Asher reappeared as his feet kicked the sand.

  He was running fast, though his legs wobbled more than once as the shifting sand betrayed his footing. The uneven curves of the dune sank beneath each step, dragging him down and stealing his momentum every few strides.

  The lake couldn’t be seen anymore but howls and screeches were still present.

  Every time he slowed down, the sounds would get closer and would send shivers throughout his body.

  But it was okay; Asher will manage.

  Or so he thought.

  Flung!

  Something came rushing at him from behind.

  His steps halted, freezing on their spot briefly, before he took a fast step back, barely dodging the creature lunging at him.

  Asher dismissed his mask.

  His pale white face and silver eyes looked at the monster not much taller than him. It was probably the fastest one among the group he had run away from.

  The monster was not thin like those with twisted limbs; rather, it looked… normal, as normal as it could be, of course. With dark fur, blood patches and razor-sharp teeth.

  “Goodness, I am finding them normal.”

  Asher suddenly had the urge to rub his forehead. Finding a creature not with any twisted bones or any extra organs growing from their body felt refreshing.

  ‘What a strange feeling indeed.’

  In the next split second Asher was already close to the beast. His sword already in his hand, descending from an angle the beast’s eyes couldn’t follow. Or maybe it could follow as he saw its eyes, dark and distant flickers in the darkness.

  Honestly, Asher didn’t care even if it did.

  “You were fast but dumb for sure.”

  He muttered, cutting through the air.

  The beast, which had been fast enough to reach him, suddenly couldn’t find its speed like before. It moved painfully slowly as if its body were bound and its joints were shackled.

  Before it could open its jaw or strike him with its claw, crimson blood splashed on the desert. A dark and deep cut was done neatly on the beast's neck, decapitating it instantly.

  Asher looked at the beast, which fell heavily on the ground with a wet thud, its body painting the land with a dark hue.

  Asher felt the cold breeze hit his face. His hood had already went down and his hair was fluttering back with the wind.

  Even though below his feet a pool of crimson was starting to form, he wanted to enjoy this joyless wind for some moments. Thought that did not look possible.

  While the winds caressed his tired face, they also carried howls and roars of the beast coming his way.

  Asher indifferently lowered his head to stare at the fallen beast.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “See? If you had come a little late, you might have been alive for a few more minutes.”

  With a small laugh, Asher moved again. He could have left them eating dust if he ran at full speed but he wanted to give the spirit of shadow a little more time to store all the bags safely.

  “Hmm, I am strangely talkative today.”

  Asher was happy.

  And why wouldn’t he be? After all, he succeeded in doing something!

  It was just gathering water, nothing special but in this hell it felt no different than winning any lottery. No, maybe it was a lottery; after all, Asher had participated in a game of luck and trickery.

  And he won.

  “Maybe it’s in the air… it’s not so distant anymore.”

  Asher muttered in a daze as he completed running a circle around the lake.

  The monsters were nowhere in sight as well. He sighed in relief and walked in the direction he had told the spirit to wait at.

  ‘What, the.’

  When he reached the destination, he stared at the spirit with eyes filled with bewilderment.

  The spirit of shadow remained afloat with a smug look on its face. As if proud of what it had done. When Asher lowered his gaze, he saw several bags lying on the ground.

  “You filled all of them?”

  Nod.

  Nod.

  The spirit jumped up and down with a burst of joy, leaving a pale thread of darkness.

  ‘It actually did more than I thought...’

  Asher had decided not to rely too much on the spirit. But maybe a little would be okay.

  “Good work.”

  Asher didn’t hesitate to praise the spirit being in a good mood himself.

  “In any case, I can’t drink this.” The spirit froze mid-air. Asher clearly heard something break but continued speaking with a thin smile on his face. “For all we know it could still be poisonous. I can’t take a chance on that. Only half of the lake looked good anyways.”

  The spirit slouched down in disbelief and asked with a shivering body.

  “Wha-t now?”

  “I will need to purify it.”

  Saying that, he took a step forward and placed all the water bags he had gathered on the ground beside him.

  Asher inhaled deeply and began to prepare for the ritual.

  The spirit stayed silent and instinctively moved back as Asher started to draw a complex circle surrounding the bags. It wasn’t as big as the one he and his team had drawn in the dark forest, which saved him a lot of time. Asher sighed and craned his head to look at the shimmering stars in the night sky.

  His lips felt dry and eyes tired the longer he watched them. His smile soon faltered, and he again started to complete the ruinic magic.

  He laid down a thin strip of monster hide, taken carefully so as not to tear its weave. Then he placed a small eye of the giant frog dwelling in mud and blood he had bought long ago from the translucent tube.

  Finally, as the preparations were over, he took several steps back.

  No one was here except the sandy hills and the hard, rocky surface coming out of the ground.

  Asher felt his heartbeat grow louder than before. Slowly, he went down on his knees and joined his hands together. It's been a long time since he had prayed to her. While he wasn’t sure whether she would respond or not, at least the ritual would succeed.

  “Celestia, who love silver…”

  “You are the ruler of stars…”

  “The divine judgment of heavens…”

  “The beacon of justice…”

  “And the hope of civilization.”

  As the words rolled out of Asher’s tongue one after the other, his heartbeat grew louder, and a certain ache consumed his mind. Pressuring his tongue to finish the chant, he continued with sweat filling his forehead.

  “I pray to you, open the gate of abstract. I wish for you to be the witness. I wish to cleanse the tainted water.”

  As he completed the chant and told his intent clearly, sparks appeared in midair.

  Asher hissed as the space split open before his eyes. Under the dark night sky, countless lights of every color imaginable spilled out, painting the air with their brilliance. The radiance soon narrowed, condensing into a single point. Then, with a burst like falling snow, tiny sparkles descended onto the bags below, each glowing softly as they absorbed the light.

  Asher visibly relaxed as he let his hand fall on the ground. The circles drawn by the shard dust were completely gone, as well as the origin shards he placed there.

  Asher inhaled deeply and opened his mouth, saying words still in ruinic language.

  “Are you still listening?”

  “Life is certainly hard here.”

  Asher said evenly.

  “I don’t know what I am doing… or where I am currently going. I just keep moving.”

  Asher lowered his head, his eyes turning bloodshot as he clenched his fist together.

  “Is this also something you had thought of… Am I still under some kind of grand plan?”

  Asher let out a self-deprecating laugh and added.

  “Even though I feel sick… I will trust you. A little longer.”

  For a brief moment, Asher felt the stars above withdraw—only to burn brighter, shining with a brilliance only his eyes could see.

  Slowly, he turned toward the spirit of shadow, its silent form watching him, unable to grasp the words he had spoken.

  “Guide me,” Asher said quietly, “to where you need me to go.”