Chapter 4: A Lingering Dream (Patreon)

Not wishing to be anywhere near this colony any longer, I turn and wander toward a nearby tree line. I step between the trees and through the dense undergrowth. My body lights up the shadowy forest in a hue of purple. Recalling a place nearby that the natives once informed me of, I gradually make my way there, keeping to the game trails when possible.

While walking, I spread my arms, stretching them for the first time in what feels like years. I rub the trees’ bark as I march deeper into the forest. Keeping with the habit I developed in Tenebrous, I count my steps. ‘One. Two. Three. Four…’

Eventually, I come upon a dense thicket of trees that leads into a small grove. In the center of the grove sits a radiant pool of light blue water surrounded by dozens of flickering fireflies. According to the natives, this is a place they consider sacred, and I was not meant to inform the others in the colony... At least that is what I assumed, from what little I knew of the language along with vague hand motions. In all honesty, they could have just been saying they liked this place very much.

I approach the pool and pause. The foreign sight of my own reflection greets me.

Where once a pale girl with red-hair would have stood, now stands one made up of various shades of bright purple and blue glass. The skin of this girl's face has a light blue glow and eyes that shine with bright violet light. She lacks any sign of a mouth, and although she has a nose, she lacks nostrils. This girl wears a short-sleeved dress that runs past her knees and radiates a bright white. She is barefoot without any jewelry, but regardless any ordinary jewelry would be outshone by her body alone.

Her exposed skin shares the same light blue radiance as the skin of her face. Her most incredibly stunning feature would be her hair, which resembles churning waves of purple and blue water but shines like the sun through a windowpane. At her navel, the kiln burns with a delicate purple casting a hue on her glass body.

Something catches my eye at the girl’s neck, something I did not notice before. Dropping to my knees, I move in closer to see a black haze that encircles her nape and then runs off past her shoulders.

‘Is that the noose? Why was it not consumed like everything else?’

Once the new wall appears, I watch as the haze spreads just a bit more from the noose, turning some of my body into the black haze. I recall what the three girls told me earlier.

‘To live, I would have to become her.’ I gaze at the wall. ‘May I refer to thou as Earl? Thy color reminds me of an Earl in London who would regularly wear vivid purple clothing.’

Nodding, I reply to the wall, ‘Aye, so thou like it...?’ Not receiving an answer, I continue anyway, ‘Earl, can thou help me?’

‘I read his message. ‘So thou will help guide me?’ I touch the hot kiln. ‘I have decided to live, but I do not know how to live like this.’

Waiting a while, Earl does not answer, so I read through his message a few times before speaking, ‘I do not recognize several of these words. Yet, I understand what forced sleep implies. Art thou saying I will be unable to wake until this mana thing rises?’

Earl ignores me, so once again, I study the words as carefully as possible.

‘Let me think about it for a bit, Earl. It has not been long since I arrived, and I wish to remain here for a while longer.’

With my hands now free, I move my fingertips across the tranquil water, followed by anything else within my reach. First is the grass, which, instead of prickly, feels soft; I believe this is because of the texture of my skin. Then is an acorn that almost seems to shiver under my touch as I roll it between my azure fingers. Finally, a pine cone whose barbs cause an unpleasant screech when brushed against my skin. I drop both these and collapse onto my back.

Now lying down, I resume moving my fingers across the top of the pool of water sending ripples through it. Back and forth, round and round, it is mesmerizing. Turning over, the moon is full and reflects off my body as it would off a pane of glass. I tilt my head toward the quiet forest. My exposed shoulders and the lace of the white gown enter my peripheral. Together they dye the forest floor with a soft blue and white tint.

Running my finger across the dress, it feels as if it is made of the finest fabric money could possibly purchase yet looks as if made of glass similar to my skin. It is just as hot to the touch as I remember my skin being or perhaps even hotter than it was.  My hand moves to my hair. It is incredibly smooth and silky to an extent I did not know was possible, but when one looks at it, they would not think it would feel that way.

‘To someone who did not know better and did not see me moving, they may indeed believe I am some type of sculpture constructed of stained glass.’

I flip my head to the other side, finding the black haze has already spread further. Reaching to feel it, my fingers simply slip through with only a small tingling sensation, and I am hit by a bitter realization.

