The os, a swirling tapestry of celestial hues, rushed past Bathilda like a river of stardust. It ectapossible beauty, a symphony of light and shadow pyed across the vast vas of the universe. Nebue, vibrant ahereal, pulsed with unseen energies, while distant gaxies, like glittering jewels scattered across bck velvet, offered a glimpse into the infinite.

  This breathtaking vision, a fleeting moment in the grand scheme of creation, was the most profound experiehilda had ever known. A silent, awe-inspiring ballet of ic proportions, it filled her with a sense of wohat bordered on the divine.

  Damn, a phantom echo in the void. I wish I could have lingered in that starscape, just a little longer.

  The journey, however, was as swift as it was stunning, a blink in the ic eye. Before she could fully process the ephemeral beauty she had witnessed, Bathilda's soul, carrying with it the weight of her past life and the anticipation of her new one, arrived at its destination.

  A sensation, akin to a gentle hum, resohrough her being as her new body began to coalesce, atom by atom, molecule by molecule. It rocess of rapid stru, a biological symphony pyed at an accelerated tempo. Uhe agonizing transition she had feared, there was no pain, only a strange, almost f, sense of building.

  The formation of her new form was startlingly fast, a blur of biological activity. Then, a wave of nausea, cold and sharp, washed over her, followed by a surge of primal fear. It was the fear of the unknown, the terror of stepping into a world utterly alien.

  A new world," she thought, her mind a whirlwind of ay. I'm genuinely scared. It's not the same boerror as fag a tornado, but it's a different kind of dread.

  Uainty.

  With trepidation, Bathilda opened her new eyes. The expected rush of visual information never came. Instead, she lunged into an absolute, suffog darkness. A void so plete, it seemed to press against her very soul.

  Why is it so dark? she panicked, her thoughts rag. Did something g with my reination? Am I blind? He wouldn't do that, would he?

  Her limbs, unsteady and unfamiliar, propelled her forward. She stumbled, her new feet finding no purchase on the unseen ground, and she crashed face-first onto the floor. The impact, though cushioned, sent a jolt of arm through her.

  He wouldn't, she reasorying to quell the rising panic. He let me keep my memories, after all. I must be in a pce without light. A cave, perhaps. Yes, that's it. I'm fine. Now, let's figure out what I am and find a way out of here.

  She attempted to rise, testing the reflexes of her new body. The expected minor adjustments, the subtle shifts in bance due to a different physique, were not the issue. Instead, she found herself grappling with a fual disect between her iions and her body's responses.

  Her hands, or rather, the sharp, cw-like appehat ended from her wrists, offered no stable support. She slipped, her cws scraping against the unseen surface, and fell again, the sharp points digging into her own flesh. A wave of frustrated tears welled up, but she pushed them back, determio overe this initial challenge.

  After several more attempts, she mao stand, but her body swayed precariously, her proportions feeling utterly alien. Not human, she realized, a wave ret washing over her.

  She tried to speak, to test her vocal cords, but no familiar sound emerged. Instead, a grating, static-like noise escaped her throat, followed by a series of sharp, angry clicks.

  Why 't I speak? she cried internally, her frustration mounting. Even the most primitive creatures in fantasy stories unicate. Why am I trapped in this darkness, uo even make a sound?

  Fearful that her reination had gone awry, Bathilda cautiously began to explore her new form. The familiar curves of her human body were gone, repced by a strange, elongated form covered in a soft, fur-like material. Her face was elongated, her mouth filled with small, sharp teeth, clearly designed for tearing. Her hands were now two small, cwed fingers, delicate but sharp.

  Whatever I am, she thought, her mind reeling, I'm built for tearing and shredding. And these cws… they're useless for anything else.

  Every aspect of her former self had been transformed, reshaped into something utterly unfamiliar.

  Okay, she muttered, trying to remain calm. There must be a reason for this. But I 't figure it out if I 't see anything. This is maddening!

  After a moment of internal debate, she decided to try shouting, even though she knew her voice was distorted. She o do something, anything, to break the oppressive silend darkness.

