Pain was the first thing he felt.
But not the dull and distant kind of pain.
It was sharp and suffocating, radiating everywhere across his body as if he had been crushed, melted, and stitched back together wrong.
Dontaé tried to breathe but something clogged his throat.
No.
He didn't have a throat.
His panic surged.
He tried to scream but nothing came out. He tried to move his arms and legs, however, he couldn't feel them. His body felt soft, shapeless, and heavy, as if something was pressing him against the ground.
What the hell…
Suddenly fragments of memory flashed back into his mind.
Heavy rain.
His car is speeding on the highway.
The scream of twisting metal.
And then darkness.
The realization hit with terrifying clarity.
That's right, I died.
His panic spiked again, then abruptly stopped, but not because he had calmed down but because something else overrode it.
[Self Evolution in progress 22%]
[Soul Synchronization: 100%]
[Status: Fully Integrated.]
A familiar voice, calm and precise echoed directly in his mind.
Dontaé froze.
"…System? Is that really you? Wh.. what the hell. How is this possible? I died how are you still here?"
For a fraction of a second, disbelief drowned out everything else Then reality came crashing back.
His vision finally expanded. No more pitch black.
He was in a forest. It was night out but somehow he could still see clearly. He could tell that he was very low to the ground.The world loomed above him, everything seemed too massive.
He could make out the shapes of towering trees in the sparse light.
The surface beneath him was damp and uneven, soaked with moisture and the stench of wet earth.
And viscous blobs. They were everywhere. Dozens of them. All over the ground.
Gelatinous and almost transparent, with faintly blue-colored clear bodies. A white ball inside them. Many of their bodies were torn apart, others flattened. Some of them had their cores shattered.
He instinctively knew what they were. They were the remains of creatures just like him.
Understanding settled in.
Slimes.
He was a slime.
Before he could process the fact, the ground shook.
Heavy footsteps were coming over.
Voices followed—harsh, confident, and cruel.
"Make sure not to miss any. The Guild pays per core."
"Disgusting things. Weak monsters like you only even exist to farm experience and materials for chump change."
Humans.
Armed and Armored. And they were hunting for slimes.
Fear hit him like a hammer.
This was the same fear he'd felt years ago. He was cornered and powerless to resist.
Not again.
He forced himself to focus.
"System," he called out reflexively, "Explain. Now."
[Affirmative:]
[Current Form: Slime
[Detected that you are in imminent danger in an unknown location. It is recommended that you escape and hide somewhere safe immediately]
The footsteps were getting closer now. He could feel vibrations rippling through his soft body.
"What about abilities," he demanded. " Do I have anything?"
[Affirmative]
[Strange internal power detected.]
[Name: Infinite Forge.]
The name meant nothing to him at first. Then
Information flooded into his mind, not as words, but as instantaneous understanding.
Infinite energy. The power to create anything. Possibilities without limit. Pretty cool stuff.
For a split second, exhilaration cut through the fear. Then the caveat landed. If only his body couldn't handle it.
A boot slammed down not far away from him, crushing another slime into nothing.
"Found another—"
Dontaé didn't wait.
Do it.
He reached inward, toward the burning star he could feel deep in his core—toward Infinite Forge—and pulled. Just a little.
The effect was immediate and catastrophic.
Agony unlike anything he'd known tore through him.
His body convulsed, the surface boiling violently as energy surged through his body that was not meant to contain it.
[WARNING: Structural Integrity Failing.]
[WARNING: Core Collapse Imminent.]
Immediately he took off deeper into the forest, in the opposite direction of the approaching humans.
[Auto-pilot mode activated]
[Searching for suitable hiding spots]
His slimy body surged forward in a desperate, uncontrolled burst, propelling him across the forest floor like a living projectile. Trees blurred past as he meandered around them. His core trembling under the strain, cracks spiderwebbing through it.
But he didn't stop. He couldn't stop
The energy burned itself out violently, leaving him tumbling into a dark, narrow crevice between a few rocks.
Silence.
The footsteps faded. The voices disappeared.
Dontaé lay still, barely cohesive, his form trembling.
If slimes could gasp, he would've, right then and there.
Pain lingered deep in him, like something fundamental had been damaged.
[Critical Damage Sustained.]
[Core Stability: 12%.]
He laughed.
A weak, broken laugh to himself in his mind.
"Infinite Forge, huh" he laughed
"So that's the price of using it" he thought. "Power… without the sufficient strength to contain it is pretty terrifying."
"Plus almost getting killed two ways right after reincarnating, what kind of shit luck is this?"
As he lay there replaying the earlier events, images surfaced in his mind unbidden. Instantly souring his mood even further.
*******
I was just a child, but I was forced to witness the brutal killing of my parents. I saw there bodies on the floor, blood pooling beneath them.
The disgusting smiles of those detestable bastards who killed them for being unable to repay their loan, only to hold their debt like a leash around my neck.
The years spent as a tool for the profit of others. Forced to commit crimes, to obeying because disobedience meant death.
"Damn it"
"Even if I have to start from the bottom. I will never kneel again like that. No not in this life."
Not to humans, to other monsters. Or anyone or anything else.
His sudden flashback really pissed him off, but it also reminded him of his past conviction. "Wealth and power is the only l right way.
"I don't seek power to brazenly dominate others, but to make sure that I can if necessary. I will never allow myself to be at the mercy of others ever again."
"System," he thought, his voice steady despite the pain. "Survival is the priority now. I need time to grow quietly and to learn more about this new world."
"And for any fool crazy enough to try to make me their property again…"
He didn't finish the sentence.
He didn't need to.
[Acknowledged.]
[Primary Directive: Survival Optimization.]
In the darkness, his shattered slime body began to slowly pull itself back together ever so slowly.
And for the first time since his rebirth, he drifted into sleep.