I found myself laying flat on the floor.
The place around me was a textbook example of deforestation. The ground was scorched into ash, the trees in the surrounding areas were burned to the ground.
There were no animals, no sounds, no place for shelter, nothing. It was all destroyed, to the point of being uninhabitable.
Standing up, I subconsciously began to pat my back area to get rid of the dust I was sure had accumulated on me.
I wasn't a clean freak, but getting dirt on me was something I disliked greatly. And upon patting myself to clean off the possible dust, I realized something.
Freezing for a moment, I raised my hands to meet my gaze and had my eyes widen slightly.
Fair ... A bit too fair for my liking really. Now that was exactly the problem. As I remembered I had similar skin back when I was still alive on earth, but that was basically changed during my college years.
A tan was something me and the guys back then would get together to get on every once in a while.
On bright sunny days at the beach ... sigh! Good times. Where was I?
Oh yeah. But now, my arms were fair again. They felt smaller too.
I took my time to feel my body, feel my face and feel a certain something between the legs. Thank the possible gods, it was still there.
Well, all the feeling didn't give me much information.
It's not like I could tell how I looked like just by touching my face and physique for a few seconds. I didn't have photographic memory, so I wasn't sure if I still looked the same as back on Earth, but two things were for sure.
One, this body was definitely younger.
And two, my hair was back. Note to self, carrying too many burdens in life could greatly stimulate hair loss.
It truly added to my glumness when I walked on the road with a shiny bald head that could reflect sunlight before even reaching thirty years of age.
I spent more time feeling my hair than I did the rest of my body. Opening my eyes with a satisfied smile after several extra long seconds, I put away my unnecessary thoughts and examined my situation once more.
Finally, I inwardly asked the question I probably should have first asked myself when I woke up.
"Alright, now …. Where the hell am ...".
It happened then.
My words came to a halt as within my field of vision, a bar I was all too familiar with appeared within my line of sight once again.
'Huh? …. Um, accept'. I raised an eyebrow before focusing on the bar and willing inwardly.
The next moment, it expanded to display those things you usually only see in video games.
A status panel.
Name: Luca
Affiliation: ....
Attributes: Strength 10, Dexterity 9, Constitution 11, Chi 1, Perception 8,
Fatigue: 9/100
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Personal Perks: Density Shifting, Permanent Chi Absorption, Chi Manipulation: 186
Mastered abilities: ...
Assignable Achievement Points (AP): .....
Status
[Otherworlder...]
- Goo~ood morning ATLA. In this new world you find yourself in, you're literally the textbook definition of the word foreigner.
Until your foreign soul adapts, this particular uniqueness will strike you as slightly off to regular people and even more off to those spiritually sensitive. And will arouse the strong interests of supernatural beings from other realms. Most will try to possess you, others will try to eat you. So do proceed with caution and try your earnest not to get noticed.
Of course with your current origin identity, that's easier said than done. -
...
For a moment, everything else but the status was selectively ignored. Following which, my face darkened to a considerable degree at the status info.
The words "Will try to possess you" and "Others will try to eat you" were particularly eye-catching. All that was left was for it to be marked in red.
"Wait a minute, was i practically thrown in here just like that? Is it reincarnation or soul crossing? And there's an origin?"
"...".
As you can probably guess, there was no reply.
My eyes narrowed for some time, until I let out a deep breath and drew my attention away. What's done is done.
It wasn't worth it.
If anything the status insinuated was to go by, then I was sure I had crossed over through soul form.
So my soul wasn't of this world. That could either mean reincarnation or soul crossing. I was kinda betting on the latter.
But the strong hunch that I was in a younger version of myself was particularly prominent.
I couldn't understand why.
Judging from my current height and body size, I should be somewhere around sixteen to eighteen years of age.
Still, the "how" was a question I had no answers to.
The classic stream of memories rushing into my head that was described in most novels wasn't happening to me.
I had no idea if that was good or bad.
Thankfully, I didn't wake up naked.
