9 — Chapter 9

It had been a long time since I steadied my heart and stepped forward with resolve. I couldn’t be sure, but it felt like I had slept more than ten times since then.

Golden sand stretched endlessly, frozen in time. The monotonous desert inspired nothing in me. I only wanted to walk, keep walking, and somehow escape this cursed wasteland.

Everything felt bothersome. Even walking wore me down. Sure, I’d climbed the Rocky Mountain to harvest herbs before, but walking all day was an entirely different trial. I walked until I was tired, rested, and walked again. Repeating that all day left me weary and irritated.

The hope of going home faded. The desert moved. I could gauge directions, but I had no way to know where in the desert I was. I no longer knew if eating the Totoro fruit had been the right choice… or a mistake.

“Haa…”

I stared at the ground and walked like my life depended on it. Shadows shortened, then lengthened. Daylight faded into night. A massive moon lit up the world. Even in darkness, its light kept the desert clear.

Tonight, I wouldn’t sleep. I wanted to see the desert move with my own eyes. I kept walking, weariness dragging at me. Walk until I was exhausted, rest, then walk again.

I lost track of how long I walked. The moon had risen high. The shadows it cast began to shrink.

Sssshhh…

The soft whisper of shifting sand made me stop in my tracks. The sand moved. It moved like it was alive. Even I, standing on top of it, was being carried along. Yet I felt no sensation of motion.

It was absurd. Frightening. I couldn’t even tell what I felt anymore.

The sand moved, and with it, the whole desert seemed to breathe.

Even overwhelmed, my eyes caught the changes. A dune rose ahead. To my right, another dune sank into flat ground.

“…”

Without realizing, I had begun walking again. I stepped in the opposite direction of the sand’s flow. But my legs only dragged me in place.

I gritted my teeth and tried running, pumping my legs with strength. Sand swallowed my ankles, but I didn’t stop.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

I kicked against the desert, sprinting with all I had—yet I moved no faster than walking speed.

“Haaah… haaah…”

The sand kept shifting, reshaping the world. Dunes rose and collapsed, over and over.

Sssshhh…

By the time my shadow stretched long under the moonlight again, the movement ceased. The desert stopped.

I collapsed. Could I ever make it home? Even the thought no longer gave me hope.

How many days had it been? Since the first time I witnessed the desert move, I had already slept over twenty times.

Ssshhrrk.

Suddenly, sand rustled and poured down. This time it was midday. The desert had never moved in daylight before. Still, it was nothing new. I dismissed it and kept walking.

Ssshhrrk.

The sound came again, louder and sharper. My head snapped up. What was going on? Sand slid down a slanted slope. I realized something too late—the surrounding sand wasn’t moving.

An odd phenomenon. Instinct drove me to run. I nearly lost balance from the sudden burst of speed, but I managed to stay upright.

Ssshhrrrk.

The collapsing sand drew closer, and my view lowered as the ground beneath me sank. Before I knew it, the shifting sands reached the spot I stood on. My body began to sink.

I dropped to the ground, clawing with hands and feet, scrambling to escape the slope forming beneath me. It was no use. At best, I slowed my descent.

“Skreeeeech!”

A piercing shriek split the air. My skin crawled, every hair standing on end. I had never heard such a sound in the desert. Who or what made it didn’t matter—an ominous dread wrapped around me.

I dug harder, my body straining to its limits. But I couldn’t let go.

“Skreeeek!”

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The monstrous cry grew closer, followed by sharp impacts in the sand.

Shhhk.

A shadow loomed over me.

“Skreeeek!”

“Uwaaah!”

Something slammed into me. Then again. And again. Whatever it was kept striking me. I struggled, but restraints tightened around my body.

Whump.

My body lifted into the air. The world flipped upside down. In the blur, I caught a glimpse of my captor.

Black, hairy, enormous. More than four eyes gleamed on its head. Its mouth gaped wide, layers of jagged teeth lined within. And its size… overwhelming.

A spider. A colossal spider. Its head alone looked as big as my own body.

“Ahh…”

Death drew near.

I was bound in its web, unable to move.

I had walked this desert each day, clinging to the slim hope that maybe I could escape, all thanks to the Totoro fruit keeping me alive. Or maybe I would wander forever, never dying. But I never imagined this as my end.

“Skreeee…”

Dangling helplessly, I was dragged along. The spider strode on long, powerful legs. Then suddenly, it stopped.

