A World with Glass

It's hot again. This time though, it's actually quite pleasant. A cold breeze washes over, a really nice feeling. Now reality's hitting me, that wasn't a dream. After everything I saw in there, I still had a small bit of doubt inside me. Oh well, there wasn't much waiting for me in my old life. Maybe now I'll at least be a little cool in this new one! That said, where am I? Nothing but trees all around me, and a lot of flower petals. So many flower petals... why? All kinds of colors around my... feet... what the hell?

My feet, my hands, my whole body, it's all clear! It's like I'm made of glass or something, maybe I just am. On top of just being made of glass, my body is shaped all weird. My joints are bulky, like a weird doll. My body is still mostly human shaped, it's just a little different. Like I'm a mannequin. Oh, there's a flower crown on my head. Just who put all this stuff on me? Along with the flowery stuff, there's also a little bit of moss growing on me. How long was I here before I woke up? Anyway, these petals tell me one thing, there's at least one person living nearby. I should... meet them.

Person.

There's a person standing right over there, next to a white tree. Looks like a young girl, probably no older than fourteen. Brown hair that goes past her shoulders, all frizzy, probably from the walk here. She's wearing a dress that can only be described as a patchwork abomination, it even looks older than her, but the sunflower design in the middle is the one part that's still intact. For a kid she's pretty cute, but for a while now she's just been staring at me, and I don't really like it. I try shooting out a little "Hey," but I can't. When I tried, all that happened was a strange vibration throughout my whole body, I guess talking's off the table. Without words, a wave will have to work, but it doesn't. Wow. I didn't think I looked too hot, but she just bolted as soon as I waved, she even dropped her basket that had more petals. Should I chase her? No, chasing a little girl would look really bad. I'll just chill here for a while and sort myself out.

Initial testing came back fine, I can move just like when I was alive. I didn't try very much though, don't want to risk breaking myself and getting "game over" so soon. Wait, can that even happen? I wished for an immortal body, after all. It better include some healing functions, but what if it doesn't? I'm ready for some advanced tests, so what's an appendage I won't care about losing? Uh, maybe a toe, or a pinky? There probably won't be any computers, so not like I'll really need the finger for anything. Hm... I'll just try twisting and pulling my left one off, can't be too hard, since I'm made of glass. With equal parts mental preparation and full hesitation, I start pulling. Crack. Oh, it really was easy, didn't even hurt... what now? Don't tell me I really lost my pinky, well just the tip, but still! I try sticking it back in its place, and it works. It just fuses right back there, even the leftover cracks filled themselves in. How far can I go with this?

...I went a little too far. First I just slowly broke more of my finger, but it quickly went to my entire arm. No matter how much I snap and crack, my body just sticks back together like nothing happened. It's pretty weird, too, if I drop a part then it'll just float back into its place after a while. And when I'm breaking, every last shard, I can vividly feel it. Slowly losing feeling in my limbs, and then suddenly nothing at all. It's kind of scary to think back on, but they keep coming back. Amazing, I'm really immortal, at least so far. And speaking of coming back, there's that girl again, dragging an old woman by her hand.

"Look, look! I told you! He's really moving!"

The old lady looks fed up with her, looks like she had a hard time coming out here. Her eyes are squinted, hair pulled back, looks unsteady despite using a cane. Seeing how she's having trouble, I walk over and offer my hand for support. Though when I make it over, her eyes widen, and she falls to the ground. Oh no! Is she having a heart attack?!

"Oh my... you were right Ruti."

"Grandma! Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine dear, it's just shocking to see him awake."

Again, how long was my body here before I woke up? Maybe this lady knows all about me... she needs to stand up first.

This might be a little rude, but it's faster than waiting for her to stand up on her own or pull herself up with my hand. Simple really, I just grab her by the sides and lift her up to her feet in one go. Done and done. In fact, she was pretty light, a lot more than I thought.

"Oh! Hahahahaha! Just like my mother told me all those years ago!"

She seems surprised at first, but quickly gets all laughy. Also, I want to hear what her mom told her, but how do I ask? I could try writing in the ground, but I don't know if the written language is the same, I don't even know if they have a written language. I don't know anything about this world. Guess I'll just have to start learning, I have a lot of time after all. First off, I wanna learn how long I was here. Writing's worth a shot, if it doesn't work then that's that. Once I make sure she's fully stable, I take to the ground and use my finger to draw out a sentence.

[How long was I asleep?]

The grandma looks down, but she's having a hard time reading it, seems like they don't have glasses out here.

"Hm... Ruti, dear. What does that say?"

"Uh, it says, 'How long was I asleep?' Ah! I know that one, it was three hundred years!"

Holy shit. Three hundred years? What was I doing?

AAAAGH! What the fuck?! The worst sharp sensation just went through my head, it felt like getting shot. Oh shit... what's happening?

Barren, that would be the best way to describe the area. Where am I? No plants or animals for as far as I can see, smoke filling the air, and the stench of blood. For some reason, I'm walking, my footprints stretch on for miles behind me. Hours go by and I keep walking, no matter how much I want to stop, I just can't. Then something begins to cover the ground, a gigantic shadow.

My neck forcefully turns up, and before I know it, an enormous creature lands in front of me.

Dragon.

Probably a hundred times my size, too big to matter. Countless black scales, razor sharp claws, spiked tail, and huge wings.

Instead of being filled with fear, like I should've, I get filled with... nothing. Dead calm, like this dragon is just a big rock I have to climb over. Before I can react, it torches me. A colossal tsunami of flame sweeps over me, this must be why the land is so destroyed. The heat envelops my entire body, it's unbearable, it makes me want to die faster. But I can't move, I just stand my ground as the fire calms down. My body is perfectly fine, and the pain immediately vanished. The dragon reels back, and lets out a horrifying roar. Imagine the worst sound you've ever heard, now combine it with your second and third picks, and multiply them by thirty. That's how bad it is, and the volume makes me think I'll go deaf in seconds, but I don't. I'm starting to understand why I'm so calm, nothing this dragon has done actually affected me. Now, it perks up a little, and raises its head.

"Machine. Leave this place."

Short and simple. It has a strange voice, despite its size and actions, it sounds friendly. Hearing this voice makes me feel nostalgic, but I've never heard it in my life. And it called me a machine, does that mean I'm a robot?

"Again, leave. I may be forced to bring the humans into Ragnarok if your slaughtering continues."

All of a sudden, I get angry. I don't know why, it's all unclear. The only thing I know is that I want to rip out this dragon's heart, and that's what I actually do. In an instant, I've leapt towards it, and I latch on to its chest. The dragon starts thrashing around, trying to shake me off, but it quickly stops. My hand plunges through its body, and my fingers wrap around a squishy object inside. Its heart. I rip it out, my hand covered in black blood, the heart still beating. Every feeling of disgust I have is snuffed out by rage, and I crush the heart, blood splattering all over me.

"Fool. You cannot kill me through such means."

The rage only continues boiling, and I leap at its head this time. Then my vision goes dark. I get a few glimpses of random visions. Grabbing its head, punching it, and holding a pulsating black and white mass.

...

I don't get the last one, I think it's from something else, the dragon isn't there so it probably is. After that, I wake up.