‘Moments like these will be rare; soon, I will have to go back to hardly feeling anything at all. With the guide, can I learn to be like this more often?’

Hearing the bushes rustle, I turn my head lazily. Out marches a group of three men with bows and attire that colonists would never possibly wear; they are obviously natives.

They are stunned when their eyes land on me, ceasing all movement. We stare at each other quietly for a while before they bow and gently back away. As they step away, I notice the sound of crying, and my eyes fall onto a bundle of cloth in one of the native’s arms that looks to have come from the colony.

‘A baby? Did they come from the colony? Was there a baby there?’ Having had time to rest my mind, and as someone who has lived the life of an orphan, the discovery causes a tinge of guilt. ‘I should not linger here long. I am glad to be alive, but I obviously do not belong in the world as it is. Earl, please work on the guide; I do not want to delay much longer.’

A clock that seems to be counting down appears at the edge of my vision. It looks like the timer is set for around three hours.

I tilt my head, receiving three options I did not expect. ‘Is this the guide? And what is… force knowledge?’

My head pounds like it’s being struck by the hammer of a blacksmith. It feels as if someone is literally shoving a book straight into my skull through my ear. I collapse to the dirt in pain.

‘I did not think something could compare to the pain of the hunger. Earl, I beg of thee. Prithee, never do that again.’

Searching through the knowledge placed in my head by Earl, I can vaguely feel that it seems to still be ‘sorting’ itself as I start to understand and know things I did not before. Earl, generous as he is, also inserted the knowledge on ‘force knowledge’ and how to look through said knowledge. But, what I am most happy about is Earl also included some of the words and definitions I was clueless about earlier.

Pushing that away until it has completed the ‘sorting,’ I find that I simply cannot bring myself to give up on the opportunity to watch the night sky as the clock ticks onward. Although I am tired, it is mostly mental exhaustion, so simply staring at the sky is not too taxing.

Some time passes, and the clock approaches the end of its countdown. Once more, I hear rustling from the nearby bushes. Having regained a small sliver of my wits, I judge it would be best to stand.

This time the three men from earlier walk out with an elderly native woman. The elderly native woman steps forth along with the child from earlier. She bows and shifts the child to one arm, pulling out two bracelets from a pack. They are both identical copies of one another, each just over three inches or one palm [1] wide. Leaning closer, it seems to be made of some type of blue metallic substance, and to my tired mind, it resembles a butterfly.

‘A gift?’ Unable to speak, I gaze at the elderly woman and nod. ‘It is quite lovely. My apologies that I cannot inform thee of this myself.’

She places the bracelet on the ground and steps back. One of Earl’s purple walls appears immediately thereafter.

I carefully read through Earl’s words using some of the new words Earl gave me. For the most part, I understand, so I answer, ‘Aye.’

A tentacle of light stretches from my hand and snatches the bracelet. Having seen this, the elderly woman leaps back faster than one would expect possible for someone her age. A moment later, the bracelet appears on my wrist except now made of the same type of glass material as the rest of my body.

The process seems to have stimulated my hunger, but only to a very mild extent as I move my hand to my stomach. The elderly woman sees this and takes a few more rapid steps away before placing the second bracelet on the baby’s wrist.

Earl’s clock rings with a harsh sound, and the world lights up with a powerful display of white as six mirrors appear around me. The four natives retreat as swiftly as they can into the forest as the mirrors rotate around me while spinning in the air.

From the mirrors arises a soothing murmur, “Greetings Entity. This is an automated message to any magical being that has somehow come to be in this fleeting age of near sterility. Do not be afraid; the current world is inhospitable to a presence such as the Entity, hence to shield the Entity, please prepare to be sealed until conditions have improved.”

‘Who?’ An answer never comes as my mind grows muddled.

My body begins to hover. Both the mirrors and I quickly rise into the sky with nary a sign of slowing. My thoughts become ever more cloudy as the six mirrors split and approach me from every angle. I stare at the girl of glass reflected within the mirrors, watching as her body fractures exposing the murkiness beneath.

A wall appears that quickly fades into the background.

‘I… I believe I shall rest as well. Till the morrow, Earl.’

Unable to support my cognizance any longer, I slowly drift away into a lingering dream.

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[1]. English units: 1 Palm = 3 inches