Life went on day by day as the Earth rotated and the wind blew throughout this big blue realm. The oceans were brimming with life untouched and unexplored while the land was inhabited with the most destructive species of them all… Humans. When one is born, it's a grand event, an entirely new life ahead of them, in which they do amazing things. Many wish to grow up to be one of the renowned and idolized humans we learn about in history. The thing is, these are nothing but simple aspirations, simply dreams of someone ignorant who has yet to experience the real world. One terrible reality of being born into this world we call "Earth" is that we are forced to go to a school where they teach the bare minimum to become a successful adult. We are forced to stress about grades. We are forced to grow up and figure out what we want to do with our lives all by the age of 21, god forbid if we don't. A simple, stress-free life is one of the hardest things to attain, so it would seem.
─ Year 2021
The alarm for 7:00 AM was about to sound as it usually did, but she swiftly shut it off for some extra rest. "What a drag. Five more minutes won't hurt." Tynaja said drowsily as she tossed her phone to the other side of her bed, trying to avoid looking directly at the light that radiated from it when it was on.
What seemed like a few minutes suddenly turned into an hour. Soon the second alarm went off at 8:00 AM. Tynaja thought she made it in time for her deadbeat job, but she was wrong. She overslept once again, now on her fifth day of being late to work. It was definitely gonna be a write-up for a job that overworked her day after day on only her first week. To put it in simpler terms, she hates this damn job, she hates her damn life, and she just wants to go to damn sleep.
Despite hating her life, she quickly got up, not wanting to lose her job she just started. As she rolled out of bed, Tynaja gave herself an inspection in the mirror. "Oh god! I look terrible!" Tynaja said despondently, running into the bathroom to do her hair. After going through many hairstyles, she settled on a slick back ponytail with the edges set up nicely. Soon after throwing on her work clothes, she was on her way. "Time to resume the death march!" Tynaja said in a very sarcastic and mocking tone as she hopped into her car. It was ironic because this job was her death march.
It was a fun ride to work, getting to drive into the city's more significant larger parts. She got to see scenery that was much different from her tiny apartment. It was always lovely, but there's so much more to the world that she'd never get to see. She lived in Brooklyn, so she wasn't given the best view while living there, but unfortunately that's all she could afford while living in New York. Her job, well, it isn't something typical that any sane person would choose, but it's unquestionably something she used to love. Despite how hard she worked, she still had a small amount of love harboring in the back of her head. It's the only thing that keeps her pushing.
Her job was being an animator, and it was the definition of slave's work. She would go days without rest, constantly drinking coffee to stay awake. The last decent sleep she got was last night. Granted, that only lasted roughly 30 minutes before she had to get back up for work. Barely able to keep her eyes open, she started to head inside the studio with her folders and laptop. She also brought a blanket and a pillow because this current project was a movie that required her to constantly work for a few days, so any chance she got to rest, she was going to take it immediately.
She walked in and scanned her work badge. After that, she was all set up for her day's work. She rested her cup of coffee on her desk, and after setting everything up, she finally took a set. "Alright! Need to draw up some expressions and then have these storyboards ready for later. Here are our lovely characters! Tch, this is gonna be a long couple of days…" she said, letting out a saddened sigh. She picked up her pencil and got started. She had to restart her storyboards because her old ones got messed up with coffee earlier, which was entirely on her. It massively set her behind, which would probably affect her pay. She still tried thinking about the positives. Remembering, seeing her work on the big screen would be all worth it.
About fourteen hours into her shift, she couldn't even keep her eyes open. She took another sip out of her cup of coffee. She was definitely dependent on coffee to make it through her days, but this time it just wasn't working. "Tynaja? You okay love? You look like you're about to pass out?" One of her coworkers said as they put their hands on her shoulder, looking at her and her pile of drawings, concepts, and storyboards. "Y... Yeah! Don't worry about me babes! I just need a break, that's all… Do you mind? I promise I will get these done by eight o'clock in the morning sharp!" Tynaja popped up slightly, noticing this was her boss speaking to her right now. She quickly piled her papers together neatly, trying to make everything look situated. "Hmph, okay, just make sure they are on my desk for approval in the morning. Take care of yourself dear." her boss said as they walked back to their office, telling one of the other staff members to keep checking up on Tynaja.
