WHAT did I just die from?!

As the sound of something rushing through the bushes grew louder, each rustle sharp and distinct, I froze. My wide eyes darted to Paws, who was also staring in the direction of the noise, his ears twitching nervously.

"What was that?" I whispered, my voice barely audible.

Paws turned to me, his usual expression unbothered. "I don't know, nya."

I resisted the urge to groan. Seriously? What's the point of having a system if it never knows anything?! But I bit my tongue, not wanting to waste time arguing when something potentially dangerous was charging straight at us.

The eerie atmosphere didn't help. Despite the sun shining through the trees, the dense forest around us made everything feel dark and oppressive. It was like I'd stumbled into a horror movie, and I wasn't even the protagonist—I was the expendable side character hiding behind a rock.

As the rustling sound grew louder, closer, I panicked. Without thinking, I dove under the unconscious girl, using her tiny frame as cover.

From my position beneath her, I glared at Paws. "I know, I know she's just a five-year-old kid, okay? But I'm a BABY! Give me some consideration, will ya?!" I hissed.

Paws tilted his head, his smug grin already forming.

"And don't you DARE even THINK about shouting 'pedo' again!" I added quickly, pointing at him with as much authority as a tiny, scared vampire could muster. "I swear, if you do, I'll make sure to have cat soup before the night comes. You got it?"

Paws floated a little higher, looking both amused and offended. "You wouldn't dare, nya!" he said, but his voice was quiet. Even he wasn't dumb enough to make more noise right now.

I stayed crouched, gripping the ground nervously. My heart—or whatever was replacing it these days—was pounding in my chest. My baby body wasn't helping either; every instinct screamed at me to curl up and cry, but I gritted my teeth and held my position.

And then, as I braced myself, the rustling stopped.

A low, guttural voice echoed through the trees.

"Well, well… what do we have here?"

I tried to shrink myself as much as possible, lying completely straight under the unconscious girl, desperately hiding beneath her clothes. My body was trembling, my mind racing.

No matter what you guys think or thought, I don't care. My life is more important. I don't want to die, okay? You wouldn't either, so no one gets to question my morals here. If this is what survival looks like, then so be it.

And let me tell you—I was absolutely, completely shit scared. The voice that followed only made it worse.

"Captain," it growled, deep and rough like gravel grinding against steel. "Look what I found—a young human child."

Captain? Did he just say 'captain'? I thought, my brain latching onto the word. The voice didn't sound human, but… could it be? Were they humans?

Curiosity got the better of me, even though I knew it was a bad idea. Slowly, ever so slowly, I slid the edge of the girl's clothes away from my face, just enough to peek with one eye. Just one little look, I told myself. Just to see who they are.

And then… I saw them.

You won't believe me, but—oh my god. My soul practically left my body. I froze, my mind blank, every rational thought replaced by sheer, unfiltered terror.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

The scream erupted from my tiny mouth, echoing through the forest. And then?

Yeah, you guessed it. My tiny body couldn't take it. I fainted on the spot, my vision fading to black as everything went dark.

Well, I guess the saying is true: curiosity kills the cat… or human… or vampire, in my case.

And guess what? We're back in my little cozy darkness, where I'm just floating around, unable to do anything.

But something was different this time. The voices—the man and woman, those higher beings, gods, or whatever they were—weren't talking. The silence stretched on, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

Then, finally, after what felt like an eternity, the man's voice broke the stillness.

"Sooo… now what? I think we messed up, didn't we?" he said, sounding genuinely lost. His tone carried the kind of guilt that only came from knowing you'd royally screwed up but didn't want to admit it outright.

If there was one good thing about this whole ordeal, it's that I've gotten pretty good at picking up emotions just from their voices. A side effect of floating around in this void, I guess. Maybe I'm a genius? Yeah, let's go with that.

As I was silently patting myself on the back, the woman's voice chimed in.

"Yeah, I guess so. I mean… we totally forgot about this," she said, her tone nervous but agreeing with him completely.

Forgot what? What are they talking about?

"We need to do something before someone else finds out," the man said urgently. "Or else it's gonna be a disaster."

Disaster?! My mind was spinning. What disaster? Why are they talking in codes?!

This serious tone wasn't just unsettling—it was downright terrifying. Imagine knowing that the people holding your fate in their hands are discussing some catastrophic mistake they've made, and it's about you. Yeah, that's not great for one's health—mental or physical.

As I spiraled into a pit of confusion and dread, the woman's voice cut through.

"Yeah, we need to change that shape. Never thought we'd forget to revert it back to its original form…" Her words were tinged with nervousness, as if she couldn't believe the mistake they'd made.

"Yeah," the man replied, clearly frustrated. "We really screwed up here. How did we forget such a big blunder? Still… I'm glad he was the only one to see it."

Wait… I froze. What exactly did I see?

"I don't blame him for dying out of shock, though," the man continued, his voice uncharacteristically sympathetic. "I mean, who in their right mind wouldn't be shocked to death after seeing that big d—"

"Talking like it's alive!" the woman interrupted, her voice practically squeaking. "Let's just revert it back to its original shape, quickly!"

Wait, WHAT?! My mind reeled. WHAT did I just die from?!