Thanatos kept reading, but there were only a few more pages. Zek explained how he spent some years drowning in regret until it turned into anger, then a desire for revenge. He spent thirty years learning about his new powers and expanding his knowledge. After losing his humanity, he unlocked a new path to climb for more power.
It makes sense, after seeing his massive army and the way he fought in Selus. He almost killed Gina and the Golden Dragon on his own. The last page had a clear message about his state of mind before invading the outside world.
"I have so much power, but I can never get back those who were taken from me. I’ll use it to enact my revenge. I have nothing to lose except my desire for vengeance. I’ll bring ruin and destruction to the Republic of Selus and stab the Golden Dragon’s heart with my own cold hands, so the world knows the sorrow of Rabase for hundreds of years."
He closed the book and took a moment to process everything. You appeared too nice in the past, but being wrong and losing everyone you care about would break anyone. And why shouldn’t you seek revenge? If you have the power, you might as well use it. Damnit, I don’t like to admit it, but we end up being more similar than I thought.
It was the hate and resentment the reason he was summoned here, at least that was he thought at first but after everything he realized it was not anger or contempt, it was selfishness. The determination to trample on everything in your path as you pursue your desire. That’s the thing that made them equal.
This city was full of magical knowledge and more. He could finally start learning the secrets of the black book. He walked across the school, seeing the library, the laboratories, and the treasury. Most things were empty as Zek had moved all the equipment to this tower, except a single room.
It was a dormitory, humble and only filled with a dresser and a small bookshelf. In the center of the bed, a small doll rested on the pillow. "Is this?" the doll he gave Gina so many years ago. This was the room where she stayed.
You didn’t even move anything from here, but you went to the trouble of putting this doll here. How long did it take you to change your mind and blame her? Or maybe even at the end, you still didn’t blame her... Although Zek appeared cold and ruthless during the last fight in the Republic, he couldn’t completely read his mind. Maybe a part of him still held Gina with care, like a daughter.
He decided to stop the exploration and went back to the group.
Kit and Kamil made some fire by using some old desks and were eating some rations. Neo was awake, but she didn’t have any appetite. Thanatos explained the situation and saw Kamil's face turn grim again.
"Where are we going to die? Uh, I can't say I’m surprised our fate was sealed when Sally and Mansur were killed."
"We have food to survive for a couple of weeks if we ration it well. I already saw the knowledge I came here for, but we need to secure our survival first. Once the sand storm passes, I’m going to go outside and try to find anybody."
"If you don’t have tracking skills, it's going to be useless. You’re just going to get lost."
"This is only the first thing we should do. I know I’m probably going to fail, but you should look for food. Insects are good enough; we need them alive so we can use them as bait for bigger animals. Kamil, you’re more familiar with the ecosystem here, so I’m counting on you to teach these two."
Kit and Neo agreed to hunt for insects, and Kamil joined them despite his pessimism. After two whole days, the sand storm passed, and he went back outside to the desert. During those days, they barely managed to catch some insects, but they weren’t enough for bait.
As he stepped outside the temple, the city was the same as he left it; ruins and sand. He went to see the dead bodies but only found some chewed bones. Sally's carcass and even her shell were devoured by whatever was inside the sandstorm. The food was eaten or ruined by the sand, and there was no water.
He stretched his hands and used a spell. The last couple of days made him notice that without proper food or water, his mana reserve was shrinking. He had to be careful. He could fight any beast, but the sun and heat were going to drain his strength without any kind of fight. He only had his superhuman endurance.
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He summoned an Undead Worm to explore below the ground. He was going to watch the sky and above the surface. He went in the direction they arrived, walking for almost half an hour in a straight line. That was enough to lose track of his position. Everything looks exactly the same, and the worm hasn’t found any other creatures for us to eat. Maybe if there was a spell to help us get back, but I would need to look for it in the city. Argh, I don’t even know if that spell exists.
He tried to think how Zek managed to get out of this place, but the answer was so obvious that he felt stupid. He just walked with his army. They were undead. They didn’t need food, water, or sleep. There is nothing else I can do here. With that depressing thought, he went back to Rabase.
