The Grand Weave

At first, the pain was nothing more than a faint static. The static quickly shifted into pins and needles. The feeling felt like my entire body had fallen asleep, and now somebody was pressing against my skin.

Soon, the needles turned into fiery pricks that jabbed liquid heat into me. It hurt like hell and didn't stop. If I had a mouth, I'd scream until my throat bled.

After what felt like an eternity, the fire cooled, the heat disappearing. Suddenly, it felt like someone had dipped me in an ice bath. Instead of hurting, the cold soothed my soul as a frigid balm to the heat. Next came a pop, and sounds returned in a cascade.

A faint rustling in the wind made me think I was next to some trees. Throughout what felt like minutes, my senses all came back. I tentatively opened my eyes, unsure of what to expect. I found myself in a forest. Everything seemed normal, except the leaves were tinted a light blue.

I looked down at myself and found that I was completely naked. It made sense, assuming that everything got destroyed by the storm. My skin seemed normal, but my nails were sharpened to a point and were black as coal.

Right, I'm not human anymore.

Remembering what the suited man looked like, I instantly turned around and tried to see if I had a tail. Strangely, there was none. I expected a swishy fox tail.

I raised my hands to the top of my head and felt something smooth. Running my hands up and down, it seemed I had two horns jutting out. They seemed about as long as my hand. It was weird that they were smooth instead of spiraling, yet another divergent detail.

As I checked out the rest of my body, a crisp crackle forced me to turn around.

"Wow! Gotta say you're looking good," said the suited man as he hovered before me.

"Uh, hi there uh…" I led.

"Just call me Cal."

"Right, hello, Cal. Thanks for paying my soul debt and all, but I thought you said you'd make me like you. Why are my horns different? And no tail?" I asked the floating god.

"Well… the answer to that is complicated, but I can simplify," After I nodded he continued with an easy smile. My tail and horns are because of my evolved race. When you evolve, you probably won't look like me."

When I opened my mouth to ask the obvious question, he held up a hand. "Sadly, I don't have a lot of time to explain all that."

Just as he finished, he started coughing.

"You all right? I didn't think gods could get lung issues," I asked, slightly baffled.

He wiped his mouth on his sleeve and stood straight again.

"Normally not, but to make you my scion, I had to give up a lot, and I was already weakened. It's exactly for this reason that I won't be available for a good while. I will have to rest and recuperate until I'm stable again. I've got minutes before I have to leave since this body can't handle the lower ambient mana."

This body? Does he have more?

"So listen to me. First, your friend Sam is nearby. She was reborn first by about 3 hours. Head west from here for about fifteen minutes, and you'll find a cave. Do yourself a favor and call out first. You both have completely new bodies that look different from your original. Well, you don't look too different. She does so brace yourself."

He then opened a small red portal about the size of his head. He reached in and pulled out three sets of identical clothes. The clothes were simple. There were rough black leather boots and three baggy, black cotton pants with matching underwear. Included were also three grey long-sleeve shirts made of the same material.

"Take these. I can't honestly give you much since there are stupid rules about how much help we can give early on. I know you haven't looked at your menus yet, so tuck away the extra pair when you do. You can never have too many spare sets of clothing. After all, dressing well makes you feel well."

He straightened out his suit with that statement and wiped some invisible dust.

Honestly, I wasn't surprised at the idea of dimensional storage. I was excited to learn that I had one of my own, which was another benefit of this situation.

Cal suddenly came closer and grabbed my left wrist. Turning it around to expose my palm, he pressed his thumb right where my hand connected. I felt a brief flash of heat before he removed his thumb.

A small crimson symbol appeared. It looked like an upside-down triquetra inside of a circle.

"Hmmm… It looks like you are going to be one interesting individual. Honestly, I gave you a higher-tiered healing skill stone. I didn't think your legacy would change it so drastically. I can't wait to see what it'll do," he said.

I looked up at Cal to find his eyes practically glowing, his grin exposing an impressive set of canines.

"I suggest you don't activate it until you can get your friend to watch over you. Little tip, when you're there, try to channel your mana. Go with what feels right to you," he warned.

Before I could ask him what he meant, he started coughing again. This time, I saw some blood spittle out.

"Urrgh, I haven't felt this bad since I fought Grelakus. Okay, only a little time left. Look in that bush over there when you're picking your clothes up. You'll find the storms left you with a couple of items. Don't worry about them until after you settle in with your friend. Whenever you guys feel ready, walk northwest, it'll take you about four days. Thankfully, the Weave didn't send your souls too far from a settlement."

He approached me until he was close enough to touch my shoulder. His expression was strange as his eyes softened. "It's been a while since I've had a scion. You'll learn more in due time, but know I'm excited to see what you'll achieve, Cyrus. No matter what, you'll make me proud, boy."

With that, he vanished with a loud pop.

I didn't know how to feel by the sudden tenderness of the words. I didn't think agreeing to become his scion would be so personal. His expression and gentle touch honestly made him feel fatherly. It was not how I imagined my relationship with a god to feel like.

