I Slept Through The Apocalypse

Clover felt a dangerous aura surge from behind him.

At that point, he knew… he was no match for this beast. It could probably kill him with a single thought.

This was… real fear…

Fear which animals at the bottom of the food chain had for apex predators. Fear which came instinctually, from millenials of different species competing and suppressing each other.

He turned around slowly… only to be more stumped.

In front of Clover lay a chicken.

The chicken's feathers were a pure, white color seemingly unaffected by the dust or debris around it.

Tap… Tap… Tap…

It seemed to be pecking at the ground in search of seeds.

There was no sign that it had mutated in any way.

I guess might have been a little overdramatic. Clover thought to himself when he realized both of them had been fooled by a chicken.

The fear that he felt previously was gone. He even cracked a smile as he looked back at Pringles in confusion.

"You really spooked us both because of this… What do you have to say for yourself, Pringles?"

Pringles had not loosened up at all. He said in a grave tone, "I don't think you understand."

Clover noticed Pringles didn't come any closer.

"This beast doesn't have the appearance of one. But I can sense a strong bloodline awoken from it."

"Really? What is so scary about it then. It's just a bloodline, right?"

"It's not just any bloodline. This bloodline supposedly disappeared millions of years ago along with its ancestor."

Clover waited as usual for Pringles to elaborate.

"There are two legendary crows in the stories long ago. They were brothers, hatched from the same egg, a long time ago. Both were Three-Legged Crows. The difference lies in their abilities. One crow is able to control golden flames and is called the Golden Crow King. The other crow controlled powers of darkness, and was nicknamed the Shadow Crow King. Both brothers lived in harmony and ruled the crow race.

One day, the Shadow Crow King and his followers left to the Shadow realm to find a new power to defeat the demons, but were ambushed by a group of demons and were supposedly wiped out.

There were no witnesses or survivors of the battle, only traces of demonic energy and damage to the terrain in the Shadow Realm. The Shadow Crow King and his bloodline were never seen again, and his brother the Golden Crow King vowed to never stop searching for his traces.

I happened to meet the Shadow Crow once and helped him out with a favor so that's why I'm able to recognize his bloodline. If this is really his bloodline… then we might potentially have a chance to survive traveling through the forest, maybe even traveling through this world. The powers of darkness were mysterious and were never properly understood, even by the Golden Crow King." Pringles talked very seriously.

"No wonder you talked like you saw a ghost. It really was a ghost."

"So… what do I have to do to get this bloodline?" Clover asked very excited about obtaining a rare bloodline.

"What are talking about? This is for me. With your talents right now, there's no plausible method for you to obtain the bloodline without having to become a bird." Pringles sneered. Foolish kid, you totally thought you got something there.

"What? That's no fair…"

"Hehehe… Life's not fair, kid. Now wait here as I attempt to possess this beast. It's about time I finally got a real body."

Pringles floated over to the chicken as Clover unhappily watched.

The orb of light slowly entered the chicken's head. The chicken's eyes which were originally dull and thoughtless, became bright and intelligent.

A darkness began creeping out of the chicken. In Pringles's consciousness, the bloodline automatically activated trying to resist Pringles's possession. A towering, ominous dark face manifested out of the bloodline to confront Pringles in his consciousness.

"WHO DARES TO POSSESS MY CHILD? NOW FACE THE CONSEQUENCES!"

Pringles was afraid he was about to be banished to the Shadow Realm or something and started screaming really loud.

"WAAAIIT! Shadow Bro it's just me! Calm down!"

The face stopped in its tracks and squinted at the little ball of light.

There was a slight pause before he spoke.

"...Pringles?"

"Where have you been all these years, Shadow Bro? Your brother's been looking for you everywhere."

There was another pause as Pringle's waited for a reply.

"...I'm still in the Shadow Realm. You already know how communications shut off once you enter that place. In the battle between the demons and my forces, we had the slight advantage. We managed to win over them luckily, but then suddenly a giant gaping mouth, swallowed all of the bodies and left me behind. That's why there were no traces.After the battle, I decided to continue my search for the power when I found a permanent demon portal in the Shadow Realm which I've been sealing all this time. Unfortunately, I haven't found a permanent way to seal it, so I can't leave. And nobody dared step into the Shadow Realm anyways because it's dangerous. It's been so long… Pringles, I'm so glad I finally found someone to talk to. What are you doing in one of my descendant's bodies anyways?"

Pringles told him of the Shakul's betrayal and his current situation.

"Tsk I always knew those lizards were venomous. Alright well, I'm not sure if my bloodline is going to help you or not, but you're welcome to use the body, as long as you don't lose my bloodline by dying. Also contact me occasionally, there's nothing to do over here. "

"Thanks, Shadow Bro. Next time, I'll bring a kid with me to talk to you. He's a bit low IQ, but he's cool."

"The more the merrier!"

"Alright then, see you."

"Goodbye, Bro"

"..."

"Hang up first."

"No, you hang up."

"Fine, on the count of three. Ready? One, Two, Three."

"..."

"..."

"Hang up bro!"

" Fine!"

…

…

Pringles returned out of his consciousness shaking his head. Unbelievable… the long lost Shadow Crow King re-emerged just like that!

Pringles flapped his chicken wings as he checked himself out. This is a pretty good body… Similar to my original one. And I don't have to stay inside that brat Clover anymore. Life is good…

Oh almost forgot.

Pringles took out a red bow tie from his Soul Storage and fashioned it on his neck. There was a bright red orb in the middle of the bow tie that instantly made a connection with Pringle's soul when it manifested.

This should make it easier for me to store things without having to utilize my soul every time.

He looked up only to realize that the sky was pitch black!

He had talked so long with the Shadow Crow King that he lost track of time. Ooops.

Clover had already abandoned him to sleep under a nearby tree. Pringles ruffled his feathers and similarly joined him under the tree.

Under a tree, human and chicken slept peacefully amidst the terror and fright of the creatures of the forest.