The Yuki-onna is a well-known spectral figure from Japanese folklore, often depicted as a spirit or yokai composed entirely of snow, taking the form of a woman. This bit of folklore is relevant because it closely relates to my own existence.
It's been sixteen years since I found myself reborn in a fantastical realm where magic is the fabric of reality. The magic here is a potent force that everyone wields, and in the hands of the powerful, it could potentially devastate entire continents. Such power could corrupt sanity, making its wielder capable of cataclysmic acts.
To my surprise, my reincarnation mirrored the Yuki-onna legend, with the exception that I materialized as a male, not a female. The prospect of changing genders was daunting; I had always identified as male and was relieved to retain that aspect of my identity.
A massive sigh of relief came to me when I realized that the chances of me becoming a girl were high. Don't get me wrong. I don't hate women. As someone who has been male for his entire life, changing gender just doesn't sit right. Besides, I couldn't bear to part with my manhood. It would be strange to look down on my crotch and see nothing.
Anyway, I'm a snow spirit with the body of a male. As a male spirit of snow, I reside in a remote village perched atop a mountain, a sanctuary for a community of snowwomen. The frigid peaks of our mountain home are inhospitable to those without resistance to the biting cold.
The village boasts a population nearing a thousand, predominantly female, making my male existence an anomaly.
My presence has become a focal point for village gossip, not solely because of my gender but also because of my rare nature as a male snow spirit, an occurrence that the village sees only once every century.
Yuki-Onna are typically born through one of two methods. The first requires mating with another race, often selecting men with vast magical reserves to either abduct or entice. Their natural allure makes seduction an easy feat.
Charming people was easy for them since their appearance was on the higher end of the spectrum. Being born from nature, it was hard to find any flaws in their appearance.
The second method is more random, involving the spontaneous appearance of a child on a wintry night, like a character spawned in a game, though many of these infants succumb to the severe elements.
Most of the men here were people of various races kidnapped by their spouses and made into a tool used for breeding.
Of course, you may think it's envious to be in such a situation, but it's not something anyone would want.
Trust me.
All the men here are either frozen solid and turned into popsicle sticks or frozen statues so they can be shown off to other Yuki-Onna, kind of like a museum that we have for those interested in such hobbies.
Anyway, since I was the only male of the same race as the people of my village, I got that look from the others. Ever since I was young, that predatory look that the villagers gave me has been unsettling. Of course, I got used to it after being exposed to such a gaze for a long time.
Luckily, I was taken by the village chief and have been cared for ever since I was little. She was also the person who found me and took me to this village. In essence, she's like a mother—an obsessive mother, if I have to say.
The village chief is the strongest person in the village. Her job is to take care of the village and ensure that no dispute would happen that could cause damage to the town.
She also takes the time to wander all around the mountain to find a child outside of the village, and because of her, the village is somewhat more lively.
You would have thought that living in a small place like this would be tough. Since there was no such thing as the internet and news, the people of this place were reclusive, so not much was known about the outside world.
However, since I knew magic, I have kept myself busy with this new power I had gained. Magic is composed of six main elements, which are fire, water, earth, wind, light, and dark.
As someone born from snow, my affinity was for ice, a variant of the element water. There were exceptional cases where some creatures could use magic outside those elements, but meeting any of them was rare.
My innate affinity lies with ice, a variation of water. While not a conventional advantage, ice magic is versatile with few vulnerabilities. If I were given water magic, earth magic would have been a great weakness for me.
Sitting down peacefully, I was sipping down on a fresh, cold orange juice. Outside my door, I could hear someone banging it like crazy.
"SEX!!! SEX!!! SEX!!!" A woman's voice, both refined and desperate, echoes through the air, her cries reverberating with a primal urgency.
I continue to sip my juice, resigned to the persistent chaos. Reflecting on the events that led up to this moment, all I can do is exhale a weary sigh.