Chapter Text
Darkness.
That was the first thing he saw. The first thing he remembered.
It was dark.
And it was cold.
And he was scared.
What happened? Where was he?
…Who was he?
He didn’t know. His mind was completely blank, like a page that had never been written on.
All he knew was the cold, ever-encompassing darkness around him, where he floated weightlessly—adrift in nothingness.
And then, he felt it.
Something bright shimmered across his face, faint at first, but enough to make his eyelids twitch…and slowly open.
His vision was blurry, unfocused, but he could make out something above him. Something big. Round. Pale. It hovered just beyond a thick, translucent barrier.
He stared at it, confused.
He knew this.
Somewhere, deep within him, it called out—familiar, comforting, almost like a forgotten memory trying to resurface.
Glass? No… too fragile.
Ice.
Yes.
It was ice. A thick, unyielding layer of ice separating him from whatever lay above.
Though still drowsy, he forced his eyes to wander, taking in his surroundings. The darkness shifted slightly as he moved, and that’s when he realized—it wasn’t emptiness. It was water.
Cold. Still. Endless.
Darkened water, stretching in all directions… yet somehow holding him in place.
The questions returned, louder now, pressing against his thoughts.
Why was he here?
Why was he in the water?
A sharp crack suddenly split through the silence.
His gaze snapped back upward. The ice above him trembled, thin fractures spiderwebbing across its surface. He watched in quiet awe as the cracks spread, growing wider with each passing second.
And once again, something inside him whispered an answer.
That bright, glowing sphere above… it was the cause.
It was calling to him.
Slowly, almost without realizing it, he began to drift upward.
Closer.
Closer.
A flicker of fear curled in his chest as he approached the breaking ice—but before he could react, it gave way.
The surface shattered around him with a soft, crystalline sound, the fragments brushing harmlessly against his skin.
Like he was breaking free.
Like he was hatching.
He squeezed his eyes shut as tiny shards of ice clung to his face, but a gentle breeze swept them away almost immediately.
A sharp, sudden gasp tore from his chest.
Air.
His lungs burned as they filled with it for the first time, the sensation strange, overwhelming—yet undeniably right.
He blinked rapidly, vision clearing as he adjusted.
And that’s when he saw it.
That vast, glowing light in the sky.
The one that had called to him.
The moon.
It was so big, and so bright—its beauty only amplified now that there was no thick layer of ice between them. It seemed to chase the darkness away simply by existing.
And when it did… he didn’t feel scared anymore.
Lost in his awe of the great celestial body, he didn’t even notice that he was floating—not in water anymore, but in the air—until he began to drift downward, his bare feet gently touching the ground.
Speaking of the ground…
He glanced down just in time to see the thawed ice cap—the one he had emerged from—mend itself beneath him. A soft white shimmer spread from where his toes touched, forming delicate, intricate patterns that stitched the cracks back together as if they had never existed.
The ice grew solid again. Whole.
Like nothing had ever happened.
With that quiet miracle behind him—and now fully out of the darkness—he took a moment to look at himself, curiosity bubbling up like a newborn fawn finding its footing… or a child discovering the world for the first time.
His hands were the first thing he noticed.
Pale. Thin. Fragile-looking.
Was he… sick?
He didn’t feel injured. Just a little sore. A little tired. Like he had been through something he couldn’t quite remember.
Then again, he had just come out of freezing water—if the vast lake beneath his feet was anything to go by.
Huh.
Look at him, figuring things out already.
Next were his feet—bare, just as he had suspected. They were just as pale, resting directly on the ice.
But the cold…
It didn’t bite. It didn’t sting.
It felt… nice.
Warm, in a strange, ironic way.
Like home.
That thought lingered as he examined the rest of himself. He was clothed, thankfully—but what caught his attention most was the thick shawl draped over his shoulders.
He reached up, grabbing the material between his fingers and rubbing it experimentally with his thumb. It felt worn, sturdy. Protective. Probably meant to keep him warm.
Though, if that was the case, it wasn’t doing a very good job.
The wind brushed past him—cold, sharp, and scattered with tiny white flecks he couldn’t quite name—and yet… it didn’t bother him.
Not really.
Without thinking, he rubbed his nose—and that was when his attention shifted again.
His face.
Slowly, carefully, his long, thin fingers traced over it, mapping every feature like he was piecing himself together.
He started with his nose, pressing lightly against it.
Short. Rounded. Snub and proud.
A small chuckle escaped him, some instinct deep inside whispering that it suited him.
Then his fingers drifted upward, brushing over his cheekbones. He felt tiny specks dotting the skin there.
Freckles. That’s what they were called, right?
They were probably faint, but against his pale skin, they stood out just enough to be noticed.
Moving down, his fingers grazed his chin—and paused.
Something tickled there.
Soft. Light.
Fuzz?
Was he growing a—what was it called again?—a beard?
…Nah. This felt way too small for that.
Still, it was kind of nice.
As he rubbed at it absentmindedly, he noticed the color.
White.
His eyes widened slightly.
White?
Then that meant—his hair. It had to be white too.
Oh, that was so cool.
A spark of excitement flickered through him, bright and warm, as curiosity bubbled over into something almost giddy. Without hesitation, he brought a hand up to his mouth, pulling at his lips slightly as he inspected his teeth.
And then he paused.
…Buck teeth?
Ugh. How lame.
He spared a final glance at his slim body before lifting his gaze back to the moon.
Something about it… compelled him. He just didn’t know what.
As if guided by instinct, he stepped forward—only to nearly lose his balance. His foot slipped slightly, and his knees wobbled beneath him.
