When Finn and Ciri emerged to the door's endpoint, they were instantly struck with high winds and cold, sharp rain drops. They stood upon a stormy cliff as the portal behind them was still humming with the magical energy that allowed it to open in the first place. Not a second later, the portal closed, cutting off Finn and Ciri's way to go back to the previous world.
Finn raised his hand, shielding his face from the force of the storm in front of them. The sky looks dark to an almost scary level. Thunders and lighting echoed from every place that he could see, and the winds howled menacingly, as if hostile towards Finn himself.
"This does not look good…" Finn said to himself, but Ciri heard it nonetheless.
"You think?!" she shouted, cutting through the winds.
Finn looked at his compass, which pointed at the portal that had just closed. He clicked a button on the side of the device, and the compass pointed another way. Fortunately, it points at land, not the stormy seas in front of them.
"Let's go!" Finn shouted, pointing to where the compass points. "That way!"
The young woman just grumbled and followed Finn through the storm. They walked away from the cliffs, towards hilly terrains that covered every direction. There was no protection from the heavy rain, no trees, no houses, not even bushes. Just green grass and hills as far as the eye could see.
They walked, and walked, and walked, the storm still neverending, until eventually, Finn sees a strange hill that looks too round to be nature itself. When they both reached it, there was an entrance at the other side of the strange hill, of which the compass is pointing to whatever is inside it.
"Looks like a tomb!" said Finn in between the harsh winds. Without waiting for an answer from Ciri, he pushed the heavy wooden door open. In an instant, a musty smell entered Finn's nostrils, mixing in with the earthy rain scent. Both of them entered the place, finally getting out of the storm.
"Brilliant." Ciri muttered, emptying her rain-filled boots.
"The gateway's here," said Finn, looking at his compass. "It's a good place to rest. You can… dry off."
But when Finn's about to sit down, the portal suddenly tore open.
"Never mind, we can dry off later." Finn said, standing back up and hurrying to the portal.
—
A searing heat instantly washes over them as the portal closes behind. Instantly, the wetness of their clothing evaporates away, and in between the mist, Finn could see a lava river, flowing from the top to bottom. It was then that he realized that the portal stood in the midst of a volcano, and he and Ciri were right at the edge of the mouth of the mountain.
Finn instantly grabbed Ciri by the shoulder, as she was about to step into the mouth.
"Wha—" Ciri quickly stepped back, holding on to Finn's hand. "That was… close."
"Watch your steps." Finn simply said, looking towards his compass once again. Thankfully, it points in the opposite direction of where the mouth of the volcano is. "Come on, we'll be cooked to a crisp if we stay here for too long."
Ciri merely nodded, and followed Finn from behind. She looked around. She could see the boiling lava flowing down the river. She could see the thick searing smoke that rises from vents of the volcano. She could feel her white skin tingles from heat sensitivity. As far as the eye could see, there are no greeneries, only red magma and rock.
"From a wet world to this." Ciri muttered. "Are your travels always shocking like this?"
"Shocking? As in the big differences between worlds?" Finn said. "Most of the time."
Ciri hummed. "What do you reckon this world is? A dead one?"
"On the contrary," he answered. "It's a very early stage of the world. Thankfully though, the balance of oxygen in the air is still good for us. Otherwise, we'd be dead already."
"Oxygen?"
"Air." Finn jumped down to a small cave in between the rocks, it seems the compass points that way. "Well, a part of air anyway. It's a long explanation. Maybe some other time."
The both of them entered the small tight cave, and they could feel like they were being baked alive. Their skin glistened with sweat, and with the moisture brought from the previous world, their clothes were soaked once more.
"Ugh… is the portal really inside here?" Ciri muttered. "Don't tell me we have to wait…"
"Just… be patient." Finn said, but he secretly hopes that the portal appears instantly, and he seldom wants to wait.
And lady luck seems to favour him for now, as the portal opened a few moments after they entered the cave.
"Thank Melitele…" Ciri sighed, already walking to the portal before even Finn did.
Finn followed suit, and the both of them entered the portal as soon as possible.
—
The smell of spring leaves was the first thing that entered Finn's senses. The sound of songbirds echoed throughout the surroundings as he stepped into a small ruin in the middle of the forest. He could see Ciri already sitting on the low walls of the place trying to wipe her sweat off her face. He breathed in the fresh and cool air, a privilege that he hadn't been able to do in the last two worlds.
"This place seems nice." Ciri said, sighing contently from the cool air. "And there's rubble around the door. Perhaps there's people here."
"Then better find the nearest civilization than just stay here." Finn said.
"Just let me rest for a moment, will you? The previous two gates have been… rough." Ciri said, stretching her limbs as she relaxed further.
Finn looked up to the sky, he could see the sun starting to go down. "It's night soon here clearly. Or do you want to sleep below the stars again? Personally, I'd like to sleep on a bed. If there is one."
Ciri stood up, clicking her tongue. "Fine. I sure hope there is something out there…"
They walked through the patch of forest that surrounded the ruin. The trees were short and stocky, with thick leaves that crowned and covered the greenery below it. The branches and logs are damp, cool to the touch.
When they got out of the patch of the forest, they were greeted by the sight of plains of farmland as far as the eye could see.
"There is definitely a civilization in this world…" muttered Finn, walking through the barley field, touching the grains with his fingers. He saw a paved path cutting through the field. "Let's follow the road."
Ciri held on to her sword as she followed Finn going up the road. The fields are in some sort of a small hill that covered the sight behind it, and they slowly climbed towards the top of the mound.
The sight unfolded before their eyes on what is past the hill. A meadow. Filled with tents and merchants' stalls, along with makeshift buildings of all kinds. He could see colourful banners depicting some things. It was a colourful mess in the midst of muddy brown.
Finn sighed deeply as he held on to his bag tight.
"Finally," Ciri said. "Some life."
Finn couldn't agree more.