Chapter 14: Compounding Puzzles
Time Error - ―̶―̸͠͞∴̶≠̶̨∬͝͝†̛‡̵̢͡∝̶∮͏̴̀――̷̡͘ : Year N/A : Location Error - ―̸̘̀―̸̻̽∴̷̰̓i̶̢̊ǹ̴͉v̷̟̀ã̸͜l̵͓̊į̵͠d̶̟̽―̴͉̓―̷͕̈
-----
"Mmmmh…" Slowly opening my 'eyes' with an inorganic groan, I found myself in a familiar, time-frozen field with a growing tense. -So it really wasn't a dream…-
Quickly finding the familiar tree hanging over a pond, my body tightened and stiffened, but nowhere near did I find that terrifying glimmer of crimson.
"Phew…" That woman-shaped monster wasn't around.. at least for the moment. -I can't stay here long…- The longer I loitered there, the higher my odds of running into 'her' were.
But with a quick double check of my surroundings, I did take a moment to look at myself.
After all, compared to last time, my body was far more defined.
Having taken a more quadrupedal shape, I looked vaguely like an animal, with an almost plush tail, and two pointy things on my head I couldn't recognize. -Are these supposed to be horns? Or maybe ears..?-
But as I instinctively went to touch them, my paw phased through them. -Ah, right…- My body was just as immaterial as before. -But I suppose this is an improvement from the last 'dream'...-
Even if it was nowhere near the definition of that 'woman'. -Whatever the case, I need to get out of here before she shows up again…-
Quickly shifting my attention, I looked around one last time before moving away from the tree as fast as I could, not realizing the ground beneath me would simply blur. *WOOM*
It felt as if the world was what moved around me—throwing the tree and pond over the horizon like the world itself rotated beneath me.
Though it did eventually slow.
Finding myself nearing a dense wall of forest filled with massive, short but spanning oak-like trees, I felt something intangible twist, and slowed to find the world around me flowing—oh-so faintly.
Time there.. was moving… -Woah…-
Though it was subtle, time's flow almost seemed to fluctuate and flow, bringing tension into my chest like I had suddenly found myself arm wrestling something. -What the…-
It felt.. like another being was there.. but more than that, just looking over the canopy, I could feel the presences of animals, rodents and birds, none of which made me feel the slightest discomfort.
It was almost like… -Is the presence of animals influencing the flow of time..?-
Looking back out over the prairie for a moment, I paused, questioning whether to continue to explore in this area, but upon seeing the prairie I had only known to lay still, shift and flow with a breeze, I continued.
And while taking it slowly, the deeper I went into the forest, the more time's pace increased, and the more the world felt alive.
Sounds… The tweets of birds, and the rustling of leaves… For the first time in that realm, I felt like I could truly hear.
Until…. *CrAcKLE-CRAsH*
Hearing what sounded like a tree falling in the distance, I flew up above the canopy and moved toward the sound without a ripple, and quickly came up on it.
It was indeed a felled tree, but it didn't simply fall from age. -What is that..?-
At its base, I found a large black creature, appearing almost amorphous like me, but taking the shape of a bear.
The sight of it was grotesque… Finding that I could see everything in its body all at once—its flesh, muscle, organs, and skeleton—it felt like the creature was inside out, and as a whole, felt.. off…
Its organs simply made no sense.. jumbled and blended into incoherent masses like something meant to 'look' right rather than function. -Is that thing.. Alive..?-
It was surreal, but disgusting.
And as it glared up at me, hundreds of meters in the air, that sickening bitterness on my tongue grew impalpable.
"Rrrrrr…" It could see me.. And with a growl, even lunged. *WOOSH*
But somehow, time slowed as he did, and as if moving out of instinct, I lowered myself to the ground, watching as my paw darkened with a ripple of black before gently tapping the top of its head. *tap*
But to that being, I wasn't so gentle.
*CRAAA—* Watching its body scatter into a blurry mess as the shockwave ripped through its body, it wasn't given a chance to object before time resumed. *—KRAKOOOOOM*
The ground splintered instantly, buckling, snapping, and stripping the trees of their bark with the shockwave alone.
