Felix woke to the sound of stone grinding against itself.

  For a few moments, he lay there in a daze, trying to identify the noise. It was deep and heavy as if boulders were shifting beneath the ground he lay on. He absently hoped it wasn't another monster. His mind, still fogged with exhaustion, decided whatever happened, happened.

  As one moment turned to two, he realised he wasn't hearing it. He was feeling it.

  A dull vibration rang through his chest, steady and slow, as if a great weight was settling. He froze as his body tensed, and he inhaled sharply. The air felt heavier than usual, like it was compressed into a dense mass. He felt something more, a shallow energy mingled with each breath as it slowly began to course through his body.

  "What the hell..." He whispered.

  His voice sounded wrong to his ears, it felt deeper, steadier. It by no means gave him the deep, powerful voice of a hero, but it had a slight resonance in his chest as he spoke.

  Felix preemptively groaned as he pushed himself upright in anticipation of a surge of pain that was the only reliable constant in his new life. However, it never came.

  Instead, he sat up far too easily with an unfamiliar strength.

  The swift and easy movement caught Felix off guard as he began to topple over the other way. He slapped down to catch himself. He stopped abruptly, firm and rooted, as if the ground itself held him. He looked down at his hand as a cool sensation enveloped his fingers. Sunken into the earth, his fingers were hidden up to his knuckles as if the hard packed and gravelly ground beneath him was made of a soft sand that flowed between his fingers.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  He pulled his hand out, the dirt clung to his skin, slowly crumbling away as if it was never there, even the dirt packed under his nails fell free as he watched. He felt no pain, there was no strain, only a faint warmth that emanated from his fingers.

  "Ho-ly shit..." He mumbled as he inspected his hand closer. "That's... New." Glancing at the imprint of his hand, he pushed himself to his feet.

  He stretched, twisting back and fourth. "Wow, I feel...amazing?" He said, flexing his fingers. The movement felt solid and controlled, not powerful, but sturdy and grounded. Like his body possessed its own confidence, something he was sorely lacking.

  Felix was visibly relaxed, his pain was gone and he felt as though he'd managed full night's rest. However, as he casually looked around at the scattering of rocks and boulders, anxiety built in his stomach.

  "Shit..." He whispered, the last couple days flooded his mind like a warning. Despite how he felt, he was by no means safe.

  He took deep, controlled breaths to try and calm his rising heart rate. "Ok... ok what now?" He asked himself as he rubbed his face. "Right, first things first I need-" suddenly a loud growl erupted from his stomach. "-To eat... Apparently." Now that he focused on it, he was clearly hungry. That dull pain was definitely there but when he stopped focusing on it, it mostly vanished, other than a feather light pressure in his stomach.

  Just as Felix took his first step, a window sputtered into existence before settling before him.

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