Reincarnated as a Land Shark???

Chapter 2: Living the Dream

This is a rather long dream, I have to say. Then again, I like dreams like this. It means I have more time to enjoy them, even if that time is only something fabricated in my head.

I do find myself wondering when this dream will end. Will it end when my egg hatches? If so, that would suck. I want to find out what happens after I hatch, after all. Will I make it to land? I certainly hope so - if there are all these alien creatures swimming around in the sea, what does the land look like? I haven't heard any boats, so I wonder if there are humans nearby?

...Can you even hear boats from underwater?

I roll my egg around the cave until I get bored of it, and then continue to wait. It's not long after that when my egg's viscosity deteriorates to the point holes form in it and I find myself breaking free simply by wiggling around.

I look myself over. My skin is very dark and rubbery, just like the other shark's. I'm definitely a bit smaller than that shark, but not by much. What the heck, did I hatch at near full size? Well, it's more convenient like this but at the same time I don't get to see what I'd look like as a small baby shark, so that's kind of sad.

...Even if I did already know that sharks normally just come out as smaller versions of their adult selves.

Well, first thing's first, time to swim myself out of this cave.

Swimming like this is surprisingly easy. I suppose it's because this is a dream and doesn't require much thought to it. In any case, the second I come out into the sunlight, warmth covers my hide.

Aaaah, that feels nice.

A tiny bit of doubt hits me at the sensation. I always close the blinds before I go to sleep, so I couldn't just be feeling that from outside of my dream. I don't have any pets that would cuddle with me in my sleep either... So how am I feeling that?

I shake it off, deciding to focus on my surroundings instead.

I swim out into the reef, exploring my new habitat.

There all sorts of alien creatures swimming about here - giant parrotfish that actually have feathers on their backs, a school of flying fish gliding through the reef that each possesses wings that look very real and functional, a massive shell with probably a hundred legs growing out of holes all over its body rolling its way across the seafloor. I swim up, having half a mind to see what happens when I poke it, but decide not to. Instead I swim my way up closer to the surface, feeling the water heat up around me. Again, doubt pulls at my thoughts, but I push it back down as I explore. My shark fin breaches the water, and I snicker at the thought that anyone who saw it must be screaming and getting out of the water by now...

If I'm by a beach, that is. Considering I'm in a reef and the ground is steadily sloping up in one direction, though, I'd say I am.

Rather than go to shore straight away, though, I go back to exploring the reef.

It's very peaceful, everything I had ever hoped it to be and more. Maybe this is only because it was a dream. Who knows, the real thing may be even better. I can't wait to find out for myself, but I'll just have to settle for enjoying this dream version while I can.

I swim past the weird dragon-like barracuda from earlier, and it casually continues on past me, light reflecting off its scales and giving the waves around it a green glow. I dive back down to the sandy bottom of the reef, kicking up said sand as I swim through another cave and startle one of those weird-looking octopi before I dart out the other side.

Wow, this is amazing! I wonder if swimming here in real life will feel this good?

I head up to a flat expanse of rock, laying against it and sunbathing. This is the life! Nice and comfy.

I spot the octopus I swam by in the process of jetting itself up out of the reef. It turns towards me angrily, baring needle-like teeth in its gaping maw, and...

And charges?

What the heck? What did I ever do to you?

I leap up off the rock with a powerful strike of my tail, feeling a bit of pain lance up my spine from the action and...

Pain.

That makes me freeze just long enough for the creature to sink its jaws into my side and...

It hurt.

I open my jaws in a silent roar of pain and panic, twisting. The creature is dislodged from my side and I snap my jaws down over it.

It's done, just like that. Blood fills my maw as it's crushed between my jaws, its life reaching its end.

You can't feel pain in dreams. Not like this. 

Taste should be dulled.

This isn't a dream.

I just killed something... and there's blood in the water.

My jaws part again and I fling the corpse away from myself. I swim away, ignoring the strange ping that fills my ears and dismissing the equally strange flash of color in the corner of my eyes as one of the demon fish swimming up to snag the corpse. I find myself an empty reef cave and settle there, looking back at my wound.

How do I even treat a wound like this? Can I treat it?

The face of the hungry barracuda monster looms into the hole, clearly having followed the scent trail of my blood. It opens its jaws.

I contort my body, thrashing out of the way of its snake-like strike, and fasten my jaws around its neck. I feel multiple snaps between my teeth, and the ding returns. Suddenly, all the pain vanishes, and when I look at my wound...

It's gone?

What?

What is going on here? How could a wound just disappear like that...

No, not just that. I feel stronger than before somehow, and almost...

There's no doubt about it.

Not only am I stronger than before and completely healed, I've grown just a bit to be noticeable.

What in the world...

So I really have reincarnated into the body of some kind of monster... and I have no idea what any of this could possibly mean.