“No, no, no…” the girl shook her head frantically. “This happens for a reason, we are tributes
to the Da Han, we are supposed to live here forever, to give our blessings to the emperor. He shall
not be forgotten, we have to pray, pray, PRAY!”
“And pray you should,” I didn’t want to argue with lunatics anymore. “Where is my friend then?”
“He went into the cave, and so death he has chosen.” she said coldly. “I have warned him, but
he won’t listen, just like you. You are all fools trying to defy the emperor!” Rolling my eyes, I
entered the hole.
The hole was basically a narrow stone tunnel, I crept along quickly, following the warm
yellow glow at the distant. At first, I was hopeful that I could get out of this place soon, but
time seemed to distort before me very senses, I was being tortured by eternity. Worse still, I was
constantly assaulted by abnormally huge scorpions and lizards. It was really hard to spot them in
the dark. With countless bruises, my inner morale was long lost; it was a living nightmare.
I couldn’t tell what time it was when I stopped, panting and reflected what I had done. Perhaps
the girl was right. Time was still in this cursed place, that was why those people were still alive
after a few months without water or food! How come I was so stubborn and stupid! I should’ve
listened to the girl! I should get out of the cave through the top instead of the cave! Perhaps Jason
was somewhere ahead, died from hunger or thirst.
Thirty years I had been dealing with mythological creatures, like every other investigator out
there, I was just trying to look for my final destination. Never had I felt this way, so desperate that
I wished I were dead, so that my quest would be complete.
Yet dead didn’t seem to be an option available, just when I was about to give up, the tunnel
came to an opening, I was again out in the open desert, and here I was, lying on the piping hot
Gobi Desert under the scorching sun. I didn’t know where to go anymore. All my devices ran out
of battery, I had only little amount of water. I started to see little sparkling stars above my head.
My will was almost crumbling when my instinct told me something was behind me. I stood
up, legs shaking, and took a glance on my backside.
My pupil magnified, my heartbeat raced like trillion raindrops hitting the threshold.
After all this time, I finally got to meet the leading actors.
Desert wolves, those demonic creatures everyone was talking about. Seeing them and I was
like, WHY NOW? With only my bear hands, I was surly playing the underdog in this round.
I started to trudge forward slowly. I knew the wolves were following. There was a whole pack
of them. I had heard dark tales about enchanted wolves tearing human flesh apart, how they were
totally engulfed by hunger and would try at all cost to slay a prey.
Maybe they sensed the fear I radiated from my breath, or they just loved to challenge
trespassers in their territory, they started to charge. I turned around quickly, only to find one
already in the air, claws wide spread, pouncing towards me like a cat on a mouse. I concentrated
on my inner self and tried to hack into the wolf’s consciousness.
The trick worked and the wolf collapsed, lifeless, but I SWEAR TO GOD I wouldn’t do that
again. I knew I didn’t have much energy within my body, but there were still five of them, I
remembered a spell, so I began to chant,
“Swirling like tornadoes,
Twisters in the sand.
Oh’ Mighty god of Whole
Bring me the Quicksand!”
Before the other wolves could charge, I felt the spell draining energy from my body, and then
