Chapter 1: Calamity.
"When a world prides itself on being unstoppable. When a civilization believes it holds absolute power. When a species is labeled as invincible, they tend to neglect what they cannot see. And so, they become blind to the most ancient entity older than intelligent species, older than life itself, older than the very formation of the earth. The entity with the highest death toll surpassing any catastrophe or war in human history: Measles, Influenza, Smallpox, Bubonic Plague, COVID-19."
"This entity already resonates in the mind of every living being, this entity already dwells within the body of all, this entity has already been etched as a synonym for fear among people. The name given to this entity is 'Virus'"
A glowing speck of dust appears in the void. Beside the tiny mote, a pair of hands emerge from that same void and cradle the speck.
"You, who chose to open your being to harbor chaos within your existence, and whispered to the abyss."
"You, who chose to strip yourself of your very name, your very soul, and embrace the end of your existence."
The entity closes its hands, and its eyes appear in the void blazing, piercing staring directly at the reader.
"You, who as a spectator read these words and have inhaled my presence, shall witness my creation of chaos, unleashing despair and death upon this world."
The entity opens its hands and lets the speck fall into the void, and the creation simply plummets endlessly into the darkness itself.
-…?!- A tiny, high-pitched voice rises from the speck as it falls. -Where am I?-
The creation came back to itself, its consciousness having awakened, yet confused by its situation it had realized it was surrounded by darkness.
-Why can't I…?-
Upon trying to move, it realized it felt nothing in its body. It could not see its limbs, nor any part of itself. Only its very existence seemed to float in the void.
-That person… who were they?-
While the speck searched through its thoughts, a radiant light rose from the depths of the void, shining like a sun. It was the only change in the endless emptiness. Something drew that light near.
Upon focusing on the light, the consciousness was absorbed by it without resistance. The light enveloped its entire field of vision.
-(Hm?!)-
In that moment, a vague sensation became a certain perception: a throbbing heartbeat, the ability to breathe.
-(What? Can I… breathe?)-
It opened its eyes slowly. Before them stretched a dense tangle of trees, and the scent of damp earth flooded its senses it was in a forest, light barely filtering through the cracks in the canopy.
-(Where is this place?)-
Confused by the sudden shift in surroundings. Everything looked far too strange: its perspective hovered just above the ground; it couldn't stand upright no matter how hard it tried, and even on all fours, its vision shouldn't be this low.
Looking around, it spotted a nearby puddle of water and crawled toward it to observe its reflection.
Examining the reflection more closely, it revealed: a furry face, rounded ears, small black glistening eyes, a little upturned nose, and protruding front teeth… what stared back from the water was nothing more, nothing less, than a mouse.
-Squeak?! (What the heck?!)-
Upon touching the small gray body, it startled. A high-pitched sound escaped. Looking more carefully, it confirmed the impossible: it was a rat.
-(Why do I look like this?)-
While sunk in bewilderment and processing its surroundings, a deafening buzz invaded its mind. A cold, mechanical voice resonated from within:
New base skills have been acquired: [Domination I] [Replication I] [Infectivity I] [Devour I]
Faced with the relentless voice invading its mind, it tenaciously tried to reason with it.
-Squeak?! (What? Who are you? What do you mean by new skills? Replication? Tell me wha—)-
Interrupted by the voice once more, it simply resigned itself to listen.
New skills have been acquired from the new host: [Cowardice I] [Danger Detection I] [Sense of Smell I]
New symptoms have been acquired from the new host: [Fever I]
New infection types have been acquired from the new host: [Saliva Transmission I] [Waste Transmission I] [Airborne Transmission 0]
The avalanche of information overwhelmed its processing capacity. It was only momentary, but it recovered from the sheer volume of things piling into its mind.
It whimpered while adjusting to its new body. But several questions rose in its head it had to understand. Yet one question above all others kept surfacing, one that truly unsettled it…
-Squeak… (Who am I?)-
Upon trying to use its mind to remember, it realized it had no memory of who it was. It couldn't recall its face, nor its name.
-Squeak… (What happened to my other body?)-
Had it died in an accident? And upon waking, it was a mouse in an unknown forest. If it ruled out the idea of dreaming, then only one hypothesis remained.
-(Did I… die and reincarnate?)-
An absurd theory, but strangely logical. The concept of reincarnation appeared in the fantasy stories it knew. Now that it had the body of a mouse, it couldn't dismiss it without thought.
It was then that it felt something stir within itself something that had been asleep and broken memories began to surface in its mind.
"You, who chose to open your being to harbor chaos within your existence…"
-(That voice…)-
"You, who chose to strip yourself of your very name, your very soul…"
-(Who is this voice? It told me I chose to give up my name and soul? I don't understand what it means.)-
The fragments arrived irregular, incomplete like a radio signal through static. They were not clear memories. They were echoes.
"…You who will serve me, and I shall grant you immeasurable power."
"…You who will become a calamity and bring an end to the lives of millions, in exchange for keeping 'Him' in this world…"
-(A deal? I gave something to that person? My memories and soul… for someone? Who were they?)-
Its mind was lost in confusion. There was no name to remember. There was no face in its memory. Only silence a suffocating silence that clung to its mind.
But fragments of memory seeped through, just a single promise drifting among the remnants of its recollection, carrying a certainty it could not explain:
"I will save you."
Three words. No name. No face. Yet enough to abandon all reason.
It should have mattered. Millions of lives. It should have felt the weight of that the nausea, the revulsion. It searched for that reaction somewhere within itself and found nothing. Only a void where a moral conscience should have once existed, and at the center of that void, floating quietly, that promise.
"I will save you."
-(…Alright.)-
It was not a heroic decision. It wasn't even a deliberate decision. It was simply the only thing left standing inside her.
-(If I must become a calamity to fulfill it… then so be it.)-
This second life was hers. She would start from the bottom, and she would not stop for anything.
-(Yes… I must fulfill it. There is no problem with ending half of all life.)-
With the deal in mind, resolved to fulfill it and save the person she remembered this second life was hers. She would start from nothing, and she would lay waste to every living thing.