In the suffocating, chaotic darkness of what felt like an endless ocean, a small consciousness struggled to maintain its grip on existence. The imaginary waters were black and impenetrable, muffling all sensation until nothing remained but the persistent sense of falling.
The consciousness fought back, clawing its way through the oppressive depths, but its efforts seemed futile against the inevitable descent.
After sinking toward the bottom for what felt like an eternity, the diminishing consciousness began to sense something new besides the endless fall.
It was... confusion?
Who am I...?
Where am I...?
Slowly, the consciousness began to recover its ability to think, strengthening itself bit by bit. Even the waters now seemed less suffocating and more like a gentle current.
The confusion gave birth to disoriented fragments of memory, and gradually, the being recovered one crucial thing: its sense of self.
I am... I am Shen Long.
The shards and fragments of his memory became clearer. He was a twenty-four-year-old college graduate who had recently left university. He held a well-paying business sales position and had been dating a beautiful girlfriend for quite some time.
But everything had changed one night when he was driving home and a mysteriously bright light appeared in front of him. His memory cut off abruptly at that moment.
It seems I must have been hit by a truck or something. Tch, what a way to go.
Realizing he was probably in some kind of afterlife, Shen discovered he had finally reached the bottom of whatever imaginary ocean he'd been trapped in—if he was even in one at all.
All he knew was that the sinking sensation had stopped, allowing him to focus his thoughts.
I have no idea why, but it feels like my existence could end in the blink of an eye if I'm not careful.
To Shen, to live was to think, and he sensed some unknown force constantly trying to strip away his ability to reason.
So he fought back in the only way he could—by thinking and visualizing the most complex things he could muster.
From the most challenging mathematical equations he could solve to intimate scenes with his girlfriend in his bedroom late at night. Time passed immeasurably as Shen focused on maintaining coherent thoughts.
Seconds... minutes... hours, and eventually days passed with Shen simply thinking. Mentally, he felt himself grow stronger than when he'd first arrived in this situation, but physically, he still felt like some immaterial existence—like a thought that could never be touched.
As the muffling "waters" gently flowed past him, a strange and foreign sensation suddenly assaulted his being.
What the hell is this?!
It was as if he was in pain, yet wasn't. The sensation was both hot and cold, stinging yet numbing. The only way he could describe it was as something no human could feel.
Hours passed with Shen in this abstract state. He had grown somewhat accustomed to it when another change occurred—the weird feeling subsided and was replaced by... his actual senses!
Shen experienced something greater than the most wonderful ecstasy as he began to regain the senses he had long lost!
First, his hearing returned. Though he heard no voices, the sound of muffled sloshing was more pleasing than silence. Then, finally, came his sight.
When Shen felt his "eyes" open, he was surprised to discover he was indeed in some type of water, though it was more viscous than liquid. The area around him was almost completely dark, but he could still make out small objects. Although he could see a full 360 degrees around himself, which was concerning, he decided to worry about that later.
What appeared to be pieces of trash and mysterious debris floated all around him. This was literally bacteria central! The environment reminded him of the worst possible combination of a garbage dump and septic tank, populated with floating objects of questionable origin mixed with various products of poor hygiene.
If Shen had a mouth right now, he would already be vomiting up his stomach contents.
Wait a second, why don't I have a mouth? And why haven't my other senses returned?
As he questioned these things, a subconscious thought from deep within told him he was no longer human. For some odd reason, he instantly came to terms with this fact.
Whether it was because he had already known since the moment he awakened in this place, or because he no longer was human and didn't seem to miss it—he couldn't say.
The only emotions he felt were bits of nostalgia for moments in life he had enjoyed, and curiosity about where or what this new place was.
So I guess I've transmigrated.
Shen had read enough novels and seen enough movies to know about transmigration. He had even been a firm believer that it was possible, so his current experience only proved his beliefs correct.
The only thing to do now was continue thinking. Since he couldn't move around, he decided to develop a new hobby.
Trash-gazing!
Inspired by stargazing, he would simply observe all the wandering debris that floated past him. His omnidirectional vision helped tremendously with this new interest.
Hmm... that one kind of looks like a hat.
And that one reminds me of an upside-down boot!
And that one strangely looks like a peni—
Suddenly, Shen noticed what appeared to be a small insect swimming through the water in the distance. This was the first living creature he had seen during his entire time in this underwater wasteland, so he was determined to make the most of it.
Instantly, a crazed and desperate plan formulated inside of his mind.
This bug might be the only chance I have at gaining mobility in this world.
As the swimming insect drew closer, he noticed its course had veered slightly off the desired path—it was about to pass right by him!
No! For my plan to work, it needs to hit me!
Willing, praying, and crossing his imaginary fingers with all his might, he watched the small creature head straight toward him. Miraculously, it did!
Thank you, whatever force in the universe made this happen!
As the bug came closer—now only a few feet away—Shen could clearly see it was a mosquito-like creature, except much larger and with a stinger on its abdomen.
Finally, the tiny being crossed directly into the space where Shen's consciousness resided. Immediately upon impact, he felt the same frenzied sensation as before.
But it quickly stopped after only a few seconds, and once again, the area around him began to gradually darken until he lost all awareness.