Not everything had to have layers upon layers of meaning. Some things were simple. Like the desire to skip.

There was no reason for it. Reiss' pace didn't need to quicken. No one watched him, and he wasn't dodging boulders thrown from trebuchets.

61st Iteration. Not a fun time. I did learn how to make an amazing Phoenix egg omelet, though!

No. Reiss was skipping through the meadow with his hands in his pockets simply because he wanted to.

If he were forced to find a reason, his main one would be to feel the wind blow in his hair. It felt oddly majestic. His now outrageously long, magical, white hair was picked up easily by the summer breeze.

Then that same summer breeze shifted into a rough gust, smacking Reiss in the face with his own hair. He tumbled and landed face first in the dirt.

I am beginning to sense a pattern here...

Reiss was not omnipotent or omniscient. Though he came closer to the latter than anyone else. Except maybe the Winter Sprites.

Oh, Reiss was powerful, there was no doubt. Could he have stopped himself from falling? Sure. Could he have avoided the gust entirely? Most definitely. Did he need to prevent himself from falling? Not Necessarily.

After living hundreds of lives, he was able to prevent most bodily harm to himself by accident or otherwise. Yet in his last dozen iterations or so, he grew bored of never making small mistakes. So, a secluded part of Reiss' brain was dedicated to allowing minor accidents or occasions that would give life a bit of spice.

Like tripping.

Picking himself up, he was delighted to notice not so much as a speck of dirt touched his luscious locks. Now, that is magic! Still pristine and shining.

Childish laughter tickled his ears.

"You precocious snowflake brats."

Reiss cursed toward the sky, shaking a dirty fist, more playful than anything.

A snowball hit the back of his head.

"Ow! Where-"

Turning around, he was alarmed to notice a second snowball incoming. Dodging gracefully, Reiss posed dramatically.

"Ha-Hah!"

Reiss was about to boast but paused when he saw a flurry of projectiles coming his way.

"Whoah."

Dancing amidst a snowball barrage, Reiss weaved as the onslaught whizzed past him. Dozens, then hundreds of tightly packed snowballs came at him. Appearing from the ether, they approached from all directions to pelt Reiss. He smirked as he twirled on his toes like a figure-skater.

"Try harder."

Riess taunted the Sprites. He could practically hear indignant foot stomps from small children hollering to hit him. The stream of attacks came faster and faster to the point the snowballs started to create sonic booms. The only reason they didn't accelerate further was that they heated up too fast from the immense speed.

"Now we're cooking. A dance-off it is!"

Reiss was enjoying himself like never before.

They never come out to play! I can finally best them at their own game.

Twirling and cartwheeling out of the way, Reiss activated a skill, one that wouldn't recharge the rest of the day.

[Reverse Motion]

What sounded like a cassette tape rewinding cued the motion of every snowball that had been thrown at him to begin to reform and redirect back into the ether.

The oncoming barrage halted as Reiss retraced his elegant dance among the white blurs of motion. His opponents became preoccupied with everything that returned their way.

With a graceful final jump, Reiss floated back down to his original position. A shit-eating grin was plastered across his face. His opponents had stopped entirely and there was no childish giggle like he heard before.

"What's that I hear? Calling it quits already? That was barely a warm-up!"

Laughing mockingly he provoked his incorporeal opponents.

There was silence in the meadow. No ethereal call answered him. For the longest time, he thought they would give up. But that wasn't their nature. Neither was it his.

A shadow suddenly eclipsed Reiss. He looked up, his smug grin faltering just a bit.

"You do know how to up the stakes, don't you?"

An enormous tailed comet of snow, rock, and ice was hurdling towards him from the heavens. Were they planning on destroying the entire Plains of Jeralt?

Or are they planning on me stopping it?

Reiss looked around at all the flora spread along the rolling grassland. It made him click his tongue.

"Your pranks are an invasive species. Always picking on the little guy."

His nails retraced old grooves as he clenched his fists. The comet was the size of a small town.

"I'm not someone you can bully any longer."

[Clockwork]

An ornate clock-hand appeared in Reiss' grip. A truly unique personal weapon. It was condensed white mithril, polished, and clean. The point sharp enough to cut space in twain.

Taking a steady stance, one foot back he raised his blade over his shoulder.

Wait for it.

The comet started burning up, but the majority would reach him. It was magic after all.

Let them hope.

It needs to be close enough to obliterate.

Then take it away.

His entire force swung vertically. A cut in space-time cleared the distance. It wasn't even a question.

The comet gyrated in place. A frosty blue miasma curled off the surface. It rotated ever so slightly, showing numerous pockets where it had been hit with smaller asteroids.

Reiss spared a glance for the flowers in the clearing. They swayed in a gentle breeze, waving thanks. Reiss smiled again but let it fall as he attacked a second time.

[Accelerate]

Of the many skills in his possession, this was one of his first. In the beginning, it made him slightly faster than the average man. He could sprint a few feet faster. Then as he leveled-up, the skill grew with him. Eventually, he was able to outrun even a dragon.

Now, at his level? He was as fast as he needed to be.

=

Through the eyes of a terrified hawk hatchling, three miles away, it watched with primal fear as the icy meteor plummeted. It cried out as its parents flew for safety, abandoning their child. The baby hawk was trying to flutter its inoperable wings. No matter how hard it tried it was just too young.

As it waddled and hopped towards the edge of the nest, it witnessed the cataclysmic projectile freeze in the sky. The poor bird was too shaken and ended up passing out before it saw the globe of death turn into sparkling lights.

=

Reiss dismissed his weapon. Calming himself, he reset his stance as the comet resisted fate.

Then all at once it burst into twinkling starlight.

Stardust flittered down for miles in each direction. Setting the scene. Reiss dusted his hands. An impromptu snowball fight turned into the most glorious entrance to his final iteration.

All done without harming a single flower in the field.