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 go blind to the most ancient entity — more ancient than intelligent species, more ancient than life itself, more ancient than the very formation of the earth. The entity with the highest death toll of any catastrophe or war in the history of mankind: Measles, Influenza, Smallpox, Bubonic Plague, Malaria, COVID-19.-
-This entity already resonates in the mind of every living being, this entity already dwells within the body of all, this entity is already etched as a synonym for fear in people's minds. The name given to this entity is "Virus"-
A glowing speck of fluff appears in the void; alongside the tiny mote, a pair of hands emerge from the same void and hold it.
-You who chose to open your being to harbor chaos within your existence and whispered to the abyss.-
-You who chose to strip away 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, gazing at the reader.
-You, spectator, who reads these words and has inhaled my presence — you will watch my creation of chaos, unleashing despair and death upon this world.-
The entity opens its hands and lets the speck of fluff fall into the void, and the creation simply falls endlessly into the darkness itself.
--…?!--
A tiny, high-pitched voice rises from the fluff as it falls.
--Where am I?--
The creation came back to itself and its consciousness had awakened, but it was confused by its situation — it had realized it was in the darkness.
--Why can't I…?
Trying to move, it had 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 nothingness.
-(Whose voice was that?)-
While the speck dug through its thoughts, a blazing light rose at the far end of the void, shining like a sun. It was the only thing that had changed in the endless void. There was something drawing that light.
Focusing on the light, the consciousness was absorbed by it without any resistance. The light enveloped its entire field of view.
-(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 gently. Before them stretched dense trees, and the smell of damp earth invaded its senses — it was in a forest, light barely filtering through the cracks in the canopy.
-(Where is this place?)-
Confused by the sudden change of surroundings. Everything seemed far too strange: its perspective was 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 found a nearby puddle of water and crawled toward it to look at its reflection.
Studying the reflection more closely, it revealed: a furry face, rounded ears, black and shiny eyes, a small upturned nose, and protruding front teeth… what was reflected in the water was nothing more and nothing less than a mouse.
--Chu-chu?! (What the heck?!)--
Touching the small grey body, it startled. A high-pitched voice rang out. Looking more carefully, it confirmed the impossible: it was a rat.
-(Why do I look like this?)-
While it was lost in bewilderment and processing its surroundings, a deafening buzzing invaded its mind. A cold, mechanical voice resonates 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 stubbornly tries to reason with it.
--Chu-chu?! (What? Who are you? What do you mean by new skills? Replication? Tell me wha-)--
Interrupted by the voice again, it simply resigns itself to listen.
New skills from the new host have been acquired:
[Cowardice I][Danger Detection I][Smell I]
New symptoms from the new host have been acquired:
[Fever I]
New infection types from the new host have been acquired:
[Saliva Transmission I][Waste Transmission I][Air Transmission 0]
The avalanche of information collapsed its processing capacity. It was only a moment, but it recovered from the sheer volume of things that had piled onto its mind.
It whimpered as it processed things with its new body. But several questions rose in its head — it had to understand. And one of the questions that rose loudest in its mind, one that truly unsettled it, was…
--Chu… (Who am I?)--
Trying to use its mind to remember, it realized it had no memory of who it was. It couldn't remember its face, nor a name. It didn't understand why.
--Chu… (What happened to my other body?)--
It wondered if something had happened to its old body. But just like its identity, it couldn't remember that either.
-(No… wait, did I have a body?)-
Even though it didn't know who it was, it had a vague sense that it had been human.
-(Was I human? I think so. What happened to me?)-
Had it died in an accident? And upon awakening, it was a mouse in an unknown forest with no memory of its past life. If it ruled out the idea of dreaming, only one hypothesis remained.
-(Did I… die and get reincarnated?)-
An absurd theory, but strangely logical. The concept of reincarnation appeared in cultures across different religions it knew of, for some reason. Now that it had the body of a mouse, it couldn't dismiss the idea without thinking it through.
It was then that it felt within itself as though something dormant inside had been touched, 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 away your very name, your very soul…"-
-(Who is this voice? It told me I chose to strip away my name and soul? I don't understand what it means.)-
The fragments came in irregularly, incomplete, like a radio signal through static. They were not clear memories. They were echoes.
-"…You who will serve me, and I will give you incalculable power."-
-"…You who will become a calamity and end the lives of millions in exchange for bringing Him into this world…"-
-(A deal? I gave something to that person? My memories and soul for someone? Who was it?)-
Its mind was confused. It couldn't remember the name of whoever had said it. There was no clear image of their face either. Only a silence in its memories — a suffocating silence clinging to its mind.
But a few pieces of memory filtered through, just a handful of words floating among the remnants of its memory. Yet those words were laden with a feeling it couldn't quite name with certainty:
"I will save you."
Three words. It was somehow its own voice, saying what seemed to be a promise.
-(Who am I supposed to save…?)-
It couldn't know to whom it had made that promise, but something inside her was pushing her to make it real. Her soul, perhaps? No — it had been torn out. Her memory? No — it had been erased. It was her very existence whispering to her, telling her to fulfill that deal, and that those lives shouldn't matter to her.
She tried to search for a reaction, some feeling. The nausea of that burden, or the rejection of her fate.
But nothing answered. Only that promise floating in her thoughts.
"I will save you."
-(…That's fine.)-
It wasn't 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… so be it. Maybe you'll give me answers if I wipe out half of all life.)-
This second life was hers. She would start from the bottom, and she would not stop for anything.
With the vague memory of the deal in her mind, she would be willing to see it through — and perhaps it would give her answers about who she was, and who she was meant to save.
This world did not yet know who this microscopic virus was, dwelling inside a rat, but with the passage of time, the stories and rumors of it would be on the lips of every living being.