As for the creature, nothing but a small white puff, made of the same fog my body was, remained.
For a moment, I just floated there, wide-eyed, questioning what actually happened.
It was an unfathomable display of power—a display that made me freeze, but at the same time succumb to a wave of ecstasy. -Woah…- The sense of power was simply intoxicating…
But after fighting to not get hooked on it for another moment, the rush eventually settled with a final, heavy breath. "Hoooh…" I needed to be careful. -That sensation is scarily addictive…-
And with the shedding of my past life's influence, the childish arrogance that stemmed from it quickly became.. concerningly difficult to suppress…
But with the help of something deeper, I caught myself, and eventually moved on.
Though, the moment did weigh heavy on my mind.
-If this 'realm' is really just something layered over the reality I know, then what was that thing..?- Being more similar to me than the rodents, birds, and insects I could see everywhere, my mind began racing, trying to analyse how it interacted with the forest—with reality.
But it only brought me back to the one question I dreaded the most. -Just what the hell am I…-
Thinking I might be able to get a clue of some kind if I could find another, similar monster, I quickly began heading in the direction of the thickest 'presence'—where time flowed the most firmly.
But I didn't exactly find what I wanted…
-Hm?- Before finding another monster, I found a small clearing with a single wooden hut at its center. -What's this..?-
It was small, only a few rooms, but with fresh evidence of use and care. Strewn across tables, open books bordered apparatuses of metal and glass I could only assume we're for something akin to alchemy, while marble dinner plates with fresh crumbs remained nearby. -Do.. humans live here..?-
Seeing everything from blankets and pillows to feather quills resting in ink, I was certain they were a humanoid species, but eventually spotting a book atop a shelf so ancient it was actively disintegrating.. I brought that into question. -Just.. how long has this place been here…-
But before I could come up with an answer other than 'centuries', I felt two, more distinct presences approaching, and after shifting my attention, picked up on a voice.
…A very young voice…
"Grandfather? What was that loud explosion earlier?" She sounded unbelievably young, yet spoke with an uncanny clarity and maturity.
Clarity that.. didn't sit right... -Those words…- The spikes on my head perked up like animalistic ears in an instant.
Unlike the 'woman' I had met during my last dragon sleep, the voice I heard spoke a language I understood natively…
Almost.. too natively…
-It.. couldn't be…-
But it was.
-...En..glish..?-
I felt tension and unease ripple through me the moment I recognized it.
This wasn't Earth—I was certain of it.
Despite the sight of familiar 'man-made' structures, tools, and living conditions, no living being I had seen up until that point, whether plant or rodent, was something that could be native to Earth.
-Assuming I'm just seeing the world through a different set of eyes, it should be safe to assume the physical world, behind the strings, is the one I reincarnated into.. Delphi…- It was the only theory I had that I couldn't immediately shoot down.
However, that then made the presence of modern English a discovery I wish I hadn't even made..
"I'm.. not sure."
Hearing a different voice, this time belonging to an older man, my focus turned down a shadowed pathway to see an older, grey-bearded man walking beside a young girl with a basket of fruit.
"Whatever caused it, I pray we never cross its path. From how it rattled the whole forest, I can't imagine my old bones would hold up well in a fight." Losing himself in thought, he held a blank, calculative stare for a moment before putting on a playful smile, and rustling the girl's hair.
"But you're so strong, gramps!" She couldn't have been older than ten, yet held a presence that didn't belong.
And the man wasn't any different… -He.. doesn't even feel human…- Though I couldn't tell what it was, the strings that composed his form were dense and twisted unlike anything else I had seen.
"It may take some time for you to understand, but no matter how strong you or anyone else seems, there will always be another being out there that can squash you like a bug." He also spoke and acted far more youthfully than he appeared. "You can't let yourself get arrogant here."
Rubbing the girl's head again, his smile turned reminiscent.
"No matter where you stand, there will always be a higher peak to climb to."
"Mmmhm!!" The girl gave a cheery mumble in agreement. "There's always bigger fish in the sea!"
"Haha, what a good saying." It was one even I found familiar… "Did you recall it from a vision?"
