Awakening

Evan's heart pounded in his chest as he clung to the sheer face of the mountain. The wind howled around him, threatening to tear him from his precarious perch. His muscles burned with the effort, but he felt alive, every sense heightened in the face of danger. The summit was within reach, just a few more feet. He stretched out his hand, fingertips brushing the rough surface of the peak, when his foot slipped.

Time seemed to slow as he lost his grip. The sky and earth blurred into a dizzying whirl, and the rush of wind roared in his ears. As he plummeted into the abyss, a strange calm settled over him. He'd always known the risks of living on the edge, of pushing his limits. But in that final moment, he didn't regret a thing. The darkness enveloped him, and he felt a curious sensation of weightlessness, as if he were floating in a void.

Evan had always been a fighter, even when life threw its worst at him. Abandoned by his family after contracting a life-threatening disease, he spent years battling both the illness and the crushing loneliness that came with it. Miraculously, he beat the disease, emerging stronger and more resolute. His will and soul were forged in the fires of adversity, but the experience left him with a deep-seated resentment toward the concept of family.

After surviving the ordeal, Evan vowed to live life to the fullest, embracing the wild and untamed aspects of nature. He became a survivalist, learning to live off the land, whether in dense forests or scaling rugged mountains. Each new challenge was a testament to his determination to live freely, away from societal norms and the painful memories of abandonment.

It was during one such adventure, scaling a particularly treacherous mountain, that fate took a cruel turn. A single misstep sent him plummeting into the abyss. As he fell, he felt a strange sense of peace amidst the rush of air and the looming darkness. His vision went black, and he awoke screaming into an inky void.

Evan lay on a surface that felt both solid and liquid, rippling beneath him as he moved but never letting him sink. Confused and disoriented, he looked around and saw a small, shirtless kid with short blonde hair and bruises on his back crying on the ground not too far away.

"Excuse me, little guy... wh-where are we? Who are you? Am I d-d-dead?" Evan called out as he cautiously approached, each step causing the floor to ripple.

The boy didn't respond and kept crying, mumbling to himself. Evan couldn't quite hear him, so he moved even closer and asked, "Hey man, are you okay?"

Through breaks in his whimpering, Evan heard the boy say, "Hu... hungry... tired... Why am I so weak? Mom... Dad... Sis... I'm sorry..."

Evan felt a surge of sympathy for the boy. "Hey, it'll be okay. I can help you if you tell me where we are."

The boy stopped crying and looked up, his scrawny face filled with tears and a terrified expression. He crawled back on his hands and feet and screamed with a hoarse voice, "Wh... who are you!? I'm not going back... you can't make me!!"

Evan was startled by the sudden outburst and backed away with his hands raised in the air. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, kid, calm down. I'm just as confused as you are. Where the hell are we?"

The boy stared at him cautiously, then stared down with a sad look. "Soul sea... I don't know how you got here, but I'm dying. I don't have much time left. It's all their fault... They took me from my family... me and so many other boys. They killed the ones who fought back. I swear, in my next life, I'll find them and avenge my friends."

Tears fell from his eyes again, but this time, not out of sadness but of anger. This anger caused the soul sea to rumble, and Evan fell down from the shaking.

"Soul sea? What the hell is that? I was about to reach the peak of a mountain, but I slipped, and now I'm here. Does this mean I'm dying too?"

The boy calmed down and looked at Evan. "No, your soul feels strong but foreign. Where are you from, mister?"

"I'm from Texas... now my turn. What the hell is a soul sea, and why are you dying? You look fine besides being a little skinny, but that's nothing a little exercise and nutrition can't fix."

Kai looked confused. "I've never heard of this Texas you speak of. Where is it located?"

"Huh? You've never heard of Texas? It's only one of the largest states in the United States. Do you live under a rock?"

Kai replied, "Though I love to read, I come from a small village, so it makes sense I never heard of it. Are you a cultivator? I can tell you have a powerful soul. What is your cultivation?"

Evan was confused again. "Cultivation? Like in a fantasy novel? Kid, I don't know what the hell you're talking about. This is all so freaky."

Kai tilted his head, equally confused. "What is this fantasy you speak of? Never mind, I don't have much time left. Seeing how you have such a strong soul, I have a request I hope you can uphold."

Evan rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed. "This is all so weird. Fine, what is this request? If I can get out of here, I'll try to help."

Kai nodded and simply replied with his arms spread out, "Take my body."

This statement almost made Evan's eyes bulge out of his head, and he screamed, "HOLY SHIT! What the hell, kid? I don't swing that way. What is wrong with you?!"

Evan backed away slowly. "This little kid is crazy. One second he's crying, then angry, then making this place shake, he doesn't know what Texas is, talks about cultivating like in a fantasy novel, and now he's asking me to do freaky stuff with him. I gotta get the hell out of here."

Kai was confused by this reaction because he didn't understand the implications of "take my body." "I don't see the problem. My soul is dying anyway, and you have a strong soul. Take over my body and help me seek vengeance on my captors and see my family again. If you want to stay with them, it's up to you, but just let them know I'm alright."

Evan calmed down, holding his chest where his beating heart would be. "Kid, you gotta phrase that differently. You almost scared the life out of me." Evan took a deep breath and asked, "I don't know if I feel comfortable doing that. How would I even do it anyway? Am I in a fever dream?"

