The monster drags me deeper underground for a few minutes, causing scrapes and bruises to form all over my body. I can't see them, but I can feel the pain they inflict on me. Eventually, we reach what I assume to be a larger open space based on the way the sound propagates, where my assailant starts violently shaking its head. I hit the ground multiple times until I'm finally launched into a nearby wall.

It hurts. My whole body hurts. The worst of it is my leg, the part where I was bitten sending waves of pain through my whole body. I'm too dizzy to get back up, so I lay on the floor for a bit.

I can't see anything, I'm stuck in a cave with an unidentified monster, I'm bleeding from all over my body... Is this it? I never managed to reach adulthood, so if I die here, I'll go join Falie. Assuming they even manage to find my body this deep underground.

As I start thinking that my life is probably nearing its end, I remember how devastated we were when Falie died. I remember how much my mom cried, and how different my dad acted for a while. I remember the burial, and how I thought that I wanted to make sure no one else would have to see their own child or sibling die.

I can't just accept defeat here. Xarem is counting on me to finally become an adult. My parents believe that I'll come back safe and sound tonight. I still have to live, for Falie and for all the other children who were lost. Whatever monster I'm facing, I have to find some way to prevail and escape.

I try to get back up, but I immediately fall down again. Something's wrong with my balance. I instead sit, placing my back against the stone wall, and start inspecting my body with my hands. A lot of it is wet with what I assume to be blood. Once I reach my legs, I notice that the one the monster grabbed... is gone!

In a panic, I start to feel all around me in an attempt to find it, but as I do, I hear munching sounds from nearby.

Is it... eating my leg?

A new wave of fear completely paralyzes me. I'm going to get eaten. That thing is going to tear off my limbs and eat them one by one. It's going to extend my agony as much as possible. They won't even find anything to bury, I'm just going to end in the belly of whatever that thing is!

What do I do? What can I do? I'm stuck here, I'm up against a thing that's happy to devour me, I can't even look for weak points to exploit. What options do I have? None! I can't win. This is it. I'm done for. I'm monster feed. I'm gone. I...

I take deep breaths to try to calm myself. This certainly is a disadvantageous position to be in, but I've met plenty of hardships as the hero. Heck, even after my rebirth, I found myself trying to escape from a venomhound as a three-year-old Rai'in. There has to be some way I can win this time too.

First, I need to stop the bleeding from my mutilated leg. Too much blood loss will affect my ability to fight back. I remove my shirt and place it around the stump, then grab some rope from my supplies and tie it as tight as I can around my leg.

As I'm rummaging through my bag to see what I have, I feel the vial of pain-numbing potion. This isn't what it's meant for, but at this point, I might as well drink it.

As I feel it flow down into my belly, I notice that the munching sounds stopped. I don't know if the creature is looking at me of if I'm simply imagining that it is, so I grab my hunting knife and hold it before me. It's not very useful if I can't see my target, but it might make a sound that will help me localize it and alert me to its movement.

For a moment, the cave stays completely silent, aside from the gurgling of some underground water stream. I don't know what to expect, so I try to mentally prepare for all possibilities, but the truth is that I'm extremely limited in the ways I can respond to aggression right now. I can't try to avoid an attack, in part due to my missing leg but also because I don't have the first clue as to what the terrain looks like around me.

So I have to hope the knife hits something weak before the monster's teeth mortally wound me. It's stronger and heavier than me in all likelihood, so letting it impale itself on the blade might be my best chance, but if it can see in the dark, it might know to avoid it.

However, instead of attacking, the monster simply starts eating again. I relax a bit. The inevitable has only been delayed, but I have a bit more time to think about my situation.

This would be nice if I could come up with any new ideas, but I'm at a complete loss right now. If I still had my Hero powers, I would cast a spell to give me some light, then try to see if the monster has any weak points I can exploit. In this body, I don't have that option. I can tell that my magic reserves grew as I got older, but they're still pitiful compared to what I had as a human. I might be able to cast one basic spell per day, at most, if I remembered any.

