The last remnants of the night regressed back into the shadows, leaving a path for the harbingers of daybreak. Gentle rays of sunlight caressed the emerald green canopies, sharing its warmth to all those who live under the sun. Within an uninhabited clearing in the middle of nowhere, lay a stream, with specs of orange, red and grey swimming through its crystal clear waters.
Lying 5 meters away, the body of a young man lay eagle-spread on the soft dry soil. His features were badly charred, with both it's left leg and arm carbonized to a stump. If one looked closely enough, hundreds of little nicks and scratches could be seen lining the contours of his face, arm, and leg. If it weren't for subtle rising and falling of his chest, it would be quite difficult to tell whether or not he was alive.
Cilen woke up feeling like absolute death. Like just he got hit by a bus and then struck by lightning, then dumped into a pit filled with glass shards. His head felt like it was on the verge of exploding as he tried moving and opening his eyes. After what felt like an eternity, he finally managed to force his eyes open to witness the warmth of the light again.
The sun was back now. And the previously terrifying nightscape now looked like it wouldn't even touch a fly. Vibrant trees that reached for the brilliant aquamarine sky, warm, comforting sun and butterflies that flocked to the multicolored flowers lining the edges of the clearing.
It was almost like everything was a different world under the light, and unsurprisingly, Cilen felt his tense shoulders loosen just a tiny bit when he saw that the formerly dark environment became visible again. Trying to accomplish anything in the dark was just asking for trouble.
Now that he could finally see his surroundings, Cilen reasoned that his current location was a decent place to set up a more permanent home. Living in a clearing meant that his vision wouldn't be obscured by the gargantuan trees that populated the forest. There was also a stream that bisected the clearing, providing a source of water and food. Finally, the biggest anomaly in this clearing, the floating lightning source (is what he decided to call it) that seemed to spit out lightning bolts at five-second intervals. It was a decent light source and a potential panther killing machine.
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"I need to set up shop before night arrives."
Ignoring his protesting muscles, Cilen grabbed his walking stick that still seemed to be unscathed after all that drama and propped his body upright. Little by lit, he staggered his way to the stream where he could see its flowing crystal clear waters filled with fish. He currently didn't have any capabilities to catch fish so he could only go hungry.
On the other hand, the water really wasn't going anywhere so he thrust his face into the water, taking in large and greedy gulps of the sweet spring water. He also used it as an opportunity to rinse his grimy face and take a look at the face reflected to him from the water.
His face wasn't too dissimilar to that of his previous life. He originally had pretty androgynous-looking features, high cheekbones, thin lips, pale skin and a defined nose and transmigration didn't do him any favors like making him super buff or have some give him some interesting hair color. His hair was still black and his eyes were still blue. However, his eyes that used to be the color of the sky, had turned into a deep shade of navy blue.
Maybe there was some administration problem and they messed up his eyes. No biggie, Cilen wasn't upset with how his appearance turned out. Not that he was in a position to kick up a fuss anyway.
After rinsing out bits of vegetation from his hair, Cilen concluded that his next course of action was to start a campfire. A campfire could do many things. It was a source of light, heat and comfort. It could also cook food and boil water while also warding off curious insects and animals.
Cilen was, however, not willing to make another fire with his bare hands. He had enough of it the first time and he was not prepared to make another. Instead, he had another idea. An idea that involved a little bit of lightning.