"You must die!"

I suddenly wake up to someone shouting.

'Wha, what was that?! What's going on?'

Everywhere I look, it's black. Well that or I'm blind. Do I even have eyes? For that matter...

I try moving around.

'It seems I do have a body. What the heck is going on? Why is it so hard to move? Why can't I see anything!'

Suddenly I start feeling sleepy. Reminded of the moments before my death, as well as the shout I just heard, I get scared and start panicking. After a futile struggle to keep awake, I finally drift off to sleep.

"You must die!"

'Ah! What the- what was that?!'

As I calm down, I start recalling yesterday. I remember I heard that same shout. Is this going to happen every time I wake up?

I start feeling around again. Is it just me, or is it easier to move? I get excited and start moving around. It feels almost like I'm in water or something...

'WHAT?!'

At this realization I start panicking, until I realize... I don't need to breathe? Now that I think about it, other than breathing, I also don't feel hungry or thirsty. Somehow, the liquid I'm in won't even enter my mouth?

'Maybe I actually am dead...?' I wonder.

As I start feeling tired again, I'm not as anxious this time. I let sleep gently take hold of me, drifting off into a peaceful slumber.

--

How long has it been. Months? Years? It's hard to tell when everything is so dark.

Other than the disorientation caused by the constant lack of light, It's actually quite comfortable in here. Sure it's boring and lonely, but at least it's exciting waking up stronger and stronger every day! I can also stay awake longer now. It's because of that that I was eventually able to explore my surroundings. I seem to be in some sort of huge spherical container filled with water.

I was originally going to try and break the container once I got strong enough, but then I thought, what if I'm some sort of water creature? Without water, would I suffocate?

About that, I also noticed my body is shaped different than that of a human's. I'm not sure exactly what I look like as there's no light, but I do know that I have hair covering my whole body, a tail, four legs, no hands, and no opposable thumbs.

'Man, how inconvenient.'

And on the subject of the disturbing shouts I heard every time I woke up, originally it was happening every morning, but it started getting less and less frequent. It's been a long time now since I've heard the last shout. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad it's gone, but I'm really curious as to what that was. Was it in my head, or was the voice coming from outside?

Since there's no point worrying about it, I guess I'll just wait and see what happens.

--

I can stay awake constantly now. I can't sleep even if I want to. No need to sleep, eat, drink, what sort of creature am I?

I don't know how long I've been here, probably several years at least. Unable to wait any longer, I have finally decided to try to break out. I tried waiting to see if anything would happen, but I'm still trapped here. And if I can't breathe without water? I prepared an ingenious plan for that, which should have been obvious in the first place! Water flows down right? Since that's the case, I'll just break the top of the container open! At least I think it's the top...

'Haa, whatever.'

I let myself settle to the bottom. Once I reach the bottom, I start swimming straight up. Since I've practiced this maneuver many times already, I know about where the top is. As I near it, I punch out as hard as I can!

Boom!

'...'

There wasn't the hole that I was expecting. Rather than calling it a 'hole' it was more like... the entire top exploded? After it broke, large amounts of liquid splashed towards the ground, but I found myself still going up! As I quickly lose my upward momentum, I eventually start tumbling down toward to the ground.

Thwack!

I hit the ground like a pancake. Surprisingly, even though I impacted pretty hard, I barely even felt it. Reorienting myself, I suddenly notice that I'm not in the liquid any longer! I instinctively hold my breath, then I remember that I can't even breathe. Starting to relax, I release my breath, and quickly find that I can indeed breathe.

'What's going on? I don't seem to need to breathe, but I still can?'

Since I still don't feel like I'm going to pass out, I start to observe my surroundings. Underneath me is a large gray brick platform, built from circle shaped bricks with four-pointed star bricks between them. In the process of admiring the bricks, I suddenly realize that I can actually see now. And everything is so bright! Seeing sunlight for the first time in so long, it almost makes me cry.

