Chapter 2
I stared at that planet that was slowly revolving for ages, and only snapped out of it when the star showed up in front of me. It was humming, and when it saw me next to the world projection seemed rather happy.
"Glad to see that we've made the right choice here in terms of the world you'll be going to. I've got the profile for your new race here for you, shall I project it instead of the globe?" I nod, more keen to look at the new information then stare more at a globe.
"Great! Personally, I think you've made a great choice of race. Very versatile, and famous for their beauty. Also, their survivability is top notch. If it weren't for their ascendance difficulty they would probably be able to rule. Oh, the problem I just mentioned should be solved for you, what with your freakish strength. Aaaand, there we go. Should come up soon." The whole time it was speaking the star had little blue blips surrounding it, probably arranging that screen. When it stopped and floated back besides me, a huge wall of text popped open. "I'll give you time to read it, call when you're done." Just like that, the star was gone.
As I wondered whether I should try find the beginning, realizing exactly how much I had to digest, my eyes caught on a picture. It, it was a fox. And it had, from first glance, several tails. I knew what it was as soon as I saw it, but my eyes were frantically looking for the start to confirm... found it. Kitsune, often otherwise known as nine-tailed foxes. In mythology, they bewitch humans and sleep with them, along with other mischievous acts. Starting from regular foxes, they cultivated to get more tails, with the end goal being the elusive nine tails. That's how it is on earth... I wonder how it translates in a world with no humans. I sat down to read the huge pile of information in front of me, determined to go into this new life being as prepared as possible.
"Kitsune are an elusive race, specializing in illusions and stealth. Their power is around average for a race of this world, but their speed and elemental abilities more then make up for it. Born with only one tail, which gives them their illusion powers, when they breakthrough they grow another. This is their biggest strength, as they're able to manifest their desired abilities with each new tail, but also their weakness, as the tails are an easy target. If a Kitsune's tail gets cut off, their cultivation gets set back to the last stage, and they have to regrow it. A kitsune does not have a finite amount of tails, so one being cut off does not permanently damage them if they can survive to regrow it. With one tail, a kitsune's lifespan is around 70 years, with the age of maturation to breed being around 12. With each tail it's lifespan doubles. If a kitsune loses a tail near the end of it's lifespan, it will begin to age according to it's previous one. This is a main cause of death in the race. Kitsune mostly live in one big settlement together, and do not interact with other races. They are highly prized because of their beauty, but are frail compared to most of those races and easily die in captivity. When they have few tails, they are rather fertile, but after approximately 5, their fertility decreases and they find it hard to have children. Female foxes go into heat for around 3 weeks a year, mostly in summer, while males are fertile at any time. Including that at the end feels a bit icky, but it's very helpful. It was mentioned earlier that all beasts can become humanoid, so maybe I'll find a humanoid I like and finally have kids."
I read out loud, summarizing all the important points while discarding insignificant information. Overall, this seems like a pretty good deal, and I won't need to interact with other races if I'm born in that large cushy settlement. I'm getting excited now. But, since I'm done, I need to call that star back. It said to just call, right?
"I'm done." It felt stupid to say that into the blank purple space, but quickly after the light of the star appeared. "That was quick. I'm lucky I didn't start anything important or this would be awkward. Can I assume you're ready to start looking for potential bodies? It's breeding season for them at the moment so there should be plenty of options. We have luckily been given clearance to look on the surface, but choose quickly before the energy runs out." It pulls down the info on the screen, but just before the star had a chance to do anything else, and vaguely fox shaped Spector appeared in front of us. It quickly lost it's shape, and became a black blob. The star looked over, and seemingly subconsciously reaches out to grab the blob. The screen reactivates, and zooms into the planet I looked at earlier. A scene in a snowy mountain cave appeared, but the star instead of carrying on stalls. It stares in horror at the image, then back at the blob that has already half disappeared. It looks at me, and says in an eerie voice,
"I've found you're new body. How coincidental." The blob fully vanishes, and the star expands on what it was saying earlier. "That body is still alive, despite the soul inside it being dead. It's perfectly compatible too. This seems suspicious, but I don't care. We really need you off our hands, and now the perfect solutions shown up. hahahaha!"
It's laughing maniacally, and I watch in half fascination and half horror as it get's closer to me. "This could end really badly. Where did the timid character from when you showed up go?" I was frozen in place before its majesty, the glimpse of it I'd seen earlier had not been a fluke in any way, and what was in front of me made me immensely glad these things couldn't seem to step foot on any planet. They should not exist anywhere they could interfere with life.
"I adapt quickly. Hopefully, as quickly as you do when you arrive in your new body. And hopefully next time you're here, You're well and truly gone." The star grabs me, and I feel as if electric currents are zipping through me as excruciating pain takes over my focus. In the background, I think I hear the stars final words; "Good luck. You'll need it in that awful hell hole." But I couldn't react. The brightness was my last image as I disappeared from that space. I was far gone. Gone on my way to the surface of a big brightly coloured planet.
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Even during the sweltering hot summer, many mountains were covered in snow. During the summer monsoons the snow would get replenished, leaving a lovely thick layer dusting the mountaintops all year round. In particular, on one sparsely populated mountain, in a small, cold cave, there was a uniquely coloured fox.
It's melanistic, with it's coat being mostly black with streaks of the bright orange so common in foxes along its sides and colouring it's ears. Curled up in a ball, sleeping, it blended in incredibly well with the walls, which is probably how it managed to escape becoming food for the few other stronger residents of the mountain. The fox finally stirred from its deep sleep, and when it opened its eyes, they were an enchanting amber, the same colour at the bright fur peppering parts of its body. Those eyes showed a keen intelligence, marking it as a beast, rather then an animal. The fox, no, Qiao Ai stirred before slowly lifting her head.
She was alive. And she was starting her long, long journey.
With getting some water and a place to pee.