|| Chapter 2 || Awakening...

tick...

tick...

tick... 

A soft ticking echoed within the dark silent space. Like the last beat of a withering shattered clock. A faint glow materializes in the middle of the dark.

A bright transparent body stood, enveloped by a warm glow. Pale feet implanted flat on the cold glass-like floor, like a blurry mirror reflecting the youth's frame. Moulin stood silent with one thought in mind... Am I dead? His thoughts were loud despite not speaking. He calmly gazes through the vast pitch-black space.

tick...

tick...

tick...

He lowered his sight, figuring out if the ticking sound was coming from beneath him. In a blink of an eye, The glass floor disappeared and what replaced it was a glowing floor of solid ice. Like a blanket, A faint fog clouded the floor reaching just below his knees.

But Moulin didn't feel cold.

Despite standing on a floor of ice, the soles of his feet weren't feeling that numbing bite of the cold but instead, it still felt like the cool glass floor that had disappeared. The youth furrowed his eyebrows. Well, of course, nothing makes sense if you're already dead, perhaps this was a reminder of how he died.

tick...

tick...

tick...

What is that sound? The confused youth strained his gaze on the floor almost glaring at it. The ticking echoed louder and louder the longer he stared at the icy floor. As if luring him to find out. Finally, Curiosity overwhelmed him and he couldn't help but crouch down, reaching out a pale hand. Fingers gently touched the surface of the frosty floor like a butterfly softly landing. His originally brown eyes reflected the blue glow of the floor. At this moment, he couldn't think of anything but be lured by an unknown call within the ice.

As his palm gently felt the floor the ticking came to an abrupt stop. Silence once again swallowed the whole space. Snapping out of a trance and blinking, Moulin looked around innocently as if he had been wronged. What happened? It was absolutely creepier when the place became silent.

Crack!

The sudden sound startled the supposedly worried youth. He hastily gazed down at the floor where his hand was still planted and noticed a web of cracks beneath it. Like a fragile shattering mirror the ice began cracking and crumbling. Moulin stood up quickly taking a few steps back. Now he felt like he did something wrong! Lines of cracks became bigger and longer as they spread outwards.

The frightened Moulin had second thoughts about whether to run or not. If he was like any other person he would definitely run like their lives depended on it. The continuous sound of breaking ice echoed from a few miles away.

Crack!

Crack!

Moulin looked down by instinct. Beams of bright light leaked between the cracks. It was blinding. The floor beneath his feet started to glow a bright blue, brighter than before. The beams of light from miles away were clearly visible from where Moulin stood. His body began to feel heavy and he felt a sudden dizziness in his brain. Tired and frustrated with the series of strange events happening around him, for the hundredth time, he began to curse to whoever was playing with him. This clearly was a punishment...

The flooring kept breaking and breaking. More and more light leaked through. Moulin felt it was on the brink of collapsing. His senses warned him it was too late to run away. He regrettably wondered why he wasn't able to run away sooner.

The glow began to grow more and more intense. He shielded his eyes from the vivid brilliance from where he stood and braced himself.

A tiny voice suddenly whispered inside his ear. For a moment, it was all he could hear.

"Please live for me"

A burst of light engulfed the entire space.

***

In the dimly lit ice cave, A frozen sculpture-like frame of a frail youth with his knees bent and a lost expression etched on his attractive face rested against the wall. Like a painting by the finest artists.

The cave was silent except for the bell-like sound of hanging icicles as if preparing to welcome a guest.

A faint light became visible within the large icy walls of the frozen cavern. Glowing like blue transparent crystals. The hanging icicles at the irregular ceiling lit up like exquisite stars.

"Haah!...haah..." Moulin inhaled a lungful of air, feeling relieved. Like he had been freed from a bad experience. A chilly air swept over his skin making him feel a sense of comfort. His chest alternatively rises and lowers as he kept taking deep breaths. He had imagined being frozen into ice and it felt unbelievably realistic. Dying twice was absolutely not a fun experience.

Eventually, Moulin's sight began to focus and the shock almost made him die a third time. It wasn't a dream. So he really had died twice. His soul had really transferred to another body. How could this be? It wasn't even scientifically possible! He took a minute to calm himself down and began to survey the area. Panicking won't answer all his questions of course.

The cave was entirely made of solid ice. If someone were to stay here long it would be like freezing a fish in a freezer. But how come he currently wasn't? It was pretty damn real when he became a human popsicle the moment his soul transferred to this body. He felt strangely cool. The ice under his bare feet felt slightly chilly but not freezing at all.

Moulin carefully stood up, lifting himself from the floor. He staggered, clumsily supporting himself with the wall. Why didn't he transfer into a healthier body? These thin hands and the slender fingers...

"Ugh..."

Taking a careful step after another careful step, he began to walk slowly towards the chilly breeze. Clearly, It has to come from an opening. The cave had many tunnels, both small and big ones. Moulin has to trust his instincts.

As he left, the once-bright cave began to dim.