A Heated Cry

Nox and Roi stand side by side in front of a never ending golden land that expands before them. The wind carries waves of heat that blast onto their faces. Nox turns towards the Mana Hound and pats its head. "Sorry, buddy! I don't think you can handle this!"

Umbra howls in protest.

Nox shakes his head. "I know you want to come…"

Determined for the beast to stay behind, Nox commands. "You'll hold us back. Stay here and wait for us!"

Umbra lowers his ears and submits to Nox. The beast howls and takes a few steps back. Nox feels bad and after letting out a sigh, he approaches Umbra and pats him. "Just be patient for a while. We'll be back in no time!"

Nox then gets closer to the Mana Hound's ears and whispers. "I have a special mission for you…"

Umbra wiggles his tail and raises his ears.

The young man looks right and left before he continues. "I want you to protect us from over here. Don't let anyone follow us!"

Umbra howls and jumps around with joy.

Nox joins Roi, staring into the endless sea sand. He turns towards his companion. "Shall we?"

After getting a confirmative nod from Roi, the young man takes a deep breath and steps forward. Before taking another step, his foot sinks into the sizzling sand. "This will take a while getting used to…"

Wasting no more time, they move ahead, towards the unknown inferno they set out to. Each time they move further away from their comfortable and easily distinguishable plateau, the more exhausted they get.

The sand emits a heated illusion. Everything surrounding them seems to move in different directions, making their advance harder since they have no concrete sense of space. Nox turns back, and the area they left Umbra is no longer in their sights.

Even though their pacing is sluggish and time-consuming because of the uneven and soft ground, they still make progress. They started early in the morning, which was supposed to be a cooler time of day, but effects of the intense heat become apparent in no time.

Profuse sweat and heavy breathing accompany their taxing movement. Nox tries his best to keep his head up, despite the salty sweat that burns his eyes. Their wet towels dry up as soon as they put them on their faces, but it otherwise helps with containing some of the sweating.

Nox checks his map, but navigation with fog covering the entire area isn't an easy feat, but because of that, they don't travel in circles, either. Behind them is the only revealed area, whereas the rest of it is foggy. He only knows to avoid the red Geo-marker crystal where the danger zone is, but other than that, they travel blindly.

After a full day of walking in the desert, they decide to stop as the blazing sun falls to its slumber. Right after is the chilly night that has them shivering. Regardless, it is a pleasant change for them and a wonderful opportunity to rest, since the following day will be the same battle against the heat.

Following an uneventful night, comes the morning. The duo packs and departs in a timely manner to not waste any time. Their feet are heavy as they drag them through the soft burning sand. Their despair reaches its peak when they turn back and their traces disappear.

Subtle winds carry particles that erase tracks of all kinds, taking the place back to its original linear surface, of gold smooth to the touch sand. This rotation of day and night carried on five more times until their long faces show signs of a smile forming, when in the not so far distance they spot a boulder emerging from the unforgiving golden sea.

They hasten their pace to reach it and rest. To their surprise, what they thought to be a small rock in the middle of nowhere turns out to be quite large, and it appears to have a portion buried in the sand. Its smooth surface is ideal to lean back and relax under the cool shade it provides.

Its height is close to two adults standing on one another. It's wide enough for both of them to stand next to each other with room to spare. Its beige color matches the surroundings, making it blend into the background. Nox feels the surface with his hand. The cool feeling soothes him. He smiles and sits down, staring into the distance. Roi does the same.

In his relaxing state, a thought pops into his mind. 'This thing is out of place!'

The duo takes a break to rest and hydrate. Nox checks his map and sees that a piece of a structure is barely visible. He turns confused to Roi. "Have you heard of a town or village in this Scorching Desert?"

Roi looks at the young man and nods. "The Elusive Town!"

Nox ponders. "Elusive Town?"

"It's called that because no one can find it in this hellish place. The residents rarely leave and they never disclose its location when they do so…"

Nox smiles and points in the direction he thinks is the town. "Haha! I think we just did!"

Roi jumps bemused. "For real?"

Nox simply nods and gets up. He places his hand on Roi's shoulder. "Yeap. We'll rest for a while and go."

With a sense of direction in mind, their composure seems lighter. Nox, with a new purpose he checks his map again to plan. 'According to this thing, the Elusive Town isn't that far…'

Roi sees the troubled expression on Nox's face. "Something bothering you?"

The young man looks in the distance. "More or less. The residents are secretive about their home. Maybe they'll take it the wrong way and chase us off…"

A laugh escapes Roi's mouth, causing the already perplexed Nox to question him. Roi shakes his head. "It's just, you are so different from Lady Jenna. She would just barge in…"

Nox thinks to himself. 'She's always been a bitch. The only difference here is that she was a bitch with power…'

Thinking of Jenna, a surge of memories came to mind, thinking of his past life and interactions with his classmates. He didn't really have what they call close friends, but he didn't make any enemies either.

There were one or two people he would go to the arcade with or arrange study sessions before the exams, but that's all. Most of the time, they didn't invite him, or even if they did, he wouldn't go.

Jenna was one of those people who would talk to him only when they needed something from him. When he tried to talk to her before, she berated him with insults and profanities.

A person's face came to mind right after that. She had long red hair and a pair of the bluest eyes. Despite her unparalleled beauty, she was always nice to him and when he tried talking to her; she replied with kindness.

When he thought of her, his heart fluttered. Everything around him became a high pitch noise and only his heartbeat was audible. The racing thud came like a bass in his ears, providing rhythm to his thoughts. 'I wonder how Celia is doing…?'

A sudden nudge from Roi brought him to his senses. Without saying a word, he got up and faced forward. Nox let out a sigh and took in a deep breath. As he was about to say something, a shouting voice from somewhere he couldn't see interrupted him.

"Heeelp!"

The duo look at each other and nod. They pack their things in a hurry and leave the comfortable shade of the boulder. The voice comes from the same direction they are going.

Once again, the shout in distress urges them to hasten their pace in the sinking sand. In front of them is an elevation, not as high as the boulder but enough to tire them. Nox and Roi struggle to climb it because of its sliding nature.

They slide off course or sink and can't get out. They realize that rushing it won't get them anywhere, so they try a different way of approaching their hurdle. Steady steps placed firmly in a position that seems to be solid.

Step by step, they climb the hill of sand. After reaching the top, they search for people at the bottom. Roi notices a caravan being attacked by creatures. The duo slides down without a second thought or discussion.

"Heeelp!"

A girl close to Nox's and Roi's age screams while trying to fight off the creatures that attacked them. She's protecting a younger girl and an old man. Their carriage flipped, and it scattered a variety of goods around.

After her last scream, the creators dove into the sand and out of sight. Trembling, the girl looks around and jumps with every sound she hears. She holds a knife with a dull blade, which she swings around to everything that moves.

"Hey, are you ok?"

Startled, the girl turns around and drives the blade into Nox.