincarnation novels always skipped over this part anyway. Straight from crisis to power-up, no time spent on the sheer wrongness of being in a new body—
Know what, never mind, I am in a crisis right now.
No more pity party, I have a system, I am destined for greatness.
System Status!
[SYSTEM STATUS: HIBERNATION MODE]
[ESTIMATED RECOVERY TIME: UNKNOWN ]
I stared at the screen blankly, and then even that faded.
Great.
So I was awake. The system was asleep. And whatever nightmare of a body I was in had apparently decided now was a good time to introduce itself.
And I was not ready for that conversation.
Let's start with the basics. I opened my eyes.
My first thought: Something's differenthere.
The world snapped into focus in a way that made absolutely no sense.
Everything was huge.
Not metaphorically. Not "wow, this room is spacious." No—objectively, insultingly huge.
And the colours seemed sharper, almost too sharp and vivid; it was nauseating, I almost threw up.
I grimaced.
…That felt so different.
My face didn't scrunch the way it used to. The muscles didn't pull in familiar patterns. Instead, something tugged forward, heavy at the front, like my face had grown a handle.
That was when I realised I could feel my snout.
It extended forward from my skull, narrow and blunt, covered in black scales that seemed to coat everything. Breathing tickled it strangely, each inhale brushing nerves I definitely hadn't had before. My jaws felt heavy, pulling down the front of my face, and my tongue—
God, my tongue felt wrong, in so many ways.
I swallow experimentally and nearly gag,
RRRRRRrrrrrrrrr
I froze. What was that? I sounded like a damn cat purring.
The small movement sent a shock to my core, and my entire body shook as I tried to suppress the pain.
RRRRRR—rrk
I clamp down instinctively, lifting my arms to my face, and the sound chokes off into something embarrassingly small.
That's when it hits me.
…arm?
What comes up instead is a claw.
A tiny fingered claw.
Black. Slightly curved. Sharp-looking, sure—but attached to an arm that feels about as threatening as a toothpick with ambition.
I stare at it.
That's… me?
I rotate it slowly, watching how the joints bend. The motion pulls at something along my side, the wings.
Wyvern, right, not dragon.
Slowly, painfully, I took inventory.
Four limbs total. Two legs. Two arms with wings fused into the forearms. Membranes stretched when I moved, pulling at muscles that felt like they were doing double duty and failing at both.
My shoulders felt wrong.
Nature couldn't decide whether to give me hands or flight, and apparently chose both, badly.
Then my tail twitched behind me.
I try to hold it still.
It flicks again.
Fantastic.
Like any being that recently got a tail, I turned instinctively to take a look at it.
RRRRRRrrrrrrrrrr—
The pain shifts as I move, not increasing, not decreasing—not just pain but an unravelling of my being everywhere, constant, like my entire existence is a bad idea, my body is protesting in unison.
I bite down on whatever the hell my mouth is now and manage to keep the sound from turning into something even more humiliating.
Crap! This hurts so much!
I feel like I'm coming apart slowly, that if I stop focusing, I'll just… dissipate, leak out through the cracks of my core.
One single thought reverberated through my mind.
Something is very wrong with me.
Then panic follows, because once you realise something is wrong, your brain helps you by listing how many ways you are screwed.
Stop, don't spiral again.
OK inventory again while I am still calm.
I am a wyvern. Not a dragon.
Unlike dragons, which are huge, bulky, annoyingly pompous with wings on their back, wyverns are… practical.
Two legs. Two arms. Wings awkwardly fused into the forearms like nature couldn't decide whether to give me hands or flight and chose both, badly. My shoulders feel wrong because they're doing double duty.
And I'm tiny.
Not "cute" tiny, the I "could be stepped on by accident" tiny.
Pathetic.
And yet—there's a flicker of a treacherous thought beneath the self-loathing.
My claws are sharp, even like this, I can feel it. They're real claws. Not decorative. Not soft. If I had the strength, if I had the size—
I could be kind of cool-looking.
My tail flicks again.
I don't tell it to.
It just does.
"Cut that out", it didn't listen.
Sure, why not?
I swallow hard, feeling my throat move in a way that's too narrow, too long, too… animal. My snout dips slightly as I do, throwing off my sense of balance again.
Nope. No. This is fine. This is survivable. People have dealt with worse.
Probably.
Pain shoots up again as my rage reared its head.
There is one person responsible for this pain.
Cedric.
I knew his name like the back of my hand. It was because of him, whatever he did, that I was feeling like this---like held together by glue and duct tape, ready to collapse after one huge wind.
RRrrraaawwwweee—
The sound crawls out of me again, a low and broken roar signifying my rage and pain, and this time I didn't stop it.
Even now, I could feel him through the bond, his presence huge, not just physically (though I am sure he is, since I'm the size of a teacup) but spiritually, his mana enveloped me like a blanket, keeping me whole and safe.
I hate it.
I hate how weak I feel.
And for the first time in my entire two lives, I want to kill someone.
.
.
.
.
.
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