While the Rai'in are able to use magic, it's not much of a focus in our tribe, so we have to learn it of our own initiative from one of our spellcasters once we have the basics of combat down. If I had known I would find myself in a situation like this, I would have tried to learn a few things earlier, but it's too late for regrets.

The sounds coming from the creature stop again, so I lift my knife back up. Like last time, we stay like this for a bit, but this time, the silence is broken by a screech, immediately followed by a heavy mass slamming me against the wall.

Looks like it went around my knife. I hear it walk back a bit, so I prepare for another hit. Thanks to the potion, I didn't feel the first one much, so I'm ready for the next.

This time, I hear it pounce, so I reflexively duck and jab my knife upward. It's deflected by something hard as the monster falls on me. I assume it was aiming to bite my head off. I was lucky to react in the right way to prevent that from happening, but I'm now stuck.

With me now underneath it, the creatures starts striking with its claws, injuring me even further. While it does that, I continue my attempts to stab it, but all of them hit something too hard to be penetrated. As I feel myself get injured more and more and as my adrenaline rush intensifies under the effect of my struggle, a single word rises to my lips. I don't know where it comes from, or why I feel the need to shout it, but I follow my instinct:

"Rot!"

As I do, I feel the magic in my body get suddenly drained as my knife finally manages to penetrate my target. It lets out a scream of pain, then another scream which almost sounds like a panic, before running away. Its pain echoes through the cave as it slams against the walls, each new scream sounding more deformed than the last, until silence finally comes back.

I'm laying on the ground, unable to move. I can tell my left arm was ripped to shreds, I'm bleeding abundantly from multiple more wounds to my torso, and I don't have the strength to attempt to take care of any of that. I don't know what spell I cast, it wasn't part of my repertoire as the Hero, but looks like it allowed me to win this round. I don't know if the monster is dead, or if it simply fainted, but for now...

For now, I'll close my eyes, and rest for a bit. For... just a bit...

I wake up suddenly because of a violent coughing fit. Once I finally manage to breathe, I realize that my throat feels extremely dry. I need something to drink immediately.

I can still hear the sound of the stream, so I crawl in its direction, until I finally feel the presence of a liquid on my fingers. I bring my mouth closer, and drink for a long time. The fresh water flows down my throat, making me feel revitalized.

Once I'm properly hydrated, I sit back on the floor. I don't know how long I've been asleep, but it must have been a while for me to feel this thirsty upon waking up. Using my remaining functioning arm, I feel around my body. My injuries still hurt a lot, but they don't seem to be bleeding anymore. In that case, my life probably isn't in immediate danger, but I'm very likely to get infections and die anyway if I don't receive treatment soon. I wonder if the villagers are looking for me.

I move around a bit until I find a rock I can lean against. The monster used magic to close the tunnels it was digging, so it might take days for anyone to reach this place, assuming they even dig in the right direction. I know there are spells to detect living creatures, but this deep in the ground, I might just be out of reach.

However, trying to find a way out while completely blind would be even more dangerous. I don't even know if this place is connected to a larger cave network. Seems unlikely, a nest no paths lead to would be safest for a monster capable of magically digging tunnels.

I bring my head back and let it rest against the rock. It's not comfortable, but I'll have to tough it out for a while. I obviously can't dig my way back out with one arm, one leg, and no tools, so my only real option is to stay here and wait. With a bit of luck, they won't just find a corpse.

Since I'm still alive, I think it's safe to assume that the monster is dead. I can't hear it at all, and it hasn't eaten me. That's a relief.

I'm still tired, I'll try getting a bit more sleep.

How long have I been down here? I've slept and woken up multiple times, but this only makes it harder to estimate how much time has passed. Thanks to the water stream, I'm able to stay hydrated, but my belly is starting to rumble a lot. What food can I even find here? Rocks aren't edible, and nothing seems to be growing, so...

There's the carcass of a monster somewhere around here. Is that edible? I guess there's only one way to find out.

