Ethereal Ascendance: A Journey of Transformation

If I wasn't sure that I wasn't dreaming, I would never have believed this conclusion. After all, it was just too incredible.

I was now standing in a clearing in the middle of a forest. Just moments ago, I had been lying on the ground beneath my feet. Other than the surrounding lush trees and thick fallen leaves, there was nothing else around. Even the birds that had been chirping and fluttering around me just moments before had all flown away the instant I stood up.

I didn't know if this could be considered a good thing or not. After all, I didn't have a single piece of clothing on my body - I was completely "stark naked". And I couldn't find anything nearby that I could use to cover myself up with. So the reality was that I didn't even dare to glance down, or I would be overwhelmed with embarrassment.

What should I do now?

I couldn't just stand here motionless forever. At the very least, I had to find a place with people, right? Speaking of which, where exactly was this place?

Just as I thought I knew nothing about the current situation, I was shocked to discover that I seemed to know the name of this world.

This was... the Eldoria Continent.

This appeared to be the name of this world.

The name just floated up in my mind out of nowhere, but I was unable to recall any specific details or related information about it. It was as if fragments of memories that I didn't have before had suddenly popped up in my mind, disjointed and fragmented. I couldn't string them together into a complete chain at all.

I must have had this knowledge forcibly implanted into me. Recalling the sensation of having a huge amount of information suddenly surge into my brain, and then suddenly being able to understand the language of this world...

It really was mystical yet so convenient. I didn't know how it was accomplished.

And so I started trying hard to search my mind for all the knowledge about this world that I could find. But very little of it was useful. Most of the memories were incomplete, just useless scattered fragments. Still, I was able to sift out a few things that seemed like they could be useful.

For example, it seemed like I could hide my wings.

Then, following the steps in my memory, I tried it out...

It looked like I needed to manipulate some kind of light element?

Immediately, I intuitively understood what this so-called light element was. It seemed to be a kind of minuscule particle, yet also like a kind of strange aura. It gave me a feeling of warmth and tranquillity.

In any case, it was something I couldn't see with my eyes no matter how hard I looked. But I could sense it from my other senses - it was everywhere.

Especially concentrated around my own body, dense and clustered together.

It was a very mystical feeling...

Sure enough, in no time at all, my wings dematerialized into dots of light and disappeared without a trace. Fascinating! But there was one problem - it seemed I couldn't maintain this state for a prolonged period. And if my body became too weak, or I experienced intense emotions, the effect would also be lost.

There was another useful thing that seemed to be called Purification. Judging by the name, it should be a very handy skill. Unfortunately, no matter how I tried to follow the steps in my memory, I just couldn't get it to work successfully. No matter how hard I stared at my palm, there was no reaction at all. I suddenly felt like a fool.

Other than that, there were no other skills.

I didn't know if it was because I simply hadn't had a chance to acquire more, or if I had already forgotten them and relegated them to some corner of my memory. In any case, I couldn't recall anything more related to skills now. However, I did discover some useful basic information about this world.

For example, there did seem to be humans inhabiting this continent, and their numbers seemed plentiful, spread over a wide area.

In contrast, I couldn't remember anything at all about angels.

I could only take things one step at a time now. Speaking of which, I still had a pair of wings on my back, right?

Since I couldn't find any memories relating to flying, I could only try flapping my back wings with effort to see if I could get airborne.

In an instant, fallen leaves were swirling in the air, and tree branches swayed violently back and forth with a whooshing sound. It certainly looked impressive, but after the gust of wind died down, I was still standing firmly in place, without having budged an inch.

Uh, this was rather awkward.

What good were these wings if I couldn't fly? If they weren't attached to my body, I might even think about hacking them off and roasting them for a meal. The snowy white, sleek wings did look very beautiful, but they were also a bit too large - the wingspan was nearly twice my height. And when folded up, the wingtips nearly dragged on the ground.

This was a total encumbrance. Fortunately, I still had the skill to make the wings disappear, which I could put to use.

And so, I tried to make my wings vanish again. But a thought flashed through my mind, and I suddenly came up with another way to use them as a substitute for clothing - I stretched out both wings as far as I could to the front of me, enveloping my body completely like a spring roll. My entire body was now wrapped in feathers.

This didn't feel too bad. At least I didn't have to worry about exposing myself now. It was warm, relieved of the awkwardness, and the direct contact of the soft feathers on my skin felt really comfortable.

I really didn't dare to imagine what it would be like if I met other people while completely naked in my current female body...

It would be too overwhelming.

I wandered alone through the endless forest like a spring roll. It had been a long time now. How much further did I have to walk? Other than trees, all I saw were more trees. After walking for so long, I hadn't come across any proper animals, other than a few small birds flying overhead occasionally.

In fact, I had no clue which direction I should be heading in. I could only keep walking straight on this path and see where it led me.

Were there any living creatures at all in this forest?

I couldn't help but complain internally, but on second thought, maybe it was better that there weren't any. If some ferocious beast popped out, I wasn't confident I could survive.

Speaking of which... angels should have some combat ability, right?

I raised my slender, bamboo shoot-like right arm and examined it over and over. My tender, white fingers were as delicate as young spring onions. After thinking for a bit, I clenched my hand into a fist and swung it at a thick, sturdy nearby tree.

With a "bang", the tree branches shook violently, making a rustling sound as countless leaves rained down from above.

"Ow, that hurts!"

I kept blowing on the back of my fingers while caressing them, hurting so much that tears welled up in my eyes.

Fortunately, I had subconsciously held back, or the impact would have been much worse. But it still left several deep red marks on the back of my hand. Still, this punch did seem to have some effect - it at least left a small fist imprint on the tree trunk, even if the tree was overall undamaged.

Objectively speaking, my strength had increased tremendously compared to before, far too much to even compare the two. But this was still far from the effect I had imagined.

I was very disappointed. I thought I could smash this huge tree to pieces with one punch, leaving a long crack or ravine in the earth from the aftershock...

Alright, I admit I was daydreaming!

Having accepted reality, I could only continue forward one step at a time. The sky was gradually becoming darker - nightfall seemed to be approaching.

I didn't even know how long I had been walking - one hour? Two?

But strangely, I didn't feel tired at all, or even very hungry. My body seemed to keep operating ceaselessly like a perpetual motion machine.

However, when night completely fell, I was plunged into endless darkness. I couldn't see anything in any direction, not my five fingers. Other than the sky full of glittering stars, I could barely see anything.

What...should I do now?

I began to feel scared, growing more and more anxious. The only sounds I could hear now were the whooshing of the wind through the treetops and the shuffling of my footsteps on the ground.

Wandering alone in the forest of an unfamiliar world, in the middle of the wilderness at night - I felt that familiar helplessness again.

"Is anyone there? Is there anyone here!"

Disregarding everything, I shouted loudly into the surroundings in the language of this world, hoping to get someone, anyone's attention. But the endless darkness only echoed back the monotonous rustling of leaves in response.

And I couldn't keep walking any further either.

Now I was like a blind person, bumping into things everywhere, even likely to crash into some tree if I wasn't careful.

I could only sit down leaning against a tree trunk for now.

After all, living in cities before, I basically never experienced such complete darkness where I couldn't see anything. I finally understood a little of what it must feel like when people first lose their sight.

The only comfort was the soft, furry sensation against my back. I clung to it like a drowning person grasping at straws, burying my whole body into the cocoon of my wings.

Immersed in the warmth of the wings, I could discern the feel of each individual feather gently caressing my skin, continuously soothing my anxious heart, allowing me to slowly relax from the extreme tension.

I didn't know how much time passed like this. Suddenly, I seemed to faintly hear the sound of hoofbeats, so soft it was almost imperceptible. But I was certain it wasn't just my imagination, since this was the first sound other than my own that I had heard in all this time.

My spirits were roused. It was like catching a life raft. I immediately stood up and dashed in the direction of the sound.

What was that?

Although it was very far away, I could still see a faint gleam of light slowly moving from the distant right to left. Mustering all my strength, I sprinted towards it. Fortunately, from some point on, an enormous round moon rose in the night sky, much bigger and brighter than the moon on Earth. In the moonlight, the ground was no longer pitch black and invisible, at least I could clearly make out the trees and grass around me.

The other party was still very far away. I wasn't confident I could reach them before the light disappeared, but I didn't want to miss this chance either. Like a drowning person desperately clinging to one last straw at the moment of death, I fixated on that point of light and ran wildly.

But a few minutes later...

Things didn't go as hoped.

At a distance of about 200 meters away from me, the silhouette of what looked like a carriage flashed rapidly across in front. The point of light was probably a carriage lantern hanging from it. I watched its retreating figure and called out loudly and clearly in dissatisfaction: "Wait a moment---"

But my clear, melodious cry quickly drowned in the fading rumble, without making a ripple.

Dejected, I stood in place. But I was no longer in the familiar grassy clearing in the woods, instead standing on a dirt path through the woods with obvious signs of human travel.

At least I wasn't totally clueless anymore now. A road meant people. After sprinting at full strength just now, although I wasn't gasping for breath, I could still feel a massive drain on my stamina. But that was already pretty good compared to my past self.

I decided to follow the carriage's direction and continue onward. At least the chances of escaping this uninhabited area were much higher now. In order to get out of this predicament as soon as possible, I didn't even want to think about what would happen if someone else discovered me in my current naked state.

At the very least, I had to find people first...

As time passed, I finally began feeling tired and hungry. I gazed at the road stretching endlessly into the distance, still without a soul in sight.

The bright moon of this otherworldly sky had already moved overhead. I sighed softly. I really couldn't walk any further and could only sit down to rest at the side of the road beneath a tree. Whether it was because of the wings' warmth or my body's own attributes, wrapped in the feathers I didn't feel a hint of coldness on this night. My consciousness gradually grew blurry, and before I realized it, I had fallen into a deep slumber.