The number of white sparks coming off Astel's body had decreased significantly in the blink of an eye, stopping the deterioration of his body.
Opening his eyes in a daze, Astel inspected himself, only to find his body in perfect condition. With a wide smile he tried to get up, but was struck with fatigue. His body hadn't fully recovered yet.
After the original Astel died, he had less than five minutes to take over the body. If he didn't do so in time, they would both disintegrate.
A shiver ran down his spine. 'Nine seconds… I only had nine seconds left.'
He let out a deep breath and used Lyra's circulation technique. It was still hard to move, but at least he wasn't bedridden anymore.
'It feels good to be in my own skin again,' he thought as he performed a series of stretches.
When he looked out of the window he frowned. 'So we've made it, huh.'
He looked around and saw a pile of clothes neatly folded beside his bed. Just as he was putting on the new set, he heard a shout from outside.
"Steer us right!"
Astel calmly finished dressing himself and headed toward the door when another shout echoed.
"Everyone inside the storage wagon!"
Opening the doors of the carriage, Astel saw dozens of people clad in white robes rushing toward the back of the caravan.
'They're like dogs,' he thought, watching them for a few moments.
He climbed onto the roof of the carriage and stood behind Sev, who had just grabbed hold of the reins. He approached with calm, measured steps, but stopped when he heard Sev mumble to himself.
"Astel… wake up already. This is getting out of my control."
A grin formed on Astel's stoic face. He wanted to touch Sev's shoulder and let him know he was awake and ready when the carriage shook slightly, knocking him off balance.
He turned around and saw the familiar bubbling sand.
'I just woke up and this bastard is already getting on my nerves,' he clicked his tongue audibly.
Without alerting Sev, he dashed off the caravan straight toward the approaching sandworm.
Behind him, the caravan had stopped, and everyone gathered at the supply wagon just as the worm emerged. Its giant maw swallowed an entire herd of desert bison, raising a wave of sand with it. The wave knocked parts of the caravan into the air toward the distant cave, which was almost swallowed by the incoming storm.
'Why am I always so pressed on time?' Astel complained inwardly as he summoned the odd spear and ran as close to the sandworm as possible.
Through the intense pressure and the myriad of voices, he fought to climb the enormous beast. It stopped rising into the air and started falling back to the ground, pulling Astel along with it.
'Whose dumb idea was it to fight this giant thing…' he lamented, bracing for impact.
Holding on for dear life with his spear embedded into the worm's side, they dove under the sand.
Astel couldn't see. He couldn't breathe. He was surrounded by thick, cold sand. Then the worm emerged again, trying to shake him off.
Astel immediately continued climbing, aiming to hide from the rapidly incoming storm inside its body.
'A hero saves people, right? And preventing a giant monster from eating them is saving them, right?' He tried his best to make up a reason for doing what he was doing.
Seeing that the worm's mouth was closed, Astel raised his fist and tried punching one of its many teeth. The impact sent shivers through his entire arm.
'Yeah, that's not going to work.'
Thinking quickly, he used his entire body to twist the spear and create a foothold in the worm's flesh. Placing his foot in the slimy tear, he raised the spear, shortened it, and started slashing at the worm's maw.
After just a few deep cuts, it opened just enough for him to slip inside.
'Why am I even doing this? It's not like the worm would actually catch them.'
The inside was damp and humid, a hot, slick shelter that reeked of decay.
He watched the outside through the small gap as the storm swallowed their surroundings. The sandworm shivered intensely and started burrowing itself deep into the sand.
'At least I can breathe this time.' He took a deep breath and almost puked. 'If only it didn't smell so bad.'
Deciding to breathe only when necessary, he held his breath and waited for the worm to emerge again.
The worm drifted through the sand for a while making Astel's head spin before finally bursting back up, just as the storm had passed.
*
The supply wagon landed with a thump, throwing everyone inside into the air for a moment.
Sev was the first to open his eyes. Before him was an enormous cave with a high ceiling and tall pillars holding it up. The cave was lit by glowing lichen crawling up the stone. Scattered across the ground were several small pools of iridescent liquid, reflecting light from every angle, making the cavern shimmer with color.
Sev let out a deep breath and looked around, noticing a figure sitting on a rock beside the crashed wagon. The person seemed to be sharpening a short sword. He was clad in deep brown and black robes, which made him look like a nomad warrior.
As Sev focused on the figure, he noticed the odd shape of the blade he was holding.
"So, you made it, Astel. I see you've put on the clothes I prepared for you."
A voice resounded from under the loose hood.
"Good to see you too, Sev. How is everyone?"
Sev blinked a few times, noticing something different about the way Astel carried himself.
"I just came to, so I wouldn't know."
A small boy clambered out of the wagon, his boots slipping on the sand as he tried to stand. He looked around with wide, bright eyes that almost seemed too alive for this strange world. His clothes were worn and slightly oversized, hanging awkwardly from his thin frame. Despite that, he smiled as soon as he saw Astel.
"Master Astel, you're alive!"
Astel smiled warmly. "Max, didn't I tell you not to call me 'master'? I mean, you call Sev by his name, so why not me?"
Sev answered before Max could speak. "I've known him for five years."
Astel nodded, but Max interrupted before he could respond.
"Sev is like a brother to me."
Astel turned to Max and calmly replied, "Interesting."
Not long after, the other lost souls started waking up and gathering around a small campfire that Sev had made.
"So how far are we from the mountains?" Astel broke the silence.
Chewing on a piece of dried meat, Sev answered, "It's just through the cave. Shouldn't be more than a few days."
Astel looked at the destroyed wagon and quietly repeated, "…A few days, huh?"
Sev nodded. "We should be able to make it with what's left. The problem is getting to the sanctuary."
Astel turned to him with a questioning gaze.
Sev turned his eyes to Max and nodded, still chewing on his dried meat.
Noticing his gaze, Max nodded enthusiastically and spoke with bright eyes.
"From the cave to the sanctuary it's about a weeklong walk — but that's if we had the caravan."
He paused for a moment, stealing a look at the destroyed wagon. His expression dimmed slightly.
"Since we're on foot, we can take a shortcut — it'll only take three days." His expression turned serious almost instantly. "But it's a lot more dangerous. In the past, we usually lost about half the lost souls."
Astel drank some water from a small cup, answering after a moment of silence. "…I see."
Out of nowhere Max smiled brightly. "But you'll protect us, right?" He aimed his question at Astel with hope and admiration in his eyes.
An image of the original Astel crucified in the mind palace flashed across his mind.
He paused before confidently answering with a smirk on his face.
"Of course."