Chara was spellbound.
As she inspected her new form, she was mesmerized by the torrent of iridescent particles swirling in and out of her body. Simultaneously, a symphony of the surrounding mists encircled her, constantly trying to engage with her form, but never quite touching. Only keeping their distance with a graceful reverence, as though she were mother nature’s most beloved child.
Ooooooooo! I’m not entirely sure how I feel about becoming a swirling cloud of mist, but if I’m this captivating, it might not be so bad. Uwehehe!
Once the novelty wore off, a process whose length of time won’t be specified, Chara couldn’t help but be confused and filled with questions. This was because, as far as she could tell, the iridescent mist that made up her body was very similar to the colorful mist that contextualized her surroundings.
At first, she only thought of the mysterious mist as a means for her newly found perception ability to interpret her surroundings, but as she just found out, it’s possible that she might be made of the stuff entirely.
Am I using myself to sense myself? That doesn’t make any sense… Chara thought in disbelief.
In any case, then what’s the difference between the mist in my body and the mist in the environment?
Feeling inquisitive, Chara began to scrutinize herself more attentively, as if she was determined to uncover all her secrets. Upon a more thorough examination, she was able to identify some differences.
Although her body appeared to be made of the same mist that permeates her surroundings, it was also distinctly different. Unlike the surrounding mist, where each individual particle contained a single distinct impression, or “color”, hers did not. Instead, they constantly fluctuated from one faint impression to another, in an endless limbo, resulting in her resplendent, iridescent look.
This impression is so sophisticated, it’s practically alive. Neat—but also weird! It’s like it wants to change color, but isn’t sure what to pick…
Chara observed as a small puff of mist wisped off the top of her head, separating from her body. Independent, its iridescence gradually faded, instead being replaced by a dark and gloomy impression. Soon, it was indistinguishable from the gloominess that enveloped her surroundings.
Wait. Hasn’t this stuff been radiating from me this whole time? Err, is that a problem? Have I lost a tone of volume without even realizing it?!
Unbeknownst to Chara, her sudden bout of anxiety caused some of the mist around her to change color, but it quickly dissipated before she could take note of its appearance.
Hah… it’s probably fine. I’m not really sure what I turned into, but God would have never permitted the existence of a species that could disintegrate on its own. And even if He did, then natural selection would make sure it was extinct long before it had a chance to make it onto any protection lists or get its own Wikipedia article…
And while it was true that mist had been radiating off of her the entire time, she didn’t appear to have lost any volume as far as she could tell, not that she was looking out for this in particular.
Having more or less accepted that her body was weird, Chara decided it was about time she started moving around. Even though she could continue to learn about her perception and her newfound body without moving, she believed there was more to be gained from exploring her surroundings.
She would have liked to immediately start moving, but she thought it would be more prudent to try and scout her surroundings first using her new sensing ability.
Already starting to get familiar with the sensation, she broadened her perception to its full volume. As she cast her vision to look for anything of note, she came to a belated yet expected realization.
Chara sighed, I can’t see far enough…
With a touch of disappointment, she retracted her vision so it wouldn’t distract her while thinking. Although she had made remarkable progress, she still had a hard time tuning it out when she didn’t need it.
Sigh. I’m not gonna lie; I have no idea how I’m going to avoid getting lost. Without a GPS or at least a compass, even if all I do is move in a straight line, I’m probably going to end up circling around sooner or later. Since the fog is always moving around randomly, then even when I’m sitting completely still, it’ll still seem like I’m moving, even though I’m not…
Just as she was considering whether she would have to choose a random direction and deal with whatever followed, Chara had an idea.
Her idea was very simple; urge her perception to cover as much area as possible. If successful, she could scout her surroundings without having to move an inch.
If it doesn’t work, well I guess that’ll be the end of that. But if it does, then even in the worst-case scenario where I don’t find anything of interest, then I’ll at least know that, and simply move on with my day…
Having concluded her brainstorming session, she crudely extended her perception to its full volume.
As expected, it didn’t cover very far.
Chara started her mental preparations. Just like when she first figured out how to use her perception, she entered a state of meditation. She had a feeling she was going to need it.
Just as she was getting herself psyched up, getting ready for what she was going to do next, her heart was enveloped in a feeling of apprehension.
Uuu… Why am I getting nervous now? I can’t get cold feet here! If I can’t even do this, then how will I ever begin exploring?!
She didn’t know where her sudden nervousness stemmed from or what it meant, but she wasn’t about to let an unknown stimulus triumph over her well-thought-out reasoning.
Once all her mental preparations were complete, Chara put all of her concentration into trying to inflate her area of awareness to be as large as possible. As her perspective ballooned and covered a greater area than ever before, she could gradually feel a burden piling up over her mind. However, this didn’t stop her from pushing further.
Uuuu…
As she forcibly increased the range of her awareness beyond its natural limits, her surroundings started to lose detail. Unexpected, but that was fine as all she needed were the broad strokes.
Chara’s mind swelled. Uuu… I’m starting to think I should have prepared for a longer time before attempting this…
The farther she stretched her perception, the heavier the burden over her mind. Every additional meter was taking more and more resources to maintain.
Uuuu… just a bit further…
Her view got wider and wider until she encompassed the entirety of her surroundings within her purview.
Thanks for taking a look.