[|Ch.3 Wandering|]

Italic text like this, are the mc's thoughts that are accessible to everything in his mind.

Normal text like this is the mc describing what he or others are doing, a sort of pseudo-omniscient narrator that is himself.

"Text like this is people talking."

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"Alright, it seems like I don't feel hungry and it's been hours. Since I don't require food, there's no need for me to scavenge for for. Instead, I should focus on manifesting a physical body," I mutter to myself as I transition from a tree to a bigger one.

With agility, I swiftly climb up the tree, reaching the top in an instant. Slithering on its branches, I use the shadows on its surfaces until I spot a tall enough ruin to move onto. As I approach it, I notice a window that might allow me to see my reflection.

Curiosity piqued, I head towards the window and peer into it. My appearance is just as I expected – a pitch-black 7-year-old body, with purple-blue highlights at the edge of my skin.

I guess that's so I can have a visible form while in shadows, hopefully I can figure how to turn that off, I dont want to be unable to sneak up on people.

My eyes are the same purple-blue, and a line forms a mouth that mirrors my expressions.

At the top of my head, what appears to be hair waves around like flames. "Hmm, I look pretty much as expected," I mutter to myself, briefly admiring my reflection. However, I quickly refocus on the reason I came up here.

Moving closer to the edge of the building, I take in the sprawling forest. The forest stretches for miles, but eventually gives way to a of plains that seem to extend endlessly towards the horizon. "So, I have to navigate through all of that?" I groan.

Moving around is quite the hassle when my only reliable guides are the shadows of moving beings. Although I can make use of trees, they will become sparse.

North is the direction with the most stuff, Finn and Jakes treehouse is going to be that way, the candy kingdom aswell, the ice kingdom and some other stuff. The fire kingdom is south-west and the desert is south so I dont need to go there.

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I stand against a sturdy tree, my shadowy form blending seamlessly with the darkness. It has been nearly three days since I set out on this journey, and I can feel myself drawing closer to my destination.

Nightfall grants me the freedom to travel unhindered, so I make the most progress under the cover of darkness and rest during the day to replenish my energy for morphing. It's a necessary but tiresome process, one that I've already grown accustomed to.

I long left my spawn and now I encounter only sporadic signs of destruction and the dwindling presence of Oozers. Instead, I come across a growing number of animals and extremely few mutant humanoids, soon to become the dominant inhabitants of OOO. I pay them little mind, focusing on my ultimate goal.

In my solitude, I have been honing my abilities, experimenting with the manipulation of shadows. I can easily morph shadows way bigger than me which is nice, but its not useful until I manage to make them physical.

Another aspect of my progress lies in my attempts to manifest a tangible body. I have achieved a level of success, managing to materialize an entire hand for a fleeting few seconds before exhaustion takes hold. It is a small victory, but it signifies that I am on the right path.

As I traverse the mostly plains area, I can sense that I am drawing closer to my destination. A few more hours of travel and I will reach the radioactive river.

And then, as the first rays of sunlight begin to paint the horizon, I spot it in the distance. A wooden shack, with an orange tree whose white-pink leaves reach towards the sky bursting through the roof, nestled amidst pink-ish mountains. This is the place I've been searching for.

Surrounding the shack-tree, I see smaller shacks, a compact rover-like vehicle, rows of gas canisters, a satellite, a green river flowing past everything and a waterwheel positioned in the river, likely providing power to everything. It is a scene that confirms my suspicions; I have arrived at the time near when PB creates her family.

Silently, I slither towards the house, careful not to disturb the items scattered around. I notice a hole in the ground nearby, accompanied by a shovel. Briefly, I peer into the depths before leaning against the sturdy walls of the shack.

As the sun begins to rise, casting a soft glow across the landscape, I decide to climb up the wall and peer through a window. Inside, I spot a young PB emerging from her bed. Wanting to catch her attention, I gently tap on the window pane, hoping to make my presence known.

She whirls around, her movements lightning-fast, clutching what appears to be a fully-loaded shotgun and aiming it directly at me. "Hold up! I come in peace!" I shout, desperately hoping to avoid becoming the target of her weapon. I'm still uncertain if I can even be harmed; I'm inclined to believe I cant, but I'm not about to put it to the test.

"What exactly are you?" she demands, her finger still firmly on the trigger, the barrel trained on my form. "Uh... I'm like a shadow, I guess? I've been aimlessly wandering for quite some time and stumbled upon this place," I reply cautiously.

"Can you let me inside, the sun is rising and I dont want to be caught in the light" I glance towards the swiftly advancing sunlight on the horizon.

She squints, exhales, and reluctantly opens the window. I swiftly dart inside, skillfully evading the light, and find solace in the comforting embrace of a shadow.

"Thanks"

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