Acceptance of Change

I don't know how long it's been—maybe an hour, or two, or even longer...

I haven't moved even a millimeter since I woke up, just staring into nothingness.

I... I can't comprehend what is happening to me. How did I get here? How did I become this?

The monstrous beast had a strange, human-like look of worry and anxiety as it gazed down at its massive, powerful forelimbs—limbs that could shatter the hardest of materials and strike dread and terror into the heart of any creature unfortunate enough to come across it.

Where are my hands? Why do I have these things attached to me??

How the heck am I supposed to read books like THIS?!

With fury and confusion, I moved for the first time in this new body, slamming the ground furiously as though it was at fault for my current situation.

Screech!! The hard rock gave in like it was clay, the cave vibrating as though it was about to collapse again. This immediately snapped me out of my rage, and fear started to rise inside me.

I have to calm down. I can't move recklessly. The strength of this body is clearly too great for this cave. If I keep acting like this without control, I'll be buried here before I can even figure out what's going on.

Taking a deep breath, which made the rocks around me tremble, I calmed down and finally started to think. The shock had diminished a bit, though I was still clearly beyond words.

Let's take this systematically. What is the last thing I remember?

The library, John, thirst, hunger, dizziness, and the book!!

That book about shedding human skin to transform into beasts!!

It was true! It happened to me... this isn't a dream...!!

As the beast came to this sudden realization, its confused eyes dimmed, appearing lifeless for a few moments. But then a fire of fury rekindled, with shreds of madness glowing in them.

To hell with it! I... I don't want to be a beast! I want to read books! I want to go home!!

Abruptly, I stood up, and with all the fear, anger, and anxiety filling me, I started running toward the path stretching through the cave, completely forgetting my previous words about being careful. I believed that somehow, this would let me escape this terrifying new reality.

As soon as I stood up and put force into my body, I surged forward with such speed that before I could even comprehend what was happening, a wall zoomed toward me, followed by a powerful impact. Dust and rock fragments flew in all directions.

Outside the cave, near the side of a mountain, a massive magical boar was furiously eating a precious cluster of glowing flowers. Normally, it wouldn't dare touch such a treasure, but things were different now. The huge death snake, which claimed this place and the flowers, was nowhere to be seen. The boar, a dull-headed magical beast, didn't wonder why. It simply assumed it was lucky, unlike the other magical creatures that stayed away from this area.

As it enjoyed the sensation of power surging in its belly, a sudden tremor caught its attention. But all it had time to do was look left and witness, in horror, a massive hole appearing in the side of the mountain and a monstrous, winged tiger with horns zooming toward it in a flash.

Splat...

Damn it, damn it! What was that? Did I just pass through that animal??

After hitting the ground and breaking a few dozen trees, creating trenches in the earth, I finally came to a stop, buried deep inside a pit with blood and chunks of flesh all around me—and on me. Clearly, they came from that strange pig-like animal.

After lying in that pit for a few minutes, I finally reached the last step of my emotional rollercoaster: acceptance.

It's not that bad. At least I'm not dead. Even though I can't hold books anymore, I can probably get others to hold them for me while I read, right?

As long as I can keep reading, I don't care if I'm human or a monstrous beast!

Finally finding some peace of mind, my brain started to work normally again. Slowly and carefully, I began moving, trying to get out of the pit I had created. I concentrated intensely, using as little strength as possible, and slowly crawled out.

So, I'm in a forest, I said to myself, looking around at the towering trees and lush vegetation. The fresh air and blue sky created a beautiful, picturesque scene—if not for the destroyed trees, uprooted earth, and chunks of flesh where I had come from.

I need to be more careful, I said to myself as I looked at the destruction I had left behind from just running.

And that poor animal... its luck was truly bad to be in my way like that. I hope it rests in peace and doesn't resent me—it was an accident.

As a bookworm, I never had much experience with wilderness or animals. If I'd seen this much blood and gore before, I would have totally freaked out. But strangely, not even a single shred of dread appeared inside me as I looked at the massive amounts of blood and flesh around me.

Creepy... this is way too creepy...

I have to leave this place. I need a better look around so I can understand my current situation.

Slowly moving forward, trying not to lose control of my strength, I headed toward the mountain from which I had emerged. My plan was to get as high up as possible to see what was around me, maybe find some towns or cities.

As I moved, I thought to myself:

I wonder if I'm still on Earth?

That strange pig-like animal was something I'd never seen in any of the books I've read on wild animals. Even though it wasn't a subject I was particularly interested in, I'd still read dozens of books on it just for fun. I never read about any pig like that—it was huge, with horns... I think. I don't remember well. I only saw it for a few milliseconds before... well, before it exploded.

I stopped thinking about it, hoping it was just some strange animal I didn't know about and that this was still the same world I was used to...