Yume

In the early morning, a girl despondently looked down on the floor. Why? Because the girl felt despair as she saw the empty bags on the floor. They were empty, just like the void inside her.

All mortal living things have this particular problem, and it can't be solved with any normal means.

Yes.

She had run out of food.

Anna should've expected this to happen. It was a surprise for her, but not because there was no more food, but because it lasted this long. The food she brought from the city was meant for a family of two or three to eat for a couple of days.

As a young girl who wasn't a teenager, her days of eating extended to at most a week.

She felt despair gripping her heart, wringing it. Her stress levels, already at an all time high, grew even higher. If she doesn't want to starve, then there was only one thing to do...

She has to go...go...

𝘖𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦...

Anna's body instinctively trembled, and she forcibly tried to calm down. Breathe deeply from the nose, hold it for a few seconds, and slowly let it out from the mouth.

Inhale...exhale...

After a few loops, she tried to think of a plan.

What does being outside have to do with her stress? Outside is where there is danger. In the past and now, and maybe even the future, at least ninety-nine point nine percent of people die in this world. She was confident in that estimate.

However, it was not just outside where she was going. But the outside with...

𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦.

Anna shivered.

In short, that means this world is a very dangerous place. Being inside has a better chance for her to be safe than being outside.

Oh how she'll miss the sweet confines of the house and her little friend.

Speaking of her little friend...

Anna looked to the side, seeing the cardboard box on the table. Inside, a little caterpillar was munching on the freshly picked milkweed leaves, with the morning dew still remaining on them.

Amor had grown really fast...

A little too fast.

In her foggy, vague memories, her grandpa's caterpillars grew into big, plump adults in two or more weeks.

Now, Amor was the same size, if not bigger than those big, plump adults within the first week!

Looks like the caterpillar was quite special, growing fast in the spring season.

Still, the future waits for no one.

Steeling herself, Anna quickly put on outside clothes-just a simple brown overall with a gray hoodie. She also grabbed a black cap as well, along with the money needed to buy the supplies.

Finally, she was ready to go outside.

'Oh, this is going to be so scary...' Anna thought despondently.

Gripping her hands, slowly breathing, and steeling her mind and heart, she walked out of the house with as much confidence as she could place in her steps.

It all dwindled because as soon as she walked right out the door, the wide street along with the morning sun dawned upon her.

Anna quietly hissed, quickly hiding back inside the house.

...

Amor shook his body when he saw her actions through the small opening he had made.

It was a secret when he made it.

...

After several minutes of trying, Anna finally filled herself with more confidence. She walked out of the house, locked the gate behind her with the key, and headed down the road to the suburban town with hands in her pockets, hoodie up.

Within a short stressful five minute walk, the forest around her cleared up, allowing her to see the suburban town, Yume.

Why was it named Yume? Well, she doesn't really know. All that she knows is that it's her old hometown, and that is where she's gonna visit the nearest convenience store to buy her supplies. She'll then run out of there minutes later.

Determinedly sprint-walking into eastern side of town at 7:00 AM in the morning, it was expected that there would be almost no one outside this early, cold chilly morning.

'Just as planned.'

Anna slightly smirked as she quickened her steps across the concrete sidewalk. Buildings grew larger and larger as she walked across the sidewalk. They were colored in dull colors, and some were as tall as two to three stories high. Cars of many varieties were parked on the asphalt road alongside the sidewalks, its glass windows mostly frozen by the ice.

Following her fairly vague memories about a year ago while side-stepping and walking past a few early birds, Anna finally came into view of a familiar convenience store. It was about the size of a small grocery store, and from the many windows was light.

Relief flooded her body. She was about halfway through her goal.

Trying to steadily and normally walk in through the automatic sliding doors, Anna inwardly felt more relief as she looked around. The convenience store was completely empty except the cashier, who seemed to be busy looking at his phone with a bored look.

She quickly walked to the instant food aisle. Looking around for a few seconds, she spotted her goal. Anna grabbed a couple packs of instant ramen, along with a few water bottles. They were enough to sustain her for a couple days, and if she was stingy, a week.

It will definitely be a week. She'll make sure of it.

Anna carried the precious cargo onto the counter, where the cashier was waiting.

The cashier gave her a small glance. It was quite normal, as people quickly glanced at each other when there was something slightly out of the norm, but that made her shift her legs back and forth. The cashier, ignorant of her nervousness, scanned the items she grabbed.

"That'll be-"

Before he could continue, the girl had already placed the amount of needed cash onto the counter.

"..."

If the cashier couldn't tell something was off, now he can. He could only blink his eyes, but he merely shrugged before grabbing the cash on the counter.

It wasn't worth his time.

After counting them, he then asked-

"Would you like a-"

"Yes, please."

"..."

