Reyn calmed. Finally he understood the eight-petal symbol — logo of that domestic phone company, though not quite. Original: petals one-sided, forming half-flower arching upward semicircle. This: full flower ringed, mysterious golden core adding depth.
Likely mutated via transmigration, so Reyn hadn't recognized it in sleep.
He felt surprise, fear, scratched nape puzzled. How'd the phone come with him, right into his brain?
"Did the phone gain sentience, or did I become a phone spirit?"
He watched the slowly spinning red flower-logo on screen — phone still loading.
"Taking a while," Reyn muttered, noticing phone seemingly draining his strength as it loaded. Fatigue and weakness grew.
He hurried to dry spot, sat. Minutes later, phone finished loading, desktop appeared.
"Interface different too," Reyn noted surprised. Old: rectangular like phone screen; this: round like big spinning disk. Center: eight-petal flower; radiating outward rows of dozens icons. Altogether like deformed eye.
Some icons familiar, others alien.
"How to control?"
Reyn pondered fingerless tapping when focusing on icon made it enlarge, brighten, stand out.
He didn't rush opening, first scanned all.
Unknown if random mutations or otherwise, each icon strange abstract pattern, drawing-symbol hybrid. One weirder than last; unlike phone apps, no labels, hard to ID.
E.g., camera-like: square like camera, but center gaping eerie eye emitting weird glow.
Another: microphone, but top deformed sharp ear ringed curved wavy lines — meaning unclear.
Reyn guessed each icon a function/app. All offline, no net needed. Old net-requiring ones — messengers, browser, email, news — gone.
This brought mild disappointment: hoped wonder-phone link to Earth, but empty dream now.
To his dismay, most icons gray; focus changed nothing — inactive.
"Why some not working? Battery low?"
Reyn suspected. Around "Little Flower" — his new nickname for center logo — circle divided even cells. Counted: exactly hundred.
Now, clockwise from top, only seven lit. Battery icon showed glaring red 7%.
"That's phone charge. One cell one percent."
Staring at pathetic 7%, Reyn felt acute insecurity. For modern man, phone battery second life. Under 20% anxiety; under 10% near-death.
Plus, mutated phone in head, linked. Reyn dreaded zero charge outcome!
"If battery dies, just shuts off? Or do I... vanish?"
"Anyway," he decided. "First check capabilities."
Active now: camera, calculator, clock, few others. Reyn focused mentally on camera: "Open."
Eerie-eye camera enlarged before eyes.
Next instant, Reyn's world transformed.
Everything razor-sharp, like wiping fogged glass or removing mosaic layer. Items hyper-detailed, colors vivid, alive.
Early morning, sun pouring light. He saw myriads tiniest droplets evaporating from river, dancing air like dust. Underwater teemed fish, shrimp gliding swaying algae; every scale crystal clear.
Turning head, Reyn saw vast distance. Tree 200-300m opposite shore magnified hundredfold, right before him. Every twig visible.
"Incredible!"
Reyn stunned by super vision. Knew old phone had top camera, but didn't expect mutation replace/improve his eyes so.
Moreover, eyes had rangefinder. E.g., tree exactly 267.000m, three decimals. Glance shift, numbers updated.
Eyes adjustable focal length. Focusing, saw leaf veins/patterns opposite! Not limit yet.
Reyn curiously scanned, found brightness adjust. Darkest nooks palm-clear, like night vision — sharp black-white world.
No X-ray vision he'd once dreamed of, disappointing.
Wanted more tests, but brain pinged "di." Reyn snapped back; battery dropped to 6%.
"Drains so fast! How long?"
Reyn sought camera off button, but mere thought deactivated super vision.
Tested other actives, but no changes. Wrong use or conditions needed? Charge dropping, so shut all.
Spending more charge, Reyn more tired, stopped.
Distract seconds, interface folded to tiny crimson flower, shifted left-upper vision corner, peripheral, non-obstructive.
"Standby mode. Thoughtful."
With mutated phone, Reyn felt calmer. It his main survival anchor this world.
After sitting by the river for about half an hour, he had somewhat recovered his strength, but his stomach was rumbling with hunger. Reyn realized he couldn't stay here any longer.
Glancing at the city visible in the distance, full of exotic architecture, he recognized it as Longsand from his memories.
He straightened his half-naked, half-dry clothes, took a deep breath, and resolutely stepped away from the river, leaving behind a trail of shallow footprints.