"What just happened?" Raghav asked, struggling to comprehend their surroundings.
"I don't know," Anuj replied, his voice trembling. "But I think we're on the brink of something incredible."
Raghav noticed a man nearby. "Who are you?" he asked. The man, visibly terrified, slowly said, "I was here to buy a book. Where am I? Am I going crazy?" Unable to believe what he was seeing, Anuj managed to comfort him.
They found themselves in an unknown desert.
The burning sun and dry sand were harsh on them. They started moving, as they had no choice. After traveling unwillingly, Anuj, feeling thirsty, spotted a lake nearby. He ran towards the water, and they started drinking.
Suddenly, a crab-like monster with red color and black stripes emerged from the sand. With its claw, it split the man in two, his blood spilling everywhere, turning the lake water red.
Anuj and Raghav, shocked and terrified, began running for their lives.
Suddenly, a band of mysterious creatures emerged from nowhere. Dark in color, with pointy ears and great physique, their faces were covered with cloth. They attacked the crab and, after an intense fight with spears and daggers, managed to kill it.
The creatures locked up both Anuj and Raghav.
The leader of the creatures, a dark elf, spoke, "Hipope gade no bake yuma pae hage Jo gert no ippo qerty." Raghav couldn't understand a word, but Anuj could. He explained to Raghav, "He's asking where we are from. We don't look local. Did Nihal send us?"
As the sun set, darkness emerged. The dark elf cooked the hunted crab and fed Anuj and Raghav, who had no choice but to eat.
As the dark elf slept, they sneaked out of his range and ran. Anuj and Raghav regretted their decision as they approached a mysterious temple-like structure.
They stopped, and Raghav noticed Anuj had no shadow. Panicking, he said, "Anuj, your shadow!"
Anuj calmly replied, "Yeah, I know. I've never had a shadow since birth."
Raghav was shocked, speechless.
They both entered the temple. Inside, Raghav found a water hole. They drank from it and proceeded inside.
As they moved, torches on the sides ignited. They found themselves in a labyrinth. Inside, all the torches flamed simultaneously, and skeleton monsters emerged, attacking them. Panicked, they tried running towards the entrance, but it closed.
They had no choice but to fight the skeletons, but they were no match. Suddenly, the skeleton king appeared and ordered his army to stop. The skeleton king handed them a dirty scroll.
As they opened it, a very bright light emerged, and their bodies started ripping apart.
After immense pain, they returned to the grandma's bookshop, lying on the floor. Anuj woke up and woke Raghav.
Realizing it was not a dream, they ran back to the room. All the books were glowing.
Raghav started opening all the books. Suddenly, they mixed together, forming one from a very bright light. Anuj and Raghav heard their grandma calling them. Terrified, Anuj didn't want to go, but remembering their grandma, they jumped into the new world after hearing her voice.
**To be continued...**