Chapter 1 – Boredom and Bloodlines

「Bored.」

That's all I could think as I leaned against the cold, ancient stone altar. No books, no TV, no video games—just silence. The dripping of water from the ceiling onto the stone floor echoed through the room, a slow, maddening rhythm. Every now and then, a bug scuttled across the floor, or a spider in one of the dark corners of the room twitched in its web. Hats off to your average isekai protagonist, I thought, because living in a dump like this without the comforts of modern life? That's rough.

A long sigh escaped me, my breath heavy with frustration. "Actually, I'm not your average isekai protagonist. I'm worse." I muttered to the empty room, the hollow sound bouncing off the stone walls.

The talking skull made sure I knew that, didn't it? No powers. No magic. No skills. I've got nothing in this world. How amazing, right?

"I'M SO BORED!!" I suddenly screamed out, my voice cracking, the echo reverberating through the temple. My voice sounded different. Not mine—a kid's voice. I glanced down at my small hands, the unfamiliar body that had replaced my own adult form. The bloodstained knife wound through my chest was still there, but the pain? Gone.

It had been hours since I woke up here. Four? Maybe more. Who knows how long this kid had been lying here before I... took over? I wasn't hungry, though. Not thirsty either. I looked down at the bloodstained coat I was wearing, then back at my stomach. "I guess I'm built different now, huh? Hah."

Great, I've even lost the ability to feel hunger. Another perk of this world?

I stayed leaning against the altar for what felt like another two hours, my brain slowly melting from boredom. The ornate carvings on the pillars were the only things breaking up the monotony. Symbols, runes, or whatever—they didn't mean anything to me. My gaze drifted to an old skull sitting on a carved stone slab across the room. I stared at it for so long, I almost convinced myself it was going to speak to me like the last one. Come on, say something. Entertain me, damn it.

Nothing.

The only other signs of life were these ugly little creatures scurrying around. They looked like rats, but these things had horns, sharper fangs, and were covered in black fur.

The rats have horns. Of course they do.

My body finally had enough of sitting. I groaned, pushing myself up from the floor. My limbs were stiff, and every step felt like I was dragging a boulder on my back. "Alright... Let's see what this place has to offer," I mumbled to myself, voice hollow.

No excitement. No hope. Just the crushing weight of... nothingness. My spirit? Already dead. Motivation? Crushed. I might as well be a zombie wandering aimlessly through a forgotten crypt.

I wandered toward the hallway leading out of the stone room. The dim light filtered through cracks in the ceiling, casting strange shadows across the floor. About halfway across the room, something caught my eye—a line of blood on the ground. It looked old, dried in some sort of strange pattern that separated the inner part of the room from the outer hall.

I frowned, squatting down to inspect it. "Was this me? Or... the kid? Maybe one of those horned rat things got unlucky?" I muttered under my breath. Should I even be near this thing?

As if on cue, something shifted at the far end of the hallway. My entire body froze. I turned slowly, my breath catching in my throat.

A monster.

It stalked into view, its enormous form filling the entrance to the room. The creature was massive—like a black saber-toothed tiger, only twisted and monstrous. Its glowing red eyes locked onto me, and I swear I saw it lick its lips. Its fur was matted with scars, its huge body crisscrossed with wounds from battles I didn't want to imagine.

"Shit," I whispered, my voice barely audible.

The creature stared at me, crouching low, its muscles coiled like a spring ready to launch. My heart was hammering in my chest, panic clawing at my throat. I raised my hands slowly, backing up toward the corner of the room. "You don't want me, right? You probably want... this guy instead." I pointed toward one of the horned rats skittering nearby. "Cause... y'know, cats eat mice, right?"

Right?

My hands shook as I grabbed one of the rat-things by its pink tail, lifting it off the ground. The rat immediately sank its fangs into my finger, and I winced, my eyes watering from the pain. "Ow! You little—" I bit my tongue to stop from yelping.

The saber-tooth didn't care. It just kept watching me, its glowing eyes narrowing as I dangled the rat in front of me like some kind of peace offering. "Here... here kitty kitty..."

I inched closer, the rat squeaking in my grip. The saber-tooth stood perfectly still, its body tense. It was waiting—waiting for something. My breath caught in my throat as I closed the gap. I was six feet away now, holding the rat out in front of me like an idiot who had seen too many animal tamers in movies.

Then, it lunged.

The speed. I couldn't track it. One second it was still, and the next it was in midair, a blur of fangs and claws. Its trajectory was angled straight toward my arm, the same arm holding out the rat. I knew it was pointless to try and dodge, but my body reacted on instinct, recoiling in fear.

And then, fire.

The moment the creature's massive paw touched the line of blood, the ground erupted in flames—black and purple flames that burned with a heat so intense I could feel it from where I stood. The saber-tooth let out a horrific scream, a sound that was somewhere between a growl and a cry of agony. It stumbled backward, its body convulsing as the flames consumed it.

But the fire didn't burn like normal flames. No, these flames... they devoured. The monster's body began to rot, its flesh withering and aging at an unnatural speed. Its fur turned gray, then white, before falling off in clumps. Blood poured from its eyes and mouth as it collapsed onto the stone floor, its body crumbling to dust before it even reached the entrance of the room.

I stood there, stunned, watching as the creature dissolved into a heap of ash and blood.

"What. The. Hell." My voice trembled. My mind raced. "What just happened to that thing? Is that going to happen to me?! Oh, shi—"

Before I could finish the thought, a strange calm washed over me, like a switch had flipped in my brain. I took a deep breath, my panic fading into something... colder. Composure. That was all I had left now, wasn't it? Composure in a world that didn't care if I lived or died. A world that was already trying to break me, crush my spirit. But I couldn't let it.

I stared at the line of blood, my heart pounding in my chest. Without thinking, I bent my knees and jumped, my small body barely clearing the pattern. I landed on the other side, eyes squeezed shut, bracing for whatever horrible thing was about to happen.

Nothing.

I cracked one eye open, then the other. I glanced down at my hands, then my arms, then the rest of my body. No burns. No scars. No sign that anything had happened at all.

I blinked. "I'm... okay?"

I jumped back over the line, testing it. Same thing. No reaction. No flames. No aging. Just... nothing.

I exhaled slowly, glancing back at the pile of ash that used to be the saber-tooth. My hand was still holding the horned rat by its tail, though now it was... different. Its black fur had turned white, and the horns were rusted, as if it had aged centuries in the span of a few seconds.

I let the rat go, watching it scurry away into the shadows. For the first time since I arrived here, I felt a strange, unfamiliar sensation.

Safety.

For now, at least.