Reincarnated as an Apocalyptic Catalyst

My consciousness flickered back to life, leaving me disoriented and overwhelmed. The first thing I noticed was this oppressive darkness. Honestly, it was kind of a shock, going from blinding light and a blow-job to utter darkness and… What was that smell? Where am I? Oh god, it feels like I'm buried alive. What the fuck did I agree to? 

I tried to move my arms but felt nothing. I tried to fight off the panic but it wasn't working, my limbs weren't working, and nothing was working the way it should. I just lay there, flailing about like a maniac.

I kept thrashing around, trying to remove my bindings, if that was even the case. I kept slamming against something squishy and yielding. What was happening? Why can't I feel my hands, my legs? Why was everything so, wrong?

I continued lashing out, biting and pushing, anything to get me out of here. Eventually, something gave and I poured out of my confines and onto… something equally gross. I could tell there was fresh air out here, I could feel the breeze on my skin, but the ground was wet and sticky and I still couldn't see anything. The soft squelch of movement made me sick as I navigated the surrounding area to the best of my abilities.

Again, I felt the need to attack, to bite at anything around me, to do something that would tell me where I was and what was happening. I struck out, my mouth landing on something soft and forgiving. Honestly, it reminded me of my time with the goddess of death, only, less satisfying. The sweet sticky tang lingered on my face as I nuzzled deeper, though this time I felt compelled to chew and dig into it. 

Suddenly, a cold and detached voice cut through my mindless actions causing me to perk up and focus:

[System Activated.]

[Larval Stage Initiated.]

[Objectives: Consume. Evolve. Dominate.]

"What? Did it just say Larval stage?!" my throat felt strange, my words barely audible even in my own mind. But no words left my–was it a mouth? I couldn't tell anymore.

I was pushed to act by this strange force and my writhing intensified. A hunger burned within me, it was absolutely insatiable. I needed to eat. Without fully understanding why, I latched onto the mushy material around me, jaws clamping down on what felt like skin. The taste was foul, yet oddly satisfying, so I consumed it greedily.

[Experience Gained: 2 XP.]

The voice returned.

[Metabolic Pathways Unlocked. Slight Growth Detected.]

That was, odd, but I could feel my body reacting, it was easier to focus my intentions into action, so I figured, when in Rome, eat until you feel like throwing up, and bit down again. I still had no idea what was going on, but when I bit things, it seemed to lessen the overwhelming burden of my very existence. Piece by piece, I bit into the material surrounding me. Each bite brought me another jolt of energy and another detached notification:

[Experience Gained: 4 XP.] [Biomass Absorbed. Body Density Increased.]

Am I in a video game? This is insane. Gradually, a picture formed in my mind, though not through sight, but through some strange, tactile awareness. Clearly, I am not me. I am lying here in a wet sloppy mass of what I can only assume is food. I am wriggling, and formless, honestly more akin to a worm than a human. Horror gripped me as the realization settled. "Larval Stage Initiated. Larval Stage… Morgana's words rang in my memory, "Your first body awaits."

Was this what she meant? Did she make me a god damned worm? Are you kidding me? If I knew I was going to be a worm, I would have never agreed to that warm, thrilling, mind-blowing moment of–

Okay, I'm getting off-topic. I need to figure out what is going on.

My thoughts were cut short by a sudden movement, or, I figured it was movement, AS I COULDN'T FUCKING SEE WITHOUT EYEBALLS. The best I could do was feel the world around me. It felt like daytime because the warm rays of the sun beamed down on me. That was good, right? Predators mostly hunt during the night, or at least I thought I remembered that sort of thing from the 2 am Discovery Channel specials I woke up to in the middle of the night.

The warm welcoming feeling of the sun was briefly interrupted as something cast a shadow on me from overhead. My body screamed to escape, to hide, to burrow into the, whatever this was. I honestly tried, but every bite only took me so far down, and my body was much bigger than my mouth. I felt vibrations, a rapid fluttering of air that grew louder. Before I could react, what felt like massive claws carved into the world around me and gripped tightly, threatening to tear me in two before lifting me and a chunk of the earth below, far into the air.

I wasn't sure what was happening, but what's new with that, am I right? I just felt the wind blow against my face and the fleshy earth press against me with intense force as I was pinned between it and the claws around me. I supposed that if I was going to be stuck in this situation, I might as well keep eating. 

I kept consuming the material below me, figuring if I were to die, it wouldn't be the first time that happened.

[Experience Gained: 4 XP.]

Chomp. 

