Covered up to his stomach in snow, Astel stared at the sun as it dipped below the horizon.
Hidden behind a soft mist, the sun's golden glow faded from the world. As the twin moons rose, they claimed the sky. The cold blue glow of the moons illuminated the snowy expanse, and the icy wind bit into his skin.
With each breath, Astel noticed more white smoke rising into the air.
At this point, he couldn't feel his lower half. Not that he could move it if he felt it anyway. He had already tried all sorts of things—from digging himself out to reinforcing his legs with energy. Without an anchor, however, the latter was impossible.
He was left with only one way to escape.
The shadow notion.
As much as he didn't wish to waste the last use of this powerful object, he didn't have much of a choice. After waiting for a full day, he was finally covered in enough shade to use it.
He took a deep breath before reaching for the notion.
Energy flowed through his mind, turning and twisting until it reached an empty clearing. The area felt claustrophobic, most of the space already filled by two floating orbs. He reckoned there was only enough space for one more notion.
But that wasn't important right now.
He forced himself to focus again as he hesitatingly guided the flow of energy toward the darker orb. Its presence was already faint, almost transparent.
As soon as his energy reached the notion, he felt the shadows enveloping his body.
He was finally going to be free.
But still, his jaw remained tight.
Not with this feeling that he had connected to escaping. Something about it felt like he was running instead of fighting.
'There isn't anything to fight.'
He tried to convince himself while searching for a shaded place he could travel to that would be safe.
A frown slowly formed on his face.
No matter where he looked, the shadows all felt the same. It was all the same terrain. There was never a way to escape.
For a moment he stood still, covered in the deep shade.
There had to be something he could do. Some way to get out.
He didn't want to die to snow of all things.
His energy was quickly draining. He couldn't keep the notion active for much longer.
In a flash of desperation, he traveled as far as he could—to the edge of the notion's influence—and tried to move there. Perhaps if he somehow traveled in one direction for long enough, he would escape.
With the last bits of his stored energy, he activated the notion.
He waited for the familiar feeling of transposition.
Nothing.
He froze.
Panicked, he activated it again.
Nothing.
He wanted to try one more time, but before he could, the notion deactivated, throwing him back into his body buried in snow.
He gasped for air, his lungs tightening.
Without catching his breath, he tried reaching for the notion once more.
Then he noticed something.
'How did I miss this?'
His eyes widened.
Now that his energy reserves were almost depleted, he could feel a faint stream trickling away.
There was a leak.
Immediately, he tried circulating his energy to find and stop the leak—but froze.
There wasn't enough energy to circulate.
In a matter of moments, the last drops of energy vanished from his mind.
For the first time since arriving at the desert, he was truly out of energy.
In an instant, his movements slowed as his body began swaying in the wind. His eyelids felt heavy, his arms like boulders. His breathing calmed down, as did his heart.
If he wasn't fighting for his life, he would have enjoyed this feeling.
Maybe he would feel properly rested once he woke up.
'Woke up?'
No.
He couldn't sleep.
He didn't know if he'd ever wake up if he fell asleep.
He fought to stay awake for just a single second longer.
As he fought, he failed to notice the snow was already up to his neck. He had been slowly sinking.
Soon the snow covered his mouth, making him finally notice.
'Snow?'
He tried to take a deep breath, but it was as if he couldn't control his body.
He could feel the adrenaline in his system being immediately flushed out. His heart had never been this calm.
The snow continued swallowing him, and before long he couldn't see anything but black.
His body sank deeper into the snow until it finally reached the bottom.
His feet poked out from the white roof of an open space. His legs dangled in the air as his entire body was slowly spit out by the mysterious snow.
Astel fought his heavy eyelids to open his eyes.
His clothes flailed in the air, creating an almost deafening sound.
He moved his arms with difficulty, trying to feel the earth below him. He pushed through the heavy wind, but no matter how far he moved his arm, it kept slipping further.
His eyes suddenly shot open.
Above him was a perfectly blue sky covered with white clouds.
'The wind!'
His head turned, allowing him to see the ground.
A chill ran down his back.
He quickly spread his arms and legs, forming an X.
It didn't slow him down much.
The ground was quickly approaching.
His heart pounded against his chest.
Thinking quickly, he reached into his mind. Immediately after confirming he had at least a few drops of energy, he channeled them into the shadow fragment.
Outside his mind, he stripped off his jacket and held it above his head to create at least some shade.
He swallowed nervously, activating the notion.
Dim shadows started enveloping his body.
He was almost on the ground.
The shadows were taking too long.
He had to brace for impact.
As his hold on the shadows weakened, he felt the warmth of the sun touch his body once more.
Biting his lip, he let go of the coat and held his arms close to his body. His legs crouched about halfway.
Blood dripped from his pierced lip as he dipped his head, bringing it closer to his body.
The silent crash made dust rise into the air, covering his landing.
The dust slowly settled, revealing a young boy lying on a patch of fresh green grass. Near his feet was a small crater caused by the impact.
He opened his eyes with a deep breath, gasping for air.
Sitting up, he quickly scanned his surroundings.
Around him was a large plain covered in grass and dirt. It looked like he was on top of a mountain, as below him was a valley filled with water.
The scenery seemed a little too peaceful.
Further from him were tall peaks, like those he had come to be used to above.
He stared at the distant cliffs, feeling that something was off.
He tried to move and turn around, but as he did, a sharp pain pierced his body.
He had forgotten about his legs.
His attention quickly turned to his lower half.
His legs were unnaturally twisted and had a strange shape.
With the adrenaline fading, his body was instead flooded with intense pain.
He hissed, a tear forming in his eye.
Gritting his teeth, he bent over and reached for one of his legs. His hand slid down toward his knee, where he felt a large bump.
He rolled up his pants…
Or at least tried to.
The ground below him was completely bloody. That was when he finally noticed a bone sticking out of his left leg.
He turned his head away, warned by his stomach.
Taking deep breaths, he turned back to his legs, inspecting them properly.
His right leg was broken at the knee, likely fractured below it. His hips were probably damaged as well—most likely including his spine.
Despite this, he sighed in relief.
He could try to fix the bleeding later, but now he had to find shelter.
Just as he thought that, the hair on his neck stood up as his mind came under pressure.
The whispers in his head intensified.
He quickly spun his head, looking for the source.
The plain around him was calm. Grass swayed in the wind with the sound of water flowing in the distance.
He huffed, not realizing he had been holding his breath.
Then, in the corner of his eye, he saw something.
Two large wings covering the sky.
He turned his head, watching the silent beast.
The flapping wings looked larger with each passing second.
It was getting ready to land.