—And so, I woke up.
"...Hah! Where is—Ouch!"
A sharp, throbbing pain ran through my arm.
The room was too dark to see even my own hands.
Before I could examine the room, memories of this body's owner flooded in.
However, those memories were extremely thin.
That's because this five-year-old boy had never seen the outside world.
He had spent his entire life with children in the same situation, in a space the adults called a chamber.
Even the cathedral he had just left was something he'd seen for the first time.
At the same time, I tried to recall my previous life. But...
'I can't remember anything.'
No, there is something I remember.
It's the memory of the most shocking moment of my previous life—the moment of death.
Just remembering it...
"Hah...hah...hah...ha."
My breathing quickened, and I clutched my chest, feeling an imagined pain piercing my heart.
I don't know what happened leading up to my death.
However, the coldness of body heat draining from my core, and the terror of life slipping away from my own hands, are carved into my soul.
My body began to shake violently.
I fell from the bed onto the stone floor, on all fours.
"It's okay, hah, I'm alive, haah, I'm alive, I don't want to die, ugh, urgh."
My vision distorted with tears. I couldn't breathe properly.
"Haah, hah, hah, hah, hah, some—one—"
***
I woke up again.
I don't know how long I was unconscious, but judging from my hunger, not much time had passed.
Anyway, I'll try not to recall too deeply about the time I died.
It could potentially overwhelm even my current life's memories. It seems my previous life's memories were blown away by the intense memory of death.
I can access language and knowledge, but memories like recollections don't surface at all.
"Haa."
Giving up on what won't come back, I turned my attention to what was in front of me.
"I can't see anything."
And I can't hear anything either.
It was truly a room where not a single ray of light entered.
For now, I felt around my surroundings with my hands.
A flat platform with cloth on it...
"Ah, a bed."
The bed I had fallen from earlier.
Beyond the bed was a stone wall.
With my right hand touching the wall and my left hand stretched out in front, I slowly explored the room.
To conclude, this room was cylindrical. It contained only a bed and a hole for relieving oneself. In short, it was a prison cell.
And from what I could tell, there was no exit.
I was probably thrown in here while I was sleeping.
I have no idea where in that building this place is located.
But I have a guess as to why I've been placed here.
If my guess is correct, the children gathered in the cathedral yesterday have, like me, had something carved into them with a knife, and then been individually thrown into dark rooms.
In any case, they don't seem intent on killing me.
I decided to go back to sleep to conserve energy.
***
After waking and sleeping about three times, while lying down and holding my hand toward the ceiling, I noticed something strange.
"That's odd, I can see."
Despite no light entering this room, I could clearly see the outline of my hand.
I close my eyes. Even then, I can still see the outline of my hand. This means I'm seeing through something other than normal vision.
"!!"
Getting up from the bed, looking down at my body, I can see the outline of everything from my chest down, just like my hand.
And looking at the bed, I can see the small human-shaped outline remaining on it.
That's when it hit me.
Pit organs.
Pit organs are what snakes have, organs for seeing heat as a visual. Simply put, it's a biological thermograph.
And it's certainly not a function humans possess.
In other words, I'm not human.
Rather, I'm not Homo sapiens.
It's possible that humans in this world have the ability to see heat sources, but it's more likely that I'm a humanoid species unique to this world.
In the same chamber, there was a girl with a thick tail like a dragon and a boy with long ears.
I even remember that dragon-girl sometimes trying to crush my tail.
...My tail?
Reaching for my tailbone, I feel the sensation of slimy scales.
A snake's tail, with a presence so strong it's strange I hadn't noticed until now.
Long and slender, a snake's tail.
A snake, huh.
As soon as I became conscious of it, the sensation of the tail became vivid, as if nerves had connected.
If I think about moving it, I can control it quite precisely.
The sense of touch is also sharp, as sensitive as the back of my hand.
It's long enough to wrap around my torso three or four times, so it's probably about the same length as my height. Its thickness and strength are somewhere between my legs and arms.
I don't know if it will grow longer as I grow, but if it gets too long, it might become a nuisance. I hope it maintains this balance as it grows.
After confirming my tail and third eye—the pit organ—I curl up like a coiled snake and go back to sleep.
***
I wake from my fifth sleep.
My hunger had already reached its limit.
I can still barely move, but I don't want to use my energy.
After glaring at the invisible ceiling with just my gaze, I close my eyelids.
***
Sixth awakening.
The thought crosses my mind that perhaps no one knows I'm here.
I bite my nails.
It distracts from the hunger a little.
***
Tenth, no, ninth awakening.
Having just dreamed of eating steak, I feel terribly sick.
I spit out the pebble I had been holding in my mouth while sleeping.
The room seems to smell a bit strange, I think.
My throat is parched too.
I don't want to think about anything.
***
I can no longer tell if I'm awake or asleep.
I'm simply terrified of dying.
That sensation of falling continuously into a cold, lonely, empty abyss...
I've remembered it again.
"Haah...haah...hah..."
My breathing becomes irregular.
"Hyuh...hyuu...hyu...hi."
Unable to breathe properly, tears well up from the suffering.
It's cold and frightening.
Oh, someone, please help me.
"[————]"
In my drowsy consciousness, I hear something.
Something is standing in front of me.
"Do..."
My parched mouth opens on its own.
"Doubt him,"
"Doubt him not, hyuh... for he is, hi-... the merciful one."
I don't know why I said that.
But as soon as I uttered it, I felt as if my heart was wrapped in something warm.
"Defy him not, for he is the merciful one."
The presence before me feels closer.
I can't see it, can't hear it. But I know he is there.
"Desire him not, for he is the noble one."
The warm sensation emanating from it gently dissolves my fear.
By the time I finished reciting, my mind had regained its calm.
"Ah, aah!"
Now tears flow from gratitude.
I prostrate myself and show utmost reverence toward him.
And then, wrapped in warm feelings, I lost consciousness.