The snowstorm raged endlessly. I walked for hours through the cold, each step crunching softly beneath my boots. My body was weak, but the freezing air somehow kept me awake. My burned arm still glowed faintly, hidden under my sleeve, like a small ember refusing to die.
Then I heard it — the sound of battle.
A clash of steel. A burst of ice.
Someone was fighting ahead.
I hid behind a tree and peeked out.
There — a boy swinging a large sword, surrounded by towering snow golems. Their bodies were made of solid ice, eyes glowing blue, and every step they took shook the frozen ground.
The boy shouted, "Flame strike!"
But instead of fire, a tiny spark popped from his sword and fizzled out in the snow.
"Ah, come on! That was supposed to be cool!" he groaned.
Then one of the golems smashed its fist down, and he barely rolled aside.
I didn't even think — my body moved on its own. I grabbed a half-broken icicle and ran forward. "Hey! Move!" I yelled.
The boy looked surprised but dodged as I jabbed the icicle into a golem's chest. It didn't pierce deep, but it made the monster stumble back. He raised his sword again and this time, his blade flared with weak red light.
"Fire Slash!" he shouted again, and this time the blade sliced clean through the golem's neck, melting it from inside. The other golems backed off, and after a few more desperate swings, we finished them all.
When the last one fell, we both collapsed into the snow, panting.
He looked at me with wide eyes. "Whoa… I thought I was the only one here."
"Yeah," I said, catching my breath. "Guess not."
He sat up, brushing snow from his golden hair. His skin was pale, and his eyes were strange — one black, one red. His smile was lopsided, the kind that made you think he wasn't easily scared.
"Name's Jeff," he said, sticking out his hand. "You?"
"Fan Ling," I replied, shaking it. "Thanks for not dying before I got here."
He laughed. "You're funny, man. I almost did, though. Those snow things don't mess around. It's like Minecraft on hard mode, but in real life."
"Minecraft…?" I asked, tilting my head.
"Ah, right," he said with a grin. "Forgot you might not know that one."
We dragged the golem's broken pieces together and made a small wall to block the wind. He pulled out a strange crystal and placed it on the snow. It glowed faintly.
"Fire spell: Ignis minor," he whispered.
The crystal shimmered — then burst into a small, warm flame.
I leaned forward, amazed. "That's… magic?"
"Yep!" he said proudly. "First decade incantation. You say the element, then the type. The stronger your core, the brighter the flame."
He poked it with a stick and smiled as if showing off. "See? Warm and cozy."
I sat near the fire, letting the warmth reach my numb fingers. It felt almost unreal after what I'd been through — from flames of hell to a frozen world, now sitting by a small campfire with a stranger.
Jeff broke the silence first. "So… what's your deal? You from Earth too?"
I hesitated. "Yeah. But… I don't remember everything clearly."
He nodded. "Same. Though I still remember my first life. Philippines, man. Kinda miss it sometimes."
"Philippines?" I asked softly. "What was it like?"
He smiled, staring into the fire. "We were poor. My family didn't have much, but we had each other. My mom always cooked even if it was just rice and soy sauce. My little sister used to steal my food."
He chuckled. "We didn't have fancy stuff, but… it was warm, you know? Like this fire."
I felt something twist in my chest. His tone wasn't sad — it was full of gentle nostalgia.
He continued quietly, "I died saving a girl. Stupid, maybe. A car came too fast, and I pushed her out of the way. Next thing I know, I wake up here."
He turned to me with a faint smirk. "And now I'm some kind of magic commoner trying to survive snow golems. What a downgrade."
I couldn't help but laugh a little. His humor felt real — the kind that hides pain behind jokes. "You're still alive. That counts for something."
He pointed his sword at me playfully. "Your turn, Ling. What's your story?"
I froze. The words wouldn't come out. My throat felt tight. "I… I don't know how to explain it," I admitted. "It's like… my soul doesn't fit here."
He raised a brow. "Oof. Deep stuff. You're saying that like your spirit's still jet-lagged."
I laughed quietly despite myself. "Yeah. Something like that."
Jeff leaned back against the snow wall and sighed. "You'll figure it out, man. We all got something broken in us. The trick is to keep walking till it stops hurting."
His words hit deeper than he probably realized.
We sat there, just listening to the crackle of the fire. The storm began to fade, leaving the world quiet and pale. The stars above glittered faintly, and the snow reflected their light like scattered shards of glass.
After a while, Jeff spoke again, softer this time.
"Hey, you ever wonder if this world… I don't know, gives us a second chance?"
I looked at him. "You mean… reincarnation?"
He nodded. "Yeah. Like, maybe we're here to fix something. Or maybe to break free from who we were before."
I didn't answer right away. Instead, I stared at the fire. The flames flickered gently, just like my unstable soul.
"Maybe," I finally said. "Or maybe it's just another trial."
He grinned. "Then we pass it together, bro."
I smiled slightly. "Yeah. Together."
The night was calm. The fire burned steadily. For the first time since the trials began, I didn't feel alone. I didn't feel like a lost soul trapped between worlds.
I felt… human again.