He wasn’t sure if it was the slick ice… or simply his own weakness.
Startled—and a little embarrassed—he let out a small, breathy chuckle.
Then he tried again.
Carefully.
This time, his footing held.
He took another step. And another.
Soon, he was walking—slowly at first, but steadily. Confidence began to bloom within him, fragile but growing stronger with every movement.
Curious, he paused to take in his surroundings.
It was night.
A quiet, endless night.
And he stood within what appeared to be a forest. Bare trees stretched high into the sky, their branches dry and skeletal—but dusted with a soft, powdery white.
That meant something.
It meant…
Winter.
Right.
Winter.
But that white stuff…what was it called again?
He tilted his head slightly, thinking hard.
It only appeared during winter. Soft. Powdery. Everywhere.
S… Sugar?
…No. That wasn’t right. Though it did look like it.
S…
S…n…
…Snow?
His eyes lit up.
Snow!
Yes—snow!
A bright grin spread across his face as the realization clicked into place.
He was surrounded by snow because it was winter.
That was— That was amazing!
He was learning so fast!
Caught up in his excitement, he didn’t notice where he was stepping until his toe bumped into something. The hollow tap echoed softly across the frozen stillness, making him jump.
He quickly looked down, heart fluttering, only to find…
A branch.
Just a long, fallen tree branch.
He let out a quiet sigh of relief, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.
Still…
Something about it felt… familiar. Had he seen it before?
Tilting his head, curiosity taking over once more, he nudged it again with his toe.
This time, something happened.
A faint blue sheen spread across the wood, creeping outward from the point of contact.
He frowned, confusion knitting his brows together.
That blue… it looked like ice.
But not quite.
Intrigued, he crouched down and picked up the branch to inspect it more closely—only to gasp as the blue coating spread further, crawling along the length of it until it nearly covered the entire surface.
Startled, he instinctively curled in on himself, clutching the branch loosely.
But then—he noticed something else.
The tip of the branch, where it brushed against the frozen lake, began to glow.
A soft, white shimmer. The same shimmer from before.
He slowly lifted his head, eyes wide with awe.
This time, the shimmer didn’t fade.
It grew.
Spreading outward, it formed delicate, intricate patterns—like tiny leaves or veins—branching and curling with quiet elegance.
It wasn’t like the hard ice of the lake. No. This was different.
Softer.
Lighter.
Not quite snow… but not quite ice either.
Something in between.
And it was coming from the branch.
He lifted it higher, turning it in his hands. The white substance clung to it now, coating it in those same delicate patterns.
A soft breath of wonder escaped him.
He needed to understand.
Quickly, he stood and approached a nearby tree. Gently, he tapped the hooked end of the branch against the trunk.
Almost immediately, the same reaction occurred.
The white substance spread across the bark, blooming outward in those intricate, leafy designs. He reached out, placing his hand against the tree.
And watched.
The patterns grew beneath his touch for a few seconds… before settling.
He pulled his hand away, staring.
Then tried again.
Another tree.
Same result.
Again.
And again.
Each time, the same quiet transformation.
And finally—the word came to him.
Right there, on the tip of his tongue.
F…
F…o…
Fro…
…Frost.
His face lit up.
Yes—! Frost.
That was it.
This… was frost.
A newfound sense of wonder and joy spread through him, bubbling over as he began to lightly hop in place—brimming with excitement.
He held up the branch like it was the most amazing thing in the world. Because it was.
He wasted no time.
With a delighted laugh, he took off running across the frozen lake, dragging the branch along the surface. His eyes stayed fixed downward, watching in awe as frost bloomed beneath it—spreading in intricate patterns, filling the ice with delicate beauty.
He didn’t stop.
He couldn’t.
Not when it felt like this.
Even when he slipped—when his feet faltered and he nearly tumbled—he caught himself, laughing breathlessly as he pushed back up and kept going.
The frost followed him everywhere.
Across the lake.
Up the shrubs.
Along the trees.
Until a small part of the forest was completely coated in shimmering white, every surface touched by his wandering path.
It was beautiful.
It was wonder.
It was—
Home.
And for the first time since he woke in the darkness…the questions were gone.
No confusion. No fear.
Just him.
Just movement.
Just joy.
Just being.
He spun in place, laughter spilling freely from him, and as he did, the wind seemed to answer—rising up around him like it had been waiting all along.
It curled and lifted, playful and light—and suddenly—he wasn’t on the ground anymore.
“Woah!” he cried, startled, the word tumbling out of him—his first.
But it didn’t feel wrong.
If anything… it felt right.
He wobbled in the air, arms flailing slightly as he tried to steady himself, but the wind held him, buoyant and forgiving.
And from this new height, he could see it all.
Everything he had done.
The lake, etched with frost.
The trees, adorned with delicate white patterns.
The forest, transformed by his touch.
A quiet, awed pride filled his chest.
He had done that.
He had made this.
And then—it hit him.
His name.
His eyes widened as the realization sparked to life.
It started with a J.
He knew it did.
“J…” His brow furrowed in concentration. “Jack?”
He tilted his head.
…No. That didn’t feel right.
“J…”
“J…e…”
He squeezed his eyes shut, willing the answer to come.
C’mon… c’mon…
“Je…”
“…Jeremy!”
His eyes flew open.
“Yes—!”
Jeremy!
That was it!
Excitement surged through him all over again, brighter than before.
“That’s it! That’s my name!” He laughed, breathless, spinning slightly midair as he pointed to himself like he needed to be absolutely sure. “I’m Jeremy!”
The words felt solid. Certain.
Real.
He grinned wide, heart racing.
He was Jeremy.
That was who he was.