The sun shone brightly above us, the desert sand constantly blowing onto us. There was nothing for hundreds of meters. I shielded my eyes with my hand to peer into the endless desert.
"Nothing… absolutely nothing!"
Aylin had gone down to the oasis to wash off worm blood so I stood alone there thinking of some way to get to Dragonspine.
Aylin got back and asked if I had any ideas. I simply told her no and we just had to move forward.
Aylin and I tracked through the harsh weather, temperature, and animals. At night we would move through the desert because Aylin said it was unbearable to walk under the sun. At day time we would find cover and rest up. I walked in the direction I felt like my sister was. Aylin seemed a little unsure of where we were going but she didn't ask.
For 4 more days, we trekked kilometers through the desert but we still couldn't find a single sign of Dragonspine. But during those days, we were attacked by countless monsters and animals, some being bigger and stronger than the worm. It was good training for my new weapon, I started to get used to the feeling of my new katana/gun. Pikola had actually not given my sword a name so I decided to name it Velpra. Vel for the sound the sword made when I swung it, and pra for the sound when the bullets go off.
One night, we were walking under the beautiful shining moon, and I felt a soft breeze brush against my cheeks. It was followed by a stronger breeze. The sand swiftly started swirling around.
Aylin ran up to me and grabbed onto my arm, we had to look for shelter and quick. A sandstorm was impending.
We ran quickly towards a rock and went under it for cover. For hours we couldn't see anything, we couldn't open our eyes or else we would get blinded by the sand. So under that rock we just hugged until it stopped.
We emerged from the hole exhausted from laying in the same position for hours. I stretched out my arms and yawned. Aylin brushed the sand off her dress and hair.
She asked how much longer we are going to suffer in these harsh climates. From where the sandstorm continued, emerged a shadow. From the darkness of the night, a man with a beard, black armor, and a spear. His long hair flew around in the wind. Aylin peered into the distance as my feet grew cold.
"Vivshi, it looks like there is another person here! We could maybe ask for help."
I opened my mouth but no words could escape it. All my muscles froze in my body as I stared at the man approaching ever so close.
"Vivshi? What's wrong?"
Aylin sensed something was wrong, she must have seen it in my expression. The fear, the terror in my eyes as I laid eyes on that man. She grabbed my hand and started running pulling me by the arm.
When we had finally gone out of sight of the man, Aylin collapsed down onto the ground, panting, trying to catch her breath.
"Vivshi, who was that man?"
"He was the man I met in Mondlicht."
Aylin asked me again what was wrong.
"He… killed me over and over and over. I remember all the pain as he mutilated my corpse. I don't even know how I'm still alive after that."
Aylin gave me some water and told me to calm down and assess the situation.
"You are stronger now though, I'm sure you can beat him!" Aylin said and smiled.
I looked down at my sword. And told her, I maybe could, but I wasn't sure still. I hesitantly gripped my sword and held it up against the moon. That night we decided to just take a rest because Aylin told me that I needed it. Even though I had to rest, I couldn't sleep, I kept thinking about that man in black armor. I went out into the desert to watch my surroundings.
As I was observing the desert I heard rustling.
"Oh, sorry Aylin, for waking you up."
She sat up and asked what I was doing. I told her that I couldn't sleep. She then waved her hand, gesturing that I should come over towards her. I stared into the desert one last time, not seeing anything before coming over to Aylin. She embraced me in her arms and told me to just get some rest. She made me lay down next to her. With one hand she rubbed my head and with her other hand, she held it around my stomach.
I was about to fall asleep until all the nerves in my body started firing. The mark on my body activated immediately. Aylin immediately noticed it and asked me what happened. I grabbed my katana and ran out. I was in position for any attack and quickly scanned around the area. I sensed something, something is here! We are being hunted.
I heard a footstep coming from my side. I quickly turn my eyes towards it and see the same man in armor. He had followed us all the way here. He was still far away from us so without thinking I put my sword into my left hand and started firing bullets at him. But my heart sank when I heard the sound of the bullet being cleaved into two. My aeonic bullets exploded in the desert and made the sand cover the man. I wasn't able to see him anymore. He is using the sand as camouflage. In seconds, he had closed the gap. He was in front of me.
"Calamity of death, no more running."