I grab my hunting knife and start crawling around, trying to find the remains of the creature. My sense of orientation is thrown off completely by the complete darkness I'm in, so it takes me a while, but I eventually find a corpse. I try planting my knife in but, sure enough, the hard material that was keeping it safe when alive is still there. I spend a bit more time feeling around until I touch a soft and moist spot. I plant my knife in, carve a block of meat out, then try taking a bite.

I immediately spit it back out. It's absolutely disgusting. However, I might not survive if I don't eat it, so I force myself to swallow the next bite. Slowly but surely, the block of meat shrinks in my hands, until there's nothing left. I find another spot where I can try sleeping, lay down, and close my eyes. Hopefully that bad aftertaste in my mouth will go away soon.

I'm woken up by waves of extreme pain going through my entire body. I try to change my position, but nothing even begins to attenuate it. I curl up in a ball as the pain becomes so unbearable that I can't control my screams anymore. They echo through the cavern, with nothing and no one to hear them.

I feel the pain moving around and eating at different parts of my body, one after the other. Even my missing limbs don't escape it, I feel them hurt as if they were still there.

What caused this? Was the meat poisoned? Am I dying?

Oh, Falie... I guess your big sibling is coming to join you soon...

As I lose consciousness, the pain starts feeling more and more distant.

I'm woken up by a ray of light hitting my face. I try opening my eyes, but it hurts too much. I hear a voice shouting:

"We found them. Hurry up, we need to get them out of here as soon as we can!"

People? Did they... find me?

I hear a familiar voice respond:

"I'll carry them. Let's quickly evacuate."

I feel strong arms picking me up. I smile as a name softly escapes my lips:

"Cieno..."

"I'm here. I told you I would carry you if necessary. I know I said it'd be on my back, but my arms will have to do this time."

I feel so happy. They found me after all. I might be saved.

 I keep my eyes closed as Xarem carries me through the tunnels they dug to reach me. I'm still tired, I think I'll... Yes, I'll take a short nap.

When I open my eyes, I'm greeted by the familiar ceiling of my bedroom. I don't feel any pain anymore. Was it all just a dream?

I sit up on my bed. The shape of the sheets over my legs clearly shows that I still have both of them. I raise my left arm to look at it, and... It's white?

Why isn't my skin purple anymore? My limbs could have been regenerated with a powerful spell, but it shouldn't have altered their color!

I raise my right arm and put it in front of me as well. It's white. I push the bed sheets away. My legs are also white.

Seemingly hearing the commotion, my mom comes into my room.

"Pailu, what's going on?"

"You tell me! Why isn't my skin purple anymore?"

She smiles gently before saying:

"First, calm down, then take a good look at your body."

I'm a bit confused, but I close my eyes and control my breathing to calm down. Once I feel like my emotions are back to normal, I get up and take a look at my own self.

Aside from my skin not being purple anymore, the first thing I notice is the two protrusions on my chest. I lift my shirt up and look inside to see... Breasts!?

I scramble to lift up my nightwear to reveal my crotch, confirming that I now have a female body.

I ended up reaching adulthood! But also...

"I'm... a Rai'ila?"

"Not quite. The Elder wants to talk to you and give you the details, but... Unexpectedly, you ended up being a Rai'ire."

A Rai'ire... That's someone who brings the souls of the dead to the afterlife, right? How did I end up becoming one of them?

As I'm thinking, my mom gets closer and hugs me. As she's softly rubbing my back in a comforting manner, she says:

"I know this isn't what you wanted. You told us we'd have a son, and now we have a daughter instead. Just know that we love you all the same. It didn't matter to us what you were going to become, all we've ever wanted was for you to be happy."

I smile as I hug her back. I'm thankful to have such great parents.

She takes a few steps back, then looks at me from head to toes before continuing:

"I didn't have time to make new clothes for you yet, so I'll lend you some of mine. Some people are waiting to know how you're doing, so don't make them wait too long. Oh, and go see the Elder as soon as you feel ready."

I let out a sigh as I sit on my bed. There's only one mirror in the house, so... I guess I'll get dressed and then go take a look at my reflection.

