"Hey."
...
"Hey, you."
...
"Help me, will you?"
***
With a gasp, his eyes opened.
His eyes were open, but no thoughts were formed inside his mind.
It was all too confusing.
He tried wiping his face, but found himself unable to.
It was as if his arms and legs had been cut at the elbows and knees.
Why did he have arms and legs, to begin with? Or even eyes? After all...
'Didn't I die?'
Too confusing.
'I did. I died a long time ago. And my soul drifted in the darkness for... So long. Then why...?'
There was no way of finding the answer to that question for now.
The next question that popped was,
'Where...?!'
From confused to stunned.
He had raised his gaze. There was only darkness, for the most part.
A rainbow. That was his first thought upon seeing that. It only took three seconds for him to admit that it wasn't one. The earth below him was purple. The sky was different, or inexistent.
'Rings? Am I... On Saturn or something...?'
Suddenly, the light that illuminated the place grew brighter.
Dancing vivid hues of blue and red pierced through the darkness.
Bewildered and amazed.
'A nebula...?'
His body suddenly shuddered as the oppressive sound of an explosion resonated.
He could not see it. The explosion had happened too far away. Why could he hear it?
'I really...'
His vision turned blurry for a second and,
'Huh... Wait... HUH?'
He could finally see the rest of his body.
'WHAT THE FUCK IS UP WITH THAT??'
Seeing his limbs, realizing their number, and how different they were...
'AM I SOME KIND OF SPACE HERMIT CRAB? WHAT THE FUCK??'
[Not exactly.]
[Initializing System.]
'System?'
[Loading...]
[The System will aid you by answering your questions.]
[The System will aid you by providing you with a Status Window.]
[The System will aid you by giving you advice and guiding you.]
'Guiding me? Aid me in... What?'
[You have been Reincarnated.]
'Yes, I can tell that much. But... To be Reincarnated as some kind of alien hermit crab...'
[Your past life was on Earth, correct?]
'Correct.'
[You are currently 110 billion light-years away from Earth.]
'How much is that exactly?'
[The distance is equivalent to X Kilometers or Y Miles.]
'Well, shit... It doesn't really matter though. Why am I like this? Why am I alive in the first place?'
[You have been Reincarnated by the Goddess Of Death.]
'The Goddess Of Death... Alright. I'll skip asking about how and why a Goddess exists for now so... Why? Why was I Reincarnated?'
[The Goddess of Death needs your help.]
'My help? Ha. And she thought bringing me back to life as a hermit crab would be a good idea?'
[You are no mere Hermit Crab.]
[You have been Reincarnated as a Paru.]
'Paru. Okay? Anyway, I'm doing my own thing. That's fine with you, right?'
[Of course.]
[You might want to check your Status Window for more information about the Paru Species.]
[Their fangs are some of the toughest in the universe, and their digestive tract allows them to consume and digest anything.]
[You should be able to figure out the rest.]
'Well, fine. I'll figure it out.' The Paru turned away from the floating words. 'Walking around like this is tough...'
Coordinating his twelve smaller limbs as well as his two bigger ones was not easy at all, especially as he had only recently gained sensation in most of those limbs.
It took a bit for the Paru to rotate a full 180 degrees, but once it did,
'Holy shit...'
Dozens and dozens, no. Hundreds of Parus filled the area.
'Hope I don't end up aggroing them...'
The Paru's four eyes studied the area as well as its inhabitants.
This studying, is what allowed this particular Paru to realize that Parus have four eyes.
The use of them had been so instinctive and natural that it hadn't been noticed.
Unmoving. A couple of minutes passed.
The Parus were a peaceful, if not a boring bunch.
They didn't fight or collide with one another. Well, they didn't really have a reason to fight.
Each and every one of them was focused on their meal. On eating until they were satisfied.
But it didn't seem like any of them would be satisfied any time soon.
Their circular mouths opened, and their fangs tore...
'The ground?? They're eating the ground??'
The Paru raised its front limbs and knocked against the ground repeatedly.
'It's tough, really tough. It's not earth, but a mineral. Also...'
The Paru had noticed something. Something that would be incredibly important for the future.
'Their... No, our shells... Are the same color as that mineral.'
Gulp-
'System... Can you check something with me?'
[Of course.]
'I feel like the shells and this mineral below... are made of the same material. Is that a coincidence? It has to be, right? But... They're eating that mineral so...'
[Please, check your Status Window.]