Alex and Lyra returned to the campsite.The fire, though dying, still cast flickering light across the sand around them. They sat down next to each other in silence, letting exhaustion slowly overtake them.
Alex leaned his head back, staring at the stars scattered across the endless sky. He felt the tension slowly leaving his body, though the weight of what they had just done still lingered in his mind.
"Do you think he was telling the truth?" Lyra broke the silence. Her voice was quiet, almost thoughtful.
Alex looked away from the sky and turned to her. The flames of the fire reflected in her eyes, creating golden glimmers.
"I'm not sure... but he didn't sound like he was lying," he replied after a pause. "We can check when we get there."
Lyra nodded. Alex pulled a map from the camel's saddlebags. He unrolled the parchment and studied the marked points.
"Look at this. Do you think it's far from the place you're taking me?" he asked, pointing at a spot marked with a mysterious symbol.
She leaned in, examining the map by firelight."A day's journey further... but it's still desert. The forest's magic won't protect us there," she said thoughtfully. "We should wait. Let's meet my mentor first."
"We'll do that," Alex agreed, rolling up the map and placing it back in the bag.
Silence settled over the camp again. The fire crackled softly, and in the distance, the howls of nocturnal creatures echoed. Lyra lay down first, settling into the makeshift bedding. She knew they were safe until sunrise. She fell asleep with a sense of relative peace.
Alex stayed awake a while longer. He gazed into the darkness where the merchant had vanished, thinking about the events of that night. Until now, only Lyra had killed. But now... he had done it too. He had killed the merchant without hesitation.Eventually, his eyelids grew too heavy, and his thoughts began to drift toward sleep.
In one moment, Alex still felt the cool desert sand beneath his back. In the next, he stood on soft, damp ground.Moss, grass, the scent of leaves. Trees rustled above his head, and birdsong echoed in the distance. A forest—much like the one he had seen before in his dream with Gaia. He called out her name.
"Gaia?"
There was no reply. Instead, another figure appeared—stepping silently from the mist like a ghost.
It was a tall, slender elf. He moved with uncanny grace, wearing a robe woven from green fabric adorned with patterns resembling leaves and vines. He walked barefoot on the forest floor, his steps completely silent. His eyes glowed with a warm golden light, and a green aura shimmered softly around his hands.
Alex recognized that glow—it was the same one he had seen when he first used magic, purely by accident.
On the elf's skin were tattoos resembling the runes Alex had seen before in the ruins. Their shapes, their rhythm—everything matched.
He was speechless.
"Who are you?" he finally asked.
The figure didn't respond right away. He raised his hand, and the earth beneath Alex's feet trembled gently—not like an earthquake, but like a heartbeat, the pulse of the world.
His voice didn't come from his lips. It was everywhere—carried by the leaves, the wind, the soil.
"You must find the path. Your blood remembers."
Alex's heart began to race. Those words... they were almost the same as what Gaia had said.
"The ruins hold the answers," the elf added.
Alex frowned."What ruins?"
Then the mist began to swirl. From it emerged a vision: stone corridors, stairs leading down, massive gates inscribed with runes. A river cutting through a dead city. Darkness, silence, and moisture all around. He could feel the weight of forgotten time.
"They are underground. Trapped with me."
"Are you a druid?" Alex asked. "Or... something like one?"
The elf was silent for a long moment. The golden light in his eyes still burned, but now there was sorrow too.
"I don't know. Too much time has passed. Everything has faded. Come. Help me."
The vision shifted again. Alex saw himself—standing before the massive gates, reaching toward a rune, touching it... then everything burst into green light.
The earth opened.And the entrance to the ruins appeared.
"Find me… Come..."
"Where should I look for you?!"
The answer echoed back like a whisper:
"A city buried in sand, forgotten with me. Touch the earth. It will guide you."
The voice rang out one last time:
"You carry my blessing. The entrance will open for you."