Reincarnated

'That car accident ...'

Reiss Wilde. A salaryman from an infamous black company on planet Earth, was reported getting run over by a truck the moment he was done doing his overtime on an unfortunate night.

He had always thought his life was painfully ordinary, defined by endless days of overtime in a soulless office. But fate seemed to have other plans for him. 

It all happened on that fateful night after a grueling workday, he walked down a street with usual traffic flow.

Suddenly, A truck went off the street and entered the sidewalk. Smashes Reiss head on. Dragging his body and squishing his body on to a wall with insane speed. Pain was brief butthe truck crushed him with devastating force. His vision blurred as blood painted the concrete wall. Making him instantly dead.

'I did not know that it would turn out like this …'

He thought of all the things he missed in life. Unfulfilled dreams, love that he had never found, the happiness he'd been chasing but never quite reached. Tears welled in his eyes, one sliding down his cheek as darkness began to swallow him.

A tear trickled down from his left eye on the moment of his death.

'It's all black now. The curtains … are closed.'

…

The silence that followed was deafening, no sound, light, or sensation. But it didn't last.

Reiss hears something peaceful. Something that has never happened in bustling cities. Sounds of nature. 

'But why are there some birds chirping?' He thought to himself.

The sound was faint. His thoughts uncleared, disoriented by the noise that had no place in the nothingness he would have expected. As the chirping grew louder, accompanied by a rustling near him, air blew beside him.

The rustle is getting louder. Then after a while, there is clearly something touching him in the middle of darkness.

Reiss tried to open his eyes again. It was as if lifting a mountain, but when he succeeded, the sight before him made his heart touched.

He was startled. Some unknown faces were staring at him. It was not how the faces were staring at him. More like, what faces that stare at him that surprised him the most.

His mind is lowkey imagining the faces of doctors or nurses that were able to resurrect him from flatlining on a hospital bed. Or friends and coworkers that stay by his side. Or maybe families and relatives.

In fact, he wasn't in a hospital bed, surrounded by worried doctors and the steady beeping of machines. Nor was he in some otherworldly paradise or even a realm of eternal hellfire. No, what greeted him was far stranger.

They were tigers! They were looking down on him.

Not just any tigers but enormous creatures with furred faces, soft ears that twitched ever so slightly, and massive fangs protruding from their mouths. Despite their formidable appearance, their gazes were gentle, even tearful..

There were various kinds of expressions. But most of them were expressions of relief. Even though tears trickle from their faces.

Reiss looks on his periphery. A circular ceiling made of dirt that is somewhat neatly made. With a big lamp hanging from its ceiling. Books that are laying on the floor. Even though there are some empty book showcases hanging on the wall.

But there are some leaves of a coconut tree lying on another spot on a corner. There is a sleeping tiger lying on top of it. Surrounded by another set of tigers that were looking at her. But instead of relief on their faces, tears of sorrow and anguish were coming from them. 

A pool of blood gushing from the belly of the sleeping tiger. There is no more breathing formed on her torso. But a faint smile on her lips.

She was dead.

'But why am I in the middle of a pack full of tigers?'

Reiss tries to raise his arm. A tiny and squishy paw coming from Reiss' arm.

His voice didn't come out as he'd intended. Instead, a strange squeak escaped his mouth. Panic set in as he tried to move his arms, only to find something horrifyingly wrong. Instead of hands, his limbs ended in tiny, squishy paws covered in fur.

No! He touches his delicate arms and tiny body.

'I am a baby tiger?! This … is what I am reincarnated into?'

In somewhat of a panic, he tries to free himself from the gazing eyes. Reiss tries to hold the ground firmly with all his 4 legs. But collapsed instantly. 

He tries to scream with all his voice. But it turns out that everyone is cheering at him and giving Reiss a pity.

Some of the tigers gave a somewhat strange liquid in a puddle on the ground.

Reiss instantly feels thirsty at the sight of that. Instantly drag himself closer to the liquid

'Good!'

…

Time passed, and Reiss is known as Zyrral among the tigers and began to grow into his new life. The initial shock of his transformation faded, replaced by a resolve to adapt. His tiny body grew stronger with each passing day, and his movements became more coordinated.

Not only that, he also has the appearance of the previous Saber Tooth Tiger. It was clear that Zyrral was no ordinary tiger. His fur, a striking blend of silver and gold, glimmered in the sunlight, making him stand out among his peers. His strength and agility far surpassed that of other cubs, and he quickly earned a reputation as a prodigy within the pack.

The elders began whispering about Zyrral's destiny. Stories of ancient saber-toothed kings and divine blessings swirled through the pack, and many believed that Zyrral's unique appearance was a sign of something greater.

One morning, a big Saber Tooth Tiger named Ramel came to Zyrral on his throne. He is the tribe counselor and responsible for guiding a soon-to-be king before their coming of age.

"Zyrral, one day you will inherit this tribe in your coming of age. You will be a magnificent king and lead the tiger tribe towards its greatness once again."

Little Zyrral is actually happy with this outcome. Lifetime working and loyalty at that company does not guarantee a satisfying outcome. Extreme luck is what he needs to be in this position. And he is one hell of a lucky guy.

Reiss in all his life served a company that was sucking every drop of life in him. And it's all for naught. He had been a gloomy cog in a merciless machine, unappreciated and can be sacrificed. Reiss won't ever enjoy his pension money, or meeting with the love of his life. The wheels of fate were not on his side.

Now as Zyrral, he wants to be served. His fellow saber tooth pays him tribute as if he was a god. If could, he wants the universe circling around him. Bringing maximum good luck to him.

One day, several of his retainers presented a potential mate in front of his throne. Unfortunately, Zyrral still does not have any interest in female tigress. His preference still stuck with him as Reiss. A human female.

'Maybe in time I will grow to like at least one of them.'

There is a certain saber tooth that is somewhat different from the rest. Pale yellow fur but her face looks really bubbly. This stands out as having more beauty than the rest of them.

He raises his paw towards the pale beauty. Chooses her as a potential mate for now. He hopes that someday he will love the pale beauty and being happy ever after.

…

Several years later, Zyrral is stronger than his previous years. Having a bigger body, faster speed, and kingslike fur than most of his peers, making his reputation were known within other beast species and the six major houses from the human species.

No one dares to mess with the saber tooth tribe due to their high morale of a new soon-to-be king.

But it was the Rite of Passage that goes through his mind.

The sacred event marked the transition from cub to king, a trial that tested not just physical prowess but also a leader's spirit, resolve, and compassion.

It was also the coming of age of a saber tooth. The moment they crossed the barrier between a cub and a grown tiger. This year's particular rite of passage is especially important for a soon-to-be king Zyrral.

The tribe wanted to see their soon-to-be king prevail. They were aching to make the king succeed the Rite of Passage. Hell, even the organizer wants to rig the passage to make Zyrral's trial as smooth as possible.

Unfortunately this is a sacred event. Tradition that always existed long before the ancestry of the Saber Tooth Tiger. Tampering with the tradition will bring a massive consequences and bad luck to the tribe.

If he does not succeed, he will have to listen to his counselor while still not being the true king for another year.