Awakening in the Dark (1/2)

Joseph woke up with heavy breathing, his lungs expanding forcefully, trying to catch his breath while his heart pounded uncontrollably. He blinked several times, his eyes struggling to adjust to the darkness surrounding him.

His head was dizzy, and a feeling of disorientation took over his body. The air was cold, damp, and the sound of rustling leaves and small nocturnal animals breaking the silence around him, but something felt... wrong.

He tried to stand, but it was as if his body wouldn't obey. Instead, he fell to his knees on the forest floor. The ground was uneven, full of roots and small stones. The earth was wet, making his knees ache. Joseph swallowed hard, a strange sensation that something was out of place.

With difficulty, he looked down at his hands.

They were... small. His fingers were thin and his arms short. Confusion flooded his mind.

He looked down, and his stomach churned as he saw his body — or rather, the body of a child.

***

Joseph tried to stand up again, but his small and clumsy body betrayed him once more. His short legs gave out under the weight of a balance he couldn't find, and he fell forward, his tiny hands sinking into the damp earth of the forest.

A frustrated groan escaped his throat, high-pitched and childish, which only increased his irritation. "This is ridiculous," he muttered, his thin voice echoing among the dark trees.

He clenched his fists, feeling the weakness of muscles that had once been capable of taking down a Vhorr'tak with a single blow.

With effort, he fumbled until he managed to stand. Every movement felt strange, as if he were trapped in an ill-fitting suit. "Come on, Joseph, you've faced worse," he murmured to himself, but the childish voice stripped away any weight from the confidence he was trying to summon.

He turned his head, narrowing his eyes into the darkness until he spotted the faint glimmer of a puddle a few meters away, reflecting the moonlight that slipped through the branches.

'I need to see my reflection,' he thought, walking slowly and with difficulty toward the water.

When he reached it, he knelt down and leaned forward, his heart racing as he stared at the rippling reflection on the surface.

What he saw made him freeze. It wasn't the face he knew—there was no blond hair, no blue eyes. Instead, a pair of deep, wide black eyes stared back at him, framed by a curtain of straight black hair that fell messily over his cheeks.

"What the hell…" He touched his face with his small hands, confirming what he was seeing. Then his gaze drifted downward, and he noticed the clothes he was wearing. A long-sleeved shirt, made of thick, coarse fabric, dyed a dark shade of black. The pants, just as rustic, and on his feet, leather shoes with thin soles that let him feel every stone beneath his steps. Everything looked old.

"How is this possible?" He leaned closer to the water. "I didn't just turn into a child… I switched bodies?!"

The realization hit him like a punch, and he brought his hands to his head, gripping his hair in despair. "Wait… my powers!"

He clenched his fists tightly, his tiny muscles trembling with effort, trying to summon the familiar crackle of electricity that had always been at his command. But… nothing. No tingling, no glow, not even the faintest spark of energy. Just the cold silence of the forest.

"No…" He opened his eyes, staring at his clenched fists as if they had betrayed him. "No, no, no!" His voice rose, the high-pitched tone cutting through the air as he slammed his hands on the ground, sending damp earth scattering around him.

For the first time in his life, a chill ran down his spine—not from the cold, but from pure despair.

"This can't be happening," he whispered, his wide eyes locked on the puddle as if the reflection could offer some explanation. "Without my powers… without my body…" He stopped, the weight of those words finally settling in his mind. 

The thought struck him like lightning—ironic, considering he could no longer summon it.

For years, he had been the Earth's shield, the most powerful sorcerer, the only one capable of making the Vhorr'tak retreat. His mere existence maintained the balance, prevented the aliens from opening their portals and swallowing the planet.

But now? He was this—a fragile child, without strength, without powers, lost in a forest.

For the first time, Joseph tasted the bitter sting of fear—not for himself, but for the world he had sworn to protect.

Images of burning cities, portals tearing through the sky, and the Vhorr'tak marching over the ruins of humanity flooded his mind. Without him, who would stop them? Jessica? The few sorcerers that remained? None of them had the power he once carried—or used to carry.

***

"Haa… haa… haa…" After a few minutes of deep breaths, he opened his eyes, the deep black of his irises reflecting in the water as he analyzed his situation with clarity.

First: He had changed bodies. This wasn't just a matter of age regression—this wasn't his body, and the old-fashioned clothes… pointed to something even stranger, something he didn't want to think about yet.

Second: He was in a forest, somewhere in the world. The humidity, the sounds, the density of the trees—maybe the Amazon, or some similar jungle. There was no way to be sure yet, but it was a starting point.

Third: He had no coordination with this smaller body. Every attempt to move was a cruel reminder of his new fragility, his weak and awkward limbs betraying him at every step.

And fourth, the most important: He needed to return to civilization, find a way to get his original body back, and with it, his powers.

"No powers, no strength, no nothing," he thought as he slowly stood up. "But I still have my mind. That will have to be enough for now."

He took another deep breath, the fresh night air filling his lungs, and looked around.

"I've taken down thousands of aliens, portals, and commanders with bad speeches. This? Just another obstacle."

***

'This is… a really big obstacle.'

After minutes of walking—or maybe hours, he had already lost track of time—Joseph was completely disoriented. The forest stretched in every direction, a labyrinth of twisted trunks and shadows that swallowed any hope of finding his way.

The faint moonlight barely pierced through the dense canopy, casting only thin strands of silver across the uneven ground. Everywhere he looked, it was the same: trees, treacherous roots, and a silence that seemed to mock him.