Giving one last look around me to ensure I was safe, I finally addressed the tiny blip at the very corner of my vision. If the stories were anything to follow, I'd just have to think of the word status. As I mentally thought of the word, text appeared in front of my face again.

STATUS

Name: Cyrus

Race: Reborn (Felkin)

Age: ??

Tier: 0

Active Skills:

(T:0 R:0) Summon Familiar: Verdant Healer: (N/A)

(T:0 R:0) Racial Skill: Dimensional Storage: Star Whelp

Passive Skills:

Perks:

Legacy of the Obsidian Crown

Scion of Calstrax

Demonic Blood

Honestly, I wasn't sure if I expected more or less the magic character sheet. I was now something called a Felkin, and my age was up in the air.

None of it made sense, but that only created a seed of excitement.

You have magic now. Hah. And all it took was a little dying!

Looking at my active skills, the healing skill I got from Cal was a summons.

The Legacy sounded interesting, and it seemed Cal was a demon. He didn't seem evil, so perhaps demons were different from what I knew back on Earth.

I was about to focus on the skills and see if I could get a description when suddenly I heard a small snap far to my right. Deciding that I'd save figuring everything out after I met up with Sam, I went over to my clothes.

Lacking socks made putting on the boots feel weird, but I couldn't complain. Honestly, the clothes were super comfortable and fit me perfectly. I'd have to thank Cal next time for giving them to me. They sure beat running around a forest naked.

Looking near me towards the bush Cal mentioned, I walked over and bent down. I rummaged around till my hand closed around two small round objects. Pulling the items out, I saw that I had grabbed a pair of small pouches, both fitting comfortably in my hand. One was orange and had a small jack-o'-lantern face stitched into its surface. It had a black ribbon tying it closed.

The other pouch was an unblemished white with gold thread.

Resisting the urge to open them and see what was inside, I took them to the clothes and laid them on top of one of the shirts. I searched the bush one more time but didn't find anything else. I stared at the small pile of stuff and tried to see if I could activate the magic.

Initially, there was no visible response after I attempted to activate the skill. However, I focused once more and envisioned it. It took twelve seconds, and I sensed a refreshing sensation in my chest, akin to water coursing through my veins.

Woah.

Before me, motes of light gathered in a hungry swarm before congealing together. I blinked, and a creature apeared.

It looked kind of like a derpy, dragon baby--If you took a baby but gave it a large dragon head and a tail with tiny, leathery wings. It had four black stubs resembling baby horns and huge all-black eyes. There were no pupils or irises, but I could tell they were still staring at me. Its scales were a mix of purple and black.

"Uh, hello there, little one," I awkwardly greeted the dragonling.

It kept staring at me for a few long seconds till it waved a small little claw.

Again, something about the situation scratched at the back of my thoughts. This whole situation felt like a dream, maybe it was. But even if that was true and I wasn't dead, what changed by playing along?

"Right, so are you my dimensional storage? I kind of need to store those clothes and the two small pouches. If that's alright with you."

The little dragonling moved closer to the pile until its head was mere inches away. It opened its maw without any noise, and a small vortex seemed to suction everything in. It closed its mouth with a loud CHOMP. It gave me one last glance before it flew and disappeared into my chest.

Well, that was weird.

With another scan of my surroundings, I tested the boots and stomped the ground before I began heading West. I hoped Sam was okay with whatever race she got. I was more concerned about her health. If magic could transport our souls into a whole new world, it could get rid of her old body's problems.

It took fifteen minutes for me to exit the treeline and find myself staring at a gray mountain. There was a small opening to a cave slightly to my left, and I saw some smoke coming from somewhere above the cave. I walked over and stopped at the entrance.

Sitting around a small fire was somebody wearing brown-colored clothing similar to mine. The woman wasn't human. Blue skin matched the even deeper blue hair. And jutting out from the center of her forehead, stood a pearly white horn adding an adittional four inches of height.

I shouted out loud, not wanting to scare her by suddenly walking up out of nowhere."Sam? Is that you? It's me, Cyrus."

Immediately, the person stood up and grabbed a giant branch from her side. I stared at crimson eyes lit up by the fire.

If this was Sam... She was terrifying. Gone was the petite woman I knew, and in her place, a muscular amazon stood before me.

She lowered her improvised club and let it drop. "Cyrus?"

It was familiar, and I smiled, but it was deeper, and held more life than I had heard in months.

"Yeah, him in the flesh. I'm apparently part demon, now," I managed to reply before she rushed up and hugged me.

She didn't just hug me; she picked me up and held me like I was no more than a child. I could feel corded muscles underneath her clothes. Whatever her race was, she was strong and well-toned.

"Alright, jeez, you can put me down now. It looks like somebody went crazy on the muscle slider. That and tall as shit," I commented warily.

She gave me a giant smile that exposed thick fangs bigger than Cal's.

"Yeah, well, while I'm over here, well over six-feet of beefy meat, somebody had to go and stay a short fuck," she taunted.

"Damnit"