1 Leaving Humanity

Complete darkness surrounded Ozul as he floated in warm tranquil water. "Where am I? What's happening!?" he thought. Ozul felt panic taking hold as he recalled his last moments, "I was rushing to work… I was on the walkway, and I fell face first into the street. A girl screamed and I heard car horns... I died." No comprehensible thoughts came to Ozul as sadness, shock and anger overtook him. His emotions ran wild as he tried to scream and cry but nothing came. His paralyzed body simply floated in the water as his disturbed mind wept in frustration.

"I shouldn't be dead! I had just gotten my first serious job after university. I was going to prove to myself that I can succeed in life!"

Ozul recalled the memory of his death and was absorbed in self-pity. The girl's scream piercing his ears as the deafening car horn blared and finally the impact of the car's front tire driving over his head. It was impossible to tell how much time had passed, but it felt like an eternity in the absolute darkness.

"Is this what being dead is like? Floating forever with only your own mind and memories for company? Where is the God that most believe in to send me to heaven or hell?!"

As Ozul started to feel his sanity slipping his vision began to clear. He could make out small specs of light dancing in the darkness.

"Hello, you worthless human!" Yelled a deep irritated voice "Listen closely, I have a lot of these to do and I am not repeating myself. I am a God of Reincarnation and you Ozul Arkival were chosen at random and killed so the world I look after can replenish its soul count. You will be reincarnated to Eldlern a world of magic, monsters, and human civilizations. A plague created by a Demon Lord was released into the world and has been killing indiscriminately for the last fifteen years. The souls of the dying are too weak to reincarnate so I have pulled you and two thousand other humans from your world into mine. I will be randomly reincarnating you as some type of life. As compensation, I am allowing you to keep all your memories from your previous world. I will also be giving you the appraisal skill to help fill in the gaps of your knowledge. This skill will allow you to see the abilities of other lifeforms including yourself."

As the voice spoke Ozul's rage grew. "Do I have any say in this?!" he yelled. "What gives you the right to kill me?! Were you the reason I fell into the street!?"

"Don't speak to me like you have any authority!" bellowed God's voice.

Tortuous pain erupted from Ozul's body as his feeling returned and his limbs began to move. The specs of lights began to glow brighter as they enveloped him. Transporting Ozul from the tranquil water and away from God's voice. It felt like his entire being was exploding and reshaping. Images of his life flashed before his eyes, even those which he had long forgotten. He saw himself growing up in solitude. Attending the funerals of most of his relatives and parents. Barely graduating University and finally getting his first job as a microbiologist. Once the flashes stopped and the pain and anger dwindled Ozul felt defeated. Watching his memories race before his eyes gave him a new understanding of how sad his life had been. Ozul had no one to grieve his death. "This could be a new beginning for me, he thought optimistically." For the first time since his accident a determination and excitement grew in him.

Ozul began to see his surroundings. He found himself encircled by cold wet boulders in a massive cavern. Dozens of shadowy wisp-like creatures floated all around, flying in no particular direction. It reminded him of looking into an aquarium and seeing the encaged fish swimming along in their depressed existence.

"Well, this doesn't look promising," Ozul thought as his excitement was abruptly crushed. He tried running his fingers through his hair but came to a horrifying realization. "What the hell?! Where are my arms?!" he screamed, or at least he tried to. The only noise he made was a snarl. A sudden nauseating feeling washed over him, his body felt wrong and distorted. Shocked, Ozul froze and thought, "I'm not human!" Taking a deep breath, he twisted and turned trying to see his body. To his surprise, Ozul began floating as he shifted his weight. Alarmed at his rising body he peered down, and terror filled him. He looked similar to the creatures flying overhead. He had sections of darkened ribcage sticking out of a ghostly black body. He had no arms or legs, and everything was shadowy and shifting like a slow-moving current. Stunned, Ozul's mind went blank before rage overtook him. He shrieked and growled, attempting to scream curses at the God of reincarnation. His anxiety and frustration made him want to vomit and deny reality. "I am a monster! Is this Hell? This can't be real! I must have gone insane and am imagining everything!"

Minutes passed while he hoped to wake from his nightmare, but nothing changed. Forcing himself to calm down, he closed his eyes.

"How can I experience a better life than before if I'm not even human? However, this is a new world maybe being a monster isn't so bad." Ozul tried to comfort himself, telling potential lies that he hoped were true. He sighed, feeling exhausted from his surging emotions and the shocking events.

"The God said something about an appraisal skill. I should try and use it, 'gerrrrr," Ozul growled as he attempted to speak. Shuttering at his own distorted voice he looked down at his new form and thought, "appraise". Immediately a transparent gray box appeared in front of him displaying his abilities.

Species: Disturbed Umbra

Level: 1

Experience to next level: 0/100

Health: 100

Strength: 9

Dexterity: 24

Wisdom: 8

Intelligence: 110

Species Advantages: Darkness Immunity

Skills: Strong Bite level 1, Night Vision level 1, Appraisal max level

Titles: Blessed Reincarnation (Someone who a God has allowed to keep their memories from a previous life)

Curses: Your race was cursed by a god and will forever be extremely vulnerable to light

Ozul stared at the grey message box rereading his status. "I am a Disturbed Umbra…" He felt his anger rising again but refused to give in. "I need to stay calm and think rationally. I don't know what dangers are close and even if I'm not a human I still want to survive."

Fear began to take root as he peered around the cavern. There were no movements besides the other Umbras who ignored his presence. He began floating towards the wall to have better situational awareness. The grey box followed behind him until he thought, "exit" and it disappeared. It felt strange to float as his wisp body was not pushing the air aside but passing through it. The slight wind chilled his darkened bones, the most physical part of his existence. The experience was bizarre and made him feel the most inhuman since his arrival. Ozul attempted to move his arms to block the wind but was again reminded of his new form. He felt like his arms were still there and usable, but it was an illusion.

"I wonder if this is what phantom limbs are like?" he sorrowfully thought as he reached the wall.

After ensuring he was still safe Ozul appraised himself again and examined his status. "Darkness immunity sounds nice, but how can darkness even hurt me? How bad is this vulnerability to light thing? Hopefully, it's not bad and just means I get sunburns easily…" Ozul recalled the videogames he previously played on earth and compared them to his new world of Eldlern. They both had leveling systems and skills or abilities as well as monsters and humans. "If this world is like the games I used to play then I may have a shot of survival. I can't rush into anything though, and I must confirm all my assumptions before acting."

A loud growl echoed through the cavern breaking Ozul's train of thought. The Disturbed Umbra floating around him quickly flew to a large opening on the far side of the cave. The opening was a substantial crevasse near the ceiling surrounded by stalactites.

"What's happening? Where are they going?" Ozul thought as he followed the rest of his new kin towards the opening. He felt it safer to remain with them until he was confident with his new body. As Ozul flew, he started to see a mixture of plants and mushrooms growing from the cracks around the cavern. When he arrived at the opening he glanced back and saw dozens of Disturbed Umbras pouring into the cave, ferociously fighting to get into the opening first. Their growls become more frantic as the vegetation stopped emerging. Suddenly, a violet illuminating glow emanated from the plants annihilating hundreds of Disturbed Umbras at once. Shrieks filled the air for only seconds before complete silence fell. Ozul floated in the opening awestruck at the spectacle and thought, "I am f#@!ed."