Learning that there were other pantheons baffled me. Naturally, I thought they were all fairytales, but I couldn't be far from wrong; they just existed in separate worlds, with their own laws of physics and historical events. And apparently, the most common world for people who reincarnated into the Axis Mundi, was my own.
That's right, almost every Otherworlder comes from my universe and was sent into this one for some unknown reason. My world was labeled as [Universe 8], the eighth universe created by the Gods of Creation.
My mom told me everything from the beginning to end, but left out some key details to save time, all while we were in our nest, but now she was out for a bit, hunting.
Knowing that gods exist, among magic and other mythological creatures shook me to my core, but how could I be surprised anymore? I was reincarnated as a freaking cat! Nothing should really baffle me at this point.
[Man, this stinks.]
Lying in my nest, surrounded by my sleeping brothers and sisters made me bored. There was nothing to do. A few hours have passed after my fight with the Boss Frog, and now I was thinking about back home.
[My classmates... I'm worried about them. If they reincarnated in this world, just like me, then what would happen if they lost their memories? That'll break my heart.]
Staying curled up like a croissant, I sighed internally.
[Itsuki, Koji, and Akira... they'll forget about me and their previous life, and we won't be friends again.]
I couldn't live with that—I felt so alone—even though I was born into a cat family, I still missed my former life dearly; despite my crappy social and family life.
Those Isekai Light Novels are full of crap. There's no way in hell that someone can just reincarnate into a new world and act like everything's all fine and dandy.
I now rolled over on my side and stared at the leaves and vines of the nest ceiling.
[Maybe I'm overthinking things again...]
It's been hours since Mom told me about the other pantheons and the Axis Mundi, and my head was still spinning in circles about all of this at once. Gods, divine beasts, reincarnation systems—it was all too much, you know?
If it weren't for the fact that I literally had paws and a tail, I'd probably think this was all some fever dream I hadn't woken up from or something.
"I'm really stuck here, huh?" I muttered under my breath, a bit frustrated as the realization was quickly settling in.
[If my classmates really ended up here too... would they be like me? Reincarnated as animals? Monsters? Or maybe they got lucky and respawned as humans again.]
To be honest, that thought hit me harder than I expected. I missed them, even though we didn't talk as much, it was still nice. Now, they might be out there somewhere, completely different people. Or worse; they might not even remember I existed.
[No, I can't think like that! If they're alive, I'll find them. Even if I have to cross this whole damn world on four legs.]
A small yawn from nearby broke my depressive train of thought. One of my siblings, a tiny gray kitten, was curled against my side, twitching in her tail as she slept soundly.
She didn't have to worry about gods or worlds or systems. She just slept, purred, and lived like any other wild beast. Simple as that. Maybe I could learn something from her.
Still, the lingering question about why I was brought here wouldn't leave me alone. Mom said the Spiritus Mundi was made by the gods, plural. That it governed everything. But why me? Why pull someone like me from Universe 8, from a school shooting of all things, just to drop me in a body so fragile I could die as easily as a hamster?
[If the Spiritus Mundi really is watching me... then what does it want?]
The familiar, monotone voice suddenly chimed in my head.
[[The Spiritus Mundi does not answer existential whining.]]
I nearly jumped out of my fur.
"GAH! What the hell? D-Don't just eavesdrop like that!" I hissed under my breath, glancing around to make sure my siblings were still asleep.
[[Clarification: The Spiritus Mundi is omnipresent. It is not "eavesdropping" as you say. You are simply very loud.]]
"O-Omnipresent?" I gained shivers through my fur. "I don't like the thought of an omnipresent being whatsoever..."
I suddenly widened my eyes, realizing the Spiritus Mundi was actually talking to me. Holy crap!
"W-Wait a second, why are you speaking to me, directly? I thought nobody was able to hear you!"
I looked up at my ceiling, waiting for an answer, but there was no reply.
"...Yo, Spiritus Mundi, are you still there?"
What the heck, it just disappeared. What was that all about?
"Well, that was random. Did I do something to scare them off?"
All of a sudden, I jolted when I heard a plop sound nearby. At first, I thought it was just a raindrop hitting the edge of the nest, but then there was a literal Ribbit.
"W-What the hell was that!?" I turned my head toward the sound with my claws out, ready to fight.
The noise came again, but this time it sounded like an adorable nervous hiccup.
"Ribbit..."
I got up onto all fours with my tail puffed out like a bottlebrush as I scanned the nest. My siblings kept sleeping, completely oblivious to what was going on while I searched for the noise until I noticed something at the entrance.
There was a... tiny green blob hopping inside. Oh crap, not again, there's no way in hell they survived, right?!
"A-A frog?! Here!?" I was in shock, backing up until my tail hit the bark. My first thought was poison, and my second was revenge.
It was freaking small, barely the size of my paw, but that didn't stop me from glaring at it like it was a ticking bomb. But what made me hesitate was its quivering body, and its bulbous eyes staring up at me with... fear?
"Hold up... you're scared of me?" I tilted my head, still ready to attack if it even stared at me wrong. "You're not one of those frogs, are you?"
The baby frog let out a weak croak and hopped forward a bit, stopping a few meters away from my paw.
[I can't believe this... w-what do I do? I basically murdered its entire family, but I was just trying to survive!]
There was no way I could just let this thing walk around freely. What if it grows up to get revenge one day? But the way it stared at me with clueless, innocent eyes, made me hesitate with my train of thought.
[No, calm down, what am I thinking? It's just a baby. It's not like it's gonna summon a poison domain and melt my fur off in the future. That was a Boss Frog mechanic. And besides, I've gained a bunch of resistance to poison anyway!]
"You're the last one, huh?" I said in a meow, leaning closer. "Your family, your king... they're all gone."
The little frog just croaked and lowered its head like it understood me. I suddenly swallowed a weird lump in my throat.
I'd been celebrating my survival earlier, but now,seeing this thing; this one leftover piece of what I destroyed, it suddenly didn't feel like much of a victory.
[Man... I really did wipe out an entire family, didn't I?]
The frog gave another tiny ribbit and moved even closer until it was practically at my paw.
Then, before I could react, it curled up beside me like a cat would, and just sat there.
"Huh? You wanna stay?" I asked in disbelief.
It croaked again, basically saying yes from what I can assume.
"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me..." I sighed and looked at the sleeping kittens beside me. "I don't know how my mom is gonna feel about this... it seems like a bad idea, but... I'm the one who caused all of this... so..." I lowered my head.
It is what it is—I had to take responsibility for my actions. Lying back down, I kept one wary eye open as it nestled beside me like I was its mother or something.
[Well, this is weird. First I slay a swamp king, and now I'm babysitting its heir. What's next, a talking turtle wanting rent money?]
I started to yawn, a bit too tired to keep my guard up. The little frog made a soft chirping sound and pressed itself against my fur for warmth. It was kind of cute, in a slimy, gross sort of way.
"...Ehehe." I chuckled with a small mew, now resting my head back down. "Yeah, you can stay, but the second you start spitting poison, I'm tossing you out of the nest. Deal?"
"Ribbit!"
"Alright, I'll take that as a yes."
As I slowly fell to sleep, the last thought crossing my mind wasn't about gods or other worlds—it was about this tiny frog slumped up against me.
[Guess it's not just me who lost everything, huh?]