[Somewhere in the Deep Infinite]

A bright light illuminates the brilliant sea of blood-red flowers. All of the flowers have yet to bloom and the bulbs are pulsating violently, almost as if it’s a heartbeat. Despite there not being a sun, the whole space is blindingly bright, as if a star’s essence has enclosed it.

In the middle is a gargantuan tree, stretching its branches and limbs to the heavens. The tree is simply massive. It would take a ring of thousands of universes just to fit around the trunk alone! Interestingly, despite the overarching canopy, the tree does not cast a shadow. Instead, it lovingly watches over the beautiful garden of flowers lining the fields.

A wizened old man rests against the trunk of the tree. He is very large, but is still dwarfed by the sheer thickness of the tree. The old man has a shaggy gray beard and rimmed glasses. He also has countless smile wrinkles on his face, yet his eyes hold no mirth in them. As he fiddlea with his cane, he turns his gaze onto the flowers that are rustling about.

He simply observes the flowers and begins to sigh. He is clearly in deep thought, but alas, for no one shall ever know what it is he was thinking. The old man still shows no sign of moving but then a miracle happens.

One of the flowers bursts into a blossom. It’s both a beautiful and terrifying sight. The flower has a strikingly crimson center and petals but a fleshy orb in the middle with what seems like blood leaking out.

The old man is both surprised yet calm. It’s almost like he could predict this would happen. He continues watching as the flower begins to emit a faint light. A spark the size of a seed floats its way towards the tree and the old man.

As it draws near, the old man’s expressionless face morphs into one of a gentle smile. He reaches out for the spark and covers it with both of his wrinkled hands. He whispers some words to it and the spark begins to move frantically. Eventually, it stops and begins to fade away. The old man watches as the spark completely disappears and he gives it a small wave.

With the spark fully gone, a large voice rings out onto the serene landscape. A titanic snakelike beast is curled around the trunk and its deep voice resonates across the land.

“So it has begun.”

The old man only nods in response.

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Right now I'm in an egg sac. Yep, that's right. An egg sac. And oh boy my life has really gone down the shithole.

My name is Reiko Nakamara. Just a few minutes ago I was walking down the street while reading a manga on my phone. The last thing I remember before waking up in the egg was the sound of a scream. And a bright light. Ehh. Next thing I know, I'm in the middle of god-knows where.

Hey, isn't this the part where I hear a voice in my head? System-chan? I inwardly sigh. Good grief, what am I going to do now? I then listen for anything as it is too dark to see anything. That's when I hear it.

*THUMP*

It sounds like a foot. A really, really big foot.

*THUMP*

As it gets closer, I start to cough. I've just realized that the air is really, really heavy and hard to breathe. Just what is going on? The footsteps come even closer. At this point, it's so loud it's shaking my egg sac. Thankfully, whatever abomination was passing has ignored me and kept moving. But what I do discover is that there are a few cracks. I nervously poke at them and one of the cracks gives way to a small hole.

All of a sudden, I feel like I'm cooking alive. Holy shit it's hot. I feel like I'm on fire! The heat burns my skin. I still can't see but I can feel my skin burning. I then start to hear the outside world as well.

Terrifying. That's the only word that can describe what I hear. There are screams and roars in the distance, some closer than others. The killing intent is so thick, it feels like it's a part of the atmosphere. I shudder and pray to whatever god there is to keep me alive. Just where did I end up in?

My mind is hazy from the smoke. I barely stay awake as I weakly pound against the cracks in my egg. After an eternity, a piece breaks open. I throw my body against the walls of the egg and claw my way out of the gelatinous liquid. The earth sighs a breath of steam as I look up, covered in slimy fluids.

The first thing I realize is that this is quite literally a shithole. From what I can remember of my shitty memories, the world isn’t this dark and fucking gloomy. It’s like a scene out of one of those apocalypse movies where there’s creepy-ass monsters lurking around!

Another thing I realize is that I’m certainly not human. When I tried licking my lips to stop my unquenchable thirst, I accidentally cut it with my sharp-ass teeth. Out of instinct, I brought my hands up to my face while I winced in pain, but that’s when I saw I didn’t have any hands! Instead, I had these weird, webbed claws that were all veiny and green. Disgusting!

Anyways, I can feel myself slowly adjusting to the harsh environment. It’s still hot as hell but at least it doesn’t feel like I’m melting. I don’t remember having any animal features in my previous life so I start trying to walk and testing the limits of my newborn body.

Embarrassingly enough, I fall flat on my face doing my first steps. Thank the heavens there’s nothing around to see me…

As I test my body out, I begin to realize how fucking hungry I am. From what I can guess, all the adrenaline and shock of my first experience in hell has run out and my stomach is reeling. A sharp pain stabs through my abdomen as it begins crying for food. This affects my mind and I can see I’m literally starving to death. But there’s nothing! This shithole has nothing but rocks and those strange eggs that I came out of! Fuck me. I’m thinking of taking a bite out of my own arm before I remember something. Eggs! And what’s in eggs? Other babies!

My mind doesn’t even consider the implications of the thought I just had. All it can think of is food. Who the fuck cares? As long as my stomach stops imploding, I’ll do anything! And with my deranged expression, I make my way towards my first sibl-*cough*meal.