The three then stopped, turned to Briny, and Gen asked, "What is it, Briny?"
And she said, "Before we step into the sand, we need to hold hands."
Gen then said, "Hold hands? Why is that?"
"We need to do that so that the water temple understands that the four of us are a group."
"Hm, ok. Let's do it."
Gen then stretched out his hand toward Raja, and he said, "No, thanks, Gen. I'd rather hold hands with the women.", and Gen then shook his head.
Everyone then held hands and went towards the sand, and as they stepped onto it, they felt a sensation go through their bodies that made them lose focus momentarily. They then looked around and realized that the beach was deserted.
Raja then said, "What happened to all those people who were here?"
And Briny said, "Don't worry, that's supposed to happen. The people are still here. It's just that we can't see them because the first phase of the event isolates us from the world to make it easier to focus on the challenge ahead of us."
Gen then said, "Got it."
Raja then said, "Are we in the labyrinth yet?"
And Briny said, "Not yet. We need to get to the starting point."
Raja then said, "And where is this starting point?"
"Well, it's usually a little bit ahead of where the group entered the challenge."
Lina then pointed and said, "Is that where you're talking about?", and then the other three looked in the direction she pointed.
In the place where Lina had pointed, there were two holes in the sand, in which the sand around them was falling without stopping.
Briny then said, "That's it. That is the entrance. The beginning of the path is between these two holes."
And Raja said, "Let's go then. Let's not waste time."
The four of them then headed towards the two holes, and when they got close, Gen looked at the holes, saw the sand falling non-stop into them, and thought, 'This reminds me of Dehji's essence. It doesn't look the same to me, but I feel a familiarity when looking at these holes.'
He then continued looking for a while until he heard Lina say, "Gen. What are you doing? Let's enter the challenge."
And Gen said, "I'm sorry. I was just watching the holes."
"Whatever, come on."
Gen then went towards them, and when he arrived, Raja said, "Well, I'm going in."
And Briny said, "You can go in without fear."
Raja then went through the two holes and stepped on the sand after them, and his foot completely sank into the sand up to the height of his ankle.
Raja then asked, "Is this supposed to happen?"
And Briny said, "Yes. In the first stage, the sand always swallows people's feet. Many have tried special shoes to ease their way through the first stage, but they sink just like any other shoe."
Raja then said, "Got it.", and then walked a few steps forward.
And Briny said, "Wait a minute, Raja, don't walk that far. You might end up hitting a wall."
"Okay."
He then finished the step he was taking, and then he felt something strange.
Right after Raja put his foot down, he started to be pulled very strongly by his foot, and then he said, "What's this?!"
And Briny said, "You've hit a wall. Don't resist the force that's pulling you."
"Okay.", and then he was pulled into the sand.
When Gen and Lina saw this, their eyes widened, and Gen asked, "Was that supposed to happen?!"
And Briny said, "Yes, don't worry."
A few seconds went by, and Raja came out of the sand next to one of the holes by the entrance.
He then stood up, shook the sand out of his hair, and said, "I'm sorry. I was careless."
Gen then asked, "Is everything all right with you?"
And Raja said, "Other than the fact that I have a face full of sand, everything is fine."
Briny then said, "I'm sorry, Raja. I should have warned you about this earlier."
And Raja said, "Don't worry, I'm fine, and by the way, great job on the clothes. I noticed that this outfit doesn't let sand in or stick to it. If it weren't for it, I would have sand all over my body right now."
"Thanks. I'm glad it's working. I added it this year, and even though I tested it on the beach, I wasn't sure it would work in the event. It's good that everything worked out."
"That's great. Well, let me lead again. This time, I will be more careful."
Raja then went through the two holes again and began to take the same number of steps as he had taken the last time, except for the last step that caused him to be pulled into the sand.
He took the steps, and Briny said, "Raja! Wait!"
And then he said, "Don't worry, Briny. I remember exactly how many steps I took. There's no way I can be pulled again."
He then took another step forward, and again, he began to be pulled. He was then pulled into the sand, and after a few seconds, he appeared beside the hole again.
Raja then stood up and said, "What was that? I'm sure I walked through there last time. Why did I get pulled in again?"
And Briny said, "That's what I was trying to say, Raja. The path changes shape every time we make a mistake. That's why by taking the same path as before, you ended up being pulled through the sand again."
"I see. Well, let's go again. How many steps can I safely take so that I won't be pulled?"
"Three. The first three steps are always forward."
"Okay."
He then went through the holes again, and as he passed through them, he took three steps forward as Briny had said, but as he took his third step, he felt the sand pulling him again, and then he thought, 'No way!', and then he was pulled into the sand again, and after a few seconds, he appeared beside the hole.
He then stood up, and Briny came toward him and said, "I'm sorry, Raja. It was my fault. The three steps I spoke of are three steps of mine. So, since you're a lot taller than I am, you ended up passing the mark I spoke of."
Raja then said, "Don't worry Briny. We all make mistakes, and I am also getting used to the feeling of being pulled, hahaha."
And Briny said, "Still, I am sorry. Let me go ahead this time."
"No need. I'll go ahead. This time, I'll just take two steps forward."
Raja then went through the two holes again and took two steps forward, and this time, nothing happened.
He then let out a sigh and said, "What now, Briny? How are we going to find our way out?"
And Briny said, "It's simple. The secret is the wind. From time to time, a gust of wind will come from the sea, and it will then travel the path once."
"Got it."
Briny then said, "Let's go in too."
Briny then passed through the two holes and went toward Raja, and right behind her came Lina, and behind Lina came Gen, but when Gen passed through the two holes, he felt a strange sensation and stopped briefly.
Gen then thought, 'This feeling ... it really is very similar to the one I feel in Dehji's essence.'
Lina then said, "Gen! Are you looking at these holes again? Come here already."
And Gen said, "'I'm coming.", and then he went towards them, but after he took the first step, Gen felt a familiar sensation in his foot, and then he looked down.
He stared at the ground for a while, and then Lina said, "Gen! What's the matter with you today? You stop all the time out of the blue."
And Gen said, "There's something strange about this sand."
Lina then said, "Really? We just saw Raja get pulled by it three times, and only after putting your feet in it do you start to think there's something wrong?"
"No, I'm not talking about the sand that pulled him. I'm talking about the one we're standing on right now."
Raja then said, "What's strange about it?"
And Gen said, "I don't know what, but I'm sure there's something different about it."
Gen then took a step forward and again felt the same sensation. He then looked down, trying to figure out what was different about the sand, and then Lina came up to him and said, "That's enough, Gen. Briny already said that a gust of wind will show the way. There shouldn't be anything in the sand. Let's wait for the gust to come."
And Gen said, "I know there's something different about this sand, but that's okay. Let's wait for the gust."
Lina then started to walk back to Briny, and Gen also approached the group. On the way, he kept looking at the sand for something.
After Lina took a step, he looked at the hole she had left in the sand and noticed something strange in it.
He then looked at the other hole Lina had made as she walked and then looked back at the holes he had made in the sand, and as he saw them, he widened his eyes and thought, 'Is that it?'