“Skreek! Skreek!”

The creature shrieked again, legs jerking erratically as it spun in place. Then, without warning, it bolted forward.

The speed was terrifying. I swung violently, the world spinning around me until nausea rose.

Fwshhh!

Through the blur, I glimpsed sand erupting into the air—like the fountains I used to see in the city squares beyond the slums. And then I saw something far, far bigger.

It looked like a worm. Yet its body was thick, its hide tough and rough like worn leather. The massive form surged skyward, towering above. It dwarfed even the spider.

And in that moment, Grandpa’s words came back to me:

‘Kark, that there is the Desert of Death. Want me to tell you a secret? Haha, I knew you’d say yes. That desert moves. Does that mean it’s alive? Hmm… it moves, so maybe, but it’s not really a living thing. Haha, fine, fine. People say a massive beast lives under the sand. Maybe it’s that creature making the desert shift. Haha.’

I knew instantly—the giant beast beneath the sand Grandpa had spoken of… it was this worm. It wasn’t a legend. It was real.

The spider backed away.

Snap.

The web that connected me to it broke. Strangely, the tight strands binding me loosened, slipping free. I hurried to tear myself out.

Ooooooh…

The giant worm’s roar vibrated through the desert. The sand quaked. My chest trembled with the same resonance, and I grimaced.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The sound of the spider’s retreat thundered in my ears. I turned despite myself. The spider fled at incredible speed. For such a monster to run… there had to be something even more terrifying.

That snapped me back to my senses. I didn’t know where the strength came from, but I bolted. At first I almost followed the spider’s path, then swerved hard in another direction. The sand began to shift violently beneath me, and more of the giant worm’s body surged out from the depths.

Its length seemed endless. What was already above ground was enormous, but more and more of it kept rising. I stood frozen, overwhelmed, forgetting to even run.

Fortunately, the worm only chased the spider, paying me no mind. Or at least, that’s how it seemed. I couldn’t be sure. Until the spider was gone, the only safe choice was to get as far away as possible.

I sprinted in the opposite direction with everything I had. Breath tore at my throat, black spots swam in my vision. My legs gave out and I collapsed into the sand.

“Haaah! Haaah! Haaah!”

Sand filled my mouth as I panted into the ground, but I didn’t care. Breathing mattered more than anything else.

Hazabut had finished his preparations for the journey to the Demon King’s Temple. No one knew what awaited there, but he was certain new discoveries lay hidden.

Their party included ten paladins whose radiant swords cut down foes, three priests capable of blessings and curses, and one of the continent’s few Sword Masters. For secrecy, no attendants were allowed. Each person had to carry their own belongings—unfamiliar work for some, yet no one dared complain.

Hazabut’s eyes lingered on the name at the bottom of the roster in his hand—Dumaine. A Sword Master was necessary, but this one carried too much ambition. Hazabut disliked him, but there was no other choice.

“Just a pitiful knight, in the end…”

He sneered, mocking Dumaine even in thought.

Knock, knock.

“It’s Bender.”

“Enter.”

Hazabut’s curt tone made Bender step in stiffly.

“What is it?”

“Well… something new has been discovered in the desert.”

If he said desert, he could only mean the Desert of Death. Hazabut said nothing, merely fixed his gaze. The meaning was clear: keep talking. Bender forced out the words he had rehearsed countless times on the way here.

“A mana field was found in the Desert of Death. And the Demon King’s Temple as well. Which means… teleportation is impossible.”

“What?”

Bender explained carefully, going over the discovery and its consequences, but Hazabut liked none of it. His voice rose, brows drawing tight in anger.

Bender rushed to clarify, as though defending himself.

“During a re-check before departure, we confirmed random mana fields spread throughout the desert. Just to be thorough, we probed the Demon King’s Temple too—and it was the same there.”

It wasn’t Bender’s fault. It was simply an inexplicable phenomenon. Still, if there was a mistake, it was that Bender had been the one to deliver such news. Hazabut’s mood soured instantly.

“…Haa…”

He pressed his temples, forcing himself to breathe. Slowly, the rage eased.

“Inform everyone of this.”

“Yes, sir!”

Bender answered quickly and left.

Left alone, Hazabut looked again at the roster in his hand. Dumaine’s name stood out.

He’d disliked it the moment he saw it.

Crrrk.

The expensive parchment crumpled mercilessly in his grasp.