"Hmmm...?" I mumbled as I opened my eyes.

The wind was blowing strongly over the dunes of the arid desert where I lay, and my body lay half-buried in the sand. How had I gotten here?

A strong pain invaded my head, as if a spear was piercing my skull completely, something I hadn't felt for a long time.

I dug myself out little by little, removing large amounts of sand from my body; I noticed that my clothes were torn almost entirely, ripped, burned, shredded in short. When I finally managed to dig myself out, I sat down and observed the panorama, which brought several memories to my mind; it was an infinite sea of sand with the remains of ancient constructions of some past civilization; I saw no corpses anywhere, so surely, whoever lived here had become extinct thousands of years ago.

-This... Where am I? What am I doing here?-

I thought as I looked at the horizon, looking for someone or something to tell me where I was; the truth is that it was getting very, very hot and, by the position of the suns I deduced that it was around noon. It's been a long time since I've seen a planet with two suns. I rose to the ground, tying what was left of my garment to cover me from the scorching desert sun. There was little I could do but wander in the desert in one direction, looking for someone.

-Something very strange is going on here-I thought as I raised my hands and brought them up to my face to remove the sand that had stuck to my face; I hate it when that happens.

That's when I wanted to wipe my eyes; I realized I was wearing a visor similar to the ones worn by steampunk fans. I tried to take them off, but it was impossible; still, it seemed to not hinder my vision; my mind was still fuzzy from my arrival to this place; little I could remember besides my name, although my memories were slowly being restored; having touched the visor helped a little with that, I continued to examine myself as I walked towards the horizon.

All too soon after examining myself,- I discovered that I was wearing an implant, a kind of bracelet with a screen attached to it with a tube coming out of the palm of my right hand; it seemed defective; it would not turn on or make any noise. On the left side of my chest, there was an embedded crystal that glowed in a shade of orange to yellow color. On my back, I carried a most "peculiar" sword, with a very thick blade and a extremely thin edge; just by looking at it, you could imagine how heavy and sharp it was; strangely enough, I could carry it without any problem.

-Something doesn't add up here...I don't see myself as someone who can carry a sword like that... And what is all this metal implanted in me; am I somebody's guinea pig? -I thought.

I walked for hours and hours without finding any trace of civilization; I also noticed that no matter how much I walked, I did not feel any fatigue or tiredness; I was definitely not an ordinary person.

The evening was approaching with the impending sunset, and I stopped near what appeared to be the ruins of some ancient building from hundreds or thousands of years ago, partially swallowed by sand. I wonder what happened for this to have ended up like this.

I lay down on a tile large enough to support my size and weight; I used the time to think exactly how I got here while looking up at the stars in the sky.

I closed my eyes and focused on searching for the answer to this whole issue.

-What am I?

I suddenly felt a presence nearby, but not like you were being watched from afar; no, it felt like it was millimeters away from me, breathing close to me, as if hundreds of insects were crawling up my back, a nervous tingle that gave me goosebumps.

-Who's there?

In a burst of courage, I decided to get up and look around; everything seemed normal; I could not observe anything out of the ordinary until I decided to lie down again and by surprise and in one quick movement.

Something lunged at me, grabbing my neck, pulling me up, as I desperately tried to escape his grip, which only made him squeeze harder; his grip didn't feel like it belonged to a human; in fact, he was much bigger and beefier than me.

In one wild movement, he slammed me to the ground, where I looked straight at him.

- "AT LAST, I FOUND YOU, YOU DISGRACED SON OF A…!"- Said that entity

Wait a minute... I know that voice, young and raspy, insulting and worried.

- "YOU REALLY THOUGHT SENDING ME TO A DESERT TO DIE WAS A GOOD IDEA!!!.

In short, I know him... but I don't know who he is; my memories are still fuzzy. Have I had too many drinks? If I could see him clearly, I could know exactly who he is.

- BUT NOW YOU WILL PAY FOR EVERYTHING YOU DID TO ME AND ALL THE INHABITANTS OF LYDENFROST! GO AND MEET IN THE AFTERLIFE WITH THAT WITCH!

- "A witch, you say...?"

I replied

- "IT'S NOT WORTH EVEN SAYING A WORTHLESS WORD, NOW DIE!"

Slowly, that entity's claws lit up with a light green aura, letting me observe its face clearly, remembering who exactly it was.

