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I'm the Spider

章節 1: A New Beginning

' Umm…! Why is it so dark? '

Arthur opened his eyes. However, he didn't understand why there was so much darkness around him. He couldn't see anything; the only thing he could perceive was pitch-black darkness. He tried to see clearly but couldn't, as the darkness was overwhelming. Arthur tried to rub his eyes, hoping to see better.

' What…? I can't touch my eyes? What happened to my hands? ' he thought while trying.

Unable to touch his eyes, Arthur tried to move, attempting to understand what was happening. He struggled but felt something around him, restraining his movements, like a cage around him. He couldn't move.

' What's happening? Why can't I move? Why can't I see? What happened to me? ' Arthur thought. Unable to see or move, Arthur began to panic. His heart raced. In his panic, after a moment, he suddenly stopped and forced himself to calm down, taking a deep breath.

Arthur tried to take some time to calm himself down.

' Breathing… I can breathe, which means I'm alive, ' Arthur thought. He tried to recall his last memory but couldn't. ' How is this possible? Why can't I remember anything? It feels like I'm missing something—something very important. I feel like I know myself, but I can't remember who I am,' Arthur continuously pondered, trying to remember.

He tried to speak, but his mouth throbbed with pain. ' Why can't I even say anything? ' he wondered. Arthur tried again, but he couldn't—the pain was too much. When he attempted to speak once more, the pain struck him again, leaving him unable to form words.

He tried to touch the cage with his hands to figure out what it's made of. ' My hands feel different than usual,' Arthur noticed. He touched the cage that was restraining his body, feeling its surface. As he explored it, he found it smooth, unlike anything he had touched before.

' It feels like… a shell, ' he muttered.

' The more I touch it, the more my senses seem to come back. Why do my hands feel so different—like sticks? What actually happened to me? '

"You are reincarnated…!"

Suddenly, an unknown voice spoke.

Hearing the voice, Arthur was shocked. His entire body froze. Hearing the voice, Arthur didn't move for a while, hearing these words, ' You are reincarnated…! '

As he froze, Arthur tried to confirm his doubt. ' What did you just say? ' He tried to ask, but he was unable to speak. He couldn't.

He waited a while and tried to speak again, "Who are you? You said I've been reincarnated...! Talk to me!" he finally spoke. The voice Arthur spoke with was his own, but it was gasping and sounded different. Arthur did not focus on his voice because there were other more important matters that he cared about. But still, there was no reply.

Arthur remained in shock. He didn't know what just happened, but he knew he heard the voice—it wasn't an illusion. Taking a deep breath, he gathered his strength and tried to push against the cage with his restrained body and hands. Frustration built inside him, turning into anger. He used all his strength to move, trying to free himself.

Suddenly, his thoughts connected: ' Reincarnated, shell, cage, smooth surface… '

" Crack…!" A sound came from the shell. A crack appeared, and through it, Arthur could finally see a faint light. Although dim, the light was blinding to Arthur's unaccustomed eyes. He instinctively closed them.

Tears began streaming from his eyes as he remembered. The more he recalled, the more tears flowed. Slowly, Arthur started remembering everything about his previous life. The first memory he recalled was the moment of his death, followed by how he lived.

"So... I died... huh?" he spoke, gasping a bit.

Accepting his death, Arthur cried for a long time.

.....

After some time,

Arthur tried to control his emotions and came to terms with the fact that he was dead. Remembering memories of his past life, he opened his eyes and looked straight at the crack in the shell. With rage in his eyes, he pushed against the cage with all his might.

' This isn't a cage—it's an egg! ' he realized.

Gathering all his strength, he yelled, "Ahh…!"

The egg began to crack, and with each crack, light seeped in. As the light touched Arthur, his body became more visible. Still pushing with all his force, Arthur finally broke free from the egg.

He opened his eyes slowly, adjusting to the light. Finally, he saw his surroundings.

It was a dark cave, but there was some faint light inside. As Arthur's vision adjusted, he started noticing details.

The cave was enormous, and Arthur found himself on a wall high above the ground. The wall connected the cave's top and bottom, standing about ten people tall. It was an ideal place for animals to hide their eggs, build their homes, and ensure their survival.

Arthur looked around. The cave glowed with various colored crystals—blue, white, and red—illuminating the space with a mysterious light.

As he observed this unfamiliar place, a realization hit him. Quickly, he looked at his body. He saw he was standing on four legs, each resembling spiky metallic spears. His hands were similar but had three fingers, sharp and deadly. His hands were attached to his upper body, which itself consisted of two parts: a large round lower section where his legs were connected and a smaller upper part where his chest and hands were attached.

Finally, Arthur touched his head with one of his sharp claws, careful not to hurt himself. He felt a large, circular head with big eyes and an even bigger mouth.

" So… I reincarnated as a spider…!" he exclaimed.

" Yes, you are reincarnated as a spider," the same voice replied again.

Suddenly, hearing the voice, Arthur was shocked. He rapidly tried to move around, attempting to find where the voice was coming from, but his newborn body couldn't handle the movement, and he suddenly fell to the ground where he was standing. Upon falling, Arthur realized that the sound was coming from inside him.

He calmed himself down, still lying on the ground, and asked, "Who are you…?" But like the last time, the voice did not reply. Arthur began to understand that the voice wasn't dangerous; he just needed to figure out why it wasn't replying.

Lying on the ground, Arthur lightly hit his head against the ground repeatedly—not hard enough to hurt but more like a little child trying to remember something.

Suddenly, he heard the voice again: