Sitael – POV
Light faded into something softer.
When my vision cleared, I was standing in a quiet room—circular, seamless, and glowing faintly like polished glass. In the center floated a single object:
A tablet.
I stepped closer. The moment my fingers brushed its surface, the screen came alive.
**—Character Configuration—**
Name. Age. Race. Body. Traits.
Everything.
"…Right," I muttered. "Don't overthink it."
Age first.
"Twenty-five."
The number locked in with a soft pulse.
Name…
I hesitated for half a second.
"**Sitael**."
New life. New name. It fit.
Then came the real choice.
Race.
My finger hovered—then tapped.
**Flügel.**
A faint ripple passed through the room, like reality acknowledging the decision.
"Yeah… not subtle," I said under my breath.
If I was doing this, I wasn't going halfway.
---
The changes came all at once.
Height settled first—balanced, natural.
Then came the rest.
Strands of hair slid into view as I moved—long, impossibly long—falling past my waist, nearly to my knees. Ocean-blue at the base, streaked with soft green and pink that shimmered when the light caught them.
I lifted a hand, watching the colors shift.
"…Okay, that's actually nice."
A faint glow brushed the edge of my vision.
A halo.
Soft green, like sunlight through shallow water.
When I turned my head, something else moved with me—light, feathered, sensitive.
My ears.
Not human. Not quite wings either—but something in between. Feather-like, tinted pink with subtle green highlights.
"…Flügel ears," I murmured. "Right."
My reflection formed on the tablet's surface.
My eyes caught first—navy blue layered with dark pink, and at the center—
A cross-shaped pupil.
I blinked once.
"…That's going to mess with people."
A small grin tugged at my lips.
---
Clothing adjusted with a thought.
Light. Minimal. Functional.
A white top—close-fitting, simple, marked with faint symbols along one side. Fabric at my hips, held together with small beads that shifted softly when I moved.
And then—
Wings.
They didn't sprout from my back.
They unfolded from my hips—pure white, layered, and *large*. When I shifted slightly, they responded instantly, feathers brushing the air with a quiet, controlled motion.
I flexed them once.
"…Yeah. That's going to take practice."
---
I exhaled.
"I think that's everything."
The tablet pulsed once.
**—Confirm?—**
"…Confirm."
---
Darkness.
Not empty this time.
Cold.
I inhaled sharply as sensation returned all at once—air, temperature, gravity.
Sand shifted beneath my feet.
I opened my eyes.
A half-moon hung in the sky, pale and distant.
Endless desert stretched in every direction.
Wind whispered across the dunes, carrying grains of sand in slow, restless motion.
"…Well," I said quietly, "no easing into it, huh?"
Then—
Memories hit.
Not mine.
Not entirely.
Fragments. Impressions. Knowledge pressed into my mind like something that had always been there.
**Atrosh.**
An ascended being.
Movement between worlds.
A malfunction.
A crossing that wasn't meant to happen.
And something else—
Magic.
Not separate from this universe… but another form of energy.
ZPM-level energy.
My energy.
I exhaled slowly.
"…Okay. I'll figure that out later."
---
First things first.
I raised my hand.
A flicker of light gathered above my palm—unstable for half a second—
Then stabilized into a small flame.
It burned quietly, steady despite the wind.
I turned my wrist, watching it react instantly to my thoughts.
"Control… confirmed."
The flame vanished.
Next—
Nanites.
I reached inward—mentally this time—and found them.
Dormant. Waiting.
A command formed.
A small vial appeared in my hand, along with a thin needle.
"…Still hate needles."
I pressed it into my upper arm anyway.
A sharp sting—
Then something else.
Movement.
Hundreds—no, thousands—of tiny sensations spreading through my body like static under my skin.
I tensed.
"…That is *not* a normal feeling."
It passed quickly, settling into something… connected.
Like an extra sense.
I closed my eyes.
Looked inward.
And saw them.
Tiny points of awareness, moving, adjusting—drawing in energy.
Solar.
"…So that's how you're powered."
I glanced up at the moon.
Reflected light.
Reduced efficiency—but still functional.
Good to know.
---
I opened my eyes.
"Let's test something."
I lifted my foot—and brought it down.
The ground cracked outward in a sharp ring—sand and stone shifting violently for several meters before settling.
I froze.
"…Okay."
That was… more than expected.
"Dial that back," I muttered.
Noted.
---
A soft movement behind me.
I turned slightly.
My wings shifted with me.
I focused—and flexed them.
Once.
Twice.
Then—
I pushed.
The ground dropped away.
Air rushed past me as I shot upward, instinct taking over faster than thought.
"—okay, that's—!"
I tilted—overcorrected—then stabilized.
Hovering.
Laughing.
The sound slipped out of me before I could stop it—light, clear—
Like distant bells carried on the wind.
"…I get why they like this."
I spun once—slow, controlled this time—watching my hair fan out around me, colors catching the moonlight.
For a moment…
I just existed.
---
Eventually, I drifted back down.
Bare feet touched sand again.
The desert stretched endlessly.
No structures.
No lights.
No Stargate.
"…Figures."
I looked up as the horizon began to shift—faint light creeping in.
Fast.
Too fast.
I watched as night faded into day in what felt like minutes.
"…Short rotation," I murmured. "Six hours, maybe."
Useful.
Very useful.
---
I extended my awareness again.
Nanites responded instantly, spreading outward in a controlled pattern—mapping terrain, reading composition, gathering data.
A quarter mile.
Then back.
"Good."
I turned slowly, scanning the horizon.
Nothing.
Then—
Something.
Far off.
Barely visible.
Not natural.
"…There you are."
I smiled faintly.
"Let's see what this planet's hiding."
And with a soft beat of white wings, I lifted into the air and headed toward it.