Although he walked in a straight line, he ended up getting lost, but thanks to the Undead Worm tunnels, he found his way back. The rest of the group hadn’t made too much progress; they were still trying to catch bugs for bait. It was time to eat, the only meal of the day with the only source of water.
"[Ice spear]" thanks to his ice magic, he managed to secure water, but now that the threat of malnutrition was going to cause his mana reserve to lessen, they were against the clock again.
"Did you find anything?"
"No…"
"I think I should try too. After all, I’m the one with the best tracking abilities." Kit tried to offer his skills, but he wasn’t sure how much he could do in this foreign place.
"That would be helpful, Kit. I can lend you my worm as a bodyguard in case of emergency. Try to look for animals too. By the way, Neo, did you do what I asked you?"
"Yeah, I already looked through all the city. There are no souls here. I went to the shelter and saw the bodies. I could feel a deep regret but no souls. Whatever happened there, it took them all in one fell swoop."
Thanatos gave the abridged version of the events but tried to keep Zek's actions. He wasn’t sure why. Maybe it's because after reading his will, he felt too personal to divulge. "Kamil, what animal should we try to catch with the insects?"
"Giant sand worms are our best option. They eat bugs as they move underground, but sometimes they grab creatures on the surface. The meat is chewy and full of fat. The problem is that we won’t know if they are close until the last moment."
"Don’t worry, my worm can send us a signal from underground."
"Yeah, about that. Weren’t you going to tell me who you are exactly? I mean, even the story of this place sounds so incredible, I don’t know if I can believe it or you omitted some details."
"Can you keep a secret?"
"Sure, since we’re going to most certainly die here."
"I came to steal the magic knowledge of this place and use it to fuel my necromancer powers and destroy the world."
"…I… can’t even tell which part the lie is... uh, if you actually managed to save our lives, then I swear I won’t tell anyone and make an altar to you in my home." A silly attempt to change the mood but at this point not even Neo could laugh.
The days passed one by one, catching bugs and trying to learn the ways of the desert. It was a routine that got harder each day. The days turn into weeks and then over a month. After so much time surviving with barely any food, they had to eat the bugs they had been catching.
Neo went inside a ruined house and brought more bugs. "Here…" She didn’t have the energy to talk, no one had. They formed a circle and devoured the insects with great hunger. They are using it as food instead of the original plan of using it as bait.
They were so tired that they could barely move, and their ribs were visible behind some thin skin and fat. Luckily, thanks to Thanatos, they still had enough water to not die of dehydration, but he was so exhausted that he could only do one spear for the day and he was out of mana. If it wasn’t for the Undead Worm, no one could keep a watch outside and notice any animal that passed close.
This was the last option they had. All of them huddle together under a ruined roof, waiting for a predator to come and eat them, and then trying to turn the tables. It was a vain hope, but it still had some chance of success. That’s why they all sit in silence, saving their energy to fight one last time before being eaten.
Thanatos watched his friends as they were resting, saving every ounce of power they had. Even if they all attacked together, Thanatos was the only one who could do some real damage.
He thought about all those times he saw death in the face. He actually died a couple of times. There was something in common among all those situations that this time wasn’t present. A sense of urgency. Battlefields with adrenaline and fast movements, split-second decisions that determine the winner and the loser. There was nothing like that here.
Only time passes, waiting for an unceremonious death. This... This is definitely one of the worst ways to die...
Night number thirty-two came and the Undead Worm moved. From the sand, a giant worm appeared, pushed above by the undead servant. The worm tried to attack, but his bite was too small to damage the massive body. Several shadows pounced on top of the fat worm.
Hungry mouths and claws. Neo was the first one to bite the flesh and got stuck like a leech. Kit and Kamil mauled the beat with all the energy they had left. The worm turned his body in the sand trying to get them off, but the last shadow decapitated him.
Thanatos jumped with all his strength in a straight line and cleaved the giant worm in half. He had a piece of meat on his claws before landing. He shoved it in his mouth. The blood and juices filled him with an indescribable pleasure. He turned around and ran to the bodies as his companions were taking part in the feast.
With teary eyes, they filled their bellies and hugged each other. The sweet taste of living.
"We’re going to live! We’re going back to Underworld!" he screamed to the moon in defiance of the desert.