Kai replied, "My soul will dissipate soon, and with your soul being inside my body, it will naturally take over. But your soul seems foreign nothing like I've ever felt before, so I don't know if it will work. If I merge my soul with yours, it should work out. You just have to sit does and relax, I'll do the rest."

Evan reluctantly agreed and sat down. "Okay, kid, let's do this, what other choice do I have?"

Kai nodded, then sat down across from Evan and started the merger. As Kai's body turned into a misty haze, his voice sounded out, "I forgot to mention this will probably be painful." The mist then flew into Evan's chest, starting the merger before he could respond.

The next moment Evan's eyes shot open, and he screamed at the top of his lungs from the pain that took over his whole body. The merger lasted 20 excruciating minutes. When it was over, Evan, now merged with Kai's body, woke up lying on a beach.

Evan still screaming suddenly realized the excruciating pain was gone, but his body was sore. He took a moment to catch his breath and let his vision adjust. The salty air stung his nostrils, mingling with the scent of wet sand and seaweed. The sound of waves crashing against the shore was oddly calming despite his disorientation.

Just as he sat up to observe his surroundings, another wave of pain hit, this time localized in his head. He clutched his temples as Kai's memories flooded into his mind. The rush was overwhelming, a torrent of images and emotions: happy times with his family, the terror of being kidnapped by slavers, the sorrow of losing friends, and the despair of starvation and fear on this island.

Evan gasped, feeling every bit of Kai's pain and joy. The boy's love for his family, his fear, his anger, and his last desperate wish for vengeance and closure became part of Evan. It was then that Evan realized he was no longer on Earth. This was a fantasy world, the kind he'd read about in novels.

As the memories settled, Evan understood Kai's predicament. Kai had no talent for cultivation due to his weak soul, and his spiritual channels were blocked. Intrigued by the idea of cultivation, Evan decided to give it a try. He sorted through Kai's memories and recalled the basic breathing techniques that Kai knew for absorbing something called spiritual essence.

Evan sat in a lotus position and closed his eyes, following the breathing patterns from the manual in Kai's memory. He inhaled deeply, trying to draw in the spiritual essence that permeated everything in this world. For a moment, he felt a strange energy surrounding him, like a faint, shimmering mist. But as he attempted to channel the essence, pain jolted through his body, sharp and unforgiving. His blocked spiritual channels had nowhere for the essence to go, and the buildup was too much.

He lost consciousness and slumped to the sand.

-Ten Minutes Later-

Evan woke up with a pounding headache. "Holy shit! I'm never doing that again," he muttered, rubbing his temples. He sat up and looked around, noticing the shipwreck for the first time. Wood and debris were strewn along the shore, and the sails lay in shreds.

Through Kai's memories, Evan remembered the pouch that Kai had stolen from one of the slavers. The pouch contained four lesser beast cores, a dagger, and a map. Kai had stolen it before kicking one of the slavers in the balls before releasing the boat he escaped in. Unfortunately for Kai before he could escape too far another slaver shot a soul attack that injured his already weak soul. To add insult to injury a storm started brewing not long after his escape, he couldn't control the boat and ended up crashing here. Weakened, malnourished and too afraid to venture into the jungle, he stayed on the beach, leading to his death from starvation.

Evan began searching through the wreckage, moving pieces of broken wood and canvas. After a few minutes, he finally found the satchel buried under a plank. Opening it up, he found everything was still inside.

Taking a closer look at the dagger, Evan saw that it was actually pretty good. The blade had a serrated blade, and a hook at the tip that looked like it would cause massive damage if it cut someone. The name "Rendclaw" was etched on the handle, and Evan wondered if it belonged to one of the slavers. The thought of his captors caused a brief spout of anger to flare up inside him, but he calmed down shortly afterward.

Next, he looked at the map. As he examined it, his brow creased in confusion. Being a survivalist, Evan was no stranger to maps. This one showed a few marked locations: a small landmass where Kai's village, Willowdale, was located, the mainland Gorindor, where the slavers were likely headed, and a few forbidden zones. These zones were swarming with dangerous sea beasts or were toxic, places where one wouldn't last without high cultivation.

From what Evan saw on the map, there were no other landmasses between the village and the mainland. "So where the hell am I?" he pondered. "Either that storm took me so far off that it's not on the map, or this land hasn't been marked for some reason..."

He decided not to dwell on it then shrugged, folded the map, and put it back in the satchel. "Screw it, I'll figure it out later…hopefully" he muttered, rubbing his stomach. "Right now, I need sustenance and fast."

Evan gripped the dagger and looked up at the jungle. He saw the most massive trees he had ever seen in his life, he estimated they were about thirty feet tall and thick enough for six grown men to link arms and wrap around. The leaves were so dense that they blocked out the sun on the forest floor, luckily there were luminescent flora and fauna that illuminated the ground with a soft, eerie glow. Strange sounds of beasts could be heard from the shore, causing the brave Evan to gulp nervously. He steeled his nerves and slowly headed inside, looking for food.

"Alright, mystery island," he said, voice wavering but determined. "Show me what you've got."

With resolve hardening in his chest, he stepped towards the dense foliage, ready to face the challenges ahead. The adventure was just beginning, and Evan was prepared to embrace whatever this strange new world had in store.