He had lost count of how many times he had fallen. His knees were scraped, burning and smeared with dirt. His elbows bled, the rough fabric of his black shirt torn at the sleeves, and small cuts marked his face. "Damn uneven ground," he grumbled, kicking a root with his worn-out leather shoe, which offered less protection than a piece of paper. "Useless shoes, cursed forest!"

He took another step forward, but the ground gave way beneath his weight, a hidden root betraying his balance once again. Joseph fell face-first into the dirt, the impact forcing a muffled groan from his throat as cold mud smeared across his face.

"Son of a—" he started but stopped, taking a deep breath to calm himself.

Slowly, he pushed himself up, his arms trembling from exhaustion, and wiped his face with his sleeve—only making the mess worse.

That was when he heard it.

A growl tore through the silence of the forest.

Low. Guttural.

Heavy with a primal threat that made every inch of Joseph's skin crawl. His heart thundered against his ribs, and he turned his head carefully, his lungs holding the air as if breathing would seal his fate.

Two eyes.

Glowing in the darkness.

Thin slits, locked onto him from the face of a beast lurking between the trees.

Joseph couldn't tell exactly what it was—it looked like a puma, but something was wrong. Because it was too big.

The shadows hid it, but the little that the moonlight revealed was enough to send ice through Joseph's veins.

His brain screamed at him to run, but his legs were frozen in place. A thin line of saliva dripped from the creature's fangs as it lowered its head, preparing to attack.

"No, no, NO!" The scream ripped from his throat along with his desperation, and then he spun on his heels and bolted forward, pushing his legs as hard as that damned weak body allowed.

The sound behind him changed.

No longer a growl.

But the thunderous pounding of something massive charging across the ground at an absurd speed.

Then came the impact.

A brutal weight crashed down onto his back, slamming him into the ground with enough force to knock the air from his lungs.

And before he could even process what was happening, pain exploded in his shoulder.

"ARGH!" The scream tore from his throat as the beast's teeth sank deep into his flesh, ripping through muscle and tendon. Then came the savage tug— And a part of his shoulder simply vanished.

'I'm going to die!' The thought was clear amid the unbearable pain.

Through his blurred vision, he could just make out the creature lifting its head, its wild eyes locked onto his throat.

The predator's intent was clear. It was going to finish what it started.

'I have no other choice. This is my last way out!' Shutting his eyes, Joseph ignored the panic, ignored the pain, and dove into his own mind.

For someone who could travel and move at the speed of lightning, Joseph had to process information in nanoseconds. Because of that, from an early age, he was forced to think and react far faster than any human had ever imagined possible.

And that was exactly what he did in those few seconds before death.

Joseph plunged into his mind at high speed, and in an instant, his consciousness shaped the vital energy within him, concentrating it into a single point: the center of his chest.

An orb began to form, glowing and pulsing like a second heart.

And then—it exploded.

BOOOMM!

***

Ki is a vital energy inherent in all living beings, but in most, it remains dormant. Unlike the powers of sorcerers, which manipulate external forces, Ki is born from within the user and is amplified by their determination, discipline, and mastery over their own body.

During the early years of the war, only the Vhorr'tak knew how to harness this energy, making them nearly unbeatable in close combat. But over time, sorcerers became aware of this energy and began training to awaken and refine their Ki, developing techniques to use it in battle.

The discovery of Ki revolutionized the war against the Vhorr'tak. Before, sorcerers had to rely on strategic long-range combat to face them. With Ki, they could finally fight the aliens head-on.

However, Ki training was not for every sorcerer. It required extreme discipline, absolute self-control, and a body strong enough to withstand such immense energy. Many who attempted to master it failed, suffering irreversible internal injuries, while others ended up consumed by their own power, becoming empty husks.

The proper time to begin training was after the age of 18. But why not start earlier? The answer lay in the risks Ki posed to a developing body.

Before the age of 18, human growth spurts—periods when bones, muscles, and internal systems were rapidly developing—left the body vulnerable.

Introducing such an intense and volatile energy during this stage could be catastrophic. The raw power it demanded often overwhelmed fragile tissues, resulting in spontaneous fractures, muscle ruptures, or even the collapse of vital organs.

For young sorcerers, early training wasn't just risky—it was a potential death sentence.

Only one sorcerer had ever been able to mold their Ki before this age without suffering consequences.

That sorcerer was Joseph, who, at just 13 years old, could already shape his Ki.

***

BOOOMM!

The shockwave tore through the air with overwhelming force. The impact lifted dust from the ground, bent nearby trees, ripped stones from the earth, and sent the beast flying.

"HUEGH!" At the epicenter, Joseph vomited liters of blood.

Normally, Ki doesn't require a focal point since the body itself serves as one. That's why he had attempted to create a focal point in the center of his chest, theorizing that maybe the damage wouldn't be as severe when manipulating energy in such a young body.

But it was in vain. The damage was as severe as it could possibly be.

Completely numb, his mind clouded by pain and shock, Joseph pushed himself off the ground and stumbled forward with unsteady, heavy movements. Blood trickled from his ears, dripped from his eyes like tears, and flowed from his mouth, mixing with the sweat and dirt covering his skin.

'Who… am I again?' The thought surfaced in fragments, a distant voice lost in the chaos consuming his mind. His vision wavered, the world around him blurring into shades of gray and red.

Step after step, he staggered, his body slowly giving in. The trees began to thin, and the ground beneath his feet grew damper—until a sudden glimmer cut through the haze ahead. Moonlight reflected off the surface of a river.

But Joseph didn't see it coming.

His foot slipped at the edge of the bank, and with one final, ragged breath, he fell forward—swallowed by the water.