the sand around me began to wriggle like a zillion worms. The wolves panicked and were soon on
their backs. Legs waving in the air like men’s last struggles in the waves.
In a minute, the wolves were gone, a smile escaped my lips, and then all was black.
When I woke up again, it was already night time. I continued my journey, but after the spell,
every single bone in my body experienced a burning sensation that worsened for every step I
took. After about fifty steps, I collapsed again, sweating and panting.
Then I saw, Jason’s watch, right under my nose, half-covered by sand, dried blood attached to
its surface.
“What have I done wrong?” I screamed towards the night. “It’s you who bring me to this
everlasting quest! Now I shall die, in this godforsaken place! Would you be satisfied if I end my
life at this every moment, would you!”
A cool evening breeze swept through the air, I saw shadows, rising from the horizon. I
thought it was another illusion at first, but when I heard war horses screeching, millions of hooves
brushing through the sand, war cries of ancient warriors, my heart skipped a beat.
No, it was not an illusion.
Jason must have called me right at this spot, telling me he was about to discover something
most unbelievable, the Call was real! I locked my gaze on the distant shadows, feeling the rush
and the unbelievably strong pulse of their pace. Bronze swords clinging, war horns blowing…
The evening breeze suddenly turned into a massive sand storm. My vision blurred, it looked
like the whole desert was lifted up by ancient forces, I couldn’t see the distant mountains, or the
Mongolian army anymore, but I could hear them, crying out language too old to be understood. I
wanted to scream, but my voice just lost in the chaos. My senses failed me, the only thing I could
see was a curtain of sand, suffocating me…
I stuck to the ground, mouth filled with sand. I lifted my head and struggled to look to the
side and saw a cold, rigid corpse. My blood chilled as our eyes met. I was looking straight into the
hollow eye sockets of Jason’s.
It was the most terrifying moment in my career, surly it was. But it was also the moment I
realized my time had come, I had to choose my final destination, whether I would accept what fate
had for me, or perish in tortures too harsh for human beings that hadn’t been used for millennia.
“Join me, my friend,” a voice in the storm spoke to me. “Join me in The Call, or you shall
end up like your friend. We do not forgive non-believers, only the most sincere could receive
the Blessing from our Da Han, only the bravest who could best our blood hounds could join our
mighty army, only the toughest could walk out the Tunnel of Eternity alive…”
That was when I made the biggest decision of my life.
I prayed, to the Da Han, to whoever who was speaking to me at that every moment.
I felt life reentering my body, enormous amount of energy that I felt like I could blow up a
tank with a flick of my finger. The storm ceased, I found myself on a horseback, suited in a full
set of black armor. Surrounding me were similar warriors, the number was so great that it looked
like an ocean of warriors flooding the mighty Gobi desert.
In the real world, the news would probably report the missing of two more supernatural
investigators. These things always happen, you know. People missing for no particular reason…
But the truth is, there’s always a back story, some may go straight to Heaven and become minor
gods, while some sink deep under the sea to sail with lost pirates. As for me, I chose to join a
spectral ancient army.
That’s my final destination, I have accepted it with delight.
