He couldn't recognize it, but then again, he hadn't studied dead languages, so there was no way he would recognize it. Yet, somehow, he knew what it meant.
That was the weirdest part about the floating arrow; he understood the carvings on it to an even greater degree than he was comfortable with.
Just looking at the carvings sent the image of one word into his mind, and that word was "Earth."
However, following that came several other images, all of which described Earth in almost every possible way—its size, age down to the second, the number of humans on it, and every other creature. It was like a brief history lesson.
"Did you experience that too?" Richard asked his new floating companion.
[Yes, this should be what you call 'Magic' at work,] Taaia replied.
"Naturally, but I'm learning this language," Richard said, as a new seed was sown in his heart.
He didn't care anymore about what was taking place here; he just wanted to learn whatever it was—this language or the carvings.
[These things seem to point us towards somewhere.]
"Yeah, I got that, but look at their size. I don't think these were made to guide people our size. I'm not too sure we would be able to keep up."
[That is true,] Taaia replied in agreement.
"Like... shouldn't we be able to ride this thing? I mean, we can touch it, and it's just a giant surfboard," Richard said as he rubbed the surface of the floating arrow.
He pushed down hard with all his weight and with as much strength as he could muster, but the arrow didn't budge.
[By your hypothesis, we wouldn't be able to keep up, which means they will be flying at speeds you wouldn't be able to handle at all. The speed will kill you.]
"That makes sense, but it beats being lost in this white zone," Richard replied.
[If you say so,] Taaia said before landing on the arrow itself.
Using its tentacles, Taaia wrapped itself tightly around the arrow, and almost immediately, the board sped off at speeds Richard couldn't comprehend.
He could swear that he heard at least four sonic booms before the board vanished.
"Shit! It flies at speeds beyond the speed of sound. Can I survive this?" Richard questioned his idea.
He would be torn to pieces at such speeds; the gravitational forces on his body would probably squash him into paste.
"Richard, no pain, no glory."
As he said this, he, too, immediately clung to the board, lying down flat on it as the board sped off as well. The winds blew harshly against his skin and loudly, but thankfully, it seemed that the board itself came with some protective effects.
While he could feel the harsh winds, they were doing him no harm. It was as though he were inside a car; he could hear and feel the winds, but they weren't as harsh as they should be.
The board was protecting him. This was good to find out, but Richard still didn't want to test his luck, so he continued lying as he was.
Putting his head down, he closed his eyes and let fate take control. The board continued to speed through the air at speeds unknown.
At a certain point, everything just went dark. He couldn't say he understood what was happening here. He remained in this position as the board flew through the air; hours passed, and he was still like that.
He fell asleep, and when he awoke, he was still in transit.
Seeing all this, Richard couldn't help but look up around him a bit. They say curiosity killed the cat, but thankfully, by some magical means, the board continued its protection even when he sat up.
[But curiosity brought it back to life… that is the second part of the statement, right?]
"Taaia?!" Richard called out in surprise.
[Yes, it's me.]
"Where are you? I can't see a thing; everywhere is just dark."
[At the temple. You will be stopping soon, so be prepared; the board doesn't have any braking protection mechanism,] Taaia replied.
"I see," Richard said before lying back down and hugging the board for dear life.
A second later, he saw the world become bright again, reassuring him that he wasn't blind, and just as quickly, the board came to a stop—a near-complete halt that sent him flying.
Thankfully, his hold was strong enough to only send him flying just a meter or two away. He skidded across the ground until he felt himself hit something hard, which caught him.
"F**k…" Richard whispered in pain as he sat on the floor, reevaluating all his choices.
[Well, that was entertaining,] Taaia said as it hovered over the half-conscious Richard.
"I think I broke my arm," Richard said as he mustered enough strength to stand.
His entire body was aching; his legs could barely carry his weight. He could swear that his head had cracked open, even if he couldn't feel any blood on it.
[Your injuries are minor; however, I have no equipment on me to attend to them,] Taaia explained.
"I know, just help me straighten the hand," Richard said as he braced for the pain.
[As you wish,] Taaia responded as its tentacles began to wrap around his broken arm.
[Fair warning though, I am not an expert on this, but I will try to restore your hand to how it was when I scanned it,] Taaia said as it carefully set its tentacles around Richard.
"I understand. Just straighten it already."
[If you say so,] Taaia replied and immediately began to pull.
Richard immediately felt his mind go blank; there were no thoughts, no worries, just overwhelming pain. But at the same time, he also heard a pop.
Muffling his screams the best he could until the bone was back in place, Richard felt as though he was about to go mad, but thankfully, it was done.
"Thank you," Richard said as he wiped the tears away from his eyes.
No matter how manly he tried to be, biology was a bitch—it respected no man or woman. The pain was just that—pain.
After that, there was a weird moment of silence as Richard spent his time massaging the affected area while Taaia just floated around examining their new location.
[You know, this would end even quicker if you joined me in finding a way up this temple,] Taaia said after a while.
"Coming," Richard replied as he finally stood up from where he was.
Now ready to explore this new environment, he stood up only to be faced with a giant wall. The wall stood at least 20 meters tall, or possibly more.
He couldn't exactly tell—he was bad at these kinds of on-the-spot measurements. All he knew, though, was that the wall was as tall as a small mountain. Taaia had called this a temple.
"Did these so-called gods not expect to invite people as small as us, or is this just some test of some kind?" Richard complained.