Days flew by as the mountains slowly inched closer. Astel spent most of his time practicing circulating his energy, finally having the luxury of safety—or as much safety as one could get.
Sev had been hard at work scouting the surrounding area and evading things such as sandstorms and sinkholes. He was oddly proficient at such things, even though he seemingly never left his carriage.
Astel was sitting on top of the carriage, legs crossed, eyes closed, deeply focused. He let out a long breath and opened his eyes. The warm light almost blinded him, but he recovered sooner than usual. He had just finished a tough training session.
He thought for a moment before getting up and jumping off the carriage. He walked toward the small supply wagon at the end of the caravan. Opening the shabby door, he jumped inside, looking for water. He soon found a large barrel with a plugged hole at the bottom. Taking a nearby mug, he placed it close to the hole and unplugged it.
Water slowly filled his cup, but Astel frowned at the sight.
"Tsk," he muttered, plugging the hole back up.
'There's not much water left. We'll have to search for some… This much definitely won't last until we reach the mountains.'
Astel sat down on a nearby box and calmly drank his water, satiating his thirsty, tired body. His mind stirred a little before a voice resounded in his head.
"I'm telling you; you should go out and hunt something. Perhaps it will lead you to a source of water… Or you can just drink its blood."
Astel felt like the voice had a mischievous grin on its nonexistent face. After a few moments of silence, he said:
'What did you mean by "I saved your life," the other day, when you started speaking to me again?'
The voice was in no hurry to answer.
"I'm still baffled that you haven't noticed it yet. I'm sure that Sev guy has."
Astel thought for a moment before replying.
"That question might cost me, and I have other things I want to ask, so why don't you tell me."
The voice sighed.
"There are things in this desert that you might not want to encounter—and one of them has been following this caravan for a while now."
Astel nodded, as if expecting such an answer, but really, he was surprised.
'Following, huh? How dangerous is it, for even you to be scared of it?'
The voice laughed.
"Me? Scared? You're getting funnier by the day."
It paused for a moment.
"You're weak, and if you die, I die. That said, I think it's at the apex of Category 4."
Astel's eyes widened a little.
'Apex of Category 4? What do you mean?'
The voice answered in an almost mocking tone.
"Do you remember how you thought that reptile was a Category 4?"
He chuckled, continuing with a smug expression—or what felt like one.
"I'd say it was at the apex of Category 3. A little strong for its category, but not unbeatable. It was also tired and hurt. But that doesn't matter since I was the one who killed it."
Astel almost spat out the last of his water.
'You killed it? Hah. I was the one who stabbed it.'
"You really think you stand a chance against not just a Category 3, but an apex? Alone?" the voice laughed loudly, making Astel's cheeks flush red.
'Nevermind.'
Meanwhile, Sev emerged from his carriage and climbed onto the roof, scanning the horizon with his usual calm precision—until his gaze settled on a distant shift in the sand. He wrote something in his notebook using his blood as ink once more. When he was done, he sat down cross-legged, waiting for Astel.
Soon, Astel climbed onto the same roof.
"Oh, Sev, you're here. I was just about to ask you—what are we going to do about water? There's not much left—"
Before Astel could finish, Sev opened his eyes and asked in a soft tone:
"You still want answers, right?"
Astel nodded slowly, confused and slightly infuriated at being interrupted. "Yeah?"
Sev stood up and pointed into the distance.
"If you go that way, you'll encounter a large underground cavern. I'm pretty sure there should be some water." He paused. "Ah, you can take a few lost souls with you to help you transport everything. We'll camp here and wait for you."
Sev was an odd guy, but Astel still couldn't figure out how he knew so much about the desert—especially since it seemed ever-changing.
After a few moments of silence, Astel nodded. As his gaze wandered, it landed on Sev's finger—dry blood painted it slightly red. He moved his gaze to Sev's notebook and thought for a moment, before turning around and jumping off the carriage.
Over the past few days, Astel had tried to speak to most of the lost souls, but some of them didn't seem to know how to speak—or just couldn't for some reason. All of them were in a weird state of lost focus, so it was a little hard to get their attention sometimes.
There were a few that responded almost as if normal. They were three men dressed in torn, almost white robes—bleached by the hot daylight. One of them seemed to be deaf, as he only responded to movements and not sounds. One had a very short memory. And the last one seemed the most… normal, except for the fact that he sometimes tripped over his feet.
Together, they grabbed a small cart that could be pushed by two or three people and departed for the cavern. Astel scanned the area around them while the three men pushed the cart loaded with empty barrels. The desert was as quiet as Astel was used to, which only made him more nervous.
Dying of curiosity, Astel asked the men:
"Do you mind if I ask how you got here? To the desert, I mean?"
After a few long moments of silence, only the third man answered in a hoarse voice, coughing a little as he spoke.
"I don't remember much, aside from the sound of glass cracking." He paused, catching his breath. "When I woke up, I felt something missing. Something deep inside me… It was as if I was much weaker than I remember. I got tired sooner and often fell when walking. Then I was found by His Grace, Master Severin. That man is a young hero."
Astel nodded at his words before saying:
"My mom died before I got here. I remember every detail like it was yesterday."
The man's expression dimmed.
"I'm… sorry to hear that, Master Astel."
Astel chuckled and smiled at him. "Just Astel is fine."
They arrived without any trouble. Before them was a giant entrance to a large open space, hidden from the light.
'Wow, how did I not see this from the caravan? It's so big.'
The voice stirred awake only to answer, chuckling:
"That's what she said."
Astel didn't really understand, nor did he care, so he just ignored the voice's remark.
Stepping into the cave, they were immediately greeted by a cool breeze—which only made the three men shiver. They walked further inside, looking for a source of water. Their steps echoed throughout, each breath louder than it should have been.
Before long, Astel heard the splashing sound of water.
Finding their way through the dark, they reached a small lake lit only by glowing vines that spread all throughout the cave. Above the lake were sharp dripstones, still dripping with water. Astel approached and sunk his hand in—it went deeper and deeper, so deep he couldn't reach the bottom.
'Woah, you could swim in that!'
The voice snickered in response:
"You should jump in."
Astel thought for a moment.
'Maybe I could, just for a little bit.'
He was tempted by the thought of finally washing himself of the sand and dirt, and cooling off—but snapped out of it. He ordered the men to gather as much water as they could while he kept watch.
Which soon paid off.
Astel noticed a weird splashing not too far away. He watched that spot for a few moments until the bubbles disappeared completely.
"Get away from the water!" he ordered, scanning the surface of the dimly lit lake.
"This should be fun," the voice said.
After a few moments of silence, Astel noticed it again. The water was shifting—moving apart in one spot, slowly getting closer.
"Listen, I'll jump in the water. Meanwhile, you fill the barrels. Once you do, get as far away from here as you can—and wait for me, okay?"
He looked toward the scared men. Two of them nodded almost immediately. The last one followed suit, not understanding what was happening.
Astel lamented still not having his spear.
Then—he dove in.
As he did, the familiar pressure assaulted his mind. The myriad of voices once again intensified…
…yet Astel could only smile nervously.