I spat out the sand that was in my mouth.
Gross!
And I don't have any water to rinse my mouth with.
Also, it doesn't help that I'm feeling thirsty and that the suns are burning brightly.
Oh, why couldn't it be evening instead?!
There's nowhere I can take shelter so I have no choice but to walk without any particular destination in mind.
All I can hear is the wind blowing gently and the sound of my footsteps.
I wonder where's Lion?
That sandstorm was kind of weird.
Lion's magic ability is stronger than before and can easily dispel it but somehow, I can feel that it was not just a normal sandstorm.
We already have several magic users within our group, not to mention Bubu who can use nullify magic too.
As for Sly, he can easily transform himself to his dragon form but I didn't see him doing that.
Unless....
The sandstorm itself is made out of magic.
And for the group to not able to dispel it means that we are either facing a stronger opponent or the magic itself is abnormal.
Someone must've tried to break the rules of magic.
But who would do that? They already know that it would result in severe consequences and may end up with cataclysmic disaster in the area.
Maybe that's what happened to the previous ruins that we visited back then.
There are some things that I can't explain because of my limited knowledge and understanding despite being an avid reader of fantasy books.
I just kept on walking aimlessly. If I stop walking then I would die fast because of dehydration. I can still die out of dehydration when I'm moving though at least I have a tiny chance of finding a shelter or an oasis though I highly doubt it as all I can see are sand dunes around me.
It's so hot.
It's a good thing that the scarf around my head is long enough to cover my entire body. I can barely see because of the cloth but it's either that or squint due to the brightness of the suns and sands, which the wind kept blowing towards me.
....
As I kept walking, I remembered Alpha mentioning something about the rules in magic.
It was during the time when I was so hungry that I wanted Lion to make some food out of magic.
Because of the information that I read from the fantasy books, I know that he didn't actually make food out of magic whenever he made food magically appear by his side.
So far, I'm familiar with some of the rules such as:
1. You cannot create food or an item from an empty void or space. Meaning, the item should already existed and owned by you.
You cannot conjure things or objects that you do not own.
I'm not sure about the exact consequences if you try to conjure something that doesn't exist or isn't owned by you.
2. The conjured item may vanish after a certain amount of time or if the magic user loses his concentration.
That is why we usually don't have a lot of waste whenever we can't finish eating the food that Lion managed to conjure using his magic.
It usually ends up either inside one of his magic bags or back at the castle.
3. The energy exchange. Using magic demands a lot of the magic user's energy.
I chuckled whenever I recalled Lion's condition when I first met him. He looked too exhausted as he definitely doesn't exercise at all before.
But how come he has delicious looking body back then despite not exercising?
Ahem.
I have to admit that his body is looking better after exercising and training almost daily, especially after the hell-like endurance training he experienced back at the palace.
If the magic user has high energy, then he can do more complex magic and increase the frequency of using it.
So endurance training and exercises helped Lion a lot with his magic.
And in bed.
Now I'm becoming like Bubu.
....
This is mad.
There's still no sign of someone or something.
All I can see are endless piles of sand!
My throat is a bit painful and I feel like I'm getting a bit tired from walking though I still have to kept on going or I will surely die in an instant if I stop moving.
Though I get the feeling that I might actually die if I can't find an oasis soon.
It's weird that I haven't felt pain from my neck for quite sometime.
Also, I haven't experienced any nightmares lately.
Maybe there's no demons that are watching me.
It's been so long since I've been thinking about it.
Maybe because it is peaceful lately?
I don't know if it's a good thing or not.
Or maybe I was just overthinking but what Rahab told me is definitely real.
One time, I tried to attempt to tell Lion about it but failed. He thought I was choking so I had to pretend that he was right.
It was a failure.
That stupid Rahab.
I still don't have a new clue so there's no point in thinking about it except to drive myself mad.
....
I am getting mad.
I didn't think that I might encounter a mirage.
But I did, much to my frustration.
Feelings of frustration and exhaustion make me want to throw a tantrum of some sorts but it will be a waste of energy, which I'm losing fast.
Sigh.
Maybe this place is my graveyard.
I should probably think of some serious topics to distract myself from depressing thoughts.
Hmmm..
Let's see...
Let's see if I can recall the causes of abnormal magic since this may help us in our future exploration.
The causes of abnormal magic that I can still remember are:
1. Constant exposure to raw magic. It may permanently alter a magic user's mind or body.
Hmmm..
That's why they have a lot of forbidden magic.