  The result was ued. Instead of sound, a strange, holographic vision flickered into her mind. It was a form of X-ray vision, a bizarre sensory input that allowed her to see through the darkness. She saw the outlines of small creatures skittering across the floor, the tours of the walls, and the shadowy depths of the tunnels leading away from her. She could evehrough the ground, a faint, ghostly image of the earth beh her.

  She saw herself, a strange, elongated creature with sharp cws and a fur-covered body. She pushed the image away, too overwhelmed by her own transformation to process it fully.

  Then, her gaze fell upon something else, something much rger, lurking iuht. A colossal creature, its outline a dark, imposing shape, twenty times her own size. It was close, too close.

  What the hell is that? Her heart ounding. And why is the ceiling so high? This is nothing like what I romised.

  Fear, rarimal, gripped her. She turned, her new legs moving with an awkward, skittering gait, and fled into the tuo her left.

  That thing is huge, she thought, her mind rag. Way too big for me to handle. I'll just go this way. Yes, this way is much safer.

  She stumbled, crawled, and jumped, her small body propelled by a surge of adrenaline, desperate to escape the looming presen the darkness.

  Deg that her only course of a was to flee in the opposite dire of the tower-sized monster, Bathilda began moving, learning how to get her new body moving the way she wa to.

  This doesn't seem right, does it? Did I get tricked by those guys back there? Is this really how a sed life is supposed to start? The mention of elves and dwarves sprang to mind.

  More questions assaulted her as she fled in panic, scrambling her way along the dirt floor. Where the hell am I? Bathilda tried to shout out once again, but only received an updated X-ray for her troubles. The picture, a ghostly image of her internal structure, moved with her, but this time, it was followed by something even more ued.

  Echolocation has reached Level 2

  Bathilda has reached Level 2

  A new skill has been acquired: p

  (p)? Level 2? They didn't mention that either. What the hell did they turo? Am I a puter game character now? Am I supposed to go round helping people by ping them to death!? What sort of sick joke is this? The interface, a cold, ical overy on her senses, was jarring, utterly alien.

  Feeling overwhelmed due to the ridiculous amount of questions that were piling up, Bathilda pressed on through the dirt path. The straification about a level up had brought with it a sudden burst of strength and adrenaline, a surge of raw, animalistiergy.

  Using that, Bathilda mao keep moving, getting further and further away from the rge creature. She wao distance herself from that monstrosity as fast as she could, to put as much distance as possible between herself and the unknown horror.

  So this world is mame-like than what they mentioned. I actually have a level and skills too. Not that I didn't have skills before, I was fantastic at my job. This strange variation on life was not what I expected when they sent me here though. The sterile order of a hospital was repced by the chaotipredictable wilderness of a subterranean world.

  Swerving the now-visible rocks and foliage, thanks to the enhanced crity of her game-like skill, Bathilda made good time scampering dowuhe echoes of her frantients bounced off the damp walls, a percussive rhythm in the oppressive silence.

  After using (Echolocation) for a third time, she could no longer see the monster dowher path. Feelii finally calm itself at the prospect of esg the unknown, Bathilda tinued down the only path.

  During that time, she mao somewhat regain her posure. Now that fear wasn't the sole driving factor behind her motivation, the reinated nurse could make out where her vision ended, a hazy, indistinct boundary. She realized she had o use her mapping skill again until she got closer to the previous one.

  Not long after she reached the boundary, the use of her skill sholit ih further ahead. The route that led left had a rge, gaping hole in the floor, a dark, yawning abyss. But a tunnel was visible to her senses on the opposite side, a narrow passage leading into the unknown. It was a jump she had no hope of making, once again f her to head in one dire.

  If anythio appear now, I'd be trapped between it and the other extremely rge it behihe thought sent a fresh wave of panic through her.

  Stupid, scary tunnels. Why? Why was I reinated down here? Why 't I see without (Echolocation)? Why? The questions echoed in her mind, unanswered, a litany of bewilderment.