Currently, I stood straight, covered in a pure black robe with high collars from my neck area to the base of my ankles.
You could practically say it covered me from neck to toe.
Why in hell was I wearing this?
The fabric didn't look luxurious in the slightest sense. But rather ... Plain.
I didn't dwell on this.
And as much as I would like to go back to the floating screen on my retina, I knew this wasn't exactly the best time.
First and most importantly, my throat was particularly parched and a slight pang in my stomach, signifying hunger was emerging.
All in all, I needed to get out of this forest.
As far as my eyes could see going forward, what was before my sight was a hill obscuring my vision.
Looking back, I could see the black patch extending a long distance before finally coming to an end. Beyond that was large amounts of greenery.
I was in a forest. Strangely however, this part of the forest had been burned.
'Fire Nation'. The thought instantly appeared in my mind.
This year was the beginning of the plot. A time I would consider the Fire Nation to be the most active in certain regions. But that should be around Omashu and Ba Sing Se.
Right now, I stood on a slightly elevated hillside. Faced with my first minor dilemma.
Which direction should I go? Going forward meant going to the other end of the hillside. Just from the fact that this place had been torched, there were high chances that Fire Nation troops were on the other side.
But I was reluctant to go back. Because it was too far.
If the scorched earth was a black scar, then I was mostly at one end of it. Going in the opposite direction would mean traveling to the other side.
With the distance that lay before my eyes, and the dimming sun that showed it was already way past noon, I knew I'd still be walking when night fell.
Sleeping out in the wild in a foreign world was not an experience in my bucket list. So ....
I took my chances and walked forwards. I couldn't fathom what was going on through my head at that moment.
Logically, I should be wary. More cautious. After all, this was the world of people with elemental abilities capable of killing a regular person with one move. And a possible group of the worst ones could practically be on the other side.
Although the show didn't show much of the gore ... Or any of it for that matter, I wouldn't be so stupid to believe that things were the same way it was painted in the series.
With my current strength, Fire Nation was bad news.
If I were discovered, then my life would basically be up to fate.
So I decided that as soon as I caught even the slightest glimpse of a Fire Nation camp, scout or messenger hawk, I'd flee as fast as my two legs could carry me.
Thankfully, it never came to that. As to my great relief, I saw what I direly needed at this point in time.
Civilization.
Or to be more precise, a village.
And so, I walked forwards, quickly disappearing to the other side of the hill. Completely unaware that a great distance away, at the center of this large piece of scarred land, a three-meter tall statue of a menacing looking grizzly bear had been observing my every move since my arrival.
The stone eyes glowed light green for a split second, focusing on my disappearing silhouette before returning to normal.
...
Wooden houses, a small settlement covered by a multitude of trees and dense vegetation, with low stone walls fencing the entire place.
Well, half of my hopes had gone back down.
Not exactly the big city I was hoping for, but it was good enough.
After all, we can't always be winners.
At least I'd found somewhere to stay for the night. I could get some food, water and inquire about .... Wherever the hell this is in the Avatar world, so I could plan my next steps.
And what time it was exactly in 99 AG.
Going down the hill, I let out a sigh of relief. Although the future still wasn't clear, at least my worries of dying on the first day of transmigrating could be put down.
Moments later, I realized I had spoken too soon.
The hillside I walked on was slightly steep. In order to keep myself balanced during my descent, I placed my left foot on a protruding rock.
Crack!
'Oh shit!' was all I had on my mind when the rock broke off, causing me to lose my footing.
The next moment, I was tumbling down a hill unable to stop myself.
The last thing I remembered was finally crashing to the ground, hitting my head against a rock and falling unconscious.
....
Senlin Village ....
(A few hours Later)
In a wooden, antique styled room that looked like one from a Japanese anime, a bandaged young man slowly opened his eyes as the darkness began to fade away.
"Ugh .....". He groaned in pain and disorientation.
"Where ..... What ..." The darkness receded as clarity returned to his vision.
What came into his sight was a roof.