He no longer bothered to care nor pay attention to her, putting her newly bought supplies in two bags, handing it to her.

With a small mutter of 'thanks,' Anna immediately strolled outside, marching straight for home.

"...what a strange girl."

Shaking his head, the cashier returned his gaze back to his phone, forgetting everything that just happened.

Walking out of the convenience store, she took a quick look around. It was 7:10 AM, and still no one seemed to be out. Feeling happy that Anna happily hummed a tune, began skipping down the road.

And reality came crashing down upon her poor heart.

"Anna, is that you?"

'NOOOOOoooooo...'

She instinctively turned around at the sound of the voice, and felt regret for responding.

If Anna had just ignored that voice and continued walking, she would probably be free of the torment that is called being social.

...

Meanwhile, back in the old house...

Amor was still munching on the delicious freshly plucked milkweed leaves. It was warm inside the comforts and safety of the house, the perfect temperature for me.

'I wonder how Anna will survive in the outside world, meeting other people...'

His small caterpillar body trembled. His imagination was too strong, and his curse has returned. The social activities one embraces as a human outside, it's too troublesome and bothersome.

The comfort of one's home is the best comfort there is. Well, it's number two, but number one is-

'...nevermind.'

The caterpillar continued to keep eating, before abruptly stopping seconds later. A sentence appeared at the side of his vision.

[𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗲𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻]

'So, it has finally arrived.'

What did this mean?

Well, it speaks for itself.

Amor has finally met the requirements to evolve. The question remains...how can a caterpillar cocoons itself a week after it's born? The species matter, yes, but the most important condition was how much mana the being has.

With the mana stored and circulating throughout his entire body, it automatically enhances Amor's physique in small increments. This allowed his growth rate to be influenced, accelerating it at a much higher pace than what it normally should be.

If he had not absorbed mana right at the start, then his evolution would begin in a week or two, and his potential wasted.

Amor digressed from his curse of thinking.

Now then, evolution.

The mana quality and quantity of the world is currently exhausted, but although its slowly coming back, it is still exhausted. When mana once ran rampant throughout the world, magical monsters and creatures had the ability called evolution. Its name defines itself.

Evolution meaning that one becomes more than oneself, or rather changes significantly.

When an animal, monster, or creature reaches their highest peak, which is their limit, evolution is open to them. This process called evolution helps surpass their limits, creating newer, higher limits.

Now, this path has opened before him...

And he must take it.

Amor opened his status-

===============================

Name: Amor

Titles: 𝘐𝘯𝘷𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘴 (Sealed), 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘺 (Sealed)

Race: Adult Caterpillar ✦ (Variant ???) - (-Evolution Pending-)

Strength: F

Endurance: F

Agility: F

Magic: E++

Luck: E-

-------------------------------------------------------------

𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀:

Dream Magic: E+

===============================

Right next to his race, the words lay there, waiting for my choice. In my mind, he thought of the world 'evolution.'

A new transparent page opened before him.

===============================

Evolutions:

1. Glowing Butterfly ✦✦

2. The Dreaming Butterfly ✦✦✦

===============================

As creatures evolve, they can choose their options, each option having a perk and rarity. Of course, at the beginning, some creatures are not intelligent enough to know what to choose, and so they rely on their instincts to choose the best possible evolution for their survival.

Moving on, the stars that exist next to the species.

Rarities.

Rarities are the quality of the evolution based on the number of stars. For example, '𝘎𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘉𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘭𝘺' has two stars, meaning it has a rarity of two. '𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘉𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘭𝘺' has a rarity of three, as it has three stars by its name.

The maximum is said to be seven stars, but perhaps there could be more, for Amor has not ever seen a creature more rarer than a seven star.

However, he knows there is. The Lord God Almighty exists after all. Who else could be above them all but the Lord himself?

Anyways, common sense dictates that the more stars a race have, the better attributes and skills they'll have and or gain. For an almost normal caterpillar like himself, it is expected that he won't even have a single star.

Just absorbing mana and the quality of his soul allowed Amor to even have a chance at a better evolution. That, and the Lord God Almighty watches over him.

Blessed be the Lord, who will and is to come.

Once again, he digressed,

Amor wanted the details of each evolution, and so in response, another transparent page suddenly opened to the side, with the descriptions of both of them laid out before him.

===============================

Glowing Butterfly ✦✦

A butterfly that can glow. It is the normal evolution. It is weak physically, with almost too little or no talent in magic. Just like any other butterfly, it will die at least in two weeks, or if lucky a little more than a year.

-This evolution cannot evolve any further-

===============================

===============================

The Dreaming Butterfly ✦✦✦

A butterfly who simply dreams. Although it almost looks similar to a Glowing Butterfly, and is also similar in being weak physically, it is said to be capable of using magic, with a rare affinity leaning towards the said to be lost magic, dream magic.

They are also connected with a higher being.

