How does this game work...

[La Criatura Espada]

AAAAAAA
Here's the thing, I cannot find this damn yellow plant at the beginning of the game.
I assumed it was important because it was a "strange energy".
Can't find it after I died.
Also, how does this day system work. Normally, after hibernating, it would go to the next day. Sure. Then I die, and all of a sudden I'm back on day one?
WHAT THE ♥♥♥♥

[Llywelyn Ap-Pudding]

The cycle number (that appears in the bottom left after hibernation) are the days. The symbols progress for each consectutive cycle you hibernate without dying. Those symbols can be used to gain access to future areas.

I would recommend simply exploring and having fun, don't worry so much about any progression. Exploring is the progression. :)

[Uroboros]

Those symbols aren't the 'days', that is more like a survivalometer. Each consecutive day you survive, it goes up by one. Each time you die, it goes down by one. As the previous poster stated, the strange yellow flowers serve as a kind of 'karma shield', preventing the survivometer going down the next time you die.

Try not to get too frustrated. While this game does have mini objectives and things you can pursue, this isn't a typical platformer where speed and score are important. You won't be punished for not knowing things or being slow / dying a lot. I mean, unless you consider it a punishment to have to go back to where you last used a checkpoint (hibernation room). If you ever encounter a door that is sealed with weird symbols and your karma/survivometer isn't high enough to get through, that's your cue to learn how to survive in the current environment. Think of it like a qualifying exam, because the next locale is likely to be a bit harder and have new things to investigate.