The warmth from his earlier act of will still lingered, wrapping around him like a protective cocoon. His body, once numb from the freezing cold, had regained a semblance of life. The air around him felt… different now. More alive, perhaps, or maybe it was just him growing accustomed to the strange sensation of control.
He stood up slowly, testing his legs. The world stretched out before him—a vast, desolate snowfield, with nothing but the biting wind and the empty silence. There were no footprints, no signs of life. It was just him.
Where am I?
The question floated in his mind, but he pushed it aside. The truth was simple: he didn't know. And at this moment, that wasn't what mattered.
What mattered was figuring out how to survive, how to navigate this reality that was both familiar and alien.
He felt the power within him again—the warmth, the hum of possibility. There was an unfamiliar confidence in knowing that he could change the world, or at least his immediate surroundings, with a thought. His mind wandered briefly to the idea of what else he could do with this power. Could he create more warmth? Could he change the snow itself? Could he... do more?
But there was no time for that.
The world was still cold, and his body, though warmed, remained vulnerable. The immediate priority was survival, not grand experiments.
I need to find out where I am, he thought again, as he began walking slowly through the snow.
The wind howled around him, as if mocking his every step. But there was a calmness to his actions, a focus, as though he were in a dream. The snow beneath his boots crunched with each step, and yet he moved without hesitation.
Something tugged at his mind, an instinct that had nothing to do with his past life. He looked down at the snow and, without thinking, willed it to stop.
The snow didn't cease, but a strange ripple passed through the ground, as if the world had acknowledged his will, even if it didn't fully obey.
It was a subtle reminder: This power was not without limits.
As he walked, the sky began to darken, and the wind grew colder. It wasn't just the physical cold that gripped him now—it was a gnawing sense of uncertainty. His mind began to wander back to the moment of his awakening, and the questions that plagued him:
Why was he here? What was his purpose in this world?
And then, a familiar weight settled in his chest—apathy.
It was almost amusing. He should have felt more of something: fear, excitement, confusion, anything. But no, he just… didn't care. Whatever had happened to him, wherever he was, didn't change much. He wasn't sure if it was the shock of his reincarnation, the coldness of his new reality, or something else entirely, but he couldn't bring himself to care much about anything.
I guess I'll figure it out later.
His pace slowed as he gazed across the desolate field. There was something about this vast emptiness that called to him. He was alone, yes, but in a way, that felt strangely comforting. Alone meant no one to disrupt his control, his new reality. He was the observer, for now.
But how long would that last?
The sound of crunching snow broke his thoughts. A figure was in the distance, faint against the backdrop of endless white. A human?
His instincts kicked in. Hide.
But before he could move, the figure seemed to melt into the snow, vanishing as quickly as it had appeared. His heart rate quickened, his instincts warning him. There was something off about this place.
The wind howled once more, and he stood frozen for a moment, contemplating what he had just seen—or what he thought he had seen.
His reality was shifting. The stage was set, but he had yet to figure out what role he was to play.
The world was silent—eerily so. The snow stretched endlessly in all directions, and even the wind had begun to die down. Yet, despite the desolation around him, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. There was a tension in the air, something waiting just beyond the horizon.
He had learned, through experience, that the first step was to get a lay of the land. He'd walked for hours, maybe longer, trying to figure out just where he was. The landscape had shifted slightly—the snow thinning in places, and the occasional tree or rock outcropping breaking the monotony of white. But for the most part, it was all the same: endless cold, empty wilderness.
A shadow passed over him.
He paused mid-step, his senses sharpening.
It was quick, like a flash of movement, a distortion in the air that almost seemed to disappear the moment it arrived.
The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and instinct took over. He immediately scanned the area, his eyes narrowing.
Something is out there.
The cold was biting again, seeping into his skin as the temperature seemed to drop suddenly. The subtle hum of his warmth seemed to wane, and his body shivered once more. He hadn't realized how accustomed he had become to it until it faded.
A slight frown crossed his face. This wasn't normal. If there were creatures or humans in the area, he needed to know more.
Taking a deep breath, he concentrated. Without moving, he reached out mentally, using the warmth of his Personal Reality to try and sense anything nearby. It was a test—he wasn't sure what to expect, but he needed information.
For a moment, nothing happened. The world around him remained still.
Then—something shifted.
The snow beneath his feet rippled slightly, as though reacting to his focus. It wasn't just a physical shift. His perception of reality had bent just slightly, enough to sense a faint presence nearby. He felt it—a movement, quick and fluid, like a creature skirting through the snow.
His eyes widened, and he spun around instinctively, calling his power to action.
A burst of heat radiated from him in a sudden shockwave. The snow in front of him melted instantly, forming a puddle as the temperature shifted radically. He didn't know if it would help, but it was the first reaction his body gave him. The force of the shockwave was enough to send a vibration through the ground, and in the next moment, a low growl reached his ears.
It was a beast, large and fast. He could hear it moving—scraping, crunching against the snow—closing in on his position.
His heart rate picked up slightly, but the apathy he'd grown accustomed to didn't falter. The fact that he was facing something dangerous only made him more interested in testing his newfound abilities. He didn't feel fear. He felt curiosity.
In a quick motion, he waved his hand toward the ground, forcing the snow to rise in a towering wall of ice and stone, creating a temporary barrier between him and the approaching creature. The wall formed in an instant, and he watched as the shadow of the beast slammed into it with a heavy thud.
The creature hissed in frustration, and he could hear it pacing around, trying to find a way over or through the wall. Its claws scraped against the barrier, the sound grating on his nerves.
That's good to know.
He could feel the presence of the creature clearly now. A large, predatory beast. It had the distinct feeling of a wild animal, but its movements were calculated. It was no ordinary creature.
He raised an eyebrow, wondering just how much of his power he could use before it drained him. The temperature was already beginning to drop again—his barrier was holding, but it wouldn't last forever. And while he could still feel the warmth around him, he knew it would take more than just a simple defense to handle whatever this thing was.
The growling grew louder. It was circling the wall now, trying to find an opening. He could almost hear the sharp breath it took, its heavy, labored panting. It was sizing him up.
So, it's not just the cold I have to worry about here, huh?
The creature made another move, this time faster—too fast. It leapt at the wall. With a swift motion, he pushed outward, causing the wall to shudder and shift. A piece of ice fractured, and the beast lunged through the gap.
It was now within striking range.
His instinct took over again. He didn't even think. In an instant, he shifted the world around him—dimensional manipulation. The creature's claws, meant to rip into his flesh, instead sliced through the air just inches from him, missing by a hair. The creature's momentum carried it past him, and he watched in silent amusement as it tried to recover, confused.
He couldn't believe it had worked.
His Personal Reality had bent space itself just enough to avoid the attack.
The creature recovered, but it was weary now. Confusion had taken over its predatory instincts. It hesitated, sensing something was different, something was off.
It was just enough of a moment to make the decision.
He moved again, faster this time.
Before the creature could react, he brought the world down upon it. He summoned a heavy weight of snow and stone above it, crushing it into the ground with a force far greater than its body could withstand. The beast let out a pitiful screech as the pressure crushed it into the frozen earth.
The weight lifted, and the creature lay still.
It's done.
He stood over the creature's lifeless form, breathing evenly. No emotional response. No pride, no satisfaction.
It was just another test. Another step in understanding his power. He wasn't interested in killing for the sake of it, but he had to survive. And for now, the only way to do that was to test the boundaries of his abilities.
He turned away from the beast's body, eyes scanning the horizon once more. The wind had picked up again, but it didn't matter now.
He had shown the world—his world—what he was capable of.
But the true question remained:
How much farther could he push this reality?