Winter was running through the vast snowy plains as fast as he could with inhuman speed, with each step he covered several meters of distance. After reaching top speed, his movements looked blurry. He jumped through the air and landed a dozen meters away.
Bending over and grasping his knees, he tiredly checked his surroundings.
'Nothing in sight.'
Why were there no beasts or abominations lurking around? He had heard many folk tales describing the Soulrealm as a hectic battlefield, filled with unknown dangers and beings. But after arriving in the said place, he was met with nothing but a peaceful expanse.
"I know there is something out there!"
"Come out!"
No response...
'At least I tried.'
After waking up and leaving his humble refuge, he had started experimenting with his new ascended physique; there was a lot he had to do.
'I can run extremely fast, jump high and far, and I am immune to cold.'
'Pretty nice!'
Straightening his back, he walked towards a large hill with a smile, his eyes showing gleams of excitement.
'Today I'll finally test it out.'
***
After Winter had returned to his hut, he sat down near the entrance and crossed his legs.
He had never used his Soul ability, but he seemed to have an innate understanding of how to activate it.
He lifted his hand up with his palm facing upward. As he gave the mental command, the air around him suddenly surged towards his palm, condensing into water and then freezing into ice. He focused and thought about the shape he desired.
A few seconds later, a shard of clear ice appeared in his hand.
Ice was brittle, so he had to test the limits of his current ability and technique before making real use of it.
Winter examined the piece of ice in his palm; it was transparent like glass but had a blue tint to it.
'Let's test it out.'
Winter brought the ice shard to his skin and pulled it across.
Red drops of blood touched the snow and were greedily absorbed, turning the snow incarnadine red.
Winter's eyes intensified, out of pain—
...but also in satisfaction.
He had confirmed his suspicions—or well, yeah, his dreams.
The ice was enchanted...
His new ability had thoroughly exceeded his expectations. Before testing, he was scared that the ice would be as brittle as normal. Fate was finally in his favor.
'Not really...'
After the pleasing discovery, he summoned the shimmering runes to take a look at his attributes.
Name: [Winter]Soul Rank: [Taintless]Attributes: [Frostborn Soul], [Forsaken]Soul Aspect: [Frostborn]Aspect Abilities: [Ice Conduit]Soul Origin: ["Born from ice and forsaken by the gods, hated by fate itself, the Frostborn prevailed..."]
The last time he saw these runes, he was overwhelmed by them.
But now that he had grasped an understanding, albeit a rudimentary one, he was ready to study the runes.
He concentrated on the runes of [Forsaken], and a new line appeared.
[Attribute Description:][The gods have forsaken you, cursing you with terrible misfortune.]
'Well, that explains a lot.'
Throughout his entire life, he had known nothing more than tragedy, sorrow, and hardship.
But he still prevailed. Molded by these three, he was able to adapt.
'Just like Frostborn...'
The small but significant revelation had opened his eyes a little. Now, being less short-sighted, he deduced that he had a connection to the mysterious being known as Frostborn.
'My soul, at least.'
He palmed his face in frustration; he was not used to this kind of situation.
He sighed and looked down...
'I need clothes, now.'
He sighed and stood up, satisfied with his progress.
He was heading to his hut—
until he noticed something in the corner of his eye.
An eerie feeling of dread seeped into his soul, reaching every corner of his being.
Winter felt a shiver run through his spine as he rested his sights on it.
A loud shriek tore through the silence of the barren landscape.
'...'
Shaking it off, he let out a relieved sigh.
"Thank God, I thought I was gonna starve."