In a far corner of the Forgotten Shore stood a human settlement surrounded by massive crumbled walls. Most of the buildings had fallen into ruin with the passage of time. At a glance, it was clear that no one lived here anymore. Now, only nightmare creatures roamed its empty streets.
Inside a huge church-like building, a man could be seen performing handstand push-ups. He was barely managing to keep his balance, struggling to steady his form with each repetition.
'Damn, this body is great,' Raine thought. 'I feel so powerful and energetic—like I'm on a high, but completely in control at the same time.'
It was to be expected. Awakening released the dormant power hidden deep within the human body. Raine, now in a completely different body from his original one, was still trying to get used to this new vessel and the surging strength inside it.
'I feel like I could run all day and not get tired even a bit.'
That was an exaggeration, of course. If he actually tried running for an entire day, he would tire out in just a few hours. But the overflowing energy coursing through him made him feel invincible, as if he could do anything.
'Now, let's try my Aspect ability.'
His Aspect was straightforward: he could leave his body and enter the spirit realm. But he needed to understand exactly what he could and couldn't do in that form.
He willed the ability to activate, and it responded instantly. Suddenly, he felt extremely light. He looked down and saw his physical body lying awkwardly on the ground in the middle of the church.
He gazed at his hands—they were now transparent, like they were made of air, with only a subtle current of energy flowing through his form.
'This is cool,' he thought, gliding around in his new spirit body. It felt like floating in zero gravity. With nothing holding him down, he could move forward, backward, upward, or even sink underground simply by willing it.
Next, he tried touching and moving objects. It didn't work. His hands passed straight through everything he reached for.
He glanced around, searching for a suitable test subject. His gaze landed on the five summoners who were still standing motionless—well, four standing one, since one had already toppled over earlier thanks to Raine.
He drifted toward them. Beyond their physical bodies, he could see a faint layer of the same ethereal energy that made up his own spirit form, though it was much weaker.
He tried touching one of the men. As expected, his hand passed through the body, but this time he felt something—a faint resistance from the energy surrounding the man. It felt like he could touch and manipulate it if his spirit form were just a little stronger.
Raine concentrated, condensing his energy around his hands. He reached out again. This time, there was a noticeable resistance.
He gave the man a light slap. The hand connected for a split second before passing through, but the man suddenly lost his balance and collapsed to the ground with a dull thud.
'I felt like I moved his spirit energy out of place for a second,' Raine realized.
Excited, he tried again with another person, this time paying close attention to the phenomenon. He focused his energy into his hand and passed it straight through the man's head.
The same thing happened—the man immediately lost balance and fell. But now Raine understood exactly why. He had momentarily pushed the man's spirit body out of alignment. It snapped back into place almost instantly, but that brief disconnection was enough to knock the mind offline for a second, like a sudden reboot.
'This is great!' Raine thought with a grin. He slapped the remaining men to the ground one by one. 'I can't wait for this ability to get stronger. I could just punch someone into a coma.'
He was enjoying himself far too much when he suddenly froze.
'My flaw!'
His flaw made him grow weaker in spirit form. He wasn't feeling any weakness right now, which meant only one thing—it was affecting his physical body.
He rushed back to his motionless body, still lying in that awkward position, and lowered himself onto it, willing the two forms to merge once more.
After a few moments, he opened his eyes, back inside his physical body.
'Man, I feel weak... and hungry… like I haven't eaten in days.'
He lay there for a minute, then slowly pushed himself up.
'I feel so tired, like I've been running for a whole day.'
'So that's how it works,' he thought. 'That's the effect of my flaw. I only spent around ten minutes in spirit form, and I'm already this exhausted. Maybe it will get better once I grow stronger.'
'Wait… why do I feel like my spirit has grown weaker too? I was fine before.'
He activated his ability again, this time lying down properly first, and left his body once more.
'I do feel weaker than before… like my energy is thinner.'
So returning to his body transferred the fatigue to his spirit form. He would have to keep that in mind.
He slipped back into his body after only about thirty seconds. This time the difference wasn't as drastic.
'Using the ability for short bursts should be manageable. I'll just feel like I sprinted for a long time afterward. I can work with that.'
Now that he understood his ability better, it was time to think about his next move.
He had successfully transmigrated into this world with his chosen appearance and abilities. But from this point on, he was completely on his own. No more plot armor, no more reality-bending advantages. He had received everything he had written into the story. Whatever happened next would depend entirely on his own efforts.
A strange mix of excitement and fear surged through him.
'This is where my story truly begins.'