As I look around, I see mossy rocks, green grass, and beautiful flowers all around me. There is a pretty creek not far from where I am, making relaxing splashing sounds. I seem to be in a large clearing in the middle of a forest. Most of the trees in the forest are about the same height, but there are some trees that are gigantic, jutting far above the rest of the forest! Above me, the sun shines... brightly...

'Wait, that's the moon? Two... four moons?! Is this not Earth? And why can I see so well at night? Is it because there are so many moons in the sky? Why do I keep asking myself questions I can't answer?'

Temporarily putting aside the subject of moons, I start analyzing the container that I just broke out of. Though rather than a container, it might be more accurate to call it an egg. The egg is completely black, and the liquid that was inside is definitely not water. It is dark purple in color and much more opaque than water, like grape juice. The egg looks like it used to be a sphere when it was whole, just like I had speculated from inside, but what surprises me is how thick the shell is. How did I even break it? It's at least as thick as I am long, including my tail!

And that brings me to my new body. Being stuck in pitch blackness for so long, somehow I always pictured myself having black hair. But far from black, my hair is completely white! Not just my hair, my claws, skin, every part of me I can see is white. There's not even any residue from the purple liquid I was in. Even the bottom of my feet- er, I guess I should call them paws now? This feels so weird...

In order to get a better look at myself, I decide to take a look at my reflection in the creek. The purple liquid from the egg won't work, as it's not very reflective.

Having made up my mind, I try standing up.

"Uohh?"

It's surprisingly easy. I thought I would have trouble keeping my balance at first, but other than the occasional stumble, I can walk pretty normally. Seeing as I have little trouble standing or walking, I start heading towards the creek.

On the way, I notice some strange symbols on the ground. They seem to stretch all the way around the platform that the broken egg is on.

'These are written on dirt, how are they still here? Were they made recently?' I wonder as I try to touch one. Nothing.

They look like they're carved into the ground, but I don't think they are. I can't even feel the symbols at all. What's going on?

Continuing on, I scan the creek for a still area. Discovering a particularly large and tranquil body of water, I head towards it. As I reach the small pond, I'm shocked.

'I'm adorable!'

The first thing I notice as I look at my reflection is that I'm not completely white, though my eyes and the inside of my mouth seem to be the only things that have color to them. My tongue is a normal pink color, the rest of my mouth looking normal as well.

'Why do I have a mouth and nose even though I don't need to eat, drink or breathe?' I ask myself.

As for my eyes, they are completely black. It makes for a sharp contrast with my otherwise white self.

And my appearance? I look almost exactly like an arctic fox! My nose is white instead of black, and there may be a couple other minor differences, but for the most part I look the same. The arctic fox was my favorite animal in my previous life!

"Maybe it's fate?" I ask myself.

Hearing my voice, I gasp. Though I'm shocked that I can even talk, what surprises me even more is what my voice sounds like. How should I say...? I don't really sound like a girl. For that matter, my voice doesn't even sound human. It sounds very high pitched, almost like I breathed in helium, while also sounding quite rough. Suddenly realizing something, I hurriedly investigate myself.

"Whew, still a girl."

Relieved, I look back at my reflection, and notice something shining just below my neck, mostly obscured by fur. Pushing some fur to the side, I examine my chest. The object lodged in my chest is white, with about the same size and shape of a marble. I try poking it.

"Haha, I can feel it!"

I can feel it when I poke it, almost as if it's part of my body! How strange. I try using my claw to poke and prod it to see how it's attached to me. But while I can keep my balance on four legs pretty easily, it seems I'm not ready to stand on three yet. As I stand there examining the object, I suddenly lose my balance, instinctively putting my raised paw on the ground in order to balance myself. Unfortunately, in the process of lowering my paw, I scratch the marble.

"AHHH!"