-The lifespan may differ for each individual for this evolution-

-This evolution can open to newer paths and evolutions-

===============================

...With only these two options, choosing the 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘉𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘭𝘺 is the most rational choice. The number of stars speak for themselves. Amor can no longer stagnate as he is now, as the world will be reaching its turning point soon.

He felt the quantity and quality of the mana slowly, little by little, rising. Common sense dictates that something is definitely going to happen. Fortunately, it won't happen tomorrow.

So...

'I must grow strong enough to protect Anna in this life, as I was unable to protect my little sister in my last life...' he thought.

Before he evolves, Amor needs to make sure Anna comes home safely. Depending on the rarity of the evolution, it might take a long while, so he'll simply begin practicing his magic once more...

...

At least thirty minutes later, Amor finally heard footsteps, and took a peek through the hole from earlier.

His granddaughter stepped inside the house slowly. With shaking steps, she fully entered the house. As soon as she closed the door behind her, she dropped the bags to the ground, fell into a kneeling position, and finally fell face down on the ground.

"..."

He observed her. According to his blurry vision, enhanced by mana, Anna looked to be tired. Not physically hurt. Being mentally injured is another story.

'It seems that she's stressed...but she won't tell me unless I can use dream magic, but I'll have to get out of this cardboard box first.'

That means Amor has to evolve right now.

He mentally selected the evolution, and automatically he began the process of cocooning himself. How did he know how, or at least understand the process of becoming a chrysalis? Well, it was the most instinctive thing to do.

That doesn't change the fact that it felt quite alien to him.

He was a human in his past life. A changed human, but at its core, a human.

On the side of a leaf, Amor started making a pad using silk spun from himself. After doing so, he stick the the end of his body, which has a hook like appendage on it, into the silk, twisting it around to secure it. Finally, he started shedding his skin, creating a green chrysalis.

The process of evolution of a caterpillar should take from five days to twenty one, depending on the environment and temperature of the caterpillar's place in the cocoon.

'Hopefully, this evolution will be quick. Otherwise, if Anna is in danger while I'm asleep, then...'

Before Amor's curse of overthinking continued, a wave of exhaustion washed over him. He consciously found himself being lulled into a slumber...

...

An hour later, the girl laying face first onto the ground groaned. Slowly, she pushed herself off the ground. Twisting her body she placed her bottom against the ground.

'...how has it come to this? What a cruel world.'

Anna groaned again and fell back onto the floor, face up. She couldn't help but think back to what had just happened...

*𝗔𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘆 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗴𝗼...*

"Anna, is that you?"

The girl turned around, and saw a familiar old granny, along with another old granny. Even when the temperature was cold in the early spring, the two looked to be healthy. Even when they seemed to be around sixty or more years old.

"Oh you're finally here Anna!" the old lady who called out to her first, waved her hand, smiling.

The second old granny looked confused.

"Anna? Is she...?"

"It's old Choko's granddaughter, remember? She also came back last year as well."

"Ohhh..." the second granny nodded her head thoughtfully.

The girl silently gathered up her will and stepped forward to them. Two hands together in the front, she bowed.

"Hello, my name is Anna Choko," Anna muttered quietly, afterwards bowing again.

"Oh, how polite of you! Recently, we got a call from your dad saying that you're living by yourself, and so we wanted to check up on you earlier to be sure that you're all fine and dandy, but he said that you'll be fine."

"...thank you so much for your care..." she kept her head down, muttering in response.

"Ah, yes, I forgot something!" The first old lady said, a look of realization forming on her face.

"There's a festival coming up, you should come! There's going to be lots of fun, trust me!"

Anna, hidden in her turtleneck, became incredibly disheartened. She wore a frown, and her face contorted.

After a few polite words of subtle rejections, but being prodded and nagged in return, she finally gave in.

...

"...aaaaaaAAAAAAHHHHHH!" the girl screamed, rolling back and forth across the ground.

After seconds of rolling, Anna finally came to a stop, and instead put her hands on her face, groaning.

Life was a cruel mistress. An introvert living in such a life is a cruel fate.

"Oh, yes, I have to check to see if Amor is alright..." she muttered to herself, heaving herself up from the floor. She crawled over to where the cardboard box was on the table, and took a peek inside.

Her one ray of light in this silent house, her friend Amor. He'll be there to comfort her, right?

The girl hopefully looked inside through the netting.

"Hmm?"

Taking a look once more, there was no signs of a moving caterpillar. It meant one or two things. One, it gave up on life and perished, or two, hated its life and somehow escape.

Anna frantically looked around the box, trying to see if there were any openings. Just as she was about to have a panic attack, she saw a peculiar bulge that stood out from within the leaves.

A green cocoon to be precise.

"No way..."

'A cocoon? Amor is already beginning to cocoon itself!? It was only just a week!'