  Bathilda steadied her nerves, or tried to, and headed further down the rabbit hole. Another s granted a sed upgrade for the (Echolocation) skill, which seemed to improve its radius, but that wasn't all it did. The world around her sharpened, details emerging from the darkness, the texture of the rock, the subtle shifts in air currents.

  Oh Shit!

  With the range of her perceptive field of view broadened, Bathilda caught sight of her worst nightmare. A serpentine creature, scales gleamily in the faint light, coiled iunnel ahead, its eyes, twin points of malevolent yellow, fixed on her.

  You're joking, right? Is God really that offended I didn't stay and join his harem? Why is this happening to me? The absurdity of the situation, the sheer, overwhelming wrongness of it all, was almost ical.

  Slowly, Bathilda tried to edge back the way she came. However, the aoving forwards in a still-unfamiliar body roving to be a difficult feat on its own, so wheried to reverse dire, the difficulty increased tenfold. Her new limbs were even clumsier ireat.

  Praying she wouldn't stumble also did her no favors as moments ter Bathilda tripped over her own cws and nded with a loud thud. The sound echoed through the tunnel, a sharp, jarring noise in the oppressive silence. Loud enough to set off (Echolocation) once more, reminding her of the fact that something bigger than herself was in this tunnel before she was.

  With full-blown panic setting in and without attempting to even look, Bathilda scampered back the way she came with as much gusto as her little body could afford without tripping over itself.

  In her mind, Bathilda raying that the rge, snake-like creature that had been traveling in the opposite dire hadn't noticed her approach. After a few seds, she afforded herself another look using (Echolocation).

  Shit. I shouldn't have looked. I shouldn't have looked! she screamed, refreshing the image of the tu the same time. The serpentine horror was closer now, its eyes gleaming with predatory i.

  Attempting little jumps as she ran, stumbled, and crawled with all the speed afforded to a tiny, fluffy, cwed demon. Her arms, or wing-like appehat they were, gathered wind with each leap. With eae, Bathilda attempted to propel herself slightly further forward tha.

  Now I learn how to move properly? What the hell is up with this pce? Why is it just full of monsters? The question was a desperate, frustrated cry.

  With the split tunnel just up ahead of her, Bathilda took the opening that didn't lead towards this p's Godzil and rouhe er to the right just as the rge snake lu her. It missed by inches, crashing into the wall and nding just passed the turning she had taken.

  With precious seds earned, Bathilda's heart was beating like a drum as she jump-fpped her way towards the rge hole she had seen earlier. Hoping against fate, her iion was to jump over the gap and use her wing-like appeo reach safety.

  A new skill has been acquired: Fly

  Bathilda has reached Level 3

  p has reached Level 2

  How did (p) get to Level 2? I haven't eve? Is it because my teeth are chattering? And what the hell? (Fly)? Is that what I'm actually doing right now? Flying? Are these things really wings? I wish I wasn't in a dark cave being chased by a rge snake, but fuck it. That skill is exactly what I need. Here I go!

  Bathilda, a grotesque parody of her former self, lunged for the chasm's edge. Her newly found, pathetigs, more akin to art than funal appendages, beat a frantic, desperate rhythm. It was a cruel mockery of flight, a futile attempt to defy gravity.

  "Florence!" she shrieked, the name a venomous curse that cast another (Echolocation) through the dank air. "God! You wretched, celestial phinderer! And your… your harem!"

  The effort was in vain. With a strangled cry e and despair, Bathilda plummeted into the inky depths.

  But the darkness wasn't hers alohe monstrous serpent, its eyes twin embers in the gloom, had already coiled its immense body and lunged, unknowingly following her in dest. A living, scaled avanche.

  The air was thick with the stench of damp earth and something else, somethiilian. The world below was a chaotic, disorienting blur of shadow and distorted shapes, a realm where the ws of nature seemed to twist and tort.

  Bathilda, the enraged serpent, and the strange, eg silence of the chasm were now iricably bound, hurtling towards an unknown, and likely horrific, destination.