Pain! Extreme pain! As I collapse and curl up, I'm one hundred percent certain that this is the most painful thing I've ever felt. I can't explain the feeling properly, as it isn't something I've ever experienced before. It feels like something more than just my body hurts.

"Haa, haa, haa..."

It's been a couple hours, and the pain has still not subsided much. I'm lying down, trying to relax and wait for the pain to go away, when suddenly a shiver runs down my spine. It feels like my so-called intuition, but somehow different. Much stronger. Almost as if I can vaguely see my surroundings, all at the same time. I start trying to grasp this new feeling, when I hear a rustling sound in the distance.

'That far away? I could never feel anything from that distance before...'

I see a creature slowly prowl out of the vegetation. It looks like a massive cat, easily the size of a large elephant. Its appearance is similar to that of a leopard save for its blood-red coat, littered with even darker red spots. It also has four elongated teeth protruding from its upper jaw, with eyes as pitch black as mine. And considering the way those eyes are looking at me, I don't think it's here to chat.

Suppressing the intense pain wracking my body, I start crawling towards the broken egg. I don't know exactly why I decided to go towards the egg. I guess it just feels like a safe place to me now.

When the monster sees me crawling away in the direction of the egg, it suddenly starts running towards me. Seeing the monster sprint at me causes me to panic, as I start trying to run as well.

"Ouch! Ah, hah."

I slipped and fell. Looking back, I see the monster slow down not far from where I am and start to circle me. I curl up as much as I can and turn to face it.

"Grrr."

After circling me for a while, the big cat makes a low growl and pounces at me. I try to defend, but I can't react quickly enough. With a single swing, it slaps me away with a paw that's bigger than I am. Not prepared for the strike, I tumble farther away from the egg, now with a bloody slash mark across my left shoulder.

When the monster sees me shakily sit back up, it looks at me playfully and starts circling me again.

Regaining a defensive posture, I start looking for any terrain that might give me an advantage. Desperate by this point, I spot a tree not far from me. If I'm able to climb that tree, I may be able to escape this situation! Waiting until I'm between the monster and the tree, I make my move.

"Stupid cat! Is that all you got?!"

After it hears my taunt, the monster freezes for a second. It then rushes at me and swats at me again. Ready for it this time, I'm just barely able to defend myself. Holding up my paws, I take the blow head on and get sent flying directly towards the tree.

'Hahaha! It actually worked! Dumb cat!'

Standing up, I make my way towards the tree as fast as my pain stricken body can take me, not daring to look back. Since it's not that far away, I arrive at the tree rather quickly. As I start scaling the tree, I realize that I'm a rather good climber.

Feeling that I'm a safe distance up the tree, I look back to see where the monster is. All that awaits my eyes is the view of its massive frame hurtling towards me, with its jaws wide open. I react quickly, jumping off the tree as fast as I can, but I'm too late. It grabs hold of both of my back legs, clamping them between its jaws.

"Gah!"

Seeing it grab my legs, something inside me snaps. I feel rage boil up inside of me, as I bend sideways and slash at one of its eyes.

"ROARRR!"

It lets go of my legs, and we both tumble to the ground. I hit the ground with a thud, feeling foggy headed and achy all over, but I know I can't lose consciousness yet. Barely standing up with my wounded back legs, I leap with one last burst of strength towards its neck. Since the monster is preoccupied with its wound, it doesn't seem to even notice me coming.

'Think you can play with me and kill me at your leisure?! See if I don't kill you first!' biting down as hard as I can onto its neck, I taste blood seeping into my mouth.

As soon as I bite it, the monster starts flailing and roaring wildly. Unable to properly reach me with its paws, the beast starts rolling on the ground. Not daring to let go of its neck, I further tighten my grip, latching on with my claws as well.

After holding onto its neck for what feels like hours, occasionally getting grazed by its claws, the monster finally falls. Battered and bruised, I release my hold, sliding off onto the ground. Just before I close my eyes, as I drift off, I see a stream of red fog float out of the monster and head towards my chest.