Welcome to Patchwork
Deep in a forest somewhere, an egg the size of a football shook, then rattled, before finally cracking. From within, a scaled snout poked out, sniffing the air, before the egg gave way, spilling the little lizard out onto the forest floor.
"Ack!" They yelled, scrambling for a bit before re-orienting themselves. This was Mark, another reincarnator, one that had chosen to be reincarnated as a monster instead of a Hero, and had evidently chosen to be a dragon.
How original.
Taking a moment to spread his wings, the first thing the infant dragon did was open his stat page. Higher stats than the average infant dragon, according to what he'd been told, check. Cheat Skill that provided the ability to control other monsters after defeating them, check. Inventory, check. Contract-
Why was there a contract in his inventory?
Puzzled, a pair of clawed hands pulled out an entire leaflet of paper from thin air. The contract was exactly the one he'd remembered signing before being reincarnated. Probably nothing though, it just showed him what he'd chosen. Probably just a reminder?
He didn't feel like reading through the dozens of pages of terms and services anyways.
Stashing away the Contract, the hatchling headed off to begin its grand journey as a reincarnated dragon, not noticing the glowing eyes in a tree behind it. A pair of eyes that kept changing colours and patterns, paired with a mouth that could split a human's head in half, floating mid-air, watching the Reincarnator, chuckling to itself. Behind it, a wolf the size of a house snarled, expecting to find fresh prey, only to freeze at the sight of the disembodied face. The wolf was met with an upside down grin, complete with the hideous cracking of a spine almost folding in half. The wolf whimpered like a puppy, before running off, knocking down numerous trees in its path, and ripping the leaves off others through sheer wind pressure. In the blink of an eye, the wolf was all but out of sight.
"Ureheehee! Another new toy for me!" The being laughed, as it tracked the Reincarnator without a sound.
Watching them Obsessively.
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Two figures sat around a table in the middle of a grass plain, chatting over tea and cookies.
"Have you heard the news?" One asked. They were dressed in a black cloak that covered them from head to toe, their features hidden under their hood and a cloud of darkness. One bony hand stretched out to grasp the handle of their teacup, and they put it to what could be assumed to be their lips to drink. "There's been a new batch of Reincarnators."
"I hear the Elves have begun searching for their newest set of beloved ones, the Demons their gifted ones, and the Dwarves having begun construction on their latest weapons." The other replied. They were dressed like a plague doctor, clad in black robes and with a crow mask on their face. The mask opened up like a bird's beak, and they placed a cookie inside before closing it. A group of flies behind them fluttered over like butterflies, but a bit more grotesque. "Alright, alright, here you go." Picking up another cookie, they crushed it in their gloved hands before letting the flies feast.
"The Director's been busy, and so has Innova." The cloaked one continued. "Reina says one of them even ended up in the Forest of Frenzy."
The plague doctor winced under their mask. "I don't envy them, even though they'll be taken care of, in the worst way I can think of."
"My lady." A voice called out from beside the two. A cloud of mist appeared from thin air, and the Pale Horse strode forth, with Linya on its back. "I'm afraid we have to get back to work now."
"Ah, what a shame." The cloaked figure stood up with a sigh, and retrieved a scythe that was leaning on the side of the table. Linya stepped off the Pale Horse, standing beside the Horsewoman as they got into the saddle. The Pale Horse whinnied pleasantly as Death stroked its mane. "I'll see you later, Beelzebub."
"Bye Sis!" The plague doctor gave a wave, as the mist emerged once more, and vanished with its three occupants. They didn't get the chance to lean back into the chair though, as something snuck up behind them, the doctor reflected thousands of times in its massive beady eyes. With a buzzing sound that would give insectophobe's nightmares for life, a massive black fly the size of a boar barreled into the chair, giving its occupant a good spooking.
"Gah!" They recovered in an instant and grabbed the fly's head in both hands. "Naughty Pesti!"
The fly buzzed with satisfaction as the plague doctor stepped onto its saddle, followed by the cloud of flies. "Time to get to work as well, I guess."
With that, Beelzebub, the Horseman of Pestilence, took off, leaving the table for the next time it would be used.
