That Time I Reincarnated as a Stone

Chapter 4: The Judgment of the Rock

Viktor’s departure cut deep. Did he perish, or is he out there somewhere? I don’t know. Losing him felt like losing family—or perhaps it was just the sheer terror of being utterly alone again in a world whose name I haven’t even learned. Maybe the God of this place was spiteful toward me.

“Is there truly a God here?” I wondered. “Or are these just the delusions of a mind trapped in a body of stone? And what the hell was that voice speaking to me?”

Well, if a God does exist, He’s surely an idiot for taking Viktor from me.

Days have bled into one another, and I remain here, discarded in the mire, staring into the abyss of my own solitude. The grief hasn’t faded. He was a simple animal, a pet of sorts, yet it feels as though I’ve lost my best friend. This stasis is starting to break me.

In the wake of his passing, nothing has changed. He is likely dead; I’ve forced myself to accept that. I remain half-buried in this sludge, though the sun has finally begun to bake the earth dry, coaxing small insects from their hiding places. There isn’t a trace left of Viktor’s home—only ruins and dead branches choked by the mud.

“This is bullshit!” I cursed internally. I was frustrated; those brief days of warmth had vanished, washed away by that damned rain.

That’s the danger of being left alone with my thoughts: I start spiraling into places I shouldn’t go. Maybe there is a God, and He brought me to this world to suffer because I didn’t cherish my family when I had them. Maybe, deep down, I’m a piece of work. Maybe I should just die again.

“Following that final thought, Samuel drifted into something resembling sleep—a profound lethargy.”

“Hey… who’s speaking? And why are you narrating my story, you mysterious voice?”

A strange confusion washed over me. Where did those words come from? But I had no time to investigate. For the first time in an eternity, exhaustion claimed me.

“Okay… I’m feeling drowsy… I’m really… falling… asleep.”

I succumbed to a slumber of unknown duration, but it was glorious. For the first time since waking up in this world, I felt true rest. My mind stopped its frantic circling around God, Viktor, and my past life. Everything simply faded into the black.

[New Incarnation Found]

A message flickered in my mind as I slept, the text glowing in electric blue.

[Soul Prepared for Transfer]

I couldn’t even process what it meant; there wasn’t a second to spare. Upon waking, I felt my eyes open. But how was that possible? How did I have eyes when, moments ago, I was a mere stone incapable of even blinking?

I began to sense the wind and the salt of the air—sensations that felt new in this life, yet familiar from my time as a human. With an effort that felt Herculean, I moved what I assumed was a limb. As I lifted it into my line of sight, I froze. It was a hand. But it wasn’t my human hand from Earth; it was the hand of a beast… a hand like Viktor’s species.

It was covered in fur, though sparse, with small claws and fingers reminiscent of a primate. “This is bizarre. What’s happening?” I thought, flexing and shaking the hand. Everything felt brand new.

I couldn’t believe it. Had I possessed someone else’s body? Or had my stone form transformed? I had no idea, but I could move. After what felt like centuries of paralysis, I was finally free.

I attempted to push myself up from the dried mud, feeling the texture of the earth beneath my claws for the first time. The world was no longer something I watched pass by; I was a part of it.

Scanning my surroundings, I spotted a rock embedded in the silt. I leaned over and grasped it; perhaps it was my former self. Where did this new form come from? I recalled the glowing text from my sleep. A “New Incarnation.” A new body…

…"

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