She took a deep sigh, rubbing her forehead.

“You kids will kill me, in this desert”.

“Look, this land has been uninhabited for like a hundred or more years. Many have claimed it, many have not and many have died! The boy is mostly right. It’s the Caciccaci, they were the last here!”

“What do you mean by many have claimed it?”

“Look, all I know is. Uun people have been isolated from the world. The sources vary. Some say two hundred years, others say three hundred. Some even hundred, not sure. Before you all came here, many people lived here according to rumors, but look around. There’s no source of life here. Remember the plateau, with the hot springs….”

“The devil's gate!” Yannu finished for her.

“Yep”

“That one!”

“What about it?” Quine asked curiously.

“Well, people say it was inhabited too. Until the river dried up. As for the other depiction, I don’t know, but if you wanted to interpret it. Go find those Quaash priests or whoever leading scholar to come here. Not me. I want to escape this desert and live to find out what’s going on!?” she ranted on.

Turning her back on them again, she walked off.

“Now am going on, with or without you all!” she yelled out to them.

Ussu and Yannu stared at each other.

“Come on, she’s right. This doesn’t matter right now!” Yannu instructed.

Ussu stood up and followed him.

Shassii looked at the engravings then at Aya and Quine.

“We need to get moving, the sun's only going to get hotter. Sanni’ sai Śeikl!” she uttered out. Raising up.

“Quine, come on” she pleaded.

Quine left with her.

“Aya!” Shassii shouted.

“Am coming” she replied.

Am coming.

Aya gazed at the engravings attentively.

In her head, a voice was calling her to it. Wondering how exactly she found it and why she did.

Then she saw another glimmer.

She dug another time, revealing a strange painting.

There stood a series of six individuals.

Stood between a giant black sludge.

“The black sludge lake again. Just like the other one…” she spoke out to herself. Rotating between the two carvings, trying to piece it together.

Then she saw in the figure’s hands gems or what seemed like magic stones. A small shining color emanating with a slight red ting which grew larger and larger.

They each were different from yellow, purple, black, and eventually on the far right.

The red stone beamed blinding her.

Sending her back into her mind, then she heard a deep dark bellowing voice.

Her surroundings all black and empty. The desert was gone and so was the sun. Replaced now a black ball with a white tint radiated out around it.

Blood sprung out, racing down to her, filling the hole she was in.

A figure appeared, with a loud thud with each step it took as it approached her.

“This awaits, this shall come!” the voice spoke out.

It was the ruby dragon again. Back to haunt her again.

“SHUT UP!!! LEAVE MY MIND!!” she yelled out in fear.

It paused in front of her. Its eyes gaping wide, pure black with no sign of life in them. It breathed down on her, sending a cold chill that ate her whole body.

Then suddenly it slowly disappeared with it the voice retreated, leaving her mind.

A loud chuckle could be left as its voice dissipated.

Aya returned to the world. In a pool of sweat, she fell back. Exasperated and worn out, with no sense of time. What seemed like hours, was only a few Śhinnou.

Panting down as she gazed down at the now flat carvings.

Shassii raced back to her.

“Aya, Aya! You okay!?”

“The roc…. the rocks…”

Looking down at them, Shassii was confused.

“What’s with them??”

Aya took a gander at them, the shine was gone. The tint didn’t even exist anymore.

“You need a hand…” she

Aya wiped away the sweat from her head, as she calmed down. Taking a hold of her sisters’ hand as she leaped out of the hole.

Surprised and looking for the blood.

“The blood, the blood”

“What blood?” Shassii asked.

Aya froze for a moment, staring into the distance.

“Want to talk about it?”

Aya kept silent, Playing it off with a fake smile.

Shassii smiled back.

Aya crouched down, kissing the carving.

“Śeingtt watch over me” she prayed.

As they both left, holding, and swaying each other’s hands.

“Shassii!”

“Yeah”

“Nothing”

“Okay”

The sand arose once again covering the carvings.