She quickly, innocently shook her head. "I just remembered it. Father liked to tell us that in class at the Church." She paused as her eyes wandered with thought.
But the man didn't interrupt, continuing down the dirt path in silence before mumbling… "The world you're from must have been truly fascinating…"
-...- Like a car about to hit a wall, my mind instantly slammed on the brakes.
But just as it stopped itself before pancaking against the wall.. the young girl threw a semi truck at it. "It was a world without magic, you would have found it boring."
Every theory.. every other lingering possibility that I could have been misunderstanding something was eviscerated in a blink.
She wasn't just an odd child…
She was a reincarnator just like me…
But no matter how much I wished to draw closer and learn more, I wouldn't be granted the chance.
Feeling the hair on the back of my neck stand up, all unnecessary thought and emotion was purged to make way for a tsunami of information from my senses.
Shapes.. movements.. sounds…
…And presences.
"A̵r̷̴̸e̵̷̸n̴̴̵t̷̶̷ ̶̵̶h̸̴̶u̷̸̷m̷̵̵a̴̴̸n̶̷̶s̵̴̵ ̵̶̸i̴̷̸n̴̴̵t̴̴̸e̷̶̵r̶̴̶e̸̴̶s̷̵̷t̸̵̷i̸̴̸n̸̷̵g̷̴̶?"
Snapping my 'eyes' to the side, my gaze sank into the void-like pupils of the one being I prayed to avoid in this realm.
The only being my 'eyes' gave color…
The lady in crimson.
"~Hoh.. what a daring glare.~" Hearing her voice—her language—cleared up as if I was beginning to understand, her smile widened. "~Last time we met, you could hardly hold yourself together, yet now you not only look at humans like prey, you look at me like you'd bite if I moved any closer.~"
Looking me up and down, her expression almost appeared to shift and morph with thought like wind within a cloud.
A shifting that made my skin crawl. "~Is that not obvious?~" I snapped.
"~No, actually.~" She backed slightly as if to give me just enough space to breathe. "~Last time we met, you were like a young lamb succumbed to panic… But this time it's almost like.. you're remembering something…~"
My eyes sharpened with skepticism. "~Remembering what?~"
"~That you're at the top of the food chain.~"
"~That I'm a dragon?~"
She instantly scoffed. "~You're quite funny.~" But even after seeing I was serious, she didn't believe it. "~You're so far above them, an ancient would be too weak of a vessel for you, let alone a hatchling.~"
"~You're saying I'd die if I possessed one..?~"
She quickly shook her head. "~Just your vessel.~" Grabbing her hands behind her back, she looked out toward the humans as they made their way into the clearing. "~You'd only possess it for long enough to feel your flesh being melted and blended before returning to the state you're in now.~"
-W..What..?-
"~It's what makes me so curious…~" Turning back to me, her smile shifted. "~Just how did you manage to strengthen yourself so much over just a few years?~"
My skin crawled as my eyes sank into her abysally black pupils.
"~Oh, don't be like that. I'm not going to try and absorb you anymore.. you've already gone and caught my interest.~"
My posture sleeked and lowered like an animal ready to dart.
But her confidence didn't budge. "~Oh, don't run.~" Smiling, her sultry tone turned venomous. "~I haven't given you my gift yet.~"
However, the moment her hand began moving, I was already gone. *WOOOSH*
Watching the clearing disappear over the horizon, the ground blurred beneath me like I was a jet with roaring afterburners.
But it didn't matter.
*Snap* Suddenly slamming to a halt, time twisted around me, and the lady in crimson anchored her hand to my chest—her palm looking like a writhing black mass of tendrils that dug into my cloud-like body almost instantly.
"~Don't fight.~" She spoke knowing I didn't even have a choice.
Before I could even think of running, what felt like a mass of worms digging through my body brought forth a mentally blinding flash of sensations and emotions.
Fear.. terror.. bliss.. ecstasy… It all blended together into one stomach-churning mixture that made my head split.
But as my senses began twisting and churning, blending and fading, the woman's mouth opened one last time…
…Before my vision faded to black.
"~Don't waste it.~"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------