A tall, stocky Beast of dark brown fur, a descendant of the wolves, wearing a talisman around his neck, wearing only dark red bloomers and chains wrapped around his wrists, his facial expression denoting his anger and hatred towards me.

-So it was you... Hunter Wolf, rightful ruler of those lands of Lydenfrost or at least you were going to be, nice to see you again - I told him

- "AT LAST, YOU DIGNIFY TO CALL ME BY MY NAME, YOU IMBECILE! THAT WILL NOT SAVE YOU FROM WHAT'S COMING!

The beast raised his right claw, imbued with that greenish energy, preparing to make me a human skewer, immobilizing me almost completely. The attack was aimed directly at my chest. A trail of light was forming as its claws advanced without brakes to my chest, a direct lunge to the heart; it seemed to be my end, and I could not believe it until the last second...

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

-"I remembered, I remembered everything"-

I grabbed my sword with my left hand, causing his attack to collide with it; that was close one more second, and he would have pierced into me. The impact caused Hunter to let go of me, but he immediately tried to cut me in half with his other claw; clashes and sparks flew that night, a light show in battle as Hunter growled in frustration, launching attacks relentlessly; I noticed how the glow of his claws slowly faded, and I used that to my advantage to cut them all at once.

Unarmed, unbalanced, and fatigued from his trek in the desert and the recent battle, I grabbed him by his head and smashed him down in one powerful move.

- "If you want to die, keep fighting. Exhaustion, hunger, or thirst will kill you if you go on like this. What happened at Lydenfrost stays at Lydenfrost; as I said in the battle arena, it's nothing personal; it's just my job."

Hunter picked himself up off the ground, spitting out the sand he had swallowed from the blow, hitting the ground with his hand claw from anger.

- "FUCK YOUR "IT'S NOT ANYTHING PERSONAL” AND YOUR PEOPLE, THEY RUINED EVERYTHING THAT MATTERED TO ME, NOW EITHER FIX IT OR I'LL KILL YOU"

- "A cataclysm is not something I can fix.

Maybe if you ask the "Architect," he will answer; meanwhile, I would like to leave this planet as soon as possible."

- "AAAAA, NO, YOU WON'T LEAVE!"

Hunter then grabbed my arm tightly, almost piercing my skin with the remnants of claws he had, preventing me from continuing my way, but as he grabbed me, he collapsed to the ground unconscious from being so tired; who knows how many hours had passed since he last drank water.

I heaved a sigh into the air and said to myself.

-"You wanted to kill me so badly, and yet you decided to ask before you acted... partially, of course."

I picked up the fainting Beast and continued walking towards the horizon, dragging it across the sand like an old rag. The hours passed, and the freezing desert night felt eternal; I traveled miles and miles of sand and rocks.

Till, at last, as the sun began to rise, I spotted in the distance a small well with a bucket hanging from a piece of rope barely supporting it.

-"I hope this brings you back to life; I just thought of something for you, an offer you can't refuse."

I said, although it would have been better if he had been awake, who cares.

Once in the well, I scooped out some water with the bucket; it was more of a mixture of mud and water, but it worked to pour it over the beast, at least refresh it

- "Wake up at once; We have to talk."- I said to him as I watched him slowly react to the water falling on him.

- "AH THAT WHO. Ah... it's you..."

When he finally woke up, the first thing he did was put back that face of annoyance and hatred towards me as we both sat on opposite sides of the well. For my part, I had done enough to keep him from dying yet.

After a while, I decided to get up and offer him the bucket with some water.

- "Drink it, you need it more than I do"-

Until now, he had refused to accept it, but this time it was...different.

- "Why do you insist so much on helping me!?"- He answered me as if his accumulated rage had erupted like a volcano.

- "I'll repeat what I said, what happened before was nothing personal, I was just doing my job, and it is under my will to help you survive."

- "You know something, asshole; survival magic was created for situations like this, so why don't you get the hell out of here with those guys; I don't need you, and I never needed you.

- "All right, if you think you can hold your own, prove it to me by generating water with your magic."

- "Water?! HAH, IS THAT SUPPOSED TO BE THE CHALLENGE? WATCH YOU IMBECILE.

The Beast stretched his hand forward as he closed his eyes, concentrating; minutes passed, and absolutely nothing appeared from the palm of his hand. He tried everything, even absurd poses out of comic books of muscular guys with spirit helpers, or at least it seemed that way to me. Until he finally gave up.

