(1stPOV)
"Fold."
I felt the ripple the moment I said it — the space between me and my Proxy flexed like elastic, drawn tight, then snapped shut like folded paper.
And I was there.
Suddenly crouched on a branch high above the forest floor, perched in the exact position my Proxy had been watching from. Efficient. Precise. Clean.
'So that's how this works. Fold to Proxy — two points of reference. Safe-ish. Controlled.'
Folding without a Proxy, now that I thought about it, felt like trying to fold paper with one hand — doable, but stupid. One wrong move, and I'd be pasted between two molecular walls of existence.
Note to self: Never be that dumb.
I exhaled and shifted slightly on the branch, peering through the leaves.
There it was.
The creature had just emerged from the tear — still crouched, twitching. Moving in short, unnatural jerks. Its limbs bent at the wrong angles, and it walked on all fours like a beast, but something about its shape... still vaguely human. Only worse.
No face. Just a smooth patch of skin where its features should've been.
And yet... it breathed.
Not visibly — no mouth, no nose. But I heard it.
A ragged, raspy wheeze — like wet lungs trying to remember how to work.
Its claws scraped against bark as it pulled itself fully out of the now-closed rift. The white lines across the forest shimmered softly, undisturbed, like nothing had happened.
But I felt the scar it left behind.
My chest tightened. A tug in the air. A wrinkle in the world itself. Like a splinter stuck in the back of reality — invisible, but raw against my senses.
'Spatial disturbance. I can feel it. Tomb... do you have anything on this?'
No answer — just a quiet pull. A weight in the back of my mind shifted, and knowledge surfaced. Not given, just... revealed. Like a memory that had always been there, waiting to be noticed.
Dimensional Aberration – Class: Unknown.
Pattern of incursion matches no known entry.
No records found on origin.
Advised: Avoid direct confrontation.
The creature twitched suddenly and tilted its head — the same head that lacked every facial feature except nightmares — and turned toward me.
I didn't wait.
I summoned the First Star to my wrist — a flash of silver, a delicate bracelet appearing with a soft ring of starlight.
"Alright," I muttered, standing slowly on the branch. "Let's see what this thing can really do."
I flexed my fingers and whispered, "Form."
The bracelet glowed, unfolded, and stretched — transforming into a gleaming silver blade with a crossguard shaped like a star.
The moment it solidified in my hand, I felt it.
Power — not explosive, but amplifying. My strength, my balance, even the flow of Star-Fire beneath my skin — all sharper. Focused. Ready.
I dropped from the branch.
Landed hard.
The creature shrieked — not a scream but a high-pitched, wet, clicking sound — and bolted forward. Faster than I expected.
It slammed into me with its shoulder, sending me stumbling back. I barely kept my grip on the First Star.
It swiped at me with one arm — long and thin, almost boneless — and I ducked under it, spinning to the side and slicing back.
The blade connected.
Flames burst across its side.
The creature shrieked louder this time — smoke curling from the wound — and it leapt backward like a spring-loaded trap, landing on all fours again and circling me.
It didn't run.
It wanted to play.
"Not in the mood," I muttered, adjusting my stance.
It lunged again. This time claws aimed straight for my chest.
I brought the blade up and blocked, sparks flying. The impact rattled my arm.
I gritted my teeth and shoved it off, then retaliated with a slash to its midsection — more white flame erupting from the blade in a focused arc.
The creature screamed again, staggering, but didn't fall. Instead, it snapped its clawed hand forward and raked across my side.
Pain flared.
Not deep — armor woven into the garb absorbed most of it — but it still sent me sliding a few feet back.
"Okay," I coughed. "This thing hits hard."
It pounced again. This time, I jumped above it — letting momentum lift me higher than I had any right to go — and twisted in mid-air.
I came down with a two-handed slash, the First Star blazing white-hot, cleaving across its back and driving it face-first into the ground.
This time it didn't get up right away.
It twitched. Spasmed.
The flames were eating at its back — not burning it like flesh, but unstitching it from the world. Slowly.
I stepped forward and raised the blade again.
"Burn."
The white flame surged along the length of the sword and lanced downward — erupting across the creature's body in a clean, controlled stream.
It convulsed one last time — and then collapsed in on itself like a house of cards.
Gone.
Not a corpse. Not ash. Just... nothing.
Like it had never existed.
I stood there in the silence, blade humming softly in my hand, smoke curling from where the air had folded in on itself.
Then I exhaled and looked at the sword.
'Okay. That worked. Way better than... flamethrower palms.'
I held out my free hand and summoned a small pulse of Star-Fire.
Uncontrolled. Flickering. Flicks of flame shooting off the edge. Powerful, but messy.
I closed my fist and let it vanish.
'Yeah. No. I need training. Throwing nukes out of my hands isn't sustainable. Sword first. Fire later.'
I dismissed the First Star, letting it snap back into bracelet form around my wrist.
And then I looked toward the distant lights.
The city.
A grin tugged at the corner of my mouth.
I folded again — to the spot my Proxy had perched over the treeline.
[Moments Later – Forest Edge Overlooking the City]
The city stretched out before me — pulsing with light, life, and the promise of a shower.
Small, but modern. Tower signs, glowing text, buildings stacked like layers of neon and steel. I spotted people. Traffic. Music.
A miracle.
I let out a long breath and whispered, "About damn time."
I stepped forward toward civilization.
Finally.
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A/N: this will be short
I am trying to balance out his abilities and capabilities in a way that he will be able to contend with the big dogs of some universes but won't be to OP also trying to make it in a way that makes his growth more natural.
SEE YA NEXT TIME!👋