[Experience Gained: 4 XP.]

Chomp.

[Experience Gained: 4 XP.]

Eventually, I was dropped from quite some distance, at least from my perspective. I fell a while, bounced off of the only earth I knew, and landed on a hard surface. I bit into it, but nothing happened. I wriggled and writhed around until something grabbed hold of me. The creature's hooked appendage snapped at me multiple times, causing quite a bit of pain as I was informed the following. 

[Your health has been reduced by 1. 4 health remaining.]

[Your health has been reduced by 1. 3 health remaining.]

[Your health has been reduced by 1. 2 health remaining.]

[Your health has been reduced by 1. 1 health remaining.]

And then I entered a new world. No, I didn't die, not this time. I just slid down a wet tunnel like some sort of morbid waterslide until I landed in a strange chamber.

Darkness enveloped me again, but this time it was warm and fluid. I struggled to orient myself to no avail. I could feel the walls around me, constricting and churning.

[Transference Complete. Objective: Locate Neural Pathways.]

I can't even begin to imagine what that means. However, as I pondered my situation, a new instinct took hold, overriding my confusion. I began to wriggle upward, pushing through the slurry of fluids around me. Eventually, I pulled myself from the burning liquid and found myself ascending. Each movement was driven by some strange compulsion I didn't understand and yet couldn't resist. Slowly, painstakingly, I navigated through the strange corridor, guided by the system's occasional prompts:

[Progress: 40%. Neural Tissue Proximity Detected.]

The journey was agonizing, but I pushed forward. I had no idea what else I could do and certainly didn't want to live my life in a goopy pool of burning water. I felt a strange pulse from deep within the cave. It took a few instances of intense biting, but I broke through the wall and pushed upward. Eventually, I ended up in an oddly soothing chamber. The spongy material called to me and I answered with gusto. I worked my way through some thin membrane and found my way into the massive sponge. The feeling was electric like I could literally feel the electric hum of wherever I was take hold of me. I immediately latched onto it, my body instinctively pressing myself into the object. A jolt surged through me as my consciousness expanded.

[Neural Integration Successful. Host Fully Subjugated.]

[Abilities Unlocked: Domination. Enhanced Vision. Flight.]

My awareness exploded outward. Suddenly, the world came into view and I found myself sitting in a nest. I could feel the wind through my hair. No, that wasn't hair. I looked down at myself and saw a set of curved talons where my feet should be. I glanced to my sides and stretched my arms, only to see wings sprout out from my body. I looked on in horror and realization began to unfold. 

I was a bird?

How the hell did that make any sense? I spent my short messed up life flopping around and biting stuff, and now I was a pigeon? Okay, maybe not a pigeon, it looked more like a crow, what with the black feathers and such, but still. I agreed to have that woman turn me into a bird? Seems like a raw deal, do birds even have dicks? Something from my early education told me, "Kind of?". 

I mean sure, it was cool that I could maybe fly, but I would much rather be a human than a bird. I tried to figure out what was happening to me when that blasted voice boomed in my head once more. 

[Mission Update: Explore and Adapt. Continue Consuming Biomass to Evolve. Locate New Host.]

This life is for the birds. But if this was what I was, I would make it worth my while. I tested my newfound body, flapping my wings experimentally. The motion was awkward at first but quickly became more natural. The next step was the legs, so I cautiously moved one in front of the other to feel out how movement would work and quickly noted that birds do not walk like humans. I became so focused in adjusting that I forgot one small detail. The material I arrived here on, what was it, where did I come from?

I glanced over, my eyes locking onto my ride into this nest and to my horror, I saw an eyeball that must have been ten times the size of my original body. I wanted to vomit, but without a hatchling around I didn't see a point, so I squawked until my squawker could squawk no more. I didn't want to remain here, so I hopped about the nest looking for an exit and felt a little embarrassed when I realized everything was an exit. Being this far off the ground meant that despite the ability to go anywhere, I would have to do it with these wings. I hopped back to the eyeball and absent-mindedly picked at it with my beak before shaking my head and trying to regain control of myself.

[Experience Gained: 4 XP.]

I returned to the edge of the nest and spread out my wings, testing the wind, feeling it beckon me upward, knowing that with just a short jump, I could be soaring into the sky. So I guess if that was my only option, I would just have to go for it. After a moment of hesitation, I leaped off of the nest and into the wide open sky. I outstretched my wings and for one beautiful, wonderful, amazing moment, I was flying… Until I began hurdling toward the earth. 

[Host Destroyed.]