- "YOU! SURELY YOU ARE BEHIND THIS; GIVE ME MY MAGIC BACK. NOW."- He shouted at me as he grabbed me by the remains of my shirt.

- "Put me down at once; I had nothing to do with it. The world, on the other hand... has a lot to do"- I explained

Immediately, he pulled me close to his muzzle and growled directly into my face.

- "ENOUGH OF MYSTICISM, IMBECILE, NOW SPEAK."

- "You're trying to use magic in a non-magical world, genius. Your magic depends on the environment you are in.

Hunter, hearing that, dropped me sharply to the floor. "Ouch!

As he spoke, he changed his voice from irate and angry to simply frustrated and discouraged; I'm sure he remembered something that made him feel that way; it's not like we're stranded in the middle of a desert.

- "It's useless then..."

- "And that is why I offer you my help, at least, to get out of this desolate place."

Hunter grunted loudly and then spoke seriously.

- "Asshole, you and your immortality bullshit can go fuck yourselves. While I, I am destined for the grave. You are not affected by cold, or heat, or hunger, or sleep, or any kind of harm. Who the hell are you in the first place? A badly told joke?

Hearing that, I let out a sigh. The truth is that anyone would die here if it wasn't me.

- "I am called by many names, but usually, I call myself Spacetime; I am the emissary sent by the "Ones from Above"; those who rule these worlds that, in exchange for my immortality, need a daily soul, which I provide for them, or so it was until we were sent here."

Hunter's face denoted wonder and intrigue amidst all the multiple layers of indifferent and frustrated gestures on his complexion.

- "That's the most absurd story I've ever heard in my life, but seeing everything that happened, I'll believe you, but you are THIS close to falling for fairy tales."

- "Believe what you believe; this is no time for discussion; we must walk north."

- "And taking me with you over there is part of your plan? Pff, surely, I am some kind of sacrifice to the "Ones from Above" or something like that."

- "That's confidential information, I'm just saying you're not a sacrifice or anything like that. In fact, I want to help you get back.

- "What do you mean?"

- "My universe, like yours, was destroyed.

Luckily, I was taken in by the "Ones from Above" after being transported from my world to another. They gave me everything I needed and even assigned me a role in their system; they promised me that they would restore my world sooner or later, and that's why they gave me the bracelet, to give me eternal life as long as I do my part or until they restored my world.

- "And what does that have to do with me?

You're not one of them properly; it's not like you're a miracle worker either; you already said it, you can't do anything against the cataclysm".

- "True. What I'm getting at is that I have nothing better to do with what's left of my life; my only purpose for centuries was to harvest daily souls and look forward to my world being restored, which never happened. So, I decided to give my life a purpose from this day forward. Tell me, would you like to go back to Lydenfrost as if none of this had happened?

Hunter looked at me, confused but interested; it's normal for anyone who hasn't been in this situation; you lose your home, and the next day, you want it back.

- "And how the hell do you plan to do that?"

- "There is another world, from which all the others came out; it is said that its core contains everything that has existed and will exist and that just by the simple fact of touching it, it will grant you a wish, whatever you long for the most at that precise moment. The Ones from Above call it "The Origin""

- "Which means that..."

- "You can wish Lydenfrost back and return to your life as before. As if none of this ever happened. So I ask you... Would you like to go to Origin with me?

Anyways, You have nothing else to do at the moment".

Hunter grumbled as if he didn't want to, but in the end, he agreed.

- "I'll go with you; how long have we got to live?"

- "Approximately one year for you. For me, I haven't the faintest idea. I could vanish at any moment, so we must hurry.

- "Fuck."

- "So, if you want to live, we'd better go north."

And so it was that Hunter and I set off for the north of the planet, through the enormous dunes and the eternal ocean of sand... An adventure that I didn't even know where it would take us or how long it would last.

Although if I want to follow my plans, it should be less than a year; an opportunity like this doesn't come along every day.

Later that day, Hunter asked me a question

- "Hey..."

- "Tell me, Hunter."

- "Make this walk less hellish and tell me about the "Ones from Above" and you.

My memory is fuzzy from the cataclysm, and my mind doesn't remember what happened before that except for a thing or two.

- "You're not the only one who lost his memory... All right... I'll try to remember...I may not tell everything in minute detail, but you'll probably remember some of it once you appear in the story. You see, it all started a long time ago, about... two days ago.