A few days later, Kyle's eyes fluttered open. He was surprised to find himself encased in ice. With a sigh, he shifted, causing the ice to shatter into countless particles.
Floating in mid-air, he stretched his arms behind his back and shrugged his legs.
All his injuries were healed, as if he had never been hurt in the first place. However, his torn clothes, stained with dried blood, told a different story.
He glanced around and noticed he was in the midst of the dark expanse, surrounded by distant stars and planets.
The teardrop symbol on the back of his neck glowed, and his appearance shifted to that of a bronze-skinned man once more.
"I need to get stronger..."
He whispered, staring into the darkness for a long time, silently gathering his thoughts.