2. Instability to the environment or the source of magic.
I'm still confused about that but the way I understand it, it means using other sources of magic, not your own energy, may cause unpredictable results.
Just like what happened to me when I used the control stone.
Good thing that I didn't die.
As for the environment, a magical disaster may warp the laws of nature.
Like the sandstorm from earlier.
Lion by himself, can easily manage to dispel it by using elemental magic to counter it, like wind manipulation or even creating magical barriers. But despite his extraordinary magical abilities and the rest of the group's efforts of using their magic also, I ended up being carried away to this wretched location.
I don't know about the situation with the others though.
But at least they have better chances than me as they can use magic for almost anything, especially on trying to defend themselves.
As for me?
Let's just hope that I won't meet a wild predator.
Or a monster.
I won't even mind being taken by wild deserters. That's how desperate my situation is right now.
Now where was I with my thoughts?
Oh, yes.
3. Magical accidents and miscasting.
Now I remember Ahuizotl's request to Lion to keep the magic that he used a secret.
That was complex.
And definitely should be forbidden.
Now I'm tired of thinking.
There are plenty of causes of abnormal magic that I should remember but I'm so exhausted and getting really dizzy right now.
I'm finally at my limit.
It's too hot.
My legs gave out and I fell on the sand.
I'm dehydrated.
So thirsty, so very thirsty.....
And getting more lightheaded....
Too lightheaded that I'm seeing a hallucination flying towards me.
What is that?!
I see a majestic creature who has the body, legs and tail of a lion but its head, wings and front talons are those of an eagle.
It took me quite a bit of time to recognize it as my vision is getting blurry.
Ah.
It's a griffin.
And it's approaching me.
But I can't run and there's no place for me to hide if I did manage to run.
Maybe the creature is hungry that's why it's approaching me.
It's huge.
Maybe the same size like the pack's ultimate form except for Lion as Lion's ultimate form is humongous.
And Sly's dragon form too.
I don't feel afraid.
It's like I'm expecting that the griffin is death himself.
The griffin seems hesitant to approach me. It just stared at me in which I stared back also despite my blurry vision.
So beautiful.
Maybe I wasn't on my right mind because of dehydration or I already accepted my imminent death that I stood up and approached the griffin as if I have unlimited lives.
Surprisingly, it just stood there, watching me as I got nearer in which when I stood in front of it, I hugged it.
Yes, I hugged it.
I don't know why I did that.
I definitely am not in my right mind.
But it seems like I'm hugging a huge stuffed animal.
No regrets at all if it will eat me.
While I gently stroke its feathers, the griffin started to relax, nuzzling me all over that soon I began to chuckle.
It seems ridiculous...
Too ridiculous that I'm starting to suspect that I'm hallucinating.
No.
I'm definitely hallucinating.
Finally, the blurriness of my vision starts to get worse and the world seems like it's spinning too fast that soon I collapsed in front of the griffin.
This is definitely the end.
At least I managed to touch the legendary griffin.
No regrets at all if he eats me.
I managed to whisper Lion's name before fainting.
....
It feels a bit cooler.
My throat feels like it's on fire.
As much as I wanted to open my eyes, I can't as it feels like someone glued them together.
I wonder if I turned into a soul or spirit but I can still feel my body though I can't move.
It feels like I'm lying down on something soft. Soft like I'm on some sort of a featherbed.
The breeze feels cool but what I'm lying on is warm.
It's perfect.
I wanted to go back to sleep but my throat feels too uncomfortable, like something kept scratching it that I tried coughing to get rid of it.
I'm still dehydrated though.
Someone seems to hold me gently, telling me to drink as I felt a vial or a bottle of some sorts touching my lips.
It's water. Blessed water.
Hallelujah!
It didn't take me long to finish drinking the water. The voice told me to wait then I felt something touched my lips again.
Hmmm.
I don't recognize the taste but I can feel myself being restored.
Ah.
This must be restoration potion.
Soon, my body feels well that I slowly opened my eyes and saw Khamsin, anxiously gazing at me.
Khamsin?!
Why is he here?
I hurriedly sat up, much to his surprise as I glanced around at my surroundings.
Where's the griffin?!
I still want to touch it!!
Khamsin asked me if I'm looking for something or someone in which I nodded and told him that I'm looking for the griffin.
He looked surprised and asked me if I wasn't afraid of facing it.
Why?
I told him no and confessed that I still want to touch it.
He suddenly went silent and hurriedly averted his eyes as his face turned so red that I'm beginning to think that he must be having a fever when I accidentally caught a glimpse on what I'm currently sitting on.
It's feathers.
