Daniel rested, observing the world as his body slowly recuperated. While the process was ongoing, it wasn't sufficient for him to resume activity.
In his repose, contemplation of his predicament took center stage.
'I don't know much about this world, but it's evidently not Earth. From the colossal proportions of the Lizard and Bird to the realization that emotions can wield power or energy, I must seek answers. My curiosity might well be my downfall if left unchecked...'
He gazed across the ground, covered in a layer of ash, deep in contemplation.
'How did I end up here? Is this an alternate universe? Are there fundamental differences from what I know? How can I carve out a life in this place, and is the prospect of returning to my former world even feasible?'
These questions weighed on his mind, a testament to the relentless nature of seeking knowledge — the more he delved into understanding, the more he discovered the vast expanse of the unknown.
'It's too risky to sleep, but I'm finding it hard to resist the fatigue.' Daniel struggled to stay awake, but inevitably, a moment of respite overcame him, and he dozed off.
Several hours elapsed, and the two suns now adorned the sky with their radiant presence. Their combined brilliance painted the heavens with a mixture of yellow and a gentle touch of red, creating a breathtaking spectacle.
As the warmth from the dual suns caressed Daniel's face, it brought a soothing sensation, causing his weary body to unwind and promoting a natural acceleration of his body's recovery process.
Unfortunately, the healing wasn't at a supernatural pace, so he couldn't dismiss his injuries entirely, at least not for a while.
An hour later, Daniel's eyelids quivered before opening gradually.
"What a beautiful sight," he spoke to himself, observing the ash-covered landscape bathed in the warm hues of the twin suns.
He moved slowly, no longer plagued by acute soreness or fractures. His bones were nearly mended, and most of his flesh wounds had vanished, leaving behind notable and sizable bruises.
His hunger returned with a vengeance, intensified by the considerable healing his body had undergone.
"Am I going crazy, or is my hunger many times more intense than on Earth?"
His tattered clothes were reduced to mere scraps, and the smoked meat was nowhere in sight. Ah, there's a piece.
Daniel reached out to grab it, and after munching on it, he felt his hunger subside a bit, though not enough to satisfy it entirely.
He rose slowly, his body marked with extensive bruises from the recent battle.
He looked up at the sun, slightly to his left, indicating it was around eleven in the morning. Turning his gaze back down, he began to head west.
After a couple of kilometers of limping, he spotted a ruin. The ash was gradually giving way to the jungle, though a faint haze of smoke still lingered, lending an eerie and mysterious quality to the ruins.
'Fuck... I've always heard ruins of any kind are bad luck... Traps... Curses... Undead...' Daniel's fear of ruins stemmed from the fiction he'd encountered throughout his life. Despite this, he pressed forward. The ruins remained eerily silent, devoid of haunting sounds or the presence of animals.
In the stillness of the ruins, a profound silence enveloped Daniel, triggering flashbacks of the moments when he supposedly died. A surge of emotions, memories, and realizations flooded over him.
Alone in this unfamiliar world, the fragility of his existence became all too apparent. He felt like an outsider, a stranger in a land where he could perish at any moment. Describing the sorrow that welled up within him proved challenging, reserved for those who have experienced a similar sense of displacement.
His eyes welled with tears, and waves of emotional pain reverberated through his chest. A lump formed in his throat as he continued limping forward, compelled to confront the profound emotions that permeated every fiber of his being.
Approaching the ruins, Daniel instinctively leaned against an outer wall, overcome by a torrent of emotions.
Tears streamed down his face, a poignant testament to the grief he harbored for his former life, family, and memories. In that moment, he grappled with the overwhelming sense of loneliness that accompanies the journey between worlds.
Silent but for his gasps of emotional pain, Daniel's contorted face bore witness to the deep well of sorrow within him. As the tears fell, anger surged in the pit of his stomach.
Angry at the irrevocable loss of his previous life, Daniel seethed with frustration, wanting to unleash a primal scream into the void. His heartbeat quickened, blood coursing through his veins as emotions threatened to boil over.
Suddenly, Daniel's body slumped back against the wall, a sudden deflation of his entire being. The flames of rage that had burned within him were smothered by an overwhelming wave of sorrow, grief, and self-hatred.
His defeated figure spoke volumes, echoing the weight of regret that now consumed him. "I'm full of regret," he mumbled, lamenting the missed opportunities to create more memories with his family, forge new friendships, or invest in existing ones.
Laying against the ground, Daniel wept tears of profound mourning. "If I would've known... that I wouldn't be there anymore... I would've made the moments last a little longer..."
"F***!" Daniel turned over on all fours, his fist colliding with the cold stone floor in frustration. "Cause now I'm alone..."
"F***!"
After a few moments of processing his emotions, Daniel wiped away his tears and sniffled, determined to push forward. "I can't let it get to me... I need to move forward, I need to..."
The sun struggled to penetrate the dense canopy of trees, casting the jungle into a darker and colder ambience. Undeterred, he turned toward the ruins and continued his journey.
