Pain shot through my head as I jolted awake with my face buried in cold, gritty sand that sparkled like shattered obsidian under an unfamiliar sky. Not my bed. Not my world. The air hummed with an unnatural energy, and three moons hung overhead. Their surfaces swirled with veins of blue light, like hearts pumping cosmic blood.
My heart was hammered. "What the hell?"
Memories flooded back in fragments: My old life as Simon Moonshade, the Enochian magician who danced on the edge of forbidden spells. A ritual gone wrong. Death's cold embrace. And now...this? I pushed myself up; black grains clung to my robes like magnetic dust. A quick mental probe and a multidimensional location spell confirmed it: Not just another universe. It was a whole new reality, brimming with mana that tasted like ozone and iron on my tongue.
I tried to speak, to chant a simple word. Nothing. My throat tightened in panic as my voice, my greatest weapon, was stripped away. Enochian magic relied on precise incantations. What about thought-based casting? I had dabbled in it, but my mind was a whirlwind of thoughts crashing like waves in a storm. "Calm down, you idiot," I thought, forcing myself to take deep breaths. "Adapt or die again."
The silence was oppressive, broken only by faint whispers in the wind, like echoes of ancient spells in tongues I half recognized. The shifting sand reflected the stars in an inverted, dizzying sky. It felt like walking on a mirror to another dimension. And weirdly...familiar? It was as if I had stepped into the most immersive RPG ever, complete with mana flows that I could sense like invisible rivers.
I needed answers. Shelter. On the horizon, jagged silhouettes rose. Twisted towers pierced the night and were linked by precarious bridges that glowed with ethereal fire. A city, perhaps. Civilization meant information. I started walking, each step crunching crystals that sent faint sparks up my legs. The moons pulsed in sync, quickening my pulse. Was this world reacting to me?
A low growl shattered the quiet. I froze. Behind me, shadows congealed into a massive, four-legged form with scales like polished obsidian and glowing eyes. Was it a desert predator, drawn by my foreign mana? It circled, its jaws dripping with viscous saliva that hissed on the sand.
"Shit." No voice meant no quick chants. I raised a hand and channeled raw will into a barrier spell.
Focus, Simon. Picture the shield. Feel the mana bend. A shimmering dome flickered to life, weak and wavering. The beast lunged, its claws raking the air. The barrier held for a second, then cracked under the force. Pain exploded in my arm as a claw grazed me, drawing blood that sizzled with residual magic.
Adrenaline surged. I retaliated with a thought blast, imagining a bolt of force. It erupted unevenly, scorching the sand and the creature's flank. It yelped and retreated a step, but its eyes narrowed hungrily and intelligently. "Not just a beast," I realized. "It's testing me." My mind raced. In my old life, I had outsmarted demons with words. Here? I'll improvise.
I grabbed a handful of obsidian sand and infused it with mana through the power of thought. The grains ignited, forming a makeshift fireball. I hurled it, and the projectile exploded in a shower of sparks. The creature howled, its fur smoldering, and bolted into the dunes. It was a victory, but my arm throbbed and my head spun from the mental strain. Though magic was exhausting, like wrestling a tornado.
Panting, I pressed on toward the city. The wound stung, but the mana in the air seemed to slowly knit it together. Regeneration? This world had rules and game-like perks. A faint whisper tickled my mind: "Status?" No, just my imagination. Or was it?
The air grew thicker, and cosmic mana coiled like fog. The moons aligned perfectly and the ground trembled as if the planet itself had awoken. Then, instead of a sound, I felt a vibration in my soul, pulling me in like gravity. Black sand whirled around me, forming a vortex that tugged at my robes. An ancient presence stirred within me, knowing me better than I knew myself. It echoed my true name across dimensions, a decree that made the stars flicker.
"Simon Moonshade."
The vortex tightened, the sand lashing like whips. Visions flashed: Crumbling empires. Warring gods. A prophecy of a catalyst from beyond Me. It wasn't just this world that had pulled me here; it needed me to shatter its chains. But as the storm peaked, shadows stirred on the horizon, figures in cloaks racing toward me from the city. Hunters? Allies?
The vortex collapsed, leaving me breathless. My arm healed faster, and power surged through me. But the figures were closing in, and the moons' pulse warned of more to come. Whatever destiny awaited me, it wouldn't wait long. I gripped my invisible staff of will and ran toward the unknown, ready or not.