On the train, all the seats were taken. Just as Idiot was about to fall into a deep sleep to rest, Blood Extinguisher rudely woke him up again.
"Good job, you've almost destroyed a town. I won't ask too much of you all at once. We have plenty of time ahead, and I believe I will definitely make you willingly make the choices I expect. Just wait and see!"
Bloody Pupil completely shut, and the train started moving. The Idiot took a deep breath, looked again at the baby girl, at her pure, flawless sleeping face…
Now, he was truly tired. With the continuous rocking of the train, he closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep…
...
Two days later, people began to perform bloody and organized riots against officials and the baron's soldiers in this small town. The town began to lose order. Chaos and destruction could be seen in this town all the time. Flames that burn the sky can burst out from all corners of the town at any time.
People were being killed and committing suicide everywhere. People who died for various reasons almost filled the town, making it full of corpse stench.
And the baron also paid the price with his life because of his excessive greed. The people who lacked food and could only wait to die all turned into rioters who were not afraid of death and rushed into the baron's palace and the mayor's mansion.
Blood and fire have become the theme song of this town, announcing the fact that at this moment today — Kuwait Town was completely destroyed.
...
The train sped across the land of "The Continent of Sorrow" for five, ten, fifteen, twenty days…
As the days went by, the view from the window kept changing.
The biggest change was the weather. The endless snow was slowly replaced by greenery, and the permanent ice of the north vanished, revealing brownish earth.
But it was truly getting too warmer.
So warm it felt like melting, so hot that even without clothes, it was too much. Trying to open the window only let in stifling hot air.
Coming from a cold place, Idiot never had felt such heat and found it tough to resist. Luckily, his ticket included food, so although hot, he didn't suffer hunger like in Senag.
Compared to him, the baby girl seemed much better. She slept most of these twenty days, waking only for water and mushy bread. Other than some cries from a wet swaddle, she was quiet.
The train passed many cities, too foreign for the fool, giving him much to ponder. But soon, he focused on the real issue, as stretches of desert began appearing along the route.
Cities became scarce, and scenery bleaker. The heat thinned passengers, signaling his nearing destination.
"The Sea of Death desert station arrived. Child, this is your stop."
The expressionless conductor signaled him to exit. The fool nodded, took the baby, and followed the conductor off the train.
Stepping off, a wave of heat nearly choked him. He looked around the bare platform. The only other person was an old railway worker staring blankly at the endless desert.
"Which way to the City of Windblown Sand?"
The worker glanced at the fool with cloudy eyes and pointed south.
Without thanks, Idiot shouldered his bag of water and food and left.
"Hold on! Child, how will you go there?"
Without a word or pause, the fool stepped into the scorching desert. Despite the searing air, his eyes remained as cold as his homeland's frost.
Day and night passed.
In the desolate, uninhabited desert, a ten-year-old boy walked on. He followed advice to travel at dawn and dusk, hiding from the sun by day to save energy.
He was good at conserving energy, thanks to a life of survival. But he underestimated the desert's force.
His bag was emptied two days ago. All around was an unchanging desert. His breath was heavy, his straw sandals torn, just grass tied to his feet. He discarded his empty bag, living off buried insects and cacti, refusing to die, driven by a fierce will to live.
Sweat dripped onto the sand, making a squeaking sound. Before long, the idiot's body could hardly even sweat anymore. But he still held the little baby girl and walked under the dusk sun.