Veteran

I spotted the leader outside of the formation sending out a tendril toward me.

I am sure he is curious about this phenomenon.

Probably wanting more of whatever I was.

I immediately counter with my own tendril and smash it against his it is more powerful instantly dissipating his.

I commence to attack him with as many arrows as I can muster spinning them so that they gain extra penetration against its energy shield.

As it made contact I could tell that the creature was not expecting such an intense and powerful counter-attack but his shield held off barely.

I had another arrow moving towards it.

It nimbly jumped back and started weaving around barking an order at the ones siphoning.

"Hurry up! I can't hold on against this rock's blessing hurry and expose the core".

Along with the girl's memories I gained access to the language being used.

I couldn't target the creature as it was nimbler than a monkey and three times as fast.

I couldn't get a grasp on it.

It didn't take long for them to expose my light white core which they abruptly smashed to end the attacks.

I hoped that this would be it that I would not have the pain crash into me that I would die for good and my consciousness would erode away slowly.

I was sure to be let down and eternity continued.

In my incubation station, I waited to focus on a single point and focus on getting my shimmer back, but to no avail.

I would get birthed into one creature or another but never more than a day or two.

It was nice to breathe and feel and smell sometimes but that was always short-lived until I moved on to my next incubation station most of the time not knowing how I even died except for a few times.

Hundreds of lives later and after an unfathomable amount of time in the blender I found myself in a soft and warm incubation station one I recognized to be a womb, not an egg.

As I lay in my incubation station, I focus on a single point this time though it seemed different.

I had reflexes before leaving the incubation.

I had all five fingers when I woke up the third time.

I am a humanoid!

I hope I wasn't a chimpanzee or something but honestly, even if I was, I would still be happy.

Another change I noticed was that I built shimmer or blessing as it was called in my rock life while I was in incubation which made me question my current situation.

Did humanoids in this world have a longer incubation period?

I was able to at this point stay awake for six hours mind you I kept time by counting for many eons, saying it was a habit was an understatement.

Around the hundredth time I awaken, I see the light.

'Here it comes' I thought.

If I had motor control skills I would have crossed my fingers.

My vision is blurred which coincides with what a baby should be seeing.

I could not use my sense outside my body honestly it did not extend an inch past my consciousness yet.

I hear grunting and a female voice speaking in a language I could not understand feeling a sharp pain in my calves has me flinching and screaming out.

It seems they wanted to test me out I am sure most babies cry coming out of the womb instead of like a veteran at it who has done it countless times.

Being tossed into the blender so many times from the incubation station gave me a whole new appreciation for existing.

Life truly is a rare thing.

I was wrapped in linen which was a great sign for me because it meant I had a caregiver that wasn't planning on committing infanticide… at least not yet.

I strained to stay awake as I was carried for some time before I was deposited into a not-so-comfortable but somewhat soft surface with wailing all around me.

I could hear all the other children crying I suspect I am in some sort of nursery.

I begin to take inventory of my person and notice the key differences of this humanoid body, I was a boy.

They did not bother to put on a diaper I was still in the same wrapping that I was born in so it was pretty easy getting that down.

I had ten toes and ten fingers I just couldn't tell my skin tone visual perception was off the table I could only listen.

I begin to shut down my senses one at a time and go into a meditative state.

Surely it must have looked uncommon in a room full of crying babies the only one with his eyes closed and seemingly at peace with the situation.

I find that it is easier to accumulate energy in this form as it was coming in from all around me through the seven orifices.

I make the most out of it by taking in deep breaths and holding it in as long as I can before exhaling tightening my anus so that I can keep the energy in as long as I can.

Unlike my rock form, I cannot simply layer the minerals on top and absorb at my leisure.

I do this until I slip out of consciousness three hours later.

When I awaken it is to something that I have not really felt in a long while, hunger.

A deep and insatiable hunger from my stomach made me open my mouth and scream at the top of my lungs.

It hurt.

I didn't think this kind of hunger pain was normal.

Was it because of my training?

Shortly after I was being picked up and by the sounds of it so were the rest of the children and being fed.

I suckled until I was full and didn't stop then either.

If anyone can try going eons without the sense of taste and then tell me if they wouldn't be sucking on this breast as hungrily as I am I would call them a liar.

I was not burped and placed back into what I assume was a crib as soon as I unlatched from the breast.

Instead of training this time, I waited.

I wanted to stay awake for this and see how long the feeding schedule was so that I do not over-tax myself and cause irreparable damage to this young body.

This was my first humanoid shape after all, and I was not ready to go back to being my parent's food.