RE: Reincarnation

In came an older woman, eight feet of wrinkles, muscle, tanned skin, accessories, and near floor-length silver hair, accompanied by the scent of rosemary and fresh cut grass. The reminder of the scents was almost enough to set off his allergies, but he managed to hold his sneeze down with a bit of anxiety and willpower. He assumed it would be rude to her to do as such the moment she entered... although as he began thinking about it, he realized it would seem perfectly natural. So he had endured the uncomfortable process of refusing to sneeze for nothing... how absolutely bothersome.

"Greetings, miss," He addressed her with his practiced customer service smile. Though he'd only held down a job in retail for a few weeks, he had learned the skill during the first week and practiced it for months after he'd lost the job. It had helped him in countless situations, and he was sure that he was in one of them.

To his unsurprising surprise, the woman fell to her knees, the silver (iron, perhaps?) jewelry she wore flowing after her, and bowed her head to the ground before him. The bewitching man he'd met minutes before was quick to follow in her actions, first dropping to one knee as if he'd been trained before checking to the woman. When he realized the difference in their stances, the beauty switched to prostrating before him. It was... unsettling, to say the least.

"Oh Great One, I thank you for granting my unworthy self permission to see your divine and benevolent self. I beg you allow our help to assist you in your future journey," She spoke with some kind of reverence and awe that he just couldn't understand. It seemed she believed him to be some kind of 'Great One' rather than the plain college student he actually was, "We humbly offer one of our greatest warriors to whatever cause you deem fit. I swear to you that he is not as many of our tribe say, he is a talented soul that comes from a great bloodline of noble protectors. To continue that legacy under you would be the greatest boon imaginable."

Before the bewildered nonbinary could get a word in, the man continued, "I would be most honored to be placed at your side."

"I, ah, believe you have me confused with someone else," He told them with a shaking voice, frantically waving his hands in front of him in attempt to clear the air of their suffocating reverence as he looked away in embarrassment. He was positive his cheeks flushed as red as the roses that lined his bedroom's windows, but at least the blood was going to his head, "You have my gratitude for looking after me, however, I'm definitely not whoever you believe I am. There's nothing 'great' about me."

Although the man looked a little confused, the woman simply nodded. "As humble as I would expect of someone such as yourself!" She smiled genuinely, looking up to me with something appearing close to worship, "But there cannot be any mistake! A being fallen from the sky with the stars, coated in divine markings with an aura of power beyond that of any human or monster. Truly, you are the only one that could fulfill the prophecy's call!"

Markings? He wondered to himself, looking down at himself. He lifted up the large, tawny shirt he wore as a dress, the fabric the same as the tent, however, the inside was lined with some kind of soft material. After pushing the blankets out of the way, he saw himself for the first time. Just as the woman had said, he was coated from head to toe in sky blue markings that wrapped around his fawn-colored skin, the color surprisingly fitting against the yellow undertones.

The woman watched him search his skin with a calm gaze, one that felt as wise as it was expectant. She thankfully allowed him a few moments before she spoke once more.

"What is your name?" She asked with an almost motherly tone, appearing almost as if she knew the answer.

"It's Av--ahck-!!"

The words caught before they started, forcing themselves down his gullet, choking him, ringing him out. From it came ice colder than the Arctic, pricking into his skin. The frost bit into him from each syllable, lighting his nerves alight with cold flames of pain. It tore into him and forced him back together in ways that tortured his very soul. It felt as if they tried to tear it from his body and force it back down his throat. The agony forced his body to double over, forced coughs from the depths of his c.h.e.s.t. He heaved and he choked until he finally stopped his attempts to speak his name.

Why couldn't he?

Looking back up, he saw the elegantly dressed woman and the rugged man at the edges of the straw matt under him, wearing matching expressions of apprehension. As before, the woman took the role of speaker, leading to his belief that she was the higher ranking of the two. "What is wrong, Great One? Are you still injured? I apologize if our healers were not enough."

He quickly shook his head, it seemed she held him in high regard, he couldn't have her thinking someone hadn't done their job right, "No, that isn't it, I just..."

'System?' Within the privacy of his mind, he called on her for an explanation of that dreadful experience he'd gone through, for a reason of that fear and agony.

"Answer. Due to the nature of names in this world, attempting to call oneself by a false name causes discomfort. It would appear this effect is multiplied for you. I shall monitor this for next time and reduce the effect," She answered as dutifully as before, voice monotone yet not quite.

'What do you mean? My name is A-' The experience triggered itself once again, ice seeping its way into his veins and the two giants came in closer, worrying over me, looking me over with fear.

"Incorrect. Upon reincarnation, your name has changed like many others. Please check your status menu."

Status menu, huh? It really was some kind of user interface straight out of a video game.

Fl.i.c.k.i.n.g through the beige icons he had as options, a gear wheel, open journal, bag, and small stars among his options, his focus fell onto the one that held the figure of a faceless portrait. Worrying he would need to reach out in order to press it, he was surprised when it opened entirely on its own, without him needing to touch anything. Though he had assumed she was responsible, System informed him moments later that the UI could be controlled by his mind, much like how he would move a finger or arm. It appeared rather convenient and he was thankful that he wouldn't have to press imaginary buttons in public to access his menus.

The menu opened with little time lag, revealing his stats.

Nocturnal Amina

Level 838

HP 83800 MP 83800 SP 83800

AP 8380

What? When the hell did that happen?