I took one and observed it, praising its beauty when I suddenly realized that the feather looks like it belonged to the griffin that I saw earlier.
Um.
Why does it feel like I'm missing something?
As I glanced from the feather to Khamsin's reddened face, I finally understood.
He's the griffin.
....
He stood guard while I took a bath.
We are in an oasis, a small one to be exact but I'm grateful as I can finally wash myself.
It feels so comfortable.
I feel clean at last.
I took my time in bathing myself that when I finally finished, my clothes are dry as I washed them earlier.
After I changed into my clothes, Khamsin gave a sigh then faced me as he handed me some sort of fruit.
He told me that it's sweet and that he found it earlier while he was looking for us.
Us?
What does he mean by that?
He saw the confused look in my face and nodded, telling me that he was also separated from the group.
Uh-oh.
This isn't good at all.
Though it was lucky that he found me.
He told me that he thought that he was hallucinating me as he experienced several hallucinations and mirages before seeing me.
It was pure luck that he saw me.
And he's quite happy about it as I was dying when he saw me.
Now the list of my experiences with near death just keeps getting longer and longer...
He cleared his throat as he averted his eyes again, asking me if I don't really mind seeing his ultimate form.
I excitedly told him that he looks beautiful and magnificent, making his face turn redder than before though he didn't say anything else.
But despite him trying to hide it, I can tell that he liked the compliment that I gave him.
He and Ghost are truly brothers.
....
We decided to find the rest of the group since I insisted that I have rested enough despite his protests.
Khamsin eventually gave in and we began to think of a plan.
He told me that when he turned himself into his ultimate form and flew in the sky, he didn't see anyone else except me and it took him a long time flying before he found me.
But he's confident that all of us are still here in the north though scattered in different areas.
He admitted that the sandstorm is quite abnormal as it didn't dispel even after he used his magic to get rid of it.
It wasn't natural at all and may be caused by some cultists.
Cultists?
What cultists?
He nodded as he told me that he heard some rumors about their presence from some of the traders who visited his manor though he never gave much thought of it until now.
After the encounter with the sandstorm, he is now convinced of their existence and planned to get rid of them before their influence reaches his city
He told me that the cultists are the cause of the catastrophic events that destroyed several of the cities in the land.
They worshipped several horrible looking beings, beings that doesn't seem to belong to this world.
I have a bad feeling about this.
Based on what I read about from fantasy books, cultists usually worship malevolent gods, leaders who are simply sick in the head, charismatic weirdos and....
Demons.
The land of the deserters is already too far from the territory, extremely far but the influence and presence of the demons has reached this place.
It's as if the demons are planning to spread their influence in this entire world....
I don't want to overthink!
But I have a feeling that they might be planning to take over this world.
The question is, why?!
And what's my presence got to do with that?
Unless....
They are searching for my kind for a very long time.
But what I don't understand is that, if they found me then what's next?
Would they be content in having me?
I'm still missing a lot of things.
But I'm positive now that it's not only the territory that is in danger but the world itself.
A faint memory seems to knock on my mind, reminding me of a conversation between me and Sly during the time when I haven't stayed that long in this world. He mentioned about how the world changes slowly and how I should be careful on designing too much.
It made me realize that before me being careless and brought a lot of changes in the territory, especially the pack themselves, change has already took place in which they didn't seem to notice it as they were used before to the slow movement of their lives.
Ever since I came into their lives, they are now used to unexpected experiences and impulses that they became more observant, more of a risk taker especially Lion and can now make instant decisions without thinking for a long time.
Because of that, they somehow have suspicions on what is currently happening since I can't tell them because of that stupid Rahab.
Sigh.
I should still be careful though as like way back in my previous world, there are individuals who are conservative and doesn't like changes at all though I haven't met them yet.
The creatures and beings I have met so far had managed to adjust to the changes I brought but I have a feeling that I might meet the conservative ones in the future.
Oops.
I forgot that I'm currently having a conversation with Khamsin.
But yeah. The pack somehow noticed that something is definitely going on in which I decided to give them a helping hand once I finally solve all the puzzles.
....
Khamsin asked me what cultists do when they worship something as the deserters such as him, do not worship anyone as they don't believe the existence of a higher being though they believed the existence of the netherworld and hell.
I felt myself getting nervous when I told him everything what cultists do in which both of us had a sudden realization.
They are looking for victims to sacrifice.
The mysterious object itself is a trap to lure potential victims!
Both of us looked each other as we started to panic.
No wonder that the sandstorm was abnormal.
The rest of the group is in danger!