Xaltwind
Lugubrious
CitrusArms
Morgannis
Expendable
LupusIntus
Sky Blue
Lemons
Crimson Flame
Chronic
Ryoko found herself frozen in shock, eyes shut tight as she braced for impact, but she never felt one. She heard screams and shouts around her and quickly opened her eyes, turning to the horrified crowd who were running towards her. "I'm fine!" she shouted back, trying to reassure them, before one of them ran right through her. Ryoko felt dread well up in her stomach. Part of her already knew what this mean, but she turned round to see a crowd gathering round something, and there was blood on the floor. She could make out glimpses of her own bloodstained clothing through gaps in the crowd and she snatched her gaze away. She didn't want to see any more. She didn't want to see her own mangled body.
She was so close. There was so much she wanted to live for, and she had her whole life ahead of her. She never got to enjoy any of the fruits of her suffering. What was the point? If she had known she would die this young, she'd have said 'screw college' and just went and had fun and enjoyed her life. Before she could cry, there was a blinding flash and an Angel appeared before Ryoko. So, Angels did exist then.
"My poor child..." The Angel spoke, as it it embraced her in its wings. "Do not despair, for this not your time. My name is Morganna and today you've been granted a rare gift. You won't be able to return to this life, but you can take on another. You'll be in a new world and far removed from the struggles of your old life. We'll use these to start."
Ryoko hugged the Angel back, just needing a shoulder to lean on more than anything else right now. And she listened. But as she listened, she noticed that this spiel didn't sound like she was being taken to an afterlife. It sounded like...isekai? Her mind raced. Was isekai real?! Would she be reincarnated into a fantasy world?!
Images started spinning round the two of them. Images of Ryoko working from home, or studying from home, or writing her papers, or chatting on forums, or watching anime, or playing games. She remembered all these events as separate entities. They were her work, rest, play, and social life. But all together, they all just looked like a sad, overweight girl sitting in her room, at her desk. This is all her life had managed to amount to before it ended? Ryoko wanted to look away but couldn't. It was upsetting on an existential level.
"This is... unfortunate. I sense a great desire for freedom within you, yet your life seems to have bound you to these strange contraptions. Trapped in a cycle with no escape and only the promise of freedom. I think we can fix that. What do you think?"
"Yeah..." Ryoko replied in a small, voice, befire she turned back to the angel. "I mean, yes! Please give me another chance to make the most out of life this time!" she responded with much more conviction.
A screen floated past her, showing a scene from one of her favourite fantasy anime. It wasn't an anime with a particularly rich or complex story. It was just an anime about a fairy going about her dad to day life. Most critics called it boring, but it always soothed Ryoko's soul after a stressful day of trying to balance a busy day at work with a due assignment, so see a carefree fairy taking her time to do what she wanted, in a serene setting with a soothing soundtrack. She'd sometimes wished she was that fairy.
Everything suddenly went completely white, and all the surrounding people and noises vanished. She looked down and even her own body was gone.
"Soul Transfer Initiated! Suitable Race selected! Scanning soul...Skills Selected! Desire for Love detected - Charm Unlocked! Desire to Escape detected - Camouflage Unlocked! Powerful desire to become strong - Atlas Unlocked! Atlas combined with Fey Ancestry - Legendary Skill Nature's Might Unlocked! Racial Traits - Nature Bound Unlocked!
Skills, huh? So it was just like an Isekai after all! Everything started getting hazy and blurry as if she was suddenly losing consciousness.
"My name is Morganna. You'll awake in my temple. Welcome to your new life, Little One."
She awoke, and everything immediately felt off. The sensations in her body were different. She opened her eyes and looked around. She was on one side of a raised platform, in some kind of temple. There were three other people on the dias with her. Two humans and an elf. There was a figure further into the altar but her eyes couldn't make them out yet. She was still adjusting to how bright her surroundings were.
She looked down at her own body and could immediately tell how short she was. So she wasn't human. She reached up and helt the antenna on her head. Her wings twitched and she was suddenly aware of the wings on her back. She had no idea how to use them. She tried to move them and they performed a spasm that could barely be called a proper flap. She'd need more practice with them. They were an entire body part she'd never had before. She wondered how she could check her skills but had no idea. She'd try to open her menu later when she was on her own. She didn't want people watching her as she tried to figure that out. It'd be embarrasing. She subconsciously put her hand to her face to adjust her glasses. That's right. She didn't wear glasses anymore, did she?