Daniel, lacking adequate clothing, food, water, shelter, or weapons, approached the ruins with a mix of curiosity and trepidation. As he drew nearer, the details came into focus—the weather-worn pillars adorned with clumps of grass, cracked stones and moss-covered walls, and a thick layer of dust that shrouded every inch of the ruins.
As Daniel stepped into the ruins, the sound of crunching dead leaves echoed beneath his feet, accompanied by intermittent whistles from a slight breeze. The air carried the scent of chalky dust and cold, wet stone, while sweat clung to his skin in the dimly lit interior.
Navigating what seemed to be the main entry hall, the persistent fear of ruins lingered at the edges of his consciousness. Nature had almost completely reclaimed the ruins, but certain areas remained curiously untouched, as if some force resisted the encroaching greenery.
Encountering a few doors hanging precariously from their entryways, their wood thoroughly decayed, Daniel attempted to open one. However, the door crumbled into dust at his touch, causing him to cough as he inadvertently inhaled the particles.
The room enveloped Daniel in impenetrable darkness, intensifying his fear. In a futile attempt to find a source of light, he searched his immediate surroundings, but not even a splinter was visible—only the remnants of wood dust.
After a brief exploration, he returned to the room and discerned what seemed to be the base of a torch. However, it lay at the edge of the complete darkness, approximately half a meter in.
Summoning courage, Daniel took a deep breath and lunged forward, quickly seizing the torch from the ground before retreating in haste. However, his injuries betrayed him, causing him to trip over his own foot as he retreated. Crawling back slowly, he examined his foot, relieved to find it was just a minor bump and nothing more.
'I need to be more careful,' Daniel scolded himself as he rose to his feet, attempting to shake off the lingering emotions.
A sigh of relief escaped him when nothing lurked in the darkness to grab him. He rubbed the tip of the torch against the woodpile, only to be met with disappointment. "I'm a dummy. This stuff is all wet. How am I supposed to light the torch on fire?" he mumbled in frustration.
However, as he contemplated the challenge, something astonishing took place.
*fwoosh*
Startled, Daniel dropped the torch. The fire ignited the rest of the wood, burning it slowly and leaving ash and burn scars on the stone floor. The unexpected burst of flame caught him off guard, and he stood there, eyes wide, as the smoke and warmth filled the room.
Daniel stood there, a sense of bewilderment lingering in the air as the pungent smell of smoke assaulted his nostrils.
'How did that happen?' he pondered, his confusion evident. Despite the perplexity, he reached for the lit torch again. Contemplating the idea of extinguishing the fire, he tried it, and like a mystical trick, it was snuffed out.
'Woah... This is crazy.' Despite the bewilderment, Daniel, like the rest of his generation, swiftly moved on from the mystifying spectacle, reigniting the torch with his thoughts.
As he limped forward into the room, a revelation unfolded before him, a potential solution to most of his problems. The space resembled a guard outfitting station, its details waiting to be discovered.
In the room, a podium stood to the right of the doorway, accompanied by benches that formed a square outline. Scattered hangers adorned the walls, catching Daniel's attention.
Curiosity led him to explore further, discovering that the hangers were crafted to support the ancient yet sophisticated armor sets. These sets differed from the traditional Earth armor, featuring a black under armor made of an exceptionally elastic material with incorporated padding.
The padding, resembling a non-newtonian fluid, exhibited remarkable flexibility. When subjected to force, like Daniel's punch, it solidified, akin to punching a wall. An intriguing feature was the ripple effect created in the under armor by the applied force, dispersing it effectively. Daniel, impressed by this unique discovery, decided to claim the armor for himself.
Daniel slipped into the snug-fitting under armor, reveling in its tailored feel. As he surveyed the outer armor pieces, he found three sets - black, silver, and gold. Despite the passage of time leaving them slightly rusted and emanating a hint of moisture, they retained their distinctive features.
The black armor appeared robust, offering a balance between flexibility and weight. The silver set, on the other hand, boasted remarkable flexibility, accompanied by an incredibly lightweight design. In contrast, the gold armor exuded thickness and an imposing heaviness.
Observing the characteristics of the three sets, Daniel pondered, "So black is balanced, whereas the other two represent the extremes of heavy and light?"
"I'll go for the black armor. It's stylish and offers a good balance of versatility. Since I don't have my own preference yet, balance is a good start."
As he adorned the black armor set, a newfound sense of security enveloped him. His silhouette took on a more heroic quality, the mysterious allure of the black armor adding to his presence.
The helmet, designed in the style of a human face, strangely did not hinder his vision, sense of smell, or hearing. It maintained an enigmatic appearance, with no visible holes for sight—just a solid block of metal. Light retraction allowed subtle outlines of the face to become discernible.
Apart from the armor, the room held no other items of interest.
"Where are the weapons? Oh, that's right! There's another room across the hall."
With the torch reclaimed, Daniel ventured towards the neighboring room.
Drawing wisdom from past encounters, he swung his healed foot at the door, musing on the perpetual mistreatment of his right foot.
*poof*
The door crumbled into dust upon impact, revealing a sight that filled him with unbridled joy.
Inside awaited a room filled with weapons!