I'm Okay, Michael

"How peculiar."

Daniel remained in blinding agony as his soul was ripped apart and reconstructed by the effect of his own soul trait.

"No being can survive that energy influx, but I'm sure you'll be fine." The being said as he smiled softly.

[You have obtained 'Sword Qi' (4 star)]

The being tilted its head as he watched Daniel choke on his own blood. The effect of two revivals seemed to be wearing off. The creature bent over, pulled his tongue out of his throat and threw him face first into the sand. After a few moments, the being threw a summoning scroll on the ground next to him. 

"I'm sure you'll be happy to know that you can open a runic gate now."

Daniel remained motionless on the ground, occasionally forgetting how to breathe. The being tilted its head and spoke softly. "Your brother wants to see you."

Daniel's heart began to beat faster at the words and his sanity began to slowly bleed back in. He couldn't move properly as the phantom pain from nonexistent body parts overwhelmed his nerves.

The soft sound of retreating footsteps reached his ears, and he realized that, again, he was alone. Over the next hour, Daniel began to realign himself to his body, initially only attempting to move one finger, but furthering his movements all the way to pushing himself on his back to view an old notification

[Daniel…]

[Daniel?]

Daniel's vision pulsed and he watched as the snake climbed all the way to his midback before appearing to sink its teeth into his spine. 

Daniel stared blankly, directly into the sun. "I'm okay."

Eventually, he took his eyes away from the sun and black spots dotted his vision. He stumbled to his feet and held his war rune in front of him. The summoning scroll from beside him went directly into his hand and a moment later, a runic gate appeared in front of him. He let the gentle gravitational pull of the runic gate guide his steps forward before his surroundings changed entirely.

*crash*

Daniel looked up to see Michael with his mouth ajar and a shattered plate on the floor. After a few moments of silence, Michael's gaze hardened after looking into Daniel's eyes.

"Danny?"

Daniel looked down at his body and noticed that he looked completely different. His muscles were more defined, his skin tone darkened, and as he felt his face, he could tell the minute changes in his skull's structure. It was far more symmetrical. Daniel's eyes began to water as he let out a soft laugh.

"Yeah, Mikey. It's me."

Michael's eyes widened and he ran into Daniel's chest nearly sending him into the cabinets behind him. "You're back so soon! Are you okay?"

Daniel smiled. "I'm okay."

"I'm okay."