It had been a while since I began wandering the desert. I kept my head low, shielding my eyes with my hand, but even then the sand stung my skin. The cuts were impossibly shallow, yet they stacked on top of one another, each step making them throb and burn. The sand beneath me shifted endlessly with the wind, forcing me to step carefully or risk falling. The gusts were strong, but I refused to let them slow me down.
Soon, a shape began to form out of the dust clouds. I focused my mana into my legs and surged forward. When I reached it, I saw a large beast: twin broad tusks jutted from its flat nose, its red skin stretched over hardy muscles, and patches of coarse red fur lined its spine.
The beast exhaled sharp, rapid breaths, eyes locked on me with aggression. I tried to calm it with measured movements, but when it charged, I had no choice but to flare my lightning. I didn't want to kill it; scaring it away was the only option. A flash of blue-white light streaked along my spear, and the creature recoiled, then turned and disappeared into the sand.
I continued my journey and encountered other creatures. A flock of large birds ran across the desert sands, their wings beating against the thick gusts, kicking up clouds of dust. A peculiar creature with a drooping nose and bat-like wings fluttered past, almost invisible against the wind. Various insects of all sizes scuttled and flew across the sand; some had stingers longer than their bodies, dripping venom, while others were small enough to ride the winds effortlessly.
It wasn't long before I came across a unique creature. It was a reptile of sorts, not very large, with sharp scales the same color as the desert it lived in. Above all, it looked really adorable.
I crouched slowly, intent on touching it, but the moment I reached out, it darted away, disappearing into the sand as if I had never been there.
frustrated laugh escaped me, dry and bitter.
"Damn it… I just wanted to see it," I muttered, my fingers twitching as if to grab what wasn't there.
I continued walking on, the desert stretching endlessly before me. The little lizard kept appearing beside me, sometimes just out of reach. Every time I tried to approach it, it bolted, disappearing into the sand before I could even blink.
A laugh escaped me, low and shaky. "You're a tricky little thing, aren't you?" I muttered, shaking my head.
The winds stayed relentless for a while, but they slowly began to fade as the day dragged on. I had no real way to measure the time, but I could make a rough assumption.
Later, I stumbled across three jagged pillars of stone jutting from the ground, crooked and uneven like ancient fangs piercing the desert. I chose this place as my shelter for the night.
I found pieces of old, dried lumber half-buried in the sand, brushed them off, and carried them back, the wood brittle under my hands. Dropping it near a flat rock, I sat down, my body aching from the long walk. With a faint spark of lightning from my fingers, the wood caught fire.
A small flame flickered to life, red and orange with traces of yellow. The warmth crept across my skin—a strange comfort against the desert's cold bite.
I materialized a canteen, one of the few things I'd taken from Sassafras's cave. Inside was mana-rich water from before.
I drank. The liquid was cool, alive almost, and I could feel it moving through me like a quiet current. Thanks to this water, I hadn't felt hunger once since leaving the cave.
"Now that I think about it… I haven't eaten anything solid since I was reawakened."
I smiled faintly, though the emptiness in my stomach reminded me of what I'd lost. I didn't need food. The mana and water sustained me. But I was curious on what it was like.
As I sat there I occasionally saw that same cute animal I was trying to catch. Glancing at me with it's
The fire crackled softly beside me as my eyelids grew heavy. Slowly, I drifted into sleep.
Days passed like this.
Currently,I was leaning against a sun-scorched boulder, my spear resting at my side, I watched the wind whip past, carrying with it the stench of iron and decay.
Before me, black blood seeped into the sand, pooling beneath the mangled remains of twisted, half-rotted creatures. Their flesh sagged where it hadn't hardened, bones jutting out at unnatural angles.
Each corpse bore the same marks—clean, precise slashes. Slashes made by me.
I stared at the darkening sand and felt… nothing. No guilt, no satisfaction. Just the faint hum of lightning clinging to my fingertips.
"…I'm getting used to this," I muttered, voice half-lost to the wind.
I walked on. My boots sank slightly into the shifting ground, each step swallowed by whispering dunes. The horizon never changed—always red, always gold, always stretching farther than my eyes could see.
For a long time, I said nothing. My mind drifted with the heat, circling one quiet thought: Why am I still walking?
Once, I had a reason. A duty. A life. Now all I had was a spear, a cloak, and a body that refused to stop moving. I fought because something came at me. I walked because the sand pushed behind me. But for what?
The creatures I killed weren't enemies, not truly. They were just… part of this world, twisted like everything else. Maybe I was too. Maybe the part of me that needed purpose had rotted away long ago, leaving only a shell that moved and fought.
I tightened my grip on the spear, heat pressing against my back. I need a reason, I thought. Not a command. Not a duty. A reason to keep existing.
But the desert didn't answer. It only stretched on, an endless ocean of sand, swallowing even my footprints.
I exhaled slowly and kept walking.
Then I saw them,two figures running far ahead. A large, animalistic shape charging, and a smaller one desperately fleeing.
The smaller figure was… humanoid. Not like that other entity from before,more like me.
Mana surged through my legs, and I dashed forward. The larger creature was closing in fast.
"They're going to be attacked!"
I channeled lightning into my spear, blue glow flaring in the dust. I hurled it high, leapt after it, caught it midair, and aimed between the two figures.
KRAKA-BOOM!
The spear struck like lightning.
I landed hard, lightning crackling outward from me. The creature was one of the giant birds I'd seen before, and the electric flare scared it off.
Finally, with a heavy breath, I turned back.
Please… please…
I wished with everything in me that this wasn't just another monster. Someone I could speak to. Someone human.
I pulled back my hood.
A boy stared at me. He was very young, his clothes blended into the sand but had some colorful patches. His skin was slightly tanned, his hair dense and wavy.
He blinked at me, hesitated, then stammered out:
"S-Sir Knight!"
And for the first time in a while, I couldn't help but smile.