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Somewhere in the ocean, in a cave deep under the sea, a small petite figure awoke. She gave herself a good morning's stretch, before diving into the water, exiting the cave, and swimming upwards. The neverending rock face contrasted with her gray-blue scales, and was illuminated by the light dangling from her head, tail fluttering gracefully as she arrived at her destination, marked by the symbol of a triangle the size of a merry-go-round in the rock-face. She knocked three times on the surface.
"Wakey wakey, Levi!"
The triangle glowed, before it began to fade into transparency, creating a massive cave in the side of the rockface. A bellow that shook the water rang out, before the darkness inside began to part, revealing a sea serpent that could only be described as colossal that began to swim out.
"Mornin' Marie." The serpent rumbled, maw stretching in a yawn.
"Morning!" Marie replied with a smile.
The two began swimming upwards together, out of the dark, inky depths of the sea. "Anyways, last night, Undine told me she found a contractor! Some Elven girl named Ellie, good for both of 'em!"
"Mhm." The serpent replied.
"Oh come on Levi, that means the fun stuff's about to happen!"
"We only ever get a fraction of the action, no one comes this far out in the ocean." Levi pointed out. "All we got last time was some lost idiot who wasn't even fun to scare with whirlpools."
"The Demon King's got a navy this time!" Marie giggled, as Levi's eyes widened at that new information. "We're getting centre stage for the water fight!"
"That's different then." The Serpent cracked what could pass as a smile. "What do we do this time? Geysers? Water-tornadoes? Really, really angry fish?"
As they broke the surface, Marie basked in the sunlight, tracing the clouds with a finger on her webbed hand. "We've got plenty of time to think about it."
Levi snatched a poor seagull out of the air as a snack. "D'ya think someone'll go for Atlantis for once?"
"Maybe! Hope they do though!" Marie gave a wave to a nearby boat. The man on board, who was dressed in a black business suit and busy with writing down notes, noticed the gesture, and gave a respectful bow, before returning to the helm and driving off, leaving a black box floating in the water. "Always so hardworking, I wonder if Innova gives him any breaks."
"Last time I checked, he doesn't need 'em. Spends time with his daughter while on the job, and they're both happy with it, not that his face can show happiness." Levi mused as they used their tail to draw the box closer. Marie opened it up to find it full of miscellaneous objects like candy, snacks and fish food.
"Guess that's another sign to get ready!" Marie beamed as she popped a piece into her mouth, before throwing an extra large piece to Levi. "I'll get my trident sharpened!"
"I think I'll pay Behemoth a visit. See ya' later, Marie." With that, Leviathan swam off, without causing so much as a ripple in the waves.
Marie gave her own wave, before diving back down to her cave, and placing the box safe and sound in the corner, giddy at the prospect of what was to come as she began sharpening her golden trident. "I can't wait!"
There exists a forgotten tale, meant for those who sought the city of Atlantis. Their predecessors who searched for it feared and prepared for the Leviathan, but that is exactly why they all failed.
For though none remember them, Mariana the Angler and her Trench still stand in the way.
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Kyle winced as he tried to sit up in his hospital bed, covered in numerous bandages and feeling soreness in his arms. The battle with the Orchestra was a painful one, and it was only that one blast of sound that had put both of them out of commission, let alone the rest of the members. They needed strength, and they needed it badly, it seemed.
With nothing to do, the Hero opened his inventory for the first time, frowning as he noticed the Contract. Maybe he'd read it later, but for now he was content with staring out the nearby window.
Kyle nearly fell out of the bed when he saw the landscape. Outside the walls, lush plains of grass and flowers blended into desert sands, which was right beside an icy winter wonderland covered in snow. He could've sworn he saw a polar bear hunting a camel.
"Oh, you're awake!" A nurse walked over. "It's a strange sight, isn't it?"
"What's wrong with the landscape?" Kyle asked, completely dumbfounded.
The nurse chuckled in response. "I suppose we all forgot to tell you, since it's a normal sight for us." She helped the boy to his feet and brought him closer to the window to see the sun setting over countless blended landscapes. It was like a collage, or even…
"Welcome to this wonderful world we call Patchwork."