The morning deepened. Birds chirped in unfamiliar melodies as Kael scanned the horizon.
His stomach growled.
Of course. No IV drips here. No scheduled meals in plastic trays. Just a beautiful, alien world and the realization that if he didn't eat, he'd die again—this time from something as mundane as hunger.
He stood, brushing grass from his pants. The wind picked up, carrying that faintly sweet scent again. Maybe it was fruit? Maybe poison. He'd need to be careful.
A ridge lay ahead, dotted with trees. Shade. Maybe food. Maybe something watching.
Kael headed toward it.
Each step felt strange. Not weak, just... different. His muscles responded smoothly, his lungs full of clean air. His legs didn't ache. His joints didn't creak. This body wasn't ravaged by years of chemo. It was fifteen years old, and whole.
He crested the ridge and paused.
A wide valley opened before him. A sparkling stream cut through tall grass. Trees bearing golden fruit dotted the far edge.
And there—movement.
Something small. Rabbit-sized. Four legs. Fast.
Too far to chase. But not too far to observe.
Kael narrowed his eyes and activated Omni-Vision.
Light distorted. Focus sharpened.
He saw the twitching muscles beneath the creature's skin, the grains of dirt kicked up by its paws, the veins inside the fruit pulsing with subtle magical energy.
Then the dizziness came.
His vision tilted.
He forced it to stay on.
Need to push it further.
His heart pounded. He clenched his teeth. Sweat gathered on his brow.
Five seconds. Ten. Twelve.
Then his vision snapped back, and he dropped to a knee, panting head in searing pain but he'd been through worse.
Still too much.
But progress.
The fruit, at least, looked promising. He'd seen the way the juice inside glowed faintly, its structure orderly—not toxic, not twisted. If he could trust what he saw, it was edible.
Cautiously, he moved down the hill and approached the nearest tree.
The fruit was smooth and firm, somewhere between a mango and an apple in size. He plucked one and sniffed.
Sweet. No rot. No bugs.
He took a bite.
Juice ran down his chin. Tart, but refreshing. His body responded almost instantly—warmth spread through his chest, and the ache in his stomach eased.
He ate two more, then stopped. No telling if overeating would have consequences.
Kael sat beneath the tree, eyes on the sky, letting his body rest while his mind wandered.
Omni-Vision. It showed too much too fast, like reading every page of a book at once. But if he could learn to filter it—see without drowning in detail—it could become more than just a skill. It could become a language.
He needed to practice. Train his focus. Short bursts. Controlled exposure.
He activated it again.
Focused only on the fruit.
Ignored the tree. Ignored the bugs. Ignored the wind.
Just the fruit.
Its fibers, its liquid core, the tiny flickers of magic running through it like nerves.
Three seconds. Five. Nine.
Vision off.
No pain this time. Just pressure.
Progress.
Kael scanned the area. The tree offered shade, but no protection if the weather turned—or if something dangerous came sniffing around.
A few dozen yards uphill, he spotted a shallow recess in the stone ridge. Half-covered in moss and angled just enough to block the wind.
He made his way to it, dragging a few broken branches along.
It wasn't much. A dip in the rock, some sticks, and a hopeful heart.
But it was better than sleeping in the open.
He stacked what he could into a rough barricade and curled up against the rock wall.
No blankets. No fire.
Just dirt, wind, and the quiet of a world that didn't know him yet.
Still, he had food, he had a place to rest, and he had time.
He wasn't just surviving.
He was learning.
And that was enough... For now.