While Dario labored under the blistering heat on the first layer of the Seven Hells, Kandy and Jabari were about to undergo a similarly laborious trip of their own.

To keep his fake Crow’s Mark from completely fading, Kandy had requested a duel from Jabari. The latter had refused and demanded that they leave his secret lair that night.

While the tunnel slide they’d used to descend into his lair was a fun ride, it had far too many twists and turns for any sunlight to make its way down. So, in order to know what time of day it was while in the lair, Jabari had drilled a tiny tunnel that ran from the surface straight into the middle of the room.

Then, around the opening on the surface, he’d strategically positioned several reflectors so that the reflected light would be shot straight down into the lair.

So, if there was a dot of light on the ground, it was daytime. If not, it was nighttime.

And right now the dot of light on the ground was as bright as it could possibly be, which meant that if they slept now, they would wake up at the perfect time to begin their journey.

Kandy yawned—the first few days it'd been quite difficult for him to get used to sleeping during the day and moving about at night, but he'd since adjusted.

Given how far it was underground, Jabari's secret lair was quite safe from the elements. Still, Kandy chose to set up his usual camping gear, including his tent and sleeping bag. Something about doing so just felt… right.

Seeing this, Jabari raised an eyebrow. "Why are you setting up the tent?"

Kandy shrugged. "I like the feeling of being all cozy in my little home away from home."

Jabari contemplated Kandy's words, then shrugged as well. "Suit yourself. It may be for the best, as I plan on working for some time longer. Sleep well, Kandy."

Kandy gave a mock salute as he turned to enter the tent. "You too, big guy. Don't stay up too late."

Snuggling into his sleeping bag, Kandy let out a contented sigh and closed his eyes. Within minutes, he had drifted off into a deep slumber.

However, his peaceful rest was short-lived. In the middle of the night, Kandy jolted awake, his heart pounding. Why, though, he knew not. There was only the sense that something was wrong.

Kandy held his breath and waited—it didn't take long for him to find what had woken him from his slumber.

Muffled screams echoed through the cavern, barely audible but unmistakably human.

Kandy frowned. "What the hell?" he muttered, unzipping his tent and creeping out into the main area of the lair.

The screams continued, seeming to originate from somewhere on the far side of the cavern. Kandy's curiosity got the better of him, and he began to investigate, moving as silently as possible.

As he approached the far wall, he noticed something odd. A section of the rock face seemed slightly different from the rest, almost as if it had been deliberately smoothed out.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Kandy ran his hands over the surface, searching for any irregularities. When he failed to do so, he contemplated checking for the opening by utilizing some mana, but decided against it.

He quietly crept back to his tent and snuggled back into his sleeping bag. He stayed awake for a while, keeping an ear out for any more screams, but none came. Eventually, tiredness overcame him and the reins of darkness pulled him back to the world of dreams.

***

Jabari's voice echoed through the cavern, and into Kandy's tent, rousing him from his slumber. "Rise and shine, my friend. We have a long journey ahead of us."

Kandy groaned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He emerged from his tent, blinking in the dim light of the cavern. Jabari stood before him, a grin on his face and a glint in his eyes.

"It is time we set off, my friend."

"Alright, just give me a quick moment to pack up. Are we eating on the go again?"

"We are indeed. We will need to stock up as we travel, as well. I have but a week's worth of food left."

As soon as Kandy's sleeping bag and tent were back inside his holding space, Jabari beckoned for him to follow.

They approached the tunnel they'd entered from.

"We're not… climbing up that, are we?" Kandy didn't really want to have to climb all the way up, given how steep and smooth the slide was.

"Of course not. Come, behind."

Kandy followed Jabari around the slide's opening, to a nook he hadn't noticed before.

Hidden inside was a small, rudimentary elevator—a stone platform suspended by a rope pulley system.

Kandy's eyes widened in amazement.

"You built this?" he asked, tugging on one of the ropes to test its sturdiness.

Jabari nodded, pride evident in his voice. "It took me months to clear out the shaft. After that was finished, the mere weeks it took to build and test the movable platform."

Kandy shook his head in disbelief. "You never cease to amaze me, big guy."

"That's not even the best part. How do you think I get it to go up and down?"

"Do you not pull it? Wait…" Kandy suddenly spotted a mound of sand sitting next to a large, bucket-like container that hung in the air, attached to a somewhat confusing rope system.

"…You're a genius."

"Ah, so you've figured it out? Yes, I think it's quite an efficient solution. Step on."

With Jabari leading the way, the two stepped onto the stone platform. Then, Jabari raised his left hand over the sand mound. Kandy had spotted Jabari's rope bracelet some time ago, with a small jewel embedded within its weave, but it was only now that he was able to confirm that it was Jabari's holding item.

The mound of sand quickly disappeared into the bracelet. Then, Jabari held it over the giant bucket and it poured out. In just a few seconds, Jabari filled the bucket to the brim with sand.

Immediately, the bucket began to pull the rope it was attached to, but it didn't descend at all. Instead, the rope it was tugging looped around a winch. At the same time, the stone platform began to rise.

"So I kind of get how your system pulls the stone platform up, but how does the platform get back down?" Kandy asked as they quickly rose towards the surface.

"There's a small hole on the bottom of the bucket, made in such a way that the sand that falls out will do so slowly, and be shot to the side. Perhaps an hour after we leave, the stone platform will gently return to its place at the bottom."

Kandy nodded, impressed. "Damn!"

As they reached the surface, Jabari jumped over the tunnel's entrance and out of the sandworm's maw. Kandy followed suit.

"So where are we going again?" he asked as they began to make their way west.

"It will take us some time to get there, but our eventual destination is Arundu. It is the greatest city of Emberos. I have a prior engagement there."

As they walked, Kandy turned to Jabari with a quizzical look. "When you say Arundu is the largest city on Emberos, do you not mean the largest on the continent? It would be awfully difficult to compare cities across different continents, wouldn't it?"

Jabari looked at him, confused. "What is a continent?"

Kandy thought about it for a moment. "It's uh… like a big block of land. That's like, kinda separate from everything else. Usually because it's separated by water, I think."

Jabari chuckled. "I see. That is an interesting concept. But no, my friend. I do not know what sort of world you have come from, but Emberos is made up of one giant desert. We do not have this… separation."

Kandy's eyes widened in surprise. He had never considered the possibility of a planet with so little water that all its lands were connected. The thought was both fascinating and unsettling.

And also… for some reason, made him quite thirsty.