This was yet again another burden placed onto Tynajas plate. She had to get all of this work done by the morning, and it was already 11:37 PM. Tynaja figured she couldn't just go to sleep or else she wouldn't have enough time to finish up everything, even if it was for an hour. She decided that tonight's going to be a night of hard work so she can get some quick rest in tomorrow. "Work hard now, then I can sleep later…." she yawned, stretching her arms up in the air. She stayed up for hours on end, drawing throughout the night until her hand cramped and her eyelids forced themselves shut. She felt like she was drifting, almost like she was floating. The next thing you know, she was gone. Tynaja was overworked, exhausted, deprived of both sleep and nutrition, which screwed her in the end. This was why Tynaja passed away.
It felt like it was just a nap... something that had turned the living state of the young and ripe adult Tynaja Rainheart into a different one. It had all started due to the way she had to work. Hours on end, she was always tired. Continuously worked for a false job that was thought to be a dream but was eventually a pain. Day in and day out, grinding away and wearing down her resilience and her esteem until there was little left of Tynaja that was "her" anymore. She had spent her young life pursuing a dream that was drilled into her and that she couldn't say was ever really hers in the first place. There was not much that Tynaja thought of it. She was always... starved of their own rest. All she did was lie her head down on a bland, empty office desk... and sleep. She had died then and there - Official reports documented a sudden, quick heart attack. The young woman was overworked, stressed, and not living a healthy life. It was inevitable that her story would be used on Earth to fight for better working conditions in her home country.
Her mind was clouded up about thoughts of traveling to a distant world, and the creator that she had never laid sight on had heard and saw those thoughts, those wishes. "Hey, it's the one and only god of everything here! You're probably distressed. You just died after all, but I'm gonna make this message brief! Up here in the heavens, we have decided to give you a second chance at living! So don't mess it up, okay dear? Toodles for now. Hopefully we never meet again! You won't remember this but make sure you don't overwork yourself this time! God out!" What felt like floating in an endless path of darkness was clouded with a voice that sounded alien-like. Tynaja couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman, but all she knew was that something wasn't right.
With where Tynaja was going, the posthumous fame would never matter to her. But as she went, she was blessed - She didn't feel a single thing as she was placed within the realm of the "Second Chance Project," or better known as "Ethereal." She was given another chance. One that she could make the most of, in her very own and unique way. Maybe not as she dreamed of, but it was certainly better than nothing. "Wait... Wait God? A second chance? What's this about? Wh… Why is my memory… It's fading… so fuzzy..." Tynaja said to herself as the memory of this god that spoke to her started to fade away. The god wasn't lying when he said, "You won't remember this!". She kept floating along, thinking about where exactly she was going. All she understood was she definitely died.
The second she opened her eyes, she noticed something was different. She woke up in a beautiful grass field, a far cry from her office desk, in what seemed to be a new fantasy world. The wind was blowing gently, and the skies were as blue as ever. Perhaps even bluer than back home, even, with not a single man-made structure piercing the skyline. She'd have assumed this a dream, but a gust of wind rolling past her - Initiated by a dragon far above, flying at great speeds - Dissuaded her from further doubts.
"What… WHAT THE HELL?! I'm dreaming right? Was that a dragon or a plane… No… NO WAY THIS HAPPENED?!" Tynaja exclaimed, astonished while taking in the scenery. At this moment, her mind was racing, and her thoughts were accelerating. She definitely wanted to be a part of this beautiful new world, whether it be a dream or not. As she started to move, though, something just wasn't right. She couldn't feel her arms, and all of her movements were limited. "Hey… Hey, that's not right… I feel like a slug… Please tell me I didn't get reincarnated as a slug! I do feel shorter… Maybe I'm just a baby or something…" she said, trying to stay as optimistic as possible. If she was going to come back as a slug though, she didn't mind staying dead. She put these negative thoughts in the back of her head and slowly trailed along to see what was nearby.
She could only bounce and trail along slowly, but after some more observations, she noticed what truly happened to her once she got a glimpse of her reflection in a crystal that was near a cave. She got reincarnated... As a slime! "UGH, WHAT THE HELL! This is like the weakest monster in any game or anime! Why was I brought back as a monster in the first place! I deserve better, like a warrior with unique and overpowered abilities, but I got… A slime?!" Tynaja was furious with whatever god did this to her. After learning that she was undoubtedly one of the weakest creatures in this fantasy world, she was immediately scared for her life. Now she had to partake on her new journey in this new magical world, where anything could happen!