'Hold on ... Wasn't I ….'?
"It seems you are finally awake, child".
The drowsiness he felt suddenly faded away by more than half. The door on the side was pushed open. Following which, an aged man with a cane walked into the room.
He had a back head full of gray hair. Quite literally long, gray hair stretching past his neck point.
The front however .... Was as shiny as his was back in his own world.
A kind smile adorned his old wrinkled features as he projected a friendly, gentle demeanor towards the young boy who now lay on his bed.
"Are you alright? Young one".
The question immediately caused his eyebrows to furrow.
"I .....". He moved while trying to reply but winced as he did.
Pangs of pain struck him from several parts of his body.
"Easy child. Do not move so soon". A flash of distress streaked past his eyes as he spoke.
"The body needs time to heal from its wounds".
"Where..... Where Am I?" Luca uttered with a frown on his face. "..... And who might i ask, are you?"
"We found you near the hills from our village. Thank goodness we did too. You were laid out on a rock with your head bleeding out and if no one came across you, chances are you might have died".
The old man's words seemed to awaken him.
A second later, it all came back. Luca, who remembered everything right before he fell unconscious had his face darken.
Just when he was secretly relieved, he almost killed himself by stepping on a wrong stone.
How unbelievable was that?
For a moment, it was almost as if he could feel the world's deep malice towards him, an outside existence that had stepped foot into its territory.
Seeing him remain silent. The old man watched for a few seconds before asking.
"What is your name child?"
".... Luca. I'm Luca ..... And thank you for saving my life". He replied after a moment of silence.
His real name back on Earth was Lucas. Back in high school, his friends and parents while they were still alive called him Luca as a nickname of sorts.
He lowered his head, and said very seriously.
"I'm in your debt".
"Luca huh? ..... Interesting name of yours. Well hello Luca. I am elder Wu. The oldest resident of this settlement. On behalf of our small town, Welcome to Senlin Village".
The old man uttered. Strangely however, his features looked ..... Slightly relieved. But Luca didn't notice. Instead, his mind was filled with slight doubts as the name of the village played out in his ears.
'Senlin village ... Senlin ..... It sounds oddly familiar'.
How he knew that name was rather vague.
Quite frankly, it should be from the Avatar series, perhaps one of the less notable locations. Much less.
Or else, he wouldn't struggle to remember it.
Almost like it was at the tip of his tongue.
"So child ..... Tell me, what are you doing here if I may ask?"
The old man suddenly asked with some seriousness.
"The nearest village to our town is a long-distance away. So may I ask where exactly do you come from?"
"..". Silence enveloped the atmosphere as Luca didn't respond.
"I ..... I don't know".
"You don't?"
"N-No. I can't remember". He said with a look of pain as he raised his hand, placing it on the bandaged side of his head.
The old man was surprised, slightly thoughtful, before shaking his head with a low sigh.
"You have lost your memories".
"..". He didn't respond. Which in itself was an answer on his own.
The atmosphere changed.
Ultimately, it was the old man's voice that broke the awkward atmosphere.
"All will be well child. From what I can see, your current body condition requires you to rest and heal. Perhaps with enough time, when you regain your strength, your memories will return".
He said while standing up.
"Do not force yourself to stand up. We will discuss many things when you can stand on your own two feet".
"Thank you, elder Wu".
"It is fine".
The old man said before turning around and walking out.
All that was left in the room was a bandaged Luca who was scratching his head slightly with some annoyance.
He frowned slightly. Something felt off, concerning how the old man spoke to him.
He had no idea why he felt that way. Perhaps after spending years meeting all kind of people in search for opportunities to better his life, he had grown accustomed to specific speech patterns.
However, he just couldn't lay his finger on it. And for good reason too. His head was currently aching with a dull pain due to the injury.
Sitting on the bed for a minute and seeing that no one had come in after him, he let out a breath.
'Well, although there were some bumps. Quite painful ones, I made it. Now, let's take a better look at that stat panel'.
...
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