My mom lends me a traditional dress worn by the Rai'ila, decorated with floral patterns above the hem. She then brushes my hair and braids a few strands on one side, decorating the result with one of her own hair accessories. She finally brings me in front of the mirror, allowing me to take a look at my reflection.

The first things that strikes me is how pale I am. If I wasn't standing up, moving around, and breathing, I could probably be mistaken for a corpse. The Rai'ila normally have a slight purple tint to their skin, but mine is pure white. On top of that, my eyes lost their color, turning a light shade of gray instead. My hair was already white before, so my whole body is completely monochrome now. I'm sure to stand out a lot among the Rai'in like this.

Putting that aside, however, I do look rather good. I turn around a bit to see myself under multiple angles, then try smiling. The transformation softened some of my facial features, giving me a very gentle appearance similar to my mom's. My body appears delicate, but I can tell from the amount of magical energy flowing through it that it's merely an illusion. The dress helps accentuate my curves, further improving my appearance. I feel all light wearing this!

When I come out of the room, my dad's jaw drops.

"... You look so much like your mother did when she was younger. Whoever you pick as your partner is a lucky Rai'enu indeed. I wonder who it'll be... Probably Or'xarem, right?"

If my cheeks could turn bright red, I'm sure they would. I shake my head before responding:

"I was convinced I was going to end up being a Rai'enu until just now, please at least give me some time to think about it!"

My reaction makes him laugh loudly, and I see my mom smiling as she heads to the living room.

"I'm just teasing you. I'm sure you'll need some time to adjust, and there's the role you have to play as a Rai'ire as well which might get in the way. Take as much time as you need."

I smile at him, then head over to the kitchen to grab some food. I don't know how long it's been since I ate that raw monster meat, but I'm starving!

Once I'm done with my meal, my parents come sit at the table. My mom initiates the conversation:

"Now... Since you're an adult, you're going to need a new name. While you were sleeping, we had a talk about it, and we settled on Ai'erina. What do you think?"

Oh, right, they probably had to quickly think up a Rai'ila's name when they saw the way I transformed. It does sound nice though.

"I like it. From now on, I'm Ai'erina!"

Happy that I like the name, they move on to telling me about how worried everyone was when I got dragged underground and how they finally managed to find me. They had to dig for multiple days and were expecting me to be dead upon their arrival, but they found me in a greatly weakened state instead. Xarem carried me all the way back home, where I was finally able to get some rest and recover from the transformation, which apparently fully healed my wounds.

Once we're done talking, I get on the balcony and look down. I see Xarem, who's leaning back against a tree. Did he wait all this time for me to wake up? I should go tell him I'm fine.

I climb down the ladder, then run towards him. When he sees me, he freezes, his mouth slightly open, unable to look away.

"Surprised to see me alive and well?"

"Ah... well, yes, but..."

I can tell that he's embarrassed, but he finally whispers:

"You're so pretty."

Now I'm the one who's embarrassed! How can he just drop a compliment like that on me? I manage to regain some composure, then ask:

"Didn't you get to have a good look while you were carrying me back?"

"Well, not really, you had a thick crust of dried dirt and blood covering your whole body, so while I could tell you had changed, I couldn't pick up any of the details. Your parents made sure to give you a really good cleaning, but I wasn't there to see that."

"Oooh? And do you wish you had seen me naked?"

He looks away before responding:

"Well... Yeah, of course! It's only natural for a Rai'enu my age to be curious about the body of a Rai'ila, especially one as beautiful as you."

He's so bold! My attempt to mess with him backfired, and now I'm the one who has to look away.

"Anyway... Thanks for carrying me and helping with the rescue effort. And... I guess you were really worried about me to stay near my house the whole time."

"I actually took some time to go sleep, but yes, I wanted to make sure you were okay. That was scary, but... You finally made it! You're an adult now."

"Yeah! This isn't exactly the outcome I expected, but at least I got there. Speaking of, I need to go see the Elder. He needs to tell me more about what I turned into."

"Right, you're not just a Rai'ila... Oh, but what's your name now?"

As I start walking away, I look back at him, and respond:

"I'm Ai'erina. Although, if it's you, I don't mind being called Pailu."