He woke in a different world no sand beneath him this time,The horizon was paved with pale stone roads stretching toward distant palaces that glowed under a quiet gold sky. It felt like a place built for kings, yet abandoned by everyone who once needed to be seen.
There was no wind, no footsteps, only the weight of expectation lingering in the air. The horse stood nearby, silent as always. He mounted again, without a word. The path ahead was flawless, as if no one had ever dared to stray from it. Along the road, he saw statues with faces blurred or cracked , weird enough the eyes where following him but that didn't scare the man . Some raised their heads proudly, others bowed as if ashamed. He felt none of them were truly gone."Pride does not die" said he voice "It only abandons the broken host it has ruined, then slips into another heart" the man stayed silent and kept going.
He reached a dry fountain at a crossroads ,a young boy sat on the edge, legs dangling over the empty basin for the first time the man was surprised, he didn't meet a single living human being this whole ride here only statues , the boy didn't flinch at his presence; he barely acknowledged it, like he had been expecting him or had seen too many pass by. "You're lost too?" the boy asked "I don't know where I am" the man replied. "Nobody here does apparently. They arrive believing they're different, t!hey leave when they understand they're not." The boy was dressed clean, almost royal , shoes polished, hair neat, as if prepared to meet someone who never showed up. Despite his youth, his eyes were heavy with age. "What is this place? and who are you?" the man asked. "i don't know, i feel like i should be here…though im afraid to walk this path" the boy answered pointing to nearby path leading to a forest, he stayed silent for a moment then continued shifting focus towards the statues "They wrote songs about themselves, carved their victories on stone, held parades with no crowds. Eventually, they vanished, one by one, when there was no one left to applaud , god gave them unlimited blessings but they kept asking for more eventually he just stopped blessing them and decided to punish them " The man looked around , every wall felt like a mirror. "Why are you still here? why don't you just leave?" he asked. "I'm waiting," the boy said. "For someone who means what they say. But they all claim they don't seek glory. And when they find the palace, they beg for a throne, i want to fight and gain god's forgiveness…same as you" The man turned his gaze to the distant gates. Massive. Regal. Waiting. "I'm not here to fight for a throne and end up like them," he said. "They all say that too," the boy replied without mockery. Just certainty. "you said something about being scared to cross that path?why? asked the man , "because it leads towards the palace" answered the boy " there you're gonna witness some horrors and if you're different like you say, then you will stay and fight" the man paused for a few seconds then replied "i don't want to stay here nor fight to save anything" the boy replied "then you shall become one of them" he said while pointing at the statues, "what should i do to leave this place? is there a way out?" asked the man ignoring the boy's previous words , " Go to the castle, there they will test you and then they will decide if you're truly different and deserve to leave" replied the boy "who is they?" the man asked, the boy's expression shifted to fear, he chose silence as an answer and turned around returning to where he had been sitting with his eyes fixed on the ground.
The man was confused but no longer wished to ask an answer , he shifted his gaze towards the path ahead of him and mounted on the horse but he got distracted for a moment when he heard the boy whispering something over and over again "it sees everything you hide….even what you don't admit to yourself….lie and you shall perish"
the man ignored the words once again and rode toward the path without looking back ,The path stretched without mercy, the forest sank into its own silence, and the sun refused to shift. even the clouds stood frozen in the sky, like painted witnesses they didn't look real more like painted, after a long ride He saw a small village ahead, older than the statues on the roads although they looked like the owners of the houses inside. The Houses leaned as if they once stood tall and proud, now too ashamed to collapse. Balconies broken, curtains still hanging, untouched by wind, like they refused to show ruin , no birds, no rusted tools, no signs of hunger this place did not die from need but from from silence. From people who could not bear to leave until someone praised their beauty , the statues lined the main street robed men, jeweled women, even children in crowns. Not saints. Performers…suddenly their faces turned around looking at the man , some with hate others with sadness…on the side of the path there was a figure sitting beneath a torn canopy. A vendor's stall but no fruits, no wares , only shattered mirrors laid like precious relics "You carry exhaustion on your face. Sit, before it makes you look forgotten." said the vendor the moment he noticed the man on the horse….There was a long pause neither moved. One studied the other with quiet confusion, but no fear ,the other stared